Stoner Phoenix
The vibe
Two personalities, one zip code. Midtown is Central Avenue from about McDowell up past Indian School: glass towers, insurance offices, the city's two big museums and a light rail line running straight down the middle of the street. At lunch it's lanyards. After six it empties out, and the patios on its north end pick up.
Head west to 7th Avenue and the Melrose District is a different animal. Low buildings, vintage and antique shops, tiny restaurants, a cluster of LGBTQ bars that have anchored the strip for years, and that big gateway arch over the street announcing you've arrived. 7th Avenue Melrose is also the stretch where the street does something Phoenix streets never do. It curves. Locals call it the Melrose Curve, and if you've been staring at a perfectly straight grid all day, it feels like a small act of rebellion.
Who lives here
Midtown has apartment and condo dwellers who work in the towers or ride the train downtown. The Melrose side is ranch houses and little 1950s bungalows, filled with longtime gay couples, young families who couldn't afford Arcadia, artists, and people who own at least one mid-century credenza they will tell you about. West of the curve, the historic streets roll into Encanto and Palmcroft's tree-lined historic districts.
Homeowners on the Melrose side have backyards, which is the real luxury for a stoner in Phoenix. Your own patio, a mister line and a citrus tree beats any bar. If you're renting in a Midtown tower, check your lease for smoke rules. Our where to sesh in Phoenix guide has the rest (general info, not legal advice).
Best munchies
Fry Bread House
On 7th Avenue just north of the curve, Fry Bread House is a James Beard America's Classics winner serving Tohono O'odham-style fry bread, both savory (the fry bread tacos are the move) and sweet with honey or chocolate. It's comfort food in its purest form. The line can be long at lunch. Stand in it.
Copper Star Coffee
Further down 7th Avenue, Copper Star is a neighborhood coffee shop doing coffee, bagels and breakfast sandwiches with a drive-through. A wake-and-bake bagel run here is a Melrose rite of passage.
Lux Central and Pane Bianco
Up on Central near Campbell, on the north edge of Midtown, Lux Central is the all-day coffee house that turns into a cocktail bar, open late and always packed with laptops. Right next door, Pane Bianco does Chris Bianco's sandwiches and big slices at lunch. Wood-fired bread and a cold brew while slightly baked is about as good as a weekday gets.
Durant's
For a splurge, Durant's on Central is the old-school steakhouse: red booths, dim lights, martinis. It has been a Midtown institution for decades. Sober up enough to appreciate the prime rib.
More citywide picks live in our Phoenix munchies guide, and for after-dark hunger, the late-night eats guide.
Things to do baked
Museums on Central
The Phoenix Art Museum on Central at McDowell is huge, cool inside and full of rooms you can stand in for a long time without anybody bugging you. The Heard Museum, a few blocks north, is one of the country's best museums of Native American art and culture, with shady courtyards made for slow wandering. Both are steps from light rail stops on Central. A gummy, a museum and a 110-degree day outside is a perfect trade.
Vintage digging on 7th Avenue
The Melrose District antique and vintage shops are made for browsing high. You will touch a lamp shaped like a flamingo and seriously consider it. That's the point.
Bars on the strip
Stacy's at Melrose is a big, friendly gay bar with a patio, karaoke and drag shows, and over on Central, Kobalt does drag and karaoke in Midtown. Charlie's, a few blocks north on Camelback, is the longtime dance-bar anchor of the scene. Reminder: no smoking cannabis inside bars or on their patios. Arrive happy, leave on foot or in a rideshare.
Our things to do high in Phoenix guide has the full list, and the Phoenix seasons guide tells you when 7th Avenue patios are actually tolerable.
Best mountain or sunset spot nearby
Piestewa Peak, a short ride northeast. The Summit Trail is steep, crowded and worth it, with a sunset view over the whole grid and Camelback glowing to the east. North Mountain, up past Uptown and North Central's citrus-lined streets, is the calmer option. All Phoenix mountain preserves are smoke-free, so do your sesh at home and get there by rideshare or with a sober friend. See the Phoenix mountains and sunset guide for the full ranking.
Lazier option: the 7th Avenue and Camelback light rail stop sits at the top of Melrose, and the west-facing view down Camelback at dusk is better than it has any right to be.
The good and the annoying
The good
- Light rail up Central and over to 7th Avenue and Camelback. Car optional.
- Fry bread, bagels and late coffee within a few blocks of each other.
- Two world-class museums for the hottest afternoons.
- Short hops east to Roosevelt Row's murals and the bungalows of Coronado and Garfield.
The annoying
- 7th Avenue's center reversible lane during rush hour. Nobody understands it. Nobody ever will.
- Midtown dies at 6 p.m. on weekdays. The towers go dark, and so does lunch.
- Parking at Fry Bread House at noon is a strategy game.
- The curve itself, if you're the one driving. Which you shouldn't be, if you're baked.
The only curve on the Phoenix grid, and of course it's the gay district. Respect.
