Phoenix
Teddy’s Preserve
Opened: February 2023
“Inspired by the National Parks and the man who helped establish them,” this indoor-outdoor gastro-lounge from the Whining Pig hospitality empire (Pigtails, Rough Rider) winningly sticks with a theme. Located upstairs from Rough Rider in the lobby of Downtown’s Ten-O-One building, it’s essentially a cocktail-centric undercard to the Teddy-Roosevelt-themed main event below. And as the pince-nez-wearing former chief executive himself might say, it’s bully. From my vantage, the Out of Sight ($14) is the star of a varied and playful, 19-item cocktail menu, with Botanist gin and assertive Cherry Heering liqueur doing a spritzy, tiki-ish tango with lime, pineapple and a touch of Aplomado amaro. The food menu, authored by the Rough Rider kitchen team, is spare but efficient, with superlative small plates like I Love Pimento, with Manchego and cheddar whipped into a salsa-like slurry with roasted chile ($15); and large-format winners like a shareable roasted half-chicken slathered with salsa verde and served with a disarming ramekin of tart, crispy escabeche ($22). Or enjoy the spacious, eye-pleasing environs in the throes of They Call Me Mr. Pig, a luscious Kalua-style barbecue pork sandwich that carries a big stick but speaks softly at just $12.
Wild Card: Get your game face on with a selection of $8 shooters, including the Far Out with tequila, mango chamoy and lime.
1001 N. Central Ave., 602-675-0389, teddyspreserve.com
