Men's Club was, until recently, the moribund Leopard Lounge, until a Reno businessman gutted and rebuilt it into a stunningly well-appointed facility. It's furnished with luxurious skyboxes filled with African and Asian art, plush sofas and elegant carpeting, and all the bells and whistles downstairs, as well as state-of-the-art sound and lighting.
Now, you may be more focused on the pole, but my attention gravitates toward a sushi bar in the middle of the room, with the tongue-in-cheek name Raw Bar. Here, you can eat everything from oyster pairings, tartare and house-cured salmon to sashimi and makizushi, rice rolls wrapped in nori seaweed.
Geddes has labeled his foods from Raw Bar with letter codes (T for traditional, N for nontraditional and A for alternating between the two, depending on the chef's whim). It is all terrific stuff, the rival, at the moment, of any Japanese-inspired cuisine in the city.
At one lunch, for instance, we started with Bagaduce River oysters done two ways, one with pepper, shallot and champagne vinegar (T), the other topped with ponzu and sliced ginger, with a touch of fresh-grated wasabi root on top (N). We then were served poke of Hawaiian big-eye tuna in the same format, one with chopped macadamia and scallions, redolent of sesame oil, the other a wacky version done with gobo (burdock root), tobiko (that's flying fish roe, if you insist) and a pungent soy sauce.
As at any good Japanese restaurant, the tasting-menu format is available, except that in this case, most of the dishes following the Raw Bar courses turn out to be Western, usually Mediterranean- or American-inspired.
The restaurant side is called Alchemy Kitchen, and it led me to think that we would have some examples of what is known as molecular gastronomy, where various devices and catalysts are used to make foams, airs, beads, powders and gels out of familiar ingredients. Not so.
Still, Geddes and his team use seasonal ingredients of the highest quality. Tuscan white bean soup is made with Nueske's bacon from Wisconsin; foie gras from the Hudson Valley is done en brioche, with fig puree and allspice.
There is a clever ham-tasting, one a duck ham, a second, prosciutto from Italy, and the third, smoked-style ham, also from Italy. From the lunch menu, try a terrific Japanese-inspired fried-pork-cutlet sandwich embellished with pickled red onion, spinach and caper butter. At dinner, the braised beef short ribs, simmered in Guinness, virtually disintegrate in the mouth.
One of the best things about Alchemy Kitchen is that it is possible to do it up big-time, wines and all, or simply go casual. At lunch, there are salads, burgers and American comfort fare such as a grilled-cheese sandwich, paired with a soothing tomato soup made from San Marzano tomatoes.
From the dinner menu, try the filet mignon paired with foie gras and exotic mushrooms in a Malmsey Madeira wine reduction, or an entire Maine lobster steamed in lemon butter with Russian banana potatoes. Grilled bone-in rib eye is served with Texas toast and beans.
Save room for spectacular desserts, such as a citrus-tasting composed of a blood-orange crepe, a Key lime margarita and a Meyer lemon tart, a selection of boutique cheeses and a delicious caramelized pineapple tart.
Darius Allyn's inventive wine list breaks new ground for strip clubs, but then, there is nothing overly familiar about this place, except the pole.