by Mac Hillburg on I really hope this place can take off and become a new staple in the Phoenix dance music scene. It has all the potential to become a chic yet urban yet alternative nightclub to mix with anyone and everyone who is down to get a little freaky. The place is dark, dungeon-esque, Dom room call me mistress and spank me kind of swanky. Sanctum is not the biggest space for a dance club to bust out, but they made good use of what little space they have. The bathrooms are feauture an "open" concept, where you don't have a door leading to either the mens or the womens (although they each have their own "designated area" with the urinals behind a wall, i wouldn't really consider it truly unisex) but it's a place to er..meet people... Rawr. Don't forget to wash your hands. There's some sofa room to the side of the bar where you can get in a conversation and check out the crazy artwork on the walls. The dance floor is not the biggest and I've never seen it packed, but I'm not one to turn down an empty dance floor with a giant chandelier hanging above it. Crazy flashing lights everywhere too...The drunk dancers dream. The stadium-like benching to sit on is rather odd to me, but good use of space, and I'm sure there will be plenty of patrons slipping and falling to their drunken demise. behind this seating though, is where it gets really hot. the private nooks back there might get you into a bit of trouble.. Drinks are poured generously, thursday's it's no cover and 2-4-1 ALL NIGHT, and if you get there before 10 any other night you get in free. The one thing Sanctum is missing is an after hours party...I know I could keep going til 4am.
by Billy Funck on I'm NOT a fan of the Tao in Vegas, so I didn't have high expectations of the one in NYC. Tao is one of those places where you come only for the upscale ambiance and to come and be seen. Don't get me wrong, I love the trendy upscale restaurant/lounges, but the food has to be at least somewhat decent. Tao definitely misses the mark on the food aspect... FOOD: *Duck Spring Rolls: Ehhh, not good. The roll was very dry. Instead of having duck in it, it had taro. I love taro, but this is not what we ordered. And, what's up with the straight out-of-the-bottle sweet chili sauce? It did NOT go well with the "taro" rolls. *Scallion Beef: It was just ok; nothing special. It was cubes of beef with onion, bell peppers, and scallion. It was quite salty, so you had to eat plenty of rice to drown out the salt. *Banana Bread Pudding: OMG! This dessert totally redeemed our experience at TAO. It was more a trifle than anything--layers of banana pudding layered sponge cake and topped whip cream/chocolate shavings. The banana pudding tasted like fresh, ripen bananas whipped into rich yumminess. The sponge cake was similar to the kind in chinese cakes: very light and airy. One of my friends had the kobe burger which he said was dry and flavorless. My other friend had the salmon which she barely even touched so I guess it was that bad! SERVICE: Staff was pretentious. We had to flag down our waiter several times to get more water. I had to ask 2 times for my chili sauce. Keep in mind, it was NOT even busy; less than 30% of the restaurant was filled. AMBIANCE: The restaurant was BEAUTIFUL (hence the 3 stars). Like I said this is a place you come for the ambiance only. I loved the red/gold decor, the high ceilings with chinese characters, red brick walls, and the Quan-Yin statue (it's NOT a Buddha statue) with the koi fish pond. With that being said, it's a good place to hang out for drinks, but NOT to eat. The food is like a glorified Panda Express or PF Changs = NOT AUTHENTIC!
by Starla D. on Come here during the day when everyone is cracked out!!!! The bartenders won't ignore you like they do at night, and the view is spectacular! And all the douchebags haven't slept for days which makes them more tolerable. They just kind of sit around and don't say much.
