As the leftover turkey rapidly disappears in the rear view mirror, it’s all Christmas sweaters and Die Hard debates barreling ahead. Tis’ the season don’t you know. Hint: you will absolutely know this inescapable fact as every last damn marketer proclaims it ‘the season’ for the next four weeks.
If you find yourself somewhat less grinch like than your humble narrator, it looks like Flanker might be your home for the next three or four weeks; or more specifically, the cozy craft cocktail bar known as The Parlor, tucked away in the back of the sprawling Gateway business.
Starting this Wednesday (November 30th) the bar will host a series of weekly events, halls decked to brim with yuletide fever, cocktails, free popcorn and movies aplenty. A presser for the special Christmas Parlor starts as follows:
On Wednesday, November 30, elves will open the doors on the holiday themed A Christmas Parlor with design and decor by Utah Arts Alliance. Complementing the holiday oasis of lights, wreaths, reindeer and boxed gifts is a special menu of holiday cocktails from famed mixologist and Carver Road hospitality VP of beverage, Francesco Lafranconi. Featured drinks include the Surfin Santa Colada, a spiked hot chocolate and The Grinch, a mezcal-based cocktail with lime juice, ginger beer and all-spice bitters, and among many others. Visitors should save room for tableside s’mores for a cheerful late night treat.
On the drinks front, Flanker’s mixologist in chief writes, “I’ve created a cocktail list that features the warm, enveloping flavors of the season: cardamom, ginger, all spice and berries to name a few.” Each specialty cocktail also comes served in unique drinking vessels, garnished with the holiday in mind. Basically you’re going to win Instagram if you snap a few of these.
And of course nothing stirs holiday nostalgia like a classic movie. While the TVs are normally showcasing a variety of sports, on specific nights this winter, The Sporting Club and its giant LED wall will be tuned to “The Flanker Holiday Movie Series”. Flanker is encouraging guests to dress up cozy and they’ll have complimentary popcorn on hand for the following movie showings (all start at 8.00 p.m. prompt):
- Wednesday, November 30th – Christmas Story
- Thursday, December 8th – Home Alone
- Wednesday, December 14h – Elf
- Wednesday, December 21st – Die Hard
A Christmas Parlor will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays starting November 30th. For information on hours and to make reservations, visit www.flankerslc.com, call 801.683.7070 and watch for updates on Instagram.
What else?
A few other businesses are getting in on the holiday spirit, tis the season don’t know you know:
- HallPass – offering a number of seasonally themed cocktail specials
- Grand America – their seven foot tall gingerbread house that uses more than a ton of flour, is now open for visitors
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
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Just an FYI, the Christmas Parlor seems to be “honoring” reservations for bar seating only in the loosest of terms, and your readers might want to be aware of this. I arrived at about 7:10 for my 7:15 reservation and the hostess tried to stash me at a space that looks like it’s intended as a waiting spot for people to sit while last minute preparations are being made to their table. It’s a ledge right next to the door, facing away from the room. It’s maybe a foot wide (I’m being generous), a lot of the space being taken up by tinsel. I wanted to order food so it was totally inadequate and told the hostess I would wait for a seat at the actual bar, figuring someone would be leaving soon. Nobody left until 7:45. I don’t know if they’re overbooking it, or if people are overstaying, or if they’re being too accommodating of walk-ins or what but they need to figure out a better solution than stashing people who have reservations at seating that barely qualifies as such. (That would be a great place for walk-ins, IMO.) This is actually the second time they’ve tried to do that to me, and they tried to do it to a couple who had reservations at 7:30 as well. Acceptable accommodations were worked out in the end, but it’s really annoying to go to the trouble of making a reservation and having adequate seating within 15 minutes of the promised time. I went out of my way to show up on time, they should do the same. Or if bar seating is going to be a free-for-all, then don’t accept reservations to begin with.