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| - As a longtime local, and a non-gambler at that, it's sometimes difficult to convince me to give places a second chance because there are so many options in this city, but Alder & Birch has completely altered my opinion on the offerings of The Orleans! A friend tried this restaurant last year and raved about it to our tennis team, so for my sister-in-law's birthday we decided to give it a shot. And I'm thrilled that we did!
The chic interior is a welcome break from the glittering lights and frantic noise of the casino. Although our table was already prepared when we arrived early, we took a few minutes to check in at the bar and wait for the rest of our party. The bartender, Brandon, was better than even your best idea of what a bartender should be. He was charming and engaging, and asked questions in an effort to craft cocktails each of us would enjoy. He even managed to create something for our friend who hates the taste of alcohol, which we thought could be an impossible task! When we were ready he helped escort us to our table, and introduced us to our server Alex and runner Javier. Alex was attentive without hovering, and gave excellent recommendations. Plus, I would clone Javier if I could. He was sweetly hilarious and gracious, and always nearby when we needed anything...and we needed a lot of things over the course of a couple hours!
When we finished, but weren't quite ready to end the evening, Brandon recommended we check out Bailiwick's for live music and billiards, which was also great, and also significantly cooler than anything else in there I can remember. If The Orleans keeps coming up with such interesting diversions I'll just have to stop in more often!
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