Chefs, mixologist prep food, cocktails inspired by Sunday’s Super cities

The Kansas City Ice Water may not have vaulted from the regional level to the national one, as the Long Island Iced Tea did, but at least three local spots are featuring it on Super Bowl Sunday.

“It’s something that was served quite often in dive bars,” said Evan Hosaka, lead bartender at Electra Cocktail Club at Palazzo. “As the cocktail scene has grown, it’s definitely gotten a lot more popular.”

“One of our bartenders is a huge Kansas City fan,” said Courtney Allen-Bailey, assistant director of food and beverage at the Plaza. “He’s originally from Missouri, so this drink reminds him of being home.”

The Kansas City Ice Water, like many cocktails, can be varied as the bartender or customer likes. The Plaza’s is made with Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, lime and Sierra Mist, while Electra’s version, which also is being served at The Dorsey Cocktail Bar at The Venetian, is Absolut Elyx vodka, Fords Gin, lime, simple syrup and Sprite.

“Some of the other variations I’ve seen might be a little more bitter, with the tonic, or a little more sweet, with the tonic mixes,” Hosaka said. “We like to make sure things are very balanced and approachable. We kind of modified it so it would be easy to drink.”

Neither forgot San Francisco, of course. The Plaza is featuring the Dark & Stormy, a reflection of that famous foggy city, while Electra/The Dorsey will feature the classic Cable Car.

“As we’re hosting a lot of Super Bowl events, we wanted to have a fun cocktail that would appeal to each team,” Hosaka said. “We also wanted it to be a recognizable name for people who are from that city, and also to spread awareness.”

The Electra/The Dorsey cocktails will be $18 each, available Friday through Sunday, the Plaza’s $12, Sunday only.

And local spots haven’t forgotten the food. 595 Craft and Kitchen, 4950 S. Rainbow Blvd., on Sunday will serve clam chowder in sourdough-bread rolls ($14) to represent San Francisco, ribs ($20) and burnt ends ($16) for Kansas City and, for Miami — the host city — the Super Bowl dog ($8), reminiscent of a reuben, with pastrami, Swiss cheese, whole-grain mustard and dill pickles. The dishes were chosen, said owner Van-Alan Nguyen, for their iconic status.

Scott Pajak, executive chef of Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo, has plenty of experience in creating dishes themed to NFL football cities; he does it all season, for Monday night and Thursday night football.

“It’s kind of a creative outlet,” Pajak said. “Sometimes we come up with dishes that we end up putting on our menu because they do so well.”

The Super Bowl event at Lagasse’s Stadium is sold out this year, but the themed dishes will be clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl for San Francisco and, for Kansas City, barbecued beef brisket and pulled pork with cole slaw on a brioche bun.

“A lot of places have surf and turf,” Pajak said. “In Kansas City, it’s more turf and turf. It’s a barbecue city known for pork and brisket, so I decided to throw the two of them on a sandwich.”

Some of the other cities presented more of a challenge during the season, he said.

“Two that have been difficult are Washington (D.C.) and L.A.,” Pajak said. “There’s so many different ways you can go; there’s no set cuisine.”

For Washington, he reached back a few years.

“I channeled my inner self and went back to the days they had the Hogettes,” he said of the male fans who, beginning in the early ’80s, wore dresses and pig snouts to raise money for charity and celebrate the team’s offensive line, nicknamed The Hogs.

“I just always did some kind of a pork dish,” Pajak said.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and Palazzo.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.