• The Buffet Bar
• "If anyone sees Terry Trash let him know that we have his arm." That's so Tucson, times infinity.

And with that photo, The Buffet Bar made just about the most authentically "Tucson" Facebook post I can recall, even earning bonus points for being non food-related. Amusing on its own, without any knowledge of musician Terry "Texas" Trash or The Buffet, but allow me to explain why the image goes deeper than that.

As for The Buffet Bar, it’s one of the oldest bars in Tucson, established immediately following the repeal of prohibition in 1934, and has remained at the very same location on 538 E. 9th St. in the historic Iron Horse neighborhood. Like every good dive bar, it appeals to broad cross-section of Tucson's population. From longtime regulars to recently transplanted Cali kids, some of whom will soon to be moving next door at The Junction at Iron Horse boutique student housing complex, The Buffet has stood the test of time. It frequently makes national Top 10 Dive Bar lists, and its sights and smells are something most who have lived in Tucson can give you a story about, not unlike the old Grill/Red Room and its cockroaches.

• Terry Trash Facebook
• The original Al Foul and the Shakes lineup, circa 1993. (Terry on the far left, beside Al.)

Terry Trash has been a fixture on Tucson's music scene for over 20 years, from the very beginnings of local roots/rockabilly mainstay Al Foul and the Shakes to his current project Texas Trash and the Trainwrecks, which the Weekly's Joshua Levine wrote about last week. Terry forever solidified his badass bona fides for this writer during a Shakes performance years ago at the legendary Airport Lounge, in the basement below Plaza Pub on Pennington St. The chaotic night ended with Al and his Shakes getting banned from the venue; an audience member receiving a shot glass to the temple (thrown by a band member between songs, sailing over our table to the back row); and the band hundreds of dollars in debt. Not only did their bar tab exceed the band's fee, various portions of the Airport Lounge were destroyed during the performance, including the ceiling. Good times.

As could be seen at his recent hell-raising 4th of July show at The District Tavern, even injuries sustained from a run-in with a moving train seven years ago couldn't keep Terry off the stage. And just like Mr. Trash, The Buffet continues to chug along, year after year, serving up soggy dogs, pickled eggs, jumbo drafts and shots of its signature Buffalo Sweat. Despite all the changes the city has gone through, a visit to The Buffet still guarantees a good story, as will a performance from Terry. Hell, Terry was even at The Buffet during a feature the Weekly did back in December!

You can file this under the multiple "Keep Tucson ______" slogans, but it's also part of the future here. It's what's going to keep Tucson authentic, slightly disturbing and charmingly dysfunctional.

There's still plenty of creative elements and movements happening downtown, they've just got new names, a new generation of people behind 'em, and they're not happening on the usual strips. Whether hidden in the shops on Toole, down E. Broadway, or further south on 6th Ave., The Range will renew its efforts to keep a spotlight on these new "so Tucson" happenings, and those that have yet to form. Just not too bright a light, lest we scare away the surviving Grill roaches.

Fox News' Charles Payne featured Myles Stone and Mike Mallozzi at Borderlands Brewing on his business show. Payne talks about how the duo took their $2,000, found some investors, renovated an old warehouse and now are looking to can their beers. It's a brief and enlightening highlight on a young local business that truly deserve some recognition.

• JAMES HUDSON
• R Bar's sprawling steel mural.

Patrons at the Rialto Theatre’s new side-bar, R Bar, are immediately greeted by an impressive, back-lit steel sun rising over a stark, blood-red wall. Flanked by iron birds and modern winged machines, the disc beckons one to a glass-lined balcony view above its angular bar, all housed in the south Cadence building on Congress St., mere steps east of the historic Theatre’s Herbert Alley side exit.

• JAMES HUDSON
• R Bar Interior Designer Gary Patch looks on at the pure, innocent beer and wine taps with a devilish grin.

While Rialto is focused on fast service and bar staples, R Bar offers hand-stamped concert-goers a more unique experience, with an inspired house cocktail menu conjured up by bar manager and acclaimed local mixologist Rory O’Rear (Wilko, Red Room). Spontaneous creations inspired by customers’ tastes will be highly encouraged at R Bar, which will tentatively open by July 12th. You can't see it from the street, and its official address at 350 E. Congress No. 110 may throw you off, but just keep walking south in the alley between World of Beer and Rialto and you'll run right into R Bar.

• JAMES HUDSON
• A bathroom hallway's vinyl wall brings to mind the floating prisms in 2001: A Space Odyssey’s stargate sequence.

Tucson-based designers Patch & Clark (Hotel Congress’ Copper Hall, Cup Cafe) and Repp McClain (Falora, Side Car, Sparkroot) gave R Bar its locally flavored theme, with its intricately carved steel mural resembling a three-dimensional, chronological Google Earth view of Southern Arizona: The McDonald’s totem-like “M” peers over the Nogales border; two and four-footed desert crossers shadow mythical landmarks and icons past Kitt Peak; and an approaching monsoon storm looms over A Mountain, downtown and the Rialto itself.

R Bar’s metallic motif is offset by a wall’s opaque screen onto which images and video are semi-visible from restrooms located directly behind the projections. Expect mostly experimental films, such as the Norwegian "Slow TV" movement. Culinary service from Cadence neighbors Gio Taco will complement craft beers and cocktails with non-traditional tacos that have won over even Tucson’s staunchest Mexican food purists.

