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| - What a cool little find! I first learned of Citizen R+D when a friend and his wife invited me out for a drink. When you approach the stairs leading up to the bar, which is behind Citizen Public House, you are confronted with a plain white sheet of paper on which are posted the "Rules."
In today's age of excess and access, I was a little taken aback at being told NOT to walk up the stairs to enter but instead to call the number at the bottom of the sheet of rules telling me what I could and could not do. Being that I was meeting friends, I acquiesced and dialed the provided digits. The guy who answered (Tony, coincidentally) was gruff and didn't seem particularly interested or professional. I had to ask if i'd gotten the right number, the response to which was "Ya, how many people you got?" I responded "four" and was told he'd be out in 10-15 minutes when a table became available. Needless to say I was irritated to wait in a dark alley reeking of sewage to get into another cookie cutter Scottsdale bar that was more pomp and circumstance than meat and potatoes.
About 10 minutes passed and Tony the doorman/waiter who turned out to be an affable big bear of a guy, came out and ushered us up the stairs to a door where we were stopped, asked if we had been there before (I hadn't), explained the rules, what to expect and then lead through a locked door to our waiting table.
Once inside, I could see the reason for the wait. There are only about 7 or 8 tables depending on whether or not two have been pushed together. Parties of 6 or more are broken up so small parties are better. The room is intimate, comfortable and inviting, the kind of place you WANT to sit down with friends and share a cocktail.
R+D bills itself as a "Speakeasy," harking back to prohibition days and therein lies of the reason for all of the cloak and dagger. Cocktails aren't merely "poured" they are actually "crafted" and everyone you come into contact with is well versed in what it is they are serving and how its being constructed.
I've now been several times and though i've seen and tasted several different cocktails, I can't bring myself to order anything but the ********GIN****** For *****Price***** you get a coffee siphon filled with a neutral spirit (vodka), and in place of coffee grounds, a mix of Juniper berries and botanicals which when brewed in the vacuum, turns to gin before your eyes. Some may think this a novelty but the food geek in me is just fascinated by this process.
Listen, if you're looking for the "typical" Scottsdale bar, cheap drinks thrown together by a busy bartender who doesn't get that "pouring heavy" isn't the same as pouring a good drink or you want drink "your way" Burger King style, go somewhere else. At R+D the cocktails are expensive (even by Scottsdale standards), the wait for your concoction is between 10-15 minutes (worth it in my opinion) and you order what's on the menu, the way it's on the menu, period.
I'd like to tell anyone reading to go elsewhere so this little gem can stay a relative secret that I can always get into and enjoy but not sharing just wouldn't be right. If you get a chance and are looking for a refreshing change form the "norm" drop by R+D and tell Tony that Tony sent you!!
(note: ask for an order of bacon popcorn to munch on while your there, you'll get freshly popped corn, chunks of tender belly bacon and though it tends to be a little bit greasy, it is the perfect accouterment to your cocktail.)
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