The ABCs of the Mountain Time (+ MPLS) Big Cities

A year ago I wrote a thing about the brilliance of urban life in the American West - mostly the Mountain Time metropolises of Salt Lake City, Denver and Phoenix, and then added Portland to that. We can ignore Portland for this, and return to those three cities, plus one I wanted to add as it shares so many of the positive things of those three, and that being Minneapolis. Now, Minneapolis is notably not in Mountain Time (though if we go to year-long daylight savings time, neither may Phoenix, who may at that point stay at what amounts to Pacific Time all year). Also, Minneapolis is notably not mountainous - something I didn't know on my first trip. Granted, neither is, again, Phoenix. But these four cities collectively make up places that are just great to spend a weekend, or take a few extra days off and explore. I've done that at least three times in each - the quick stats (not including trips related to work):

Phoenix: 5 times (2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026)

Denver: 4 times (2015, 2021, 2024, 2026)

Salt Lake City: 4 times (2018, 2024, 2025, 2026)

Minneapolis: 3 times (2022, 2025, 2026)

Most of the above were basically weekends, taht include the luxury of getting off early on Friday local time (particularly true of Phoenix if it is daylight savings time anywhere else). They were al quite good trips, and I think tis time to give some contained recommendations about them, good ol' A-B-C's style.

I will note which cities are applicable for each letter, designating them by their letters (D,M,P,S - you can figure it out). Some letters will be applicable to more than one.

A is for  Art Museums  (D, M, P)

Let's start with one people may not expect, but is absolutely true - the art museums in Denver, Minneapolis and Phoenix are incredible. All three have one main art museum (Denver and Phoenix are obviously named, Minneapolis is the Minnesota Institute of Art). The Denver and Minneapolis ones are truly global - giant sections of Asian, African and American art. Phoenix is maybe a bit narrower, but probably has the best American art out of any of them, adn some great roving exhibits. They are also all well attended. Even outside of the main spot, Phoenix has the Heard Museum, which in some ways is an all-Native American art museum, and Minneapolis has two other great art museums in its city limits - the Walker Art Museum (near the sculpture park, also great!) and the Weisman Museum on the UofM grounds. Minneapolis sees itself, rightly so, as a great arts city, but Denver and Phoenix are right there.

B is for  Beerhive Pub  (S)

Unsurprisingly, Denver and Minneapolis have great craft beer. Phoenix, maybe more surprisingly, does as well. Salt Lake City may lag slightly behind in true craft spots, but makes up for it with the Beerhive Pub - placed smack dab in the heart of the city. Being Utah, there are very rigid rules regarding ABV for drafts (max of 5%). There is no such restrictions on bottles, and where that leaves us is Beerhive, which has 10 nominal taps, but literally 200 bottles. Many from Utah, many from other places. The bartenders also seem knowledgeable about any of them. I do love this undercurrent in SLC of giving the Mormon-ism lip service, but absolutely hammering any loophole, in this case the bottle rule. Honestly, I say this, maybe the best bottle/can collection of any beer bar I have ever been to.

C is for  Craft Beer Bar Nirvana  (P)

And now for the other underrated city - Phoenix has lovely craft breweries (one will be highlighted in a bit), but also has two of the very best beer bars I have been to - The Wandering Tortoise, sitting a bit outside the city, and The Theodore, right in the heart of the action. Both are similar in set-up - massive center bars, tons of seating around it, a mix of indoor and outdoor (as is SOP in Phoenix), and about 20 tap selections, color coded (green is IPAs, blue is Lagers, purple is Stout, etc.), from all over. They also offered half pours before that was really a thing. In every way, Phoenix has the beer bar down better than basically any city. They invented a new way of doing it, in some ways, and the rest of the country, nay the world, is playing catchup.

D is for  Democratic  (D, M, P, S)

All four cities are blue cities. Granted, most cities are. But in the case of Denver and Minneapolis, they are far, far left. Never have I seen so many pro-LGBTQ insignia in restaurants and bars and coffee-shops. Minneapolis has anti-ICE stuff everywhere. Salt Lake City and Phoenix get in the game too (anti-ICE is big in Phoenix, for obvious reasons). Now, all four have also the other hallmark of left heavy cities, namely homelessness issues, but then again so does every city. The open layout of the cities makes it probably seem worse. Anyway, the fact all are bastions of inclusivity is a great trait.

