#1042 - Italian Grotto, Scottsdale, AZ - 3/22/2010

This place is old-time Scottsdale, along the lines of the famous Pink Pony, and its easy to see why it is often packed.  It has good food, stunningly cheap prices (e.g. $11 for entree, salad, and bread), and a great selection of local characters (including RT, working the bar, and a couple umpires from the game when I went.  Since it was overflowing on the late Monday evening I attended, I asked RT what it would be like on a Friday night; he pointed out that it was that full because the Giants had a home (spring training) game that day, and "It's been like this since 10 this morning."  But every subsequent evening I passed it was just as full.  The bar is just the basics and you need to expect a wait for dinner, but it's worth it.

3915 N Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251 - (480) 994-1489
italiangrotto.com - yelp

#1041 - Red Garter Saloon, Tucson, AZ - 3/22/2010

This is basically one of those small, minor highway casinos.  I can see how a few people in the area might come to love it, but only in the same way that you might come to love a retarded nephew.  The devotion is real, it's just a sort of arranged marriage -- not what anyone rational would choose if they had a lot of options.

3143 E Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716 - (520) 325-0483
redgartertucson.com - yelp - igougo - citysearch

#1040 - Fray Bar, Nogales, Mexico - 3/22/2010

A fairly classy place in a fairly old (1950) and classy hotel.

Fray Marcos Hotel, Campilo 91, Nogales, Mexico
hotelfraymarcosdeniza.com - tripadvisor

#1039 - Pancho Villa Bar, Nogales, Mexico - 3/22/2010

Okay, this is a pretty cool little bar, with a cave-like decor that makes you feel like you're hiding out with Pancho Villa (whose army occupied Nogales in 1914).

Av. Obregón and Calle Campilo, Centro, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico 84074
fodors

#1038 - Cheves & Munchies Bar, Nogales, Mexico - 3/22/2010

Very much an American touristy place -- even by Nogales standards. But that's not necessarily a bad thing when you're in the mood for a cold margarita in a shady, open area on a hot day south of the border.

Calle Campilo and Av. Obregón, Centro, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico 84074 - 631/312-6764
fodors

#1037 - Woody's Bar, Tucson, AZ - 3/21/2010

While I was at The Cuff, a member of our party remarked that every gay bar anywhere in the world looks exactly the same.  I will leave this commenter anonymous -- except that his name is Alan and he lives in Vancouver BC, and he once had the audacity to order half-fries/half-salad with his meal in the U.S. (to which our no-nonsense server responded that she'd be "laughed out of the kitchen" if she tried submitting that).

He was exaggerating, of course, but not by that much.  And that seems a bit of shame, doesn't it?  For all the cliches about decorating, entertaining, etc. etc., gay bars themselves (not counting the people who populate them) usually don't have much personality.  There's the leather-theme stuff, the standard techno/dance-floor stuff, and a lot of black walls and floors, and red rope light.  There are a few exceptions of course, but by and large there aren't many times you step into a gay bar and think, wow, what a cool, unexpected sort of place.  That seems like it should happen more often.

I was introduced to Woody's by some folks I at a "Drinking Liberally" meeting that I stumbled upon in another bar.  While the interior is the same boring decor and the cocktails are uncreative, there is a large patio with lots of plush, semi-veiled seating areas that provide it some pleasant and unusual character.

3710 N Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ 85705 - (520) 292-6702
mywoodysaz.com - myspace - yelp

#1036 - The Shanty, Tucson, AZ - 3/21/2010

The Shanty is not a shanty at all, and it doesn't appear designed for "shanty Irish." Rather, it's a copper-plated, almost upscale, Irish bar and restaurant, which gives little hint of its age (est. 1937) and with (male) servers that look like they all play on the college volleyball team. The large, shady patio is quite nice, but when I go to a "shanty" -- and especially an Irish shanty -- I expect to see an old, red-faced bartender who looks like he's been there for 40 years and a decor that seems to welcome the lower working class. And when I go to a bar that's 70-some years old, I expect a bit more personality, and to feel its age a bit more.

Aside from the old paintings now carefully guarded by ugly plexiglass, the whole interior looks like it could have been slapped together last month from the cookie cutter Irish themed bar template. The service was friendly and I enjoyed the conversations (I'd stumbled into a local meeting of the "Drinking Liberally" group).  And perhaps I was spoiled by a previous string of Tucson bars oozing character (Meet Rack, Kon Tiki, Shelter, Buffet). But the Shanty left me utterly uncharmed.

401 E 9th St., Tucson, AZ 85705 - (520) 623-2664
yelp - dotucson - 10best.com - metromix