|
...Continued
from top
The look is defined by lots of glass, subtle lighting and gleaming metal. The music: jazz/world mixes. The biggest drink: Martinis in every form, usually flavored.
The Merc Bar is typical. No sign, just a tiny plaque out front alerting upwardly mobile customers who drink Martinis and wine while nibbling on cured meats and cheese board appetizers.
What do they drink? "Whatever is hot at the time; sweeter Martinis, usually vodkabased," said Carson Quinn, assistant manager.
Also popular at the Merc Bar is the Mojito, but the sweetest favorite is the Vacation Martini (Bacardi Vanila, Midori, pineapple juice and sour mix) and the Carson City (made with Absolut Citron, amaretto, sour mix and orange juice).
A lounge that attracts more local celebrities is 6, cited by InStyle and Esquire magazines as the local place to be seen. Fairly new on the scene is The Crown Room, where drinks come in larger sizes--either 15-ounce or 18-ounce glasses. Popular choices on the menu include the Pomegranate Martini, Thin Mint Cocktail and Ridge 3 Valley Zinfandel.
YOUNG AND LOUD
While these lounges seek to emulate trends on the Coasts, the Pussy Cat Lounge flaunts a cheesy Las Vegas ambiance, with dancing poles for customers to entertain themselves.
The Pussy Cat Lounge is part of the Scottsdale club scene that seeks young and monied customers. Many of these are restaurant/bar/lounge combos which can evade licensing, neighborhood and regulatory hassles associated with bars that serve only alcohol.
Some of the other establishments in Scottsdale that cater to the younger crowd and exploit the Martini theme are AZ88, the Martini Ranch, Sugar Daddy's and the Devil's Martini. The latter serves Sex and the City, made with Absolut Mandarin, Amaretto Disarrono, peach schnapps, orange juice and cranberry juice; and the Soprano, with Campari, triple sec, Absolut Mandrin and a shake of OJ. Other selections: The Turner, which is Stoli Razberi with triple sec and lemon juice, or the Kaiser Soze, shaken with Stoli Vanil, Kahlua, Baileys, milk and Goldschlager.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The young crowd can be split up into two groups. One just wants the old, reliable bar on the corner strip mall. The other is, "The group who likes the bar/club where there's a dance crowd and scantily clad women running around," said Eddie Shoebang, who covers the bar/club scene for the College Times, a local lifestyle publication.
The dance clubs attract the crowds that seek out sports and entertainment celebrities, so many of the clubs lure Arizona Cardinals football players and hip-hop stars on tour. "You want to be seen at a place that you can say you were there," Shoebang said.
The drink of the moment at some of the bigger night-clubs (6, NeXt, Sanctuary and Axis/Radius) is Red Bull mixed with vodka in a variety of forms. Another variation for the Atkins diet crowd: the low-sugar Red Bull, combined with a low-carb vodka.
Axis/Radius has been promoting Red Bull Vodka LiquidX drinks heavily on Friday nights. NeXt, a combination bar, restaurant and dance club, sells Shock and Awe cocktails (Red Bull added to a Long Island Iced Tea recipe) for $9, and Finlandia/Red Bull mixes for $4. For premium beer-lovers, NeXt sells Ace Pear Cider, Fat Tire (a favorite in Phoenix) and Widmer Hefeweizen.
WINE BARS
The Kazimierz World Wine Bar is one of the survivors of the wine-and-cigar-bar craze. Kazimierz is filled with over-stuffed upholstery, lit candles and glass decor. The bar's menu includes more than 800 bottles of wine and dozens of themed flight selections. Each flight has three, 3-ounce wine samples.
Manager Michael Burt changes the flight selection every four to six weeks to keep customers coming back to try the latest vintages. One wine that has been popular is Guntrum Scheurebe, a German white which is "very versatile and goes with a lot of foods," Burt said. The bright red bottle also helps the wine stand out in customers' memories.
Three-quarters of Kazimierz's sales are wine-based but Burt reports his cocktail-loving customers order Sorbet Martinis and Hangar One Vodka Martinis. A few ask for specialty whiskeys and gin, like Anchor Distillery's Junipero Gin. Kazimierz has served Lindemans Framboise beer, a Belgium raspberry-flavored beer, on draft since it opened three years ago.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
SPORTING CHANCE
If the East Valley of Phoenix is the hopping place for entertainment, downtown is desolate after office workers split around 5 .
A handful of downtown establishments cater to crowds who flock to sports events, concerts or conferences at the downtown convention center. These customers favor sports bars that are big, loud, filled with monitors, and promise a sighting of an NBA star in person.
