Las Vegas needs Diner Ross like a dancing shoe needs a good sole. Disco moves can’t really be executed properly without a good foundation, and DISCOSHOW, Spiegelworld’s production adjacent to the restaurant, will likely leave guests craving calories before the next adventure of the evening. That’s where the cuisine at Diner Ross comes into play, with complementary cocktails supervised by Niko Novick, executive director of beverage for Spiegelworld.
When designing cocktails for Diner Ross, Novick faced the challenge of making a menu that pivoted from previous efforts for Superfrico and Ski Lodge at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, as well as creations for DISCOSHOW bars Glitterloft and 99 Prince.
“The cocktail menus at Superfrico, Ski Lodge, Diner Ross and 99 Prince are as different as a martini and a frozen piña colada, which is to say, they couldn’t be more distinct,” says Novick. “What ties them together, however, is an obsessive commitment to quality: the finest ingredients, the sharpest techniques, and a refusal to serve anything mediocre.”
They also have to go along with the food and décor, which would not be out of place in a Quentin Tarantino film set in the ’70s. Disco fries smothered in gravy can be ordered for the table right away before perusing the menu for executive culinary director Anna Altieri’s dishes of debauchery.
“Diner Ross is built on nostalgia in every warm sense of the word,” says Novick. It’s deceptively simple, comfort-driven, and designed to remind you of flavors you forgot you loved, only now with much better booze.” Novick recommends a cocktail before dinner, and wine with entrées such as Buffalo Chicken Schnitzel or Fancy Meatloaf. “And not just any wine,” says Novick. “Our list doesn’t just complement the food; it takes things to another level. In fact, it might just be the greatest wine list in any diner in the world. I dare you to prove me wrong.”
Dessert can be accompanied by the Bananas Foster Carajillo, made with brown butter, charred banana-infused Licor 43 and espresso. Espresso martinis are on the menu as well, but Novick is most enthusiastic about the first cocktail created for Diner Ross, the Midori Negroni. It was a reimagining of the classic Negroni with an ingredient from “the dark ages of mixology” prior to the second golden age of cocktails in the 2000s. Novick calls it “a drink so outrageous that even suggesting the idea in a serious cocktail bar could get you 86’d. Naturally, that only fueled my determination to make it happen, because nothing sparks creativity like the possibility of ruining your own reputation. It turned out to be the hardest cocktail to perfect, but I couldn’t be happier with the result.”
He’s pretty happy with his Smokey & the Bandit and Wallbanger concoctions as well, and made two tributes to early ’70s disco pioneer and DISCOSHOW influence David Mancuso. The Mancuso Margarita is the namesake, while LSD (Love Saves the Day) pays homage to the name of one of Mancuso’s parties with a mix of Tanqueray gin, Danish Aquavit, lime and Earl Grey yogurt.
The Linq Hotel. spiegelworld.com
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