Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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DESERT PATROL Sanjiv Gupta is unveiling creative new seasonal cocktails at Press. a sophisticated indoor and outdoor venue, opened in May, serving up finely crafted beverages and creative small plates and acting as a lively, lobbyish hub morning, noon, and night. Imagine starting your day with a Lavazza espresso and freshly squeezed juice, then returning in the afternoon for a sip of wine from the Enoteca system or a dry martini. The man behind the all-day bar is Assistant Manager Sanjiv Gupta, a recent Vegas Keep it casual: transplant and a dedicated mixologist with Gupta spent 14-plus years of industry experience. three years at a Gupta has spent half his life in Europe buttoned-up English boarding and half in St. Louis. His mother is Belgian, school. "I was and his father, whose position with the carrying a agricultural biotech giant Monsanto briefcase and moved the family to the States, is Indian. wearing suits While working his way through school, when I was 12." Gupta simply fell in love with the hospitalResearch lab: ity industry in St. Louis. "It's more than Gupta loves Frankie's Tiki just a job," he says. "It's something I do in Room downtown. my free time as well." After his first man"It's eclectic and agement position included opening a a really fun place restaurant with a brand-new concept, he to take visitors." knew he was hooked. "You really have to love it to work the kind of hours we do, but research can be a lot of fun in this business." Gupta was recruited to join the Strip's Four Seasons team last year and arrived in Las Vegas wide-eyed. "I still love St. Louis," he says. "It's a great town with a growing restaurant scene. But everything in Vegas is done on a much grander scale. There are very few cities that have this kind of concentration of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs." He's done plenty of exploring— fun research, remember?—and now, with the arrival of Press, he's incorporating some of the innovations he discovered and his own style into a creative, classy experience that suits the Four Seasons. SANJIV GUPTA REVS UP THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL WITH A Gupta is most excited about the Press cocktail proLIVELY NEW DAY-TO-NIGHT SPOT. BY BROCK RADKE gram, driven by seasonal ingredients and the idea of putting fresh twists on classics. Take, for example, his hibiscus mint julep, white summer sangria with tropihe Strip is loaded with transporting experiences—tropical islands cal fruit, or refreshing watermelon granita, made with fresh watermelon and colossal pyramids, sleek skyscrapers and European land- juice, prosecco, and vodka. "It's always going to be hot in the summer," he scapes. Somewhat hidden adjacent to massive Mandalay Bay, the says. "So we're switching up the ingredients and going different places Four Seasons Hotel is an escape within an escape—a quiet, relaxing with some familiar cocktails and packing them with ice." Gupta spent his spring tinkering with bourbon cocktails, so expect to see something new retreat from casino clatter. But that doesn't mean there isn't any action or fun to be had here. Press, come fall. Four Seasons, 702-632-5000; fourseasons.com/lasvegas V INSIGHT T PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB KEPLER pressing matters 46 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 046_V_SP_DP_Gupta_Sum13.indd 46 6/17/13 12:07 PM