The drummer, Chris Jessee, is reeling from a break in which the bandleaders - saxophonist David Halliday and guitarist Corey Christiansen - have given him incisive feedback on how to improve the second set. He introduces me to some members of the band. I spot guitar player Chris Kaukauli, a recent graduate of Jazz Studies at the University of Utah who teaches lessons and gigs around town. (I would understand why a bit later.) The crowd is mixed - young and old, alone and accompanied, dressed casually and more formal. The earthiness of the beets cuts straight through the sweetness of the blackberry in this drink-a perfect concoction and hard to sip slowly.Īs I try to find familiar faces, I notice a surprising amount of chatter. Even though I typically stick to gin, I ordered “Three Beets to the Wind”: Rittenhouse Rye, beet simple syrup, lemon, and blackberry with a basil garnish. For the more straightforward drinker, they have thoughtful approaches to classic cocktails such as a French 75 or Dark and Stormy. Snap pea simple syrup, mole bitters, and other refined ingredients such as saffron and nutmeg make for tasty and highly sophisticated libations. The disparate textures, patterns, and styles somehow feel cohesive and amuse the eye.įrom the stairs, I walk straight into a smaller, more intimate bar featuring an elaborate cocktail menu and extensive beer and wine list (and by extensive, I mean over one hundred options).Īt its heart, this place is a craft cocktail bar capturing a Utah variation on the trend that has swept the nation in the last decade with artisanal approaches to spirit-based beverages. Leather booths line the exposed-brick walls, and a large wrought iron chandelier hangs above the audience. Canopy loveseats with dark velvet fabrics sit next to button tufted leather sofas straight out of a Restoration Hardware catalog. Victorian meets modern dictates the design. The room is as long as the ceiling is low, giving it just the right amount of coziness. The band was on a break but I could see a guitar, saxophone, upright bass, and drum set resting under the spotlight in the dimly lit space. When I entered the Rabbithole, I did not hear jazz. The Rabbithole, a listening room hidden beneath Lake Effect, offers a premium version of this music in a rendition of its original historical setting every Wednesday. But very few of these hidden bars offer live jazz - the sonic backdrop of the decade also known as The Jazz Age. This vogue is especially relevant for Utahns who might feel uncommon liquor laws echo those of the 1920s. Recreations of Prohibition-era clubs (sans gangster violence) is enticing for mixologists and refined drinkers alike. Hidden bars and speakeasies are in vogue. I was headed to the basement lounge to hear jazz. A soulful singer-songwriter sitting behind his electric keyboard entices me to stay but this was not my destination. When I walk in, the long bar draping the entire right wall attracts my attention and a John Legend cover, my ears. Lake Effect’s modern take on 19th-century decor and alluring atmosphere wrapped in the diaphanous sounds of quality music drifting out onto the street set this bar apart from all others in Salt Lake City. It isn’t until I see the Victorian-era, round-a-bout conversation chairs peer behind the patio that I know I’m in the right place. The sign for my destination is small and unassuming, a lit marquee engulfed by an array of larger business signs. Cloud MN | St.I think I’m on the wrong street again. Rio Grande St #2072, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 | Artsopolis Network Members: Akron OH | Austin TX | Bainbridge Island WA | Birmingham AL | Boston MA | Cape Cod MA | Charlotte NC | Cincinnati OH | Cleveland OH | Colorado Springs CO | Columbia SC | DuPage County IL | Durham NC | Flagstaff AZ | Flint MI | Fort Lauderdale FL | Indianapolis IN | Kalamazoo MI | Kansas City MO | KeepMovingOKC | Macon GA | Main Line Area PA | Marin County CA | Marquette County MI | Mendocino County CA | Middlesex County NJ | Milwaukee WI | Montgomery County MD | Nantucket, MA | Napa Valley CA | Nashville TN | Niagara County NY | Oklahoma City OK | Orange County CA | Orlando FL | Ottawa IL | Panama City FL | Pittsburgh PA | Providence RI | Richardson TX | Sacramento CA | San Antonio TX | San Diego CA | Sarasota FL | St. © Copyright 2023 - Utah Cultural Alliance.
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