The Red Room

I had never suspected that the Red Room served any beer, probably because I was so distracted by the beer and the... interesting atmosphere.

The old location on 6th and Main caught my attention when one of my buds told me about an experience he had when one of the regulars randomly walked up, patted him on the back and said, "well hey there, neighbor." (no, it was not Mr. Rogers).  When I decided to check it out, well I never had a neighborly greeting, but my ears did hurt from all the noise.

We made a return visit not long after their move to the old Terrepin Station seven blocks to the west.  Again, no neighbors, but it was a lot larger then the original location - with similar decor.  Never went here for one of their live concerts, which I bet is rocking.  Just get there early for a good spot!

I don't go here enough to give the full five stars, but I dig the Red Room. As others have mentioned, it's nine blocks and half a world away from Idiot Corner. I've been to a couple local shows since the place at 15th and Main opened, and went to Treefort shows there on two different nights (including the famous Teens show when they invited everyone to "come party" on stage). It was loud, crowded and a little rowdy - in the best way possible. The stage appears to be big enough for a three- to five-piece band, and doesn't create a lot of separation between the band and the crowd. It's easy to see why this is one of the more storied spaces in the history of rock in Boise. I mentioned the loud rock shows, but I've also enjoyed dropping in on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The beer selection ranges from cheap and domestic in a can to local pale ale - varied, but not overwhelmingly so. Finally, this is not a yuppie/family/tourist/let's meet there with our banking clients kind of place - so you should probably visit before someone with a bag full of money and no soul comes in and decides to "redevelop" the building.

Now that the Red Room has become the closest bar to my house, I've paid it a couple of visits.  I never set foot in the version on 6th and Main so I don't know how it compares, but I like the new digs.  It's red in there, as one might imagine.  It has velvet paintings on the wall, they do live band karaoke (and I seem to remember that has some sort of clever name...) on Thursdays sometimes, and there's an excellent selection of malt liquor if that's your thing.  I like to visit on slower days for a $5 grilled cheese sandwich, which is admittedly mediocre but still fits the bill, and I enjoy it while watching a movie on the screen behind the bar.  The bar tenders seemed really friendly and it's nice and loud when they have live music.