Alice Coopers'town, named after the rock star owner, is the typical entertainment complex-style that appeals to the downtown worker and sports fans. Alice Coopers'town serves barbeque at a main dining area, and drinks at two bars.
To accompany the BBQ and homestyle cooking, Alice Coopers'town serves lots of Margaritas: the Prickly Pear (a frozen Margarita with gold tequila, triple sec, sweet and sour and lime juice) and the Waborita (made with Cabo Wabo tequila, orange liqueur, blue curacao and fruit juices).
Majerle's Sports Grill is one of the few restaurant/dance club/bars that are open past midnight downtown. The big seller at the club, owned by NBA all-star Dan Majerle, is beer. Martinis, especially chocolate and apple-flavored varieties, are big with the female customers. Low-carb beers, like Rolling Rock's Green Light beer, sold well at recent firefighters' nights there.
The downtown location also attracts a large clientele from local legal firms, so Scotches and other whiskeys are in demand.
"For a while, Hpnotiq was big, but that has dimmed in popularity," said Andrew Voeltz, bar manager. Majerles had ordered a case of the blend of French vodka, Cognac and tropical juice every week during the height of Hpnotiq's popularity. Now that order has been cut in half.
RELATED ARTICLE: LITTLE SOUTHERN BROTHER
Tucson is a beer-lover's town stocked with quirky bars filling the demand for good beer. And if a good beer can't be found, a tequila will do in this town filled with snowbirds, University of Arizona students and tourists.
The Shanty on Fourth Avenue (the entertainment district in downtown Tucson) is typical. The owners claim to have nearly 100 international beers to please the connoisseur.
The Nimbus Brewing Company Taproom sells house-brewed beers labeled with its signature performing monkey as well as lots of ales, both brown and pale. Its Southwestern Style Blond Ale is made with what it calls "locally produced, all-natural, mesquite-flavored killer bee honey"--a reference to the Africanized killer bees that are encroaching on the Southwest.
Anglophile beer-lovers can go to the Frog & Firkin, which sells Caffrey's, Fullers and John Courage on tap.
Among the theme bars--not counting the cowboy bars and the gringo-ized Mexican restaurants--is Kon Tiki. But it's not a revival of the Kon Tiki fad of the 1960s. Rather, it's a 40-year-old bar that has fossilized into a hangout for the young and nostalgic. The cocktail menu features a mega-sized Scorpion, Blue Hawaii, Oahu Island Iced Tea, Grasshopper, Alexander or banana-tasting .P. Water.
Another theme bar: The Shelter, crammed with 60s memorabilia. The place is known for its Dirty Martinis.
For tourists or people strolling along the 4th Avenue district and looking for some good music, the traditional favorite is Club Congress, located at the landmark Hotel Congress. The bar/restaurant has concerts as well as DJ nights.
Or, for some late-night drinks and a full noshing menu (which is hard to find in Tucson), go to the Kingfisher. The restaurant/bar sells the usual flavored Martinis, and for hard-core Martini lovers, there's the Grover's Martini, made with Bombay Sapphire and blue-cheese stuffed olives; and the Matt Helm Martini, made with Skyy Vodka, blue curacao and garlic-stuffed olives. Both go well with the oysters from the Northwest and Gulf of Mexico, ceviche, red trout and shrimp on the menu.
--AW
RELATED ARTICLE: TRAVELERS' CHOICES
Most Phoenix wine bars cater to a slightly older, affluent crowd--just like the bars at hotels and resorts there that serve tourists seeking warmth and golf. The tourist season here stretches from November to May, but even in the off-season, resort bars can rely on locals seeking beautiful views and celebrity spottings.
The Jade Bar, located in the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa, has a patio overlooking an infinity-edge pool and incredible views of surrounding mountains and city lights. Since it opened three years ago, the bar has become known as a place for the young and celebrated to drink.
In addition to the resort clientele and the young and celebrated, the Jade Bar attracts customers who live near the resort, said Pat Jasmin, general manager for the bar and Elements, the adjacent restaurant with an Asian fusion theme.
"You are going to see a Martini in front of someone at every table," Jasmin said. In keeping with the Asian theme, Jade sells premium sakes. The most popular: the domestic Momokawa, especially the pearl and raspberry varieties.
Another popular hotel bar: the J Bar at the newly opened James Hotel, a boutique establishment in Scottsdale that bills itself as a "dynamic new urban resort."
|