BEST BAR FOR CONVERSATION

Forget the tasty ghost stories, oysters and local brews that make Casey Moore's a favorite dining/drinking hangout for ASU students and Tempe residents. Conversation is the real mainstay of this historic house turned watering hole.

Just a brief stroll from the corporate cornucopia of Mill Avenue, Casey's is camouflaged among quaint houses in a small neighborhood on Ninth Street and Ash Avenue. Not only is the place worth singing about (see lyrics in Jimmy Eat World's "If You Don't, Don't"), the laid-back bar has a knack for rousing the most intellectual, conversational side of us all.

There's something about the seating -- wooden picnic-style tables and benches, and a comfy bar area -- that cries for a good conversation. Don't get us wrong; this is still a college bar with plenty of college antics and cheap pickup lines. But here, you're more likely to find the alternative, vintage-happy academic referencing Confucius than cunnilingus.

It doesn't matter whether your topic of choice is philosophy or procreation, however. Casey's is the optimal venue for raising your Guinness -- along with your point of view. Readers' Choice: Merc Bar