Best Cocktails
The Shelter
4155 E. Grant Road
READERS' PICK: How can you not order something with a twist
from a lounge where the bartenders are named Bart Brat and Starsky
Suavé? Sure, it all tastes like the same swill when you
get right down to it; but a diligently pulled, poured, mixed or
stirred intoxicant served with style and flair while you swivel
seductively in your barstool ceases to be any mere alcoholic beverage--it
is then worthy of the title "cocktail." Rumor has it
The Shelter makes the best Bloody Mary in town; but for
our buck, this is really the kind of place you ought to order
a Harvey Wallbanger. Asked about the origins of their recipes,
they tell us they're age-old, passed down for generations. Take
for example the Cosmopolitan, a Shelter favorite, made with Absolute
Currant, Cointreau, cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. They
never use pre-fab mixes, and never, ever is their alcohol dispensed
from a gun. They serve only the top of the line, even in well
drinks. Cocktails are always shaken, unless we're talking martinis--because
as any Shelter bartender knows, vodka martinis are shaken, but
gin martinis are always stirred. So go ahead and be picky--these
guys are polished, professional and eager to please.
READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Kon Tiki, 4625 E. Broadway, is
a strange island in a parched desert. Doggedly standing by that
tradition of naming fruity rum drinks with impossibly undignified
names invariably involving volcanos and neurological disorders,
this kitschy Polynesian lounge still serves the drinks guaranteed
to make you wish the evening's revelry was all a just a bad dream.
Word to the wise: If you wake up with more than five paper umbrellas,
you'll probably have some expaining to do.