E is for  EDM Nirvana  (D, P)

I should note, Minneapolis has a few EDM spots, including the Loft at Skyway Theater and various shows organized by Simshows, but those pale in comparison to the stuff at The Black Box and Walter's WhereHouse. Both are among my favorite US clubs, both with startlingly little pretension, great vibes, incredible acts, cheap drinks, great ventilation. Walter's is one of a kind - a giant warehouse (hence the name) with randomly an art museum type area, weird furniture and stuff. The Black Box is more what you think of when you think of EDM spots, but about as good as one as you can have, and holds a special place in my heart as it was the first EDM club I went to after Covid, on my trip to Denver in August, 2021. ofr that alone it sat high in my estimation and has only increased since.

F is for  Foreign Food  (M)

For purposes of this, I am excluding Mexican from "foreign", mostly because there will be another letter covering the great Mexican food. But Minneapolis, home to notably a large Somali population, and a large Vietnamese (Hmong) population, and other ethnicities, has some incredible cuisine. Underratedly so, to be honest. They have some of the best Vietnamese, Loation and Cambodian cuisine in the cuontry - Gai Noi being one of their standout restaurants. The Somali and muslim food is also excellent, from Sambusa's (Ethiopian version of samosas) being a highlight. Also if we are counting Northern Europe as foreign, and we should, add in great Polish and Scandinavian food. Minneapolis really is underrated as one of the great food cities in the country.

G is for  Gardens  (D, P)

Botanical gardens aren't everyone's thing. But it is fun that both of these two cities have large, notable ones. Even funnier when you consider that Pheonix is, notably, mostly a desert - but the aptly titled "Desert Botanical Garden" is lovely - featuring not only dozens of catctus varieties, but also a ton of other flowering plants. Overall, it is a wonderful place to just get lost. Denver's is a more traditional larger, sprawling botanical gardens (the Phoenix one has a quite detailed, sensible layout and path), but another place to just get lost. Extra credit to Denver for it basically being in the city center area to some degree - them just carving out a few blocks for a beautiful botanical garden.

H is for  Hiking  (D, P, S)

I think my love of hiking crystallized itself on my 2018 trip to Salt Lake City - three straight days driving out to either Big Cottonwood Canyon or Little Cottonwood Canyon, and hiking up slopes that four months earlier were home to some of the great ski slopes of America (e.g. Snowbird, Brighton, Alta). The best one being the winding, brilliant hike in Brighton up to the Lakes of Mary, Martha and Catherine - a lovely 2.5-hr, 1,300 foot elevation gain hike. Cecret Lake is another great one. Of course, Denver has great hiking, be it in the Rockies, or my pet favorite, the hikes within Golden Gate Canyon State Park (a lot closer to Denver than the further away than you think Rocky Mountain National Park). But, you will notice, I threw a "P" in there, because Phoenix has excellent hiking if you know where to look, be it the South Mountain plateau that sits south of the city, or something further afield like the Heiroglyphs Trail, which has the msot massive, stunning saguaros you will see. Overall, hiking lives anew in these areas.

I is for  Iconoclasm  (S)

Bare with me for a second on this one. What I really mean on this is that Salt Lake City is a city of a crazy push and pull, the push of the Mormon church and the moral repressiveness that comes with it, but then this new generation that is not nearly as religions pushing back, be it the canned high-ABV beer, the number of gourmet coffee shops, or more. But then you do get the things that try to play into that repressiveness - craft sodas being as popular as craft beer, for instance. I don't know if it was Portland or somewhere else that tried to own the "Keep X Weird" tag-line, but I think it applies as much to Salt Lake City as anywhere, especially since whichever side of the Mormon line you fall, it is true.

J is for  Just Drive  (D, M, S)

America is a driving country. This pisses a lot of people off, and maybe it should. I'm not looking to argue that point here. What I am looking to say is that there may be no better examples of why a drivable city is a great thing than these four. They all have room to expand in many directions from their nominal downtowns, and all have done so and created so many great little neighborhoods along the way. I only don't have Phoenix here beceause I haven't really explored thsoe areas as much as the various districts of Denver, of Salt Lake, and certainly of Minneapolis which goes from downtown to lush trees, museums, breweries real quick. The best part is, though, that all four cities somehow rarely ever have traffic. Denver and Minneapolis can get a bit on teh freeways that crissc-cross the city, but in city proper they are easily drivable, rarely with any delays, and just wonderful to roam around. Compare these to like Houston, which sprawled like these three, but in the very worst ways.

