![]() ![]() ![]() Best Political Cliffhanger Maricopa County Attorney Election.Best New Anti-Immigrant Bigot Mark Brnovich.Best Public Information Officer Jessica Fotinos.Best Democratic Politician Reginald Bolding.Best Republican Politician Stephen Richer.Best Team Effort Vaccine Distribution at State Farm Stadium.It's even gotten a thumbs-up from local blues guru and Rhythm Room owner Bob Corritore. Local blues/R&B greats like Lucius Parr, Francine Reed, and Big Pete Pearson have frequented the stage, as have such jazz scene mainstays as Delphine Cortez, Sandra Bassett, and We3. Their faith in the project, which cost an estimated $500,000 to create, was shaken when COVID-19 delayed its debut for an entire year. The retired couple, both longtime worshippers of the blues, built the club as a temple to the art form, with great acoustics, plush seating, and speakeasy decor. But a venue dedicated to showcasing the genre and its artists on that side of town hadn't been tried until Cindi Jackson and Paul Vincent Perez opened Westside Blues & Jazz at the Glendale Market Square shopping center in April. A few scattered places in the area have hosted jam sessions or occasional one-offs by musicians, sure. The west Valley isn't exactly known for being a blues hotbed. McKenzie's is just a solid, reliable, well-run place where you can come as you are - really, all we ask of a neighborhood bar. The kitchen is open late, till 12:30 a.m. It's located just off the Grand Canal, making it a good place to stop for a cold beer while out on a bike ride. You'll usually see the same bartenders, and eventually, they'll remember your name. They serve cheese curds and there's a dartboard. It has some dive-like qualities - street signs, license plates, and yet more Christmas lights provide a good chunk of the decoration - but it's neither filthy nor too-cool-for-school. ![]() You'll notice McKenzie's from the street by the thousands of colorful lights dangling down off the gutters. Which makes it all the more impressive that the proprietors of the place have cultivated a homey vibe more reminiscent of a corner bar in Milwaukee than a McBar in central Phoenix. ![]() In some ways, it's not much of a neighborhood. We're not sure exactly what to call the neighborhood where McKenzie's is located, on a busy stretch of Seventh Street between Indian School and Camelback roads. (The team behind Rough Rider also is involved in The Whining Pig and Pigtails Downtown.) The place looks built to last, like much of the stuff produced in this proud American era. The place is properly dim and does a nice job evoking Teddy's era, with caskets jutting out of the walls, built-in bookshelves, ornate woodwork (including in the elevator), and a lovely white marble bar top. Cocktail-wise, the menu's split into four sections, two of which are very old-timey: cobblers (which include jam) and punch (made with tea). It's named after the Rough Riders, the ragtag cavalry of cowboys Teddy Roosevelt led during the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century. Rough Rider, which opened this summer in the basement of the Ten-O-One building, has a whiff of that vibe, but it draws its inspiration from even farther back in time. Lots of ice blocks being clubbed with big wooden mallets. In the 2010s, American cocktail bars were obsessed with the Prohibition-era aesthetic. ![]()
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