I spoke with Rialto Theatre Manager Curtis McCrary about R Bar, which he jokingly calls “Tucson’s Best Alley Bar,” an alley which as recently as 2006 was home to idling Greyhound buses, and in the 1920s, a low-budget dining and lodging option to Hotel Congress, featuring Southern Pacific Railroad’s S.P. Dining Room.

Tucson Weekly: For a while it seemed the Rialto Theatre’s long-sought effort to expand was doomed. How did R Bar beat the odds?

Curtis McCrary: I have been looking to expand our concession operation/have a 7-day-week bar since probably late 2007, because once things started to get bad with the economy, I knew we needed to do something to survive. The original plan was to use the storefronts on either side of the lobby and we considered lots of approaches. That didn't work out, but the silver lining is that now Good Oak Bar exists there instead, and we like it and the rest of the development on our block a lot. When it became clear that we would get the opportunity to lease space in the Cadence building, we seized it.

Weekly: What does R Bar offer the Rialto show-goer that the Theatre bar doesn’t?

McCrary: It's a totally different approach — Rialto is about speed of service and relative simplicity. R Bar is going to have totally different products on offer with an emphasis on craft in all categories. We'll have 10 draft beers plus 4 draft wines that will rotate pretty regularly, in addition to a great selection of bottles and cans. Just clap your hands. Our bar manager Rory O'Rear has created an excellent house specialty cocktail menu, but we're also emphasizing an approach where you tell our bartender a thing or two about tastes or flavors you like, and she creates a bespoke drink for you on the spot. If we do that well, people will really enjoy it.

Downtown Tucson was buzzing on Congress St. by 1 p.m. today for USA's Round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium. From its west end at Elliott's On Congress all the way down to Hi Fi Kitchen and Cocktails, soccer diehards and fair-weather fans alike gave local businesses a spike in traffic on what normally would be a sleepy shift.

For many of the early-afternoon fans, Bloody Mary's were followed by what seems to be the unofficial beer of the World Cup: Bud Light. "So much Bud Light. Just aluminum cans of Bud and Bud Light, all day long," as Playground Bar and Lounge Director of Operations Sandy Ford put it.

Outside of the usual appetizers at self-proclaimed sports bars such as World of Beer, The Rialto Theater clearly held the gastronomical advantage with Gio Taco's portable grill setup, offering made-to-order pollo asado and carne adasa tacos.

Not surprisingly, the most rabid fans could be found at Playground. The bar and lounge has become a year-round default destination for Tucson's soccer enthusiasts. Playground's main indoor bar hit maximum capacity by 12:30 p.m., and its covered rooftop viewing area wasn't far behind.

With today's 2-1 extra time loss to Belgium, the USA team will be coming home, but have plenty to be proud of. Belgium advances to the quarterfinals this Saturday against Argentina.

Not only will the winning poster be used for promotional purposes, but the winning artist will also be invited to set up shop at the affair and sell their best work throughout the duration of the event. Posters can be designed using illustration, typography, photography, mixed media or virtually any graphic design technique. The winner will also be given 4 VIP tickets to the Baja Oktoberfest.

• Photo courtesy of the Rotaract Club of Tucson.

It's time to test your Game of Thrones knowledge for a worthy cause. The local Rotaract Club is hosting its annual charity night to help fund educational programs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI aims to help friends and families with loved ones that have a mental illness. All the programs are free and bilingual classes are available.

The trivia night will be held on at 8 p.m., Tuesday, June 18, at the The Canyon's Crown Restaurant and Pub, 6958 E. Tanque Verde Road.

The Facebook event page says the entry fee is $10 per person, or $55 for teams of 6.

Go here to RSVP.

Ah yes, Cinco De Mayo. Also known as "Cinco-De-Drinko" because Americans needed another reason to drink on a Monday. Apparently, Mexico doesn't really care for the fifth of May. I guess Mexicans don't feel the need to celebrate an American holiday that has tricked the masses to drink margaritas in honor of Mexico's independence four months early.

Gabriela Frias, CNN en Español anchor and journalist, has eloquently explained the importance of the Cinco De Mayo in Mexican history, and how to conduct yourself if you do find yourself in the motherland on that particular uneventful day.

MONDAY - “Stravenue” (Whiskey Del Bac’s Mesquite Clear, aperol, cocchi torino, tobacco tinkture) from bartender Jon Holcombe.

TUESDAY - "Fickle Muse" (Whiskey Del Bac’s Mesquite Clear, peach shrub, lemon juice, Dragoon’s Saison Blue) a twist on a French 75 from bartender Eric Evans.

WEDNESDAY - "Fickle Muse" (Whiskey Del Bac’s Mesquite Clear, peach shrub, lemon juice, Dragoon’s Saison Blue) a twist on a French 75 from bartender Eric Evans.

THURSDAY - “Carried Away” (Whiskey Del Bac’s Mesquite Clear, Aquavit cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, mole bitters) from bartender Ryan Saunderman AND “Stravenue" (Whiskey Del Bac’s Mesquite Clear, aperol, cocchi torino, tobacco tinkture) from bartender Jon Holcombe. 

Highly-regarded Tucson homebrewer and owner of the soon-to-open Iron John's Brewing Company John Adkisson, showed us around his new brewing facility not long ago, as we talked to him about the State of Tucson Craft Beer. As we spoke, we couldn't help but wonder: Where did the name "Iron John" come from?

The answer is below.

If you can't listen, check out the transcript below the jump.