K is for  Kindness  (M, S)

Minneapolis and Salt Lake City have some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Minnesota Nice is of course a bit of a stereotype and cliche at this point, but they've absolutely done everything to earn that reputation. So many smiles, so many hellos, so many pleasant bartenders, so many people who love welcomign you to their city. Salt Lake City is similarly so, potentially maybe an outcome of their missionary history with the LDS, but you can stray as far away from LDS thinking as possible (say, at the ol' Beerhive Pub there) and still get a ton of nicety. Now, this shouldn't be read as me saying the other two are not nice, but Minneapolis and Salt Lake City are a cut above.

L is for  Los Taco Boys (P)

Cheating here, because T has too many good options, but lets hear it for The Taco Boys. The first thing I ate in Phoenix, just after taking my first flight in 13 months back in April, 2021, was a Taco Boys set of tacos. ITs a small, unassuming spot with a charcoal grill setup going at all times. They have their side bar of fixings, including some wonderful salsas, and then of course the actual food. The tacos are graet, but to me the star is their burritos. At this point, they've opened up a couple more locations, and Taco Boys is something of a famous spot. This also should stand in for all the great Mexican food in Phoenix - it will never get the publicity for having great Mexican food, like Southern California or Houston to, but to me Phoenix is right up there with those.

M is for  Meteor  (M)

The next time I update my top cocktail spot rankings (stay tuned for late September, after my upcoming Japan trip), expect Meteor to get a bit of a bump. The acts at Skyway Theater didn't really do it for me this time, so I spent both Friday and Saturday night at just Meteor, which might just be the most unique craft cocktail bar I have been to. From teh outside, it looks like a dive bar. From the inside, it looks even more like a dive bar. It looks like a place that should have 15 beers on tap and great wings deals. It does have some beers on tap, and great hot dogs. It also has some of the msot inventive, funky, interesting cocktails - an ever-changing menu, a great price point ($14 for their concoctions, $10 for standards), and cool bartenders and all the rest. This specific combination should not exist, yet it does. Meteor is one of a kind.

N is for  Natives  (M, P, S)

All of these cities are built in areas that were native lands. Granted, all of America is, but all of these were somewhat recently. I'm sure Denver has done a lot to honor that, but I want to call out some amazing things in teh other three. Salt Lake City spends a lot of space in its Natural History Museum talking about the various tribes that called this Utah area their home. Minneapolis does the same in its Science Museum, and has what is often seen as the premier Native American restaurant in teh country in Owanmi by the Sioux Chef. None of these is close, though, to the Heard Museum in Phoenix. I mentioned it in the Art Museum section, and for good reason, but those 2-3 exhibits showcase native artists. The rest of the museum is a stunning, painstaking, exhaustive look at both the history, clothing, rituals, arts, etc., of nearly every tribe in the Western part of the country, but also the horrors, a large permanent exhibit on the re-education schools that so many young native children were forced to attend in the 1800s. The Heard Museum is a must-do.

O is for  Ogden  (S)

I'm loathe to go too far into this area of starting to look at secondary cities that are somewhat close to main locations, but Ogden deserves a shoutout. First off, it is only about 30-45 minutes from Salt Lake City. If you look at google maps, the ever unmistakable white background taht designates urban areas (vs green for more rural, or brown for desert/mountains) makes up the entire stretch between the two. Ogden is a lovely little town, but what it really has is access to a whole new set of hiking areas, from the Wheeler Canyon, where I went this year, to tons of nice lakes. There's also a lovely, fairly famous Weekend market in Ogden, something so notable that many make the pilgrimage up from SLC.

P is for  Prehistoric Exhibits  (D, M, S)

Like most kids, I loved dinosaurs. Like many adults, I still do. The Great Plains & Rockies are dinosaur heaven - so many fossils just awaiting being discovered - and Denver, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis has done really well to showcase this in their main Natural History museums. Salt Lake City's is probably my favorite - a very Utah-heavy showcase, with such range, from a giant, and a mean giant, sauropod, to a wall full of Triceratops skills (and many cousins of Triceratops), and so much more. Denver is larger, but more international. Minneapolis was wonderfully restrained and detailed. All three are wonderful parts of great museums in general, but my favorite of all is probably the Salt Lake City one.

Q is for  Quiet  (D, M, P, S)

This is tied into the driving-heavy nature of the cities, but even in the downtowns, they are just quiet. Now, behind doors, the cities aren't. The nightlife is very strong in all four (yes, Salt Lake City included) but that too is a bit spread out, and largely people driving or ubering to these things. There is the outdoor / indoor nature of most of the spots, but there is a lovely calmness and silence in these cities. Some may call it depressing or sad, but when you realize  how lively they are behind the scenes, you love the fact it isn't urban maw.

