With all the Layover-esque planning guides for trips to Phoenix coming out, it seems our metropolitan region is finally getting some national love. The most recent list comes from USA Today and supposedly guides you on a hipster's trip around the city. Unfortunately, in our humble opinion, someone was trying to be too clever when they wrote it and picked some really odd and random dining spots, rather than going with what's best in town. Fortunately, we've put together a list of our recommendations to offer some better hipster alternatives if you're weekend tripping in Phoenix.
What USA Today Picked: Jobot
What Chow Bella Picks: While we love Jobot, grunge and all, the hipsters go to Lux Central. Everyone knows that.
What USA Today Picked: The Lost Leaf
What Chow Bella Picks: Again, Lost Leaf is a great spot for beer, but if we're trying to be cool with our beer, we'd probably go get a cheap pitcher at Windsor during happy hour.
What USA Today Picked: Songbird Coffee & Tea House
What Chow Bella Picks: More coffee? Really? Okay. Go to Cartel. We totally heard that like Joseph Gordon Levitt bought coffee there when he was in town.
What USA Today Picked: Old Town Sarajevo
What Chow Bella Picks: Do they mean Caffe Sarajevo? While picking Bosnian cuisine in Phoenix seems super underground, just go somewhere like Clever Koi or Gallo Blanco for a real hipster experience.
What USA Today Picked: Khyber Halal
What Chow Bella Picks: The food is pretty good, but this is hardly a memorable experience for a traveler, let alone a hip one. if you're looking for Middle Eastern, go to Baiz Market because it has, like, way more vegetarian options and you can buy super-arbitrary souvenirs in the market. If you're looking for top-notch Indian, go to Curry Corner.
What USA Today Picked: Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe
What Chow Bella Picks: LoLo's Chicken and Waffles or Welcome Diner. Mrs. White's is stellar, but her grandson LoLo's spin -- complete with waffles alongside the chicken, Kool-Aid in jars and red velvet cake -- takes the hipster quotient up a notch. And Welcome Diner's modern take on the trend, along with picnic tables and bubble lights outside a '50s-era Valentine diner is enough to make the hippest among you swoon.
What USA Today Picked: Two Hippies Beach House
What Chow Bella Picks: Wait, what? Really? Okay, no. Hippies and hipsters are pretty much opposites on the DGAF meter. If you want to be hip with a burrito, Crescent Ballroom's lounge is the place to be. There's a cocktail named the Honey Badger there and bands like St. Vincent, The Growlers, Phantogram, and Beach House (the kind hipsters actually like) have all played there. What more do you need?
What USA Today Picked: Oaxacainside
What Chow Bella Picks: Tacos Atoyac serves Oaxacan food done right and it's shack-like atmosphere will make you feel like you're somewhere nobody else knows about yet.
What USA Today Picked: Bikini Lounge
What Chow Bella Picks: Bikini's a great dive, but it seems to have lost some hipster cred recently, judging by the clientele nowadays. Royale Lounge is way more under the radar.
What USA Today Picked: Shady's
What Chow Bella Picks: We actually agree with this one with points for hipster jukebox and basic mixology at dive bar prices, giving USA Today's list an overwhelmingly failing 10 percent grade in hipness and Phoenix know-how.
