Sin City in Scottsdale?
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In this month’s issue of 944 Magazine, we wrote a longer feature about the new developments at Scottsdale Quarter. In case you haven’t picked up a mag, you can read it below. Hope you enjoy!
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Nobody saw it coming. Caesars Palace has apparently opened a second location and it landed right here in the Valley. Operating under the moniker of “Scottsdale Quarter,” Caesars Palace Scottsdale is killing it. The new spot is working so well, we’ve been hearing rumors that the Vegas original may change its name from Caesars Palace to “Scottsdale Quarter.”
Kidding. Of course Scottsdale Quarter wasn’t built by Caesars, but it was built by a powerful company with a lot of %^&*ing money, and lots of money usually attracts more money. Caesars and Quarter have a bunch in common–a bacchanalian vibe, gargantuan spaces, hot chicks, pricy stuff to eat and drink, Mediterranean overtones, and a crazy escalator.
On a recent weekend, we checked out a few of the new venues that were part of the opening assault that took place over December and January. Over half a dozen places turned their lights on, with over half a dozen more coming the next couple months. If you read any of the local food blogs, it might seem like 87 new places have opened here – they’re not far off, but they’re definitely excited to have something positive to talk about. (Since many aren’t too impressed with CityCenter downtown. Oh wait, CityCenter’s in Vegas. We mean CityNorth. No? $&*#! That’s up near Desert Ridge. We mean CityScape. Yep, it’s CityScape in downtown Phoenix. Wow, we sure do have a lot of places with a lot of places around here.)
First stop, TK’s Urban Tavern, where apparently “people are doing backflips when they see our prices on wines by the glass,” according to co-owner Brian Pierce. Can’t say we saw any backflips, but the place was packed and humming with energy. According to Chef/Owner Patrick Fegan (Fiamma, Olive & Ivy, Gallo Blanco) they’ve been doing great in the short time they’ve been open.
That’s nice to hear. Really, it is. Apart from lighting that’s a bit too intense and acoustics that could use a dial adjustment (big glass and brick designs always require some sound absorption material), things seemed headed in the right direction. Although it would be nice if someone could explain WTF an “urban tavern” is, the food was all par. Exception: a Deviled Egg Salad appetizer was truly creative and it all worked. There’s an Apple Cobbler dessert that was incredibly delicious as well.
After dinner, as the night inched towards 9pm, cougar sightings increased with frequency. Primebar’s been open for almost a year now, and the shiny new places will certainly distract the mini-skirt masses for a little while, but we think balance will be restored soon and there’s enough love (read: plastic surgeon patients) to go around.
Once we left TK’s, it was easy to figure out where the cougars were headed. Like salmon, we simply jumped into the current and floated towards an escalator that leads up to an alternate universe. No joke. The second level of Scottsdale Quarter is one of the wildest places in town.
Upon reaching the second floor, you’ll be instantly overwhelmed by the throngs of partygoers bouncing between Narcisse Champagne & Tea Lounge, Salt Ultra Lounge, and Tanzy.
Tanzy restaurant is where the ride, er, escalator, deposits you. According to Vice President of Marketing Mark Mulcahy, the restaurant’s name is derived from the Greek herb “tansy,” which Zeus gave to Ganymede, a Trojan prince, to make him immortal.
Too Greek for you? Just know this: Tanzy is a 40 gazillion-square-foot contemporary Mediterranean restaurant that you’ve really gotta see. It’s damn impressive. Yelpers have thus far given them a four-star average—and we all know that crowd’s hard to please. Then again, what else would you expect from a place that bills itself as “an extraordinary culinary experience!” (exclamation point not added by us)? Their web site also says “Tanzy’s crowning feature is its amazing passion infused to each entrée” … Now that’s Greek to us, but we get it – you’ve gotta be a little over the top in places like this.
Walking out of Tanzy, you’ll get pulled back into the current, where you can slip in Salt Ultra Lounge—the bar portion of iPic Movie Theater. iPic is to movie theaters what a Lamborghini is to a Mazda Miata. Here you’ll lounge in reclining seats with a full menu of food, waiter service, and blankets or pillows should you require one.
But let’s get back to Salt “Ultra Lounge.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the prefix “ultra” as “beyond what is ordinary, proper, or moderate.” Salt says they offer “amazing cocktails that are to die for.” With ultra statements like these, we wonder if they’re taking cocktails so far into the future, that they might actually kill people. So instead of reviewing their drop-dead cocktails, we’ll simply review their tag lines and descriptions, because that’s more fun anyways.
“The creative menu, mixed crowd and lovely, lounge space takes Salt’s amazing cocktail fusions to another level.” Any guesses on what was the previous level that they are now taking us beyond? Who cares, because they are: “Redefining the Art of Fresh Cocktail Mixology.” Don’t you just love it when things are RE-defined before they’re actually defined? Really, we’re still too busy killing ourselves over these drinks. You know who else might kill themselves? Mixologists who’ve been doing real cocktails for a while now, because Salt claims: “The Art of Creative Cocktail Mixology has Arrived in Scottsdale!” Thank goodness, because other mixologists have been waiting for a long time.
One thing we’re actually surprised about is that no one’s done a bar focused on Champagne before Narcisse Champagne and Tea Lounge opened at Scottsdale Quarter. Smart move for the guys who own Barrio Cantina. Another thing we’re surprised about is that Kelly Wearstler and Crate & Barrel had a bastard spawn, and that’s the way it’s decorated.
Narcisse describes their name derivation as follows—“The word Narcisse is derived from a Greek myth. Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus.”
Storyline aside, we must admit, 75 types of Champagne by the glass … in North Scottsdale … aimed at cougars and semi-wealthy dudes … they’re going to crush it weekly. Watch. Ironically, though, on a Saturday night you’re more apt to see crowds chugging vodka Red Bull’s over actual Champagne.
The Greek references between Tanzy and Narcisse are totally appropriate as everything is as big as the Roman coliseum, or at least Caesars Palace. When the places get packed, they resemble an apocalypse, but more an apocalypse inspired by the 1980’s. Swear we saw Madonna in her pearls and fishnet. Spandau Ballet impersonators were hanging on the VIP level. And that “You spin me right round baby right round” guy was there too.
We bet they expand that bar almost immediately. It does a poor job of servicing the entire, huge room, leading to insane bottlenecks and ‘roided out customers jostling for their ordering positions. That VIP level we were talking about is almost half the club, which kinda makes sense based on their own description:
“This unique Champagne & Tea Lounge is suited to fulfill the desires and needs of the affluent self loved characters from all the surrounding areas of Scottsdale to metro Phoenix. The champagne bar will serve as an upscale destination with an air of sophistication and sensual style. The atmosphere inter mingles genres of stately old world opulence with a nuance of modern charm. Narcisse is a unique gathering place intended to stimulate the senses of taste sight and sound. Its progressive atmosphere will tease, excite and celebrate these senses continually throughout the experience.”
Yep, they just called their own customers self-loved. But what’s funny is that no one seems insulted by this. We guess it’s just a sign of the apocalypse. Or that the Greek empire is finally rising again, and it’s begin at Scottsdale Quarter, the Caesars Palace of AZ.
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