R is for  Rockies  (D, S)

Mountain backdrop for cities is probably as great a visual as you can get - from European alps, to the Andes as the imposing backdrop to Santiago, to I guess even Table Mountain with Cape Town. The best in teh US are probably Denver and Salt Lake City. Now, Denver is probably a bit too far away from the Rockies to compete with Salt Lake City as the best visual. The city - the capitol building, the downtown, all with that mountainous backdrop is just amazing. It's stunning in both the summer or of course the snowcapped peaks of the winter. There is few views better than Salt Lake City.

S is for  Street Art (D)

Maybe the other cities have this, and certainly they all have some of it, but Denver's crazy murals in teh RiNo district alone are notable, but that same artistic energy is basically present all over the city. Denver's murals and street art make various blocks come alive. Both fun to tour during the day and the backdrop for when the cities streets in RiNo come alive during the night. Really, the RiNo murals are a small, open-air, art museum.

T is for  Travail  (M)

There's good food and tasting menus in all four cities, but my favorite, probably by a good measure, is Travail - or more accurately titled Travail Kitchen & Amusements - adn they learn hard into the amusement aspect, both in some quite whimsical dishes, but also the energy. It is the closest thing I've seen to Gaggan where the energy, music, "fun-ness" of the meal was such a part of it. The food is great as well, from thigns like elevated fondue, to duck tostadas, to generally incredibly well cooked mains, to a thrown together mish mash of dessert things made to resemble the milk left on a cereal bowl, and so much more. Travail is a clear recommendation for anyone visiting Minneapolis. All the other tasting menu spots I've been to in these cities (Demi in Minneapolis, TableX in Salt Lake City, Course in Phoenix and The Wolfs Tailor & Beckon in Denver) are very good and worth it, but Travail is a total gem.

U is for  United  (D)

V is for  Vecina and  Viet Gai Noi  (M, P)

I can't only talk about tasting menus. I can't also only minimally expand that to just talk about street food and lwer-end of price range stuff like Taco Boys. There is of course that sizable middle of just normal restaurant (for lack of any other way to describe it), and two of the best happen to share a starting letter. Vecina is upmarket Latin food. Granted, that seems like a cliche, but what I love about it is the care they take to have interesting things on the menu, their fancy tacos are truly fancy (various duck and lamb preparations), their use of cactus is divine. The cocktails are excellent too. The Minneapolis equivalent laser focuses on Laotian and Vietnamese cuisine, but there's no pho (though you can get great pho elsewhere in MSP), but graet laab, great sausages, great noodles and so much more - its a huge space (while Vecina is quite modestly sized) and full all the time. Two great restaurants in that mid-tier (e.g. $20-30 entrees).

W is for  Wren House Brewing (P)

I already spoke on beer in Phoenix in general earlier on, but will quickly shout out my favorite craft brewery in Phoenix, Wren House, which since my first visit has expanded. They have a great collection of anything from 12-18 taps at any time - generally of which five or so are a collection of IPAs based on their brilliant Spellbinder IPA. They also ahve some good stouts, and just a great vibe as well. The place just feels like home, mostly because the place was a home that has been converted into a brewery. Great indoor/outdoor seating, great beer, generally great food trucks they bring along - it is quite a spot.

X is for  Xcellent Weather  (D, P, S)

Granted, there is a huge season exception here, being Phoenix is probably unbearable from May through October. I say probably because I've never gone to Phoenix in those months - for obvious reasons. I have gone in April, and it was hot, but dry heat and largely fine. I've gone in December and January, and it is magical. Denver is great all year round - yes every now and then they get a terrible snowstorm, but they also have more sunny days than any other city in the country (or some such). Salt Lake City similarly is love from June through October, and to be honest the snowcapped mountains are lovely in the winter. When you factor in the top level ski slopes a stones throw for SLC, there is no real bad time to go there. I only don't have Minneapolis in this because it truly is unbearable in winter (had to go once, for work) but April through November is great there too. The throughline of these three though is dry heat from elevation (even Phoenix is elevated at 1,000 feet) which when you combine that with the cool breeze and air much of the year, you get somethign special.

