The Camp Jam blog has a profile of the Phoenix instructors.

* You know it’s hardcore because of the ‘z’.

My Phoenix sources tell me that the story of the Bikini Lounge (1502 Grand Ave, Phoenix) is a simple one: opened in 1947 as a swanky tiki bar, then nothing was touched about the decor over the next 60 years. Well, that last part is not quite true — as Phoenix’s art scene has grown up around the bar, it’s received some attention from those artists, like the pieces by Michael Little that now cover the men’s bathroom (I didn’t peek in the ladies).

I only visit the Bikini Lounge once a year, so I’m no expert, but my visits do give the perspective of a time lapse video. Over the last few years, like with many dive bars, the clientele has gone from seedy to seedy plus hipsters. But there’s still plenty of folks who just come for the pool table and the cheap draft beer to compliment the art students and occasional DJ.

Another colorful slice of downtown Phoenix history will slip off the landscape early Sunday when the News Room Bar closes its doors for good.

Owner Pete Palandri has reached an agreement to sell the 26-year-old bar at 505 N. First St. to make way for a $150 million dormitory for students attending Arizona State University’s downtown campus. [AZ Republic]

How could I not love Fuzzy’s Pizza? I mean, it’s named after me, it’s covered with Chicago memorabilia, and they serve all my favorite Chicago-style foods, all in a strip-mall non-ambiance. I see that they have Vienna Beef hotdogs — which really are quite excellent dogs — but we had a deep dish pizza. The pizza was more in a Lou Malnati’s-thick-crust mode than a Giordano’s-stuffed-pizza type. (Don’t worry if that means nothing to you — they’re just fine distinctions in the long-standing debate over what exactly a Chicago-style pizza is.) Fortunately, that’s the way I lean in the deep-dish debate, and the pizza had a good crust, which is really important to me.

Fuzzy’s Pizza
8960 W Bell Rd
Peoria, AZ 85382

Marvin’s Garden Cafe (101 E. McDowell, Phoenix) is diner food of the first order. Some of pluses include:

• obvious re-purposing of a different restaurant
• great bacon
• choice of biscuits and gravy as your bread option
• pre-buttered toast
• an epynmonous breakfast special — the Marvin Scramble (shown above)
• located right across the street from my hotel

The few minuses:

• Non-dairy creamer!?
• mushy hashbrowns
• experience may vary depending on whether Marvin is there

All of the shows are at the Viad Center (1850 N Central Ave, Phoenix) and tickets are $15 at the door, $12 in advance (except Sunday, which is $10 for the whole day — $2 off with a Mother’s Day card).

I’m the Mayor of Disclosureville: I’m in Bare and I’ll be sitting in with the Phoenix Neutrino Project.