We've spent the last year in the laboratory putting Phoenix under the microscope to reveal hundreds of specimens of the best culture, outdoor adventures, shopping, dining, and nightlife the city has to offer. And we're finally ready to publish our results. Nerd alert! Now presenting Scientific Phoenix.
Best Neighborhood Bar, North Phoenix: The Loft Again
It's a good thing that the proprietors of this North Valley gin joint have a couple of large clocks hanging near the bar to remind patrons of the passage of time. Otherwise, it's likely that they might waste away the entire day huddled away inside The Loft Again. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, Tempe: Baer's Den
Baer's Den used to be one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of bars, as its teeny-tiny former location tucked alongside a motel was literally about the size of a one-car garage. After moving about 200 feet down Apache Boulevard earlier this year, however, this sports and spirits paradise is now housed in bigger and much more prominent digs. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, Central Phoenix: The Little Woody
Hands down one of the coolest tiny bars in Phoenix, The Little Woody has stolen our boozy hearts. Part of The Vig's growing family of bars, TLW embodies everything that we want in a neighborhood watering hole. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, South Phoenix: Brad's Place
Cozy neighborhood bars are hard to come by in the corporate strip-mall haven of Ahwatukee, but there is at least one place you can go where everybody knows your name. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, Downtown Phoenix: FilmBar
It would be enough for FilmBar to provide downtown Phoenix patrons with the kind of art-house fare you don't get at mall cinemas, but FilmBar doesn't stop there. The "bar" in FilmBar is just as impressive, offering not only a chill place to hang out and a nice selection of craft beers, but music unlike any other club in town. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, West Valley: Enoch's Lounge
So you say like to sing, huh? This colorful West Valley watering hole, tucked away in the corner of a Peoria strip mall behind a McDonald's, offers some extremely lively karaoke nights four nights a week from Thursday until Sunday. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, Southeast Valley: Groggy's
As the cocktail-swilling frog depicted on the vintage neon-filled sign portends, Groggy's is a neighborhood bar of the dive variety. As such, this Mesa drinking destination possesses just the right mix of laid-back charm and slummy thrills, not to mention all the appropriate hole-in-the-wall trappings: a claw game stocked with adult novelties, hipster college kids from nearby schools, a menu of cheap and greasy snacks, and chairs with a little bit of wobble to 'em. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Best Neighborhood Bar, Scottsdale: Roadrunner Lounge
For some barflies and day drinkers, neighborhood watering holes practically serve as virtual homes away from home. This seems particularly true at this homey Scottsdale dive, which boasts den-like décor and has the well-worn comfy feel of a personal bar set up in someone's basement, right down to the pressboard walls and cheesy billiards-themed fabric lining the barstools. Read the full Best of Phoenix 2012 story.
Check out the complete edition of Best of Phoenix® 2012.
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