Y is for  Yeti  (D)

Colorado proper was one of the first states to really become notable in the great craft beer revolution, and one of the standard bearers of that was Great Divide - famous for their various "yeti" beers. Their taphouses in Denver proper are beautiful places to sample a ton of beers, mostly all excellent, and meet some of the absolutely best weirdos you ever will meet. Great Divide is an institution in Denver, and it is also one in our friend circle, where notably on our 2015 trip to Denver we were at Great Divide when the edibles we took kicked in and basically ended our day. Great times!

Z is for  Zero Regrets  (D, M, P, S)

As you can see from when I laid out the years of my trips to these four places, they have picked up in pace. 2026 is the first year I visited all four, but it was three of the four in 2024, 2025 as well. I always try to do a couple new things, be it restaurants, breweries, museums, hikes, etc. I've written a couple times before about how familiarity is a big part of my life, travel-wise (and to be real, overall), and while Cape Town is probably the #1 example of that, right up there is me finding comfort in these four places. Also helps that I can scatter them around - Phoenix a wonderful escape in winter, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis brilliant in Summer, and Denver generally fine all year. These cities are gems of America in the best way. Visit them, visit them all, and explore and enjoy.

My Top-27 Favorite EDM Clubs

Closed - Habitat Living Sound  (Calgary, Canada - 2019) (was #7)

I'm not sure if they're open or not. They definitely closed for good soon after the pandemic, but then re-opened in 2021, but seem to have closed again. Anyway, it was an experience. The only real downside is that it wasn't that big of a space, but on the plus side, they had excellent crowd control, shockingly cheap and decent drinks (i.e. if you ordered a whiskey soda you got a decent amount of whiskey), and the DJs were all pretty good. The good crowd control actually made this one of the more pleasant clubs to be in. I mourn for Canada's loss here.

Was #11/21 - Espacio 93, Santiago

I don't think there has been any club I've been to that was more aggressively fast in its beats. This place was full momentum all the time. Also had some of the best architecture inside, with walls and poles and ledges and various rooms to enjoy the heavy, heavy, fast, fast beats. It was like a better, more compact, darker version of Club Under. The first night I went was some sort of BDSM type event so it was a bit out there. The second night was more traditional but the energy was unparalleled, even if it scared me out at times.

Was #3/25 - Reset, Cape Town

RIP, as this was another one that was a Covid casualty. Luckily Modular still exists, but Reset was just a better venue. With two levels and two performance spaces, a bit more light on the second floor, more heavy in the underground one. Bars had a lot of bartenders. They had great ventilation. The crowd control was decent, but just having it across two floors just made it all seem bigger and better. On the whole Reset was a fantastic place and a real loss in terms of nighttime entertainment for Cape Town.

27.) Pink Chihuahua  (London, England - 2022)

This was a surprising place that I went to twice on my last trip to London. First taken there by a couple work friends - one mostly who swore the place, which is downstairs of a latin restaurant, is great. What I found was perfect. Not too big, but not too crowded. Great mix of 00s hip hop and EDM, with amazing drinks, including some fantastic margaritas. It's only not higher because it isn't really an EDM club, and was more drink forward than music forward, which sin't really the case of most of these on the list.

26.) Pulp  (Melbourne - 2025)

We went to Pulp on a lark - I googled "EDM Club" and it was close by and seemed interesting. It played more hip-hop focused dance music (like dance remixes of 50 Cent and things like this) which was still good. The floor was small, but good airflow, great sound and decent drinks. The only two knocks against it I had was again the music being slightly more hip-hop focused (more an issue for the ranking, as I still like that type of music), and the bathrooms were, how to say, not the best. In the end though, a nice hidden spot in Melbourne.

25.) Aether  (Budapest, Hungary - 2024)

I almost didn't get a chance to experience Aether, as the top floor (same name) is a more traditional hip-hop type shop. But the second day I ventured down to in theory go to the bathroom, and saw the door in the corner leading to the real Aether, the real underground, fog machine, graet ventilation with a long bar, playing good classic techno EDM. Maybe because it was underground, it wasn't too crowded either, but the crowd was there were in absolute love with the music and the energy of the place.

24.) Bizarro (Lima, Peru - 2023, 2025)

Bizarro has two rooms. One plays more latin/reggeaton type beats. It's fun, it's packed. It's buttressed by a side room (ironically, the one you enter and exit from) which plays more traditional EDM, which is less crowded. Both are excellent, and the set-up is free-flowing between the two. But, to me who prefers more classical EDM/Techno, I'm happy it is the less crowded of the two. The drinks are decent and quick to serve, the dance floor is intimate but well lit and conditioned. Sometimes, you may feel you're missing out not spending more time in the Latin room, but to each their own.

