| rev:text
| - Ever since my less-than-stellar review of the Velvet Tango Room, I've had a gnawing sense of guilt that I should give the place another try. Paulius (the owner) is very active here on Yelp and seems like a great guy. In addition, all of the reviews gush with flowing 5-star satisfaction. And so, last night, my girl and I headed up to the Velvet Tango Room with open minds and a thirst to be quenched.
I had heard much about the Velvet Tango Room being compared to a "speakeasy," and voted one of the best in the country. That sorta excited me. I had been to "Violet Hour" in Chicago this past year, and really dug the speakeasy vibe they had going on.
And yet, I found the speakeasy vibe decidedly lacking at the Velvet Tango Room. Yeah, I get it - they have a small, almost unnoticeable sign out front. Yeah, I know - they have blinds on the front window and they are half-shut. And yeah, I know - the drinks all harken back to the era of prohibition. I get it.
Nonetheless, the place really doesn't retain much of a speakeasy feel. If anything, I'd term the vibe and atmosphere at the Velvet Tango Room as nice and sorta classy.
Of course, one of the key reasons that people dig the Velvet Tango Room is the attention they pay to the "art" of making a good drink. The menu provides excellent descriptions of the drinks, and does a good job of getting you excited to order. The servers, and their friendly, knowledgeable manner, complete the deal.
Our drinks took a good 15 minutes to come to the table. With all the emphasis on things being "homemade" and taking drink-making to an "art," I'm guessing 15 minutes for drinks is about average. And that's cool, if the the drinks blow you away.
Well...
The drinks we ordered at the Velvet Tango Room were definitely well-made. They tasted good, and seemed "fresh." They were better than average. However, as I paid the tab - $30 for two drinks, $6 for the tip - I found myself feeling like I had just purchased a little, old fashioned snake oil.
If you buy into the vibe the "VTR" presents - if you convince yourself you are in a speakeasy and that you do, in fact, for the first time in your life need a very expensive drink because it is somehow fresher and finer, and you're making a concerted effort to "drink better," and that doing so is VERY, VERY important to you at this point in your life - then the price might somehow seem justified.
If, on the other hand, you take a step back from the hype and take a good look at the cost-per-ounce of these drinks and how very, very, very much money is being made off of your purchasing of the hype, you just may end up feeling a worse for the wear.
The Velvet Tango Room is a really nice, classy sorta place. The drinks are definitely well-made. And if you think that somehow justifies the $15 per drink cost, I've got some swamp land in Florida you might be interested in.
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