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| - I feel conflicted reviewing the Roosevelt because it's basically like... home. Downtown Phoenix hasn't developed enough yet that I can step right outside my door, do a cartwheel and land at the doorstep of my friendly neighborhood bar. A 5 minute stroll past a few crackhouses and construction sites has to suffice. And what better reward at the end of such a journey than to step into this completely perfect tavern.
The lovely waitresses are all a delight. There's also a good chance you'll see that big bear of a friendly dude-slash-owner, Matt, who owns the equally cool Matt's Big Breakfast a few blocks away, and is the bro of the co-owner of the even cooler Pizzeria Bianco, also a few blocks away. Come here on a late weeknight and you might run into said co-owner and her infamous partner, Chris Bianco, as they stop by to wind the night down.
I wouldn't stop by here on First Fridays, I must say. I did once and it was so crowded you could barely move. This is an historic home restored into a bar with a low-key ambiance lending itself to relaxed conversation. It's not really ideal when jam-packed a la Sweaty Generic Mill Avenue Nightclub. But that's just me. On most nights the crowd consists of late 20somethings, 30somethings, and generally an assortment of downtown residents and professionals. I ran into two of my old ASU law profs once.
Roosevelt is the first place I take anybody visiting downtown, from either Phoenix's suburbs or from out of state. It's only existed for some 8 months, so I've taken many people for their very first time. Their reactions are always amusing in their variety. One friend who's used to going out in Scottsdale was astonished that he walked by a group of people who were actually talking politics. (!!!) More importantly though, the common thread through each visit has always been that we simply had a good time.
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