23.) Womb (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

Womb was the most expansive club I went to in my time in Tokyo - easily the busiest and the largest. Three floors, all showcasing different types of music. The grournd floor with more underground, deeper EDM. The top floor with more traditional, laid-back house. Both of those two were my got to, with a giant laser-light and packed mainstream floor in the middle. Tons of bars, tons of people - it was just a great time in Tokyo. Only thing keeping it from being higher is it could've done great to have better ventilation - a small complaint as it was easy to not even realize getting lost in the great scene.

22.) Culture Club Revelin  (Dubrovnik, Croatia - 2017)

I debated whether or not to put this on the list, mainly because it is more of just all-around club than a EDM/House club. Granted they played a lot of that music, but they also played hip-hop, and had girls dancing in cages, and was more of a pure play party spot, than anything else. Not that it's bad. It migth be the best pure club I've been to, certainly the coolest atmosphere, but to me it fits on the list. Just go there knowing what it is.

21.) 45 East  (Portland, USA - 2025)

45 East is jsut a really good spot. Great set-up with two bars on the sides of a rectangular dance floor - with great lighting and good DJs. Good crowd as well, a good mix of people that fit your stereotypical view of "Portland" with those that coudl be showing up to a club in New York. That said, maybe it is that weird mix that has it a bit lower than the other Portland spot, because this place could be in a lot of cities. I don't know why that shoudl inherently matter in this ranking, but whatever - this is already super un-scientific.

20.) Cakeshop (Seoul, Korea - 2022)

Two clubs in Seoul make the list this time, and showcase the different elements of what makes Seoul a great city with everything. Cakeshop is lighter, airier, with a great bar on the side, and great tunes. It is a bit less hectic, less "clubby" and headbanging-ey than other spots in Seoul, with the same carefree attitude that made the city work. The music at Cakeshop was just perfect to enjoy, dance to, imbibe to, right in the heart of Itaewon.

19.) Herr Tlucache  (Oaxaca, Mexico - 2025)

An unassuming bar/restaurant by day transforms from 10pm onwards into one of the most intimate, weirdly fun spots I've been to. They go hard on EDM/Techno - no Mexican influence here (which I should say is not a critique on more Latin-inspired techno). It's real dirty stuff, but the dance floor is small, dim, inviting. The drinks are great and cheap and super cold (which is rare for a EDM club - helps that this is nominally a bar most of the time). All in all, it's an incredible little haven for EDM in a place that really shouldn't have it.

18.) Red CNX  (Chiang Mai, Thailand - 2026)

I was a bit wary about a club in Thailand, because Bangkok hadn't ever really delviered. Well, I shouldn't have had any worries, because Red was awesome - situated right off the main roads in an area with a few other spots, Red was pure EDM heaven - great acts (including some really great lineups with 4-5 DJs), cheap beer, some balloons that were a nice attempt, and of course strong red lighting everywhere. The drinks, while cheap, weren't the best made, which hurts it in my mind, as does a not great bathroom situation (yeah, margins are fine), but all in all it restored my faith in Thailand.

17.) Club La Feria  (Santiago, Chile - 2024, 2025)

Club La Feria is the most reputed club in Santiago, a very much late-night city. That said, I truly think it is my third favorite of their big three (one of which was Espacio 93 which shut down). La Feria gets some good acts, but its a bit too big. It can be a great vibe though when it has not as super well known acts, when its just normal folk spinning records. The floor is great, some great fun lighting, a great atmosphere. It's just one of those places that is probably a bit too popular and well crowded for me sometimes.

16.) Club Ambar  (Santiago, Chile - 2024, 2025)

If you ever go to Club Ambar in Santiago, avoid their main floor like the plague - the floor with all the trappings of the worst quasi-techno clubs that attract the worst type of crowd. But feat not, because two side rooms at Ambar are just awesome. First is the side room on the main floor, playing just a perfect style of house, with a truly great vibe. Then of course is the basement, with pure hardcore trance - with a cavernous underground feel to match. I've rarely seen a place combine such a mainstream (in a bad way) vibe in their main floor with such great underground vibes in their side rooms.

