In the Broadway smash "Wicked," when the male lead asks, "So â€" what's the most swankified place in town?," good witch Galinda answers, "That would be the Ozdust Ballroom." If the Broadway show were set in Tacoma, she definitely would have named El Gaucho the most swankified place in town. Everytime I walk in, I feel as if a tornado has swept me up and sat me down in a completely different town.
As a monthly payday treat, I glide to El Gaucho's bar and ordered an otherworldly "Bling-Bling" Martini ($100), made with the most swankified, ultra-luxury vodka Stolichnaya elit (which retails for about double of most premium vodkas), Grand Marnier 150 and L'Esprit de Courvoisier.
"Dancing through life, down at the Ozdust, if only because dust is what we come to! And the strange thing: Your life could end up changing, while you're dancing...through!" â€" Suzy Stump
(Photo by Sam Tropp/Film Stop)