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This last week I took a break from the temple of homework and HBO GO that is my dorm room in order to explore the Phoenix arts district, known as Roosevelt Row, and experience some of the culture that the city has to offer students just a few blocks away from their Taylor Place elevators and the dining hall fare.
My first stop was Bliss reBAR, located at 901 N. 4th St. Half restaurant and half gay bar, Bliss reBAR is intimidating at first, but any discomfort I had faded away once I walked into the restaurant portion of the establishment. Sitting down in a small alcove in the room with a garage-door style bay of retractable windows behind me, the well-lit, cozy atmosphere of the restaurant put me at ease. The menu is the perfect balance of interesting ingredients with staple dishes, maintaining originality while not overwhelming customers with a slew of unfamiliar words and flavors.
I started off with their grilled pretzel bread with cheese and alfredo sauces, which provided an interesting combination of salty, charred and creamy flavors to start off the meal. After the appetizer, I had the tacos a la mario, which were good but not essentially different from any street taco I have had in the past. Where the food truly stood out was when my companion invited me to try a bite of her mac and cheese. Expecting a run of the mill creamy cheese flavor, I was pleasantly surprised to find this classic taste mixed in with the slight bite of a large amount of parmesan as well as enough pepper flavor to make it spicy but doesn't burn the house down.
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Next, I walked over to Songbird Coffee & Tea House and ordered a chai tea latte, with which I was utterly impressed. While avoiding the gritty, overly leafy texture common to this drink, Songbird’s chai managed to maintain the necessary sharp flavor often lost in other attempts to make a creamy chai (I’m looking at you, Starbucks).
In addition to their impressive drink, Songbird’s atmosphere also stood out with its neutral walls and furniture contrasting with a bright blue concrete floor, a book shelf filled with everything from old biology textbooks to the "Twilight" books to vintage liquor bottles and a sofa that, surprisingly enough for a coffee shop, did not look like it would give customers lice. The coffeehouse is connected to an industrial space next door which hosts art shows during First Fridays, something that I will be sure to check out this Friday.
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Less than a block away, Revolver Records was my next stop. The labyrinthine arrangement of racks filled with anything from the soundtrack of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to Ozzy Osborne created a kind of comfortable disorganization that resembled a personal collection more than a store. It was comfortable browsing through the yard sale setup of records without any sense of agenda, something that is lost at record stores where the music is hyper-organized and alphabetized. The adventure of the search was also amplified by the eclecticism of their selection, as they carry the standard vinyl such as the Beatles or Elton John right along with obscure or recently released albums.
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Further down in one of the repurposed houses that line the intersection of 5th Street and Roosevelt is Lawn Gnome Publishing. The thing that struck me as I first approached the shop was how much it resembled any old, worn out house in the part of town no one wants to go to upon first look. However, the piles of books on the front porch and abundance of lawn gnomes (of course), as well as the sign above the door reading “BOOKS,” righted this first impression and drew me in.
Dimly-lit and cluttered, the store somehow melds the local culture of Phoenix with broader tastes as it offers to its customers a mishmash of ‘zines, the works of Shakespeare, cassette tapes from local bands such as Wolvves and Playboy Manbaby, and the latest issues of GQ. I was especially intrigued by the two racks of T-shirts, located in the back room of the store, which range anywhere from They Might Be Giants merch to ASU spirit wear to wolf moon. The diverse clash of items in the shop is jarring at first, but at a closer glance, it left me so interested that rather than looking at the actual books, I simply walked around the shop, examining anything from a pair of homemade Monopoly piece earrings to an off color cartoon (or two) to a copy of “The Hunger Games.”
Graphic by Samantha PresleyMy visit only encompassed a sliver of what there is to explore on Roosevelt Row, with it’s numerous shops, restaurants and coffee houses. With the artistic underbelly of Phoenix just a few blocks uptown of the Downtown campus, there’s no reason for students not to take the chance and explore what unique experiences the city waiting for them.
Reach the reporter at ezentner@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @emilymzentner