15.) Funk  (Mexico City, Mexico - 2026)

Man - if teh music itself was slightly better, this may have easily made teh Top-10 because everything else about Funk was awesome - to the quality of the drinks (really nice whiskey selection for a bar), the ventilation, the crowd, the space itself. Funk was a brilliant location, but the music, while not bad (read: too mainstream) was a little too slow for my taste. Granted, that very much could be the days I went there, vs other times - or maybe I ocerrate others because I got them at their best, but on the whole Funk was awesome.

14.) The Loft @ Skyway Theater  (Minneapolis, USA - 2022, 2025)

On the downside, they had maybe the worst drinks of any of them on the list, which is why its 8th. Admittedly they were strong, but their "soda" component of my whiskey soda order was basically water. But at least they were cheap. Anyway, let's get to the upside of the place. It had maybe the best ventilation system of any large space club i've been to. It was so airy, despite being crowded (not overcrowded) and them going heavy on the fog machine. Also the acts the day I went were spectacular. They seem to curate well as the place isn't open every day on the weekend. Great place, just don't expect drinks. **2025 Update: Moving it up as they've largely fixed the drinks problem - way better this time around. The sound system, light system and filtration remained stellar. Just a great spot.**

13.) Club Under  (Buenos Aires, Argentina - 2023)

Honestly, if I went to Buenos Aires in 2019 or a few years earlier, this probablhy would be higher up the list. The place was everything you want out of an EDM club - good ventilation, good music acts, a ton of people having a grand old time. They probably could use slightly better crowd control (granted, there was still a line to enter), as the Saturday I went it was astonishingly crowded. There's really no complaints here to be had, it was just a bit jarring to, for the first time at an EDM spot, feel old.

12.) Savage (Hanoi, Vietnam - 2019)

I have another Vietnam spot higher up the list. They are very similar in structure, but the main knock, the only knock, I have on Savage is that it was underground so it was a bit hot. They have one area that you enter that has more poppy house playing and a full bar, with another full bar in a shadowy back room that was hardcore EDM. Perfect mix of options, with full ability to move from one to the next. Savage also had full supply of balloons, more to come on that in a second here. Vietnam also has maybe the best bar service of any of these - in these cases the drink aspect is as much as the music, at least for the entry bar / area.

11.) The Den  (Portland, USA - 2025)

Hey now, this place was certainly more Portland, or if anything, more unique. One-Third art museum/exhibit, Two-thirds great warehouse style setup for a dance floor and stage, The Den was an awesome place to spend a night - super cheap drinks (for a club) as well. The DJs were excellent, and while admittedly they aren't exclusively EDM (the weekend before was more rock...), perusing their upcoming act list it seems they definitely skew EDM/Techno. The place had a great crowd, an excellent and airy set-up and kept a good crowd late into the West Coast night (which is a rarity given the early to sleep nature of that time zone...).

10.) Circulo del Arte  (Toledo, Spain - 2026)

On picturesque-ness and beauty of setting, this might be #1 or at least Top-5. Circulo Del Arte is a large arts space taking up an old church in the center of Toledo - it is haunting, mystical, beautiful arriving to looks backlighting the altar with teh DJ as priest. The space truly was incredible. The music was reasonbly fine - this was a random not papered over day (they, like most Spain clubs, were on their summer break), but the drinks were cheap and nice and that space. I can't get over it - I just wish the pictures made it look better and more like as amazing as it was.

9.) D-Edge  (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 2025)

One of the weirdly great places I've been to that combine the worst parts of corporate club world (a card taht tracks all your purchases that you close out when you leave) with the greatest industrial setting on the banks of Gamboa Beach. The setting is amazing. The crowd is great. The drinks are plentiful and fairly cheap. My only real complaints is I wish the music went harder (at least when I was there), and the whole wristband corporate nature of it all. But still, it was an amazing nights in Rio at D-Edge.

8.) Saga  (Danang, Vietnam - 2026)

I wasn't sure what I was going to get with Saga, visiting on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They're open seven days a week 10p-4a, and unsurprisingly, the place got increasingly more crowded each day, but all of the days Saga showed itself to be wonderful. Great DJs, a really nice, intimate setup, great ventilation, great balloons (which as we'll get to in my update on The Observatory, matters a lot), cheap drinks, and a great crowd. Now, there is a question mark in my mind if I were to visit on a weekend - would it go up because the crowd would be bigger and in theory the DJ curation even better, or lower if it gets overcrowded (it is not a big space), but for what it is, Saga is a brilliant little gem in Danang, in a neighborhood with bunches of worse places.

