I should really be cranking away on the final chapter/issue of Death Comes For The Toymaker (out through Scout later this year), but I have a case of senioritis. The end is close, but not immediate, and between that and the anxiety and excitement of organizing AZCAF, I thought I needed a little personal therapy break this morning. So welcome to Modern Life is Pubbish, a blog post about bars I love, and I’m going to start with one of the absolute best.
On the border between Scottsdale and Phoenix is a magical place, TT Roadhouse. It was originally a house, became TTRH in 1995, and became my favorite bar in Arizona around 2009. Named after the Isle of Man TT race, it’s much more than a biker bar. When I first started freelancing full-time I had a job doing layouts for an issue of a comic that probably never saw print, from a publisher that probably never put anything out. It was a gig, I was horrible at it, but I needed one and there it was. I quickly learned that working from home without a home office sucked. Dishes needed doing, laundry was piled up, the cat was annoying. I was broke but I remembered this bar down the street had good daytime lighting, wi-fi, and $1.50 drafts. So one day I went there and “worked” from 10am-5pm, when my wife had to come rescue me from myself. Needless to say, I didn’t get much work done. One thing they don’t have is food. Drinking $1.50 High Life’s all day and not eating is a very, very, bad idea. Yet, I was in love.
No pretentiousness, not too much attitude, TVs on whatever the bartender wants to watch and a jukebox that’ll leave you stunned. Apparently it may also be haunted. I’m not sure if the $1.50 High Life is still around, but they do have $1 Hamms or PBRs on Sundays, and $4.50 whiskey and shot combos currently. It’s a place where you can chat with the other patrons and the bartender, or not. No one cares, no one gives a shit. I’ve never had a bad time there, and I always want to go back more often than I do. Might be time for another trip soon… cheers!