Saturday, October 7, 2017

We Walk into a Bar for Last Call

Inside the Red Square vodka tasting vault, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada
Red Square, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV
If you happen to be in Las Vegas on a hot day and want to cool off, of course there are an abundance of hotel pools to choose from. But if you really want to cool off on a day when the temperature’s in the mid hundred and teens, you might want something more drastically cold. You might want a vodka tasting at Red Square. The tasting room temperature ranges from zero to five below Fahrenheit (sure, Celsius would be more Russian, but the wait staff used Farenheit when they told me) The bar provides Doctor Zhivago style coats and caps to wear (but don’t worry, PETA fans. The coats are synthetic fur).


Las Vegas has more than its share of chain restaurants, but it also has some special places like Red Square -- places that provide unique dining and drinking experiences. Even though we didn’t try the vodka tasting, we still enjoyed the experience of sitting at the ice bar and watching what went on in the freezer room.


The experience actually started before we entered through the heavily carved double doors. Just outside, a giant headless statue of Lenin stands guard (his head is inside what seems to be an ice cube in the freezer room, and I can’t help wondering if the beheading was part of the difficult process of balancing a Soviet setting without honoring Communism. The statue’s shoes and the head also look as if pigeons expressed an opinion).


Inside, we looked at the Socialist murals on the walls before sitting at the bar just in time to hear “Last Call!” We’re usually home long before that, so we asked the bartender if we were too late.


Happily, we weren’t. We did have to pay quite a bit more than if we’d gotten there in time for  $6 happy hour cocktails, but I ordered a Red Dawn (“Wolverines!”) and Mindy went with White Russkie -- vodka was well represented in both drinks.


Staff was cleaning up and preparing to close, but they took time to talk to us. Matt was manager on duty that night, though he usually works in another Mandalay Bay restaurant, Citizens (both restaurants have the same ownership). I asked him what was unique about Red Square and that’s when I learned about the freezer vodka tastings and Lenin’s head. He said that sometimes the vodka is paired with caviar, and he pointed out the ice in front of us, which is  embedded in the bar. For some tastings, the vodka bottles stay cold on the ice, but when we were there, a nickel was embedded instead. Matt pointed out that the bar offers eighty to hundred varieties of vodka.


The food served at Red Square isn’t particularly Russian -- Matt said most people aren’t really looking for that. He described the menu as more “continental,” though they serve borscht on occasion. Red Square has been a part of Mandalay Bay since the opening, Matt said, and many of the employees have been there for years. The camaraderie of the staff makes for a better experience for guests.

I asked him the two questions we always ask, “What makes for a good bar?” and “Whether you go or not, what would make for a good church?”


Matt noted a good bar has a pleasant ambiance, a positive interaction with employees. People are welcomed, so they want to come back. Of course, Red Square isn’t a neighborhood bar -- Matt said maybe ten percent of their business is local. They mainly serve tourists, but many tourists return.  Matt said they have a number of guests from throughout the world, guests they’re happy to see return. Matt said people look for the same thing in a church: a family atmosphere.


Lina, a server, also talked about the importance of a family atmosphere in a bar. She told me a friend of hers worked in a small bar in Southern California where regulars chipped in to pay for medical expenses when she was sick.


Meanwhile, Mindy was talking to the bartender and trying to get the nickel out of the ice. The bartender’s name was Emerson (spelled “just like the TV,” he said). They talked about coffee, and he asked if we liked our drinks. She decided to ask him our questions, too. He said he looks for atmosphere in a bar, and people who show friendliness to everyone. He attends a local megachurch, Central Christian Church, where he especially appreciates the music and the speakers. “They uplift you; they make you feel part of the family.”

We don’t often hear last call in our bar visits, but we were at Red Square on the Friday night before the shooting rampage that originated from a hotel room in Mandalay Bay. We hope all the people we saw and spoke with there are well, and that there will be many more “Last Calls” invoked at Red Square. Emerson, Matt, and Lina made us feel like part of the family.








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