7.) Vent (Tokyo, Japan - 2023)

I don't go to clubs wanting to see great architecture and design, but it is hard not to notice these aspects of Vent, a truly special club in Tokyo. The exposed concrete walls, the trees indoors, the high ceilings, the exposed cement bar. It was all just a cool vibe, a great scene. The music was excellent as well, really curated DT setlists and a great energy that attracted an equal mix of locals and foreigners. It was a spot that didn't allow photos (like Modular to come next, would put a sticker on your phone camera), which is a little nuance I actually have come to enjoy. This place was just about having a great time, with a beautiful visage to experience it all in.

6.) Walter's WhereHouse  (Phoenix - 2026)

I'm not sure when Walter's WhareHouse opened, a lavish warehouse-style club on the Western edge of main area Phoenix. Part art museum (the first bit is truly an art exhibit), part strange garage with weird cars and buses to walk in, and fully EDM heaven, Walter's WhereHouse is pretty damn perfect. It had some great, if unknown, acts when I went. I really hope it hasn;'t been open for years and I just never knew about it. But anyway, the only reason it isn't higher is that the drinks aren't the best - their scotch option was Cutty Sark.... They did have some decent IPAs though, and food available in the back lot until close. In the end, though, Walter's WhereHouse was one of the better surprises in recent memory.

5.) The Observatory  (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - 2019, 2023, 2024, 2026)

From the truly loungey lounge that is its main area, to a full service bar with tons of bartenders that make things quick, to the plentiful balloons, to the light, airy indoor more heavy EDM club that had great ventilation, to it also being on the fifth floor with great sightlines of Ho Chi Minh City around you, The Observatory was close to perfect. That Friday and Saturday night spent at it was about as good as it has ever been in a club experience. You truly feel like you are at a rooftop bar one second, and a hardcore EDM club the next. Just an incredible set-up, great msuic, great balloons, cheap but good drinks, and a great crowd with a good mix of locals and expats. It all added up to a perfect experience. **2026 Update: Sadly, dropping it as HCMC has banned use of balloons. Look it may be silly to drop it for that, but that was a unique element of The Observatory which did help. Still, even without it, the setting, the mix of the two bars and stages, the great crowds, all of it still makes for a fabulous night out**

4.) Oxford Art Factory  (Sydney - 2013, 2025)

I really don't know how I didn't have the Ox on the list until now, but after a triumphant return after 12 years, I quickly realized how much of an oversight taht was. Both stages are excellent, including one of the better pure performance-focused stages I've been to. The drinks are affordable. The people are excellent. The low-key vibe of the second room is great as well. My only real hesitancy moving it any higher is they show a mix of music, it isn't always EDM (as in sometimes they play rock music and the like) but when it is on, few places in the world are better.

3.) Modular  (Cape Town, South Africa - 2018, 2022)

I have to say, Modular gets way more crowded than my places at ahead of it, but they did a great job of not really making it feel that way, with three full service bars in the same area. They also had a pretty great ventilation and air conditioning. It was packed though. They had no real regard for crowd control. Modular had some of the better DJ sets I've heard in terms of quality top to bottom. If even you're in Cape Town, would fully recommend going there on Thursday. It's slightly less crowded, but every bit as good.

2.) Club Faust (Seoul, Korea - 2022)

If I described Club Faust, a dark, large room that is open from 12am-7am, with a series of artists and DJs, you could probably well picture what Club Faust looks like. It is what it is, which is just perfect for what it is trying to be. Seoul is a lot about glitz on one end, but heart and passion on the other. No one would go to Club Faust to be "seen", mostly because you effectively literally cannot see anyone all that well. After a while your eyes do get adjusted, and your ears are great from the get go.

1.) The Black Box  (Denver, USA - 2021, 2024, 2026)

There's one major question mark in ranking The Black Box this highly, and that is the fact that when I went in August 2021, they were still doing a reasonable amount of crowd limiting due to covid. There was no mask restriction, but they were operating at half capacity. That said, even if you double the crowd I don't think it would have been so much worse. The space was great - with lounge area with another DJ space when you enter, and a much larger space in the interior. Other than my place at number one this place had the best bar set-up, with at least five bartenders working, and the ability to go to the bar in the outside area at any time. The music was uniformly excellent, with generally three acts that all were great each day. **2026 Update: The Black Box did indeed remain excellent post Covid - I don't know of a palce that does better mix of crowd, good crowd control, great DJs, and a perfect stage and floor set-up. The drinks are also cheap, plentiful, including being Denver some wonderful craft beers. The side stage / lounge is also great as well. There's really no downside here.**