The Treasury At Hotel Phillips in downtown Sioux Falls is all about experience. From the carefully crafted libations to the “1920s era” vibes to the service, the team says they want to make it memorable.
Just don’t forget the cocktail lounge also serves food.
Head chef Matthew Regnier is constantly experimenting and creating fresh small bites in the kitchen.
“We want people to come in, try a couple cocktails, order a whole mess of small plates that are shareable, and eat a little bit of everything,” he said. “You don’t have to commit to some big, expensive entrée.”
The chef has recently been working on new menu items inspired by the season.
“I’m trying to embrace the fall, heavier dishes,” he teased, explaining some items weren’t finalized.
Regnier did give 605 a look at another noted menu inspiration— Asian cuisine. This includes the popular Kung Pao Cauliflower with fried cauliflower, spicy sauce, chiles, peanuts, and scallion.
“[The Kung Pao Cauliflower] came out here in the last menu flip, and people have been just going crazy over that,” he said. “It’s classic, simple, and people enjoy it.”
DID YOU KNOW?
The Treasury serves food until 11 p.m.
The Crispy Brussels Sprouts are a new addition and have kimchi purée, bacon, and a carrot nest.
“We make kimchi in house. I’ve always made kimchi,” explained Regnier. “I worked with a Korean woman and kimchi is in my blood almost.”
A Treasury favorite has returned, and it’s the ever-changing Sausage Board, which has a “trio of regional flavors.” While the entirety of the board is never the exact same, it often includes regionally sourced bison, duck, and pheasant sausage.
“People love it. We pulled it off the menu for the summer, and we bring it back when it gets colder,” said Regnier.
Like the meat selection, general manager Michael Mohr says the team tries to source locally for all ingredients at The Treasury.
“Locally sourced or regionally sourced is kind of our mantra,” he said. “We wanted to carry that mantra into the bar. I think everyone that’s involved in the cocktail production has kind of owned that piece and wanted to make that our mainstay.”
“Everything here was bought up and down Phillips Avenue,” said bar director Paul Squyer.
For example, the Lady in Waiting has Earl Grey tea syrup made using tea from The Spice & Tea Exchange. It was also created with Glacial Lakes vodka, which was a big move for Squyer, who says he tries to avoid vodka concoctions.
More On The Menu
SIGNATURE COCKTAILS
100 Phillips
London Dry Gin, Gruet Brut Rosé, Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters, lemon, and sugar.
Counterfeiter
El Jimador Reposado Tequila, Torres Magdala Orange Liqueur, serrano pepper, pineapple, and lime.
Santa Marta
Tattersall Grapefruit Crema Liqueur, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, mint, lemon, and soda.
BAR BITES
Spicy Nuts
Mixed nuts, maple, ancho chile, and “so much love.”
Shrimp Cocktail
Poached prawn, vodka sauce, and preserved lemon. Classic.
SMALL BITES
Mussels
One pound of Prince Edward Island Mussels, white wine, garlic, basil, lemon, and a hasselback baguette.
Pork Carnitas Tacos
Slow-roasted pork, salsa verde, cotija, radish, and cilantro.
Treasury Burger
Banh mi-inspired 6 oz. blended beef patty, pickled carrot, daikon, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro, and chile mayo.
Vegan “Poke” Bowl
Watermelon “poke,” red cabbage, cucumber, carrot, edamame, seaweed, cilantro, miso vinaigrette, served atop white rice.
SOMETHING SWEET
Crème Brûlée
A twist on a classic. Bumbu Rum-infused.
“It’s something we’ve avoided for the most part because we try to really accentuate the spirit in all of our cocktails. We want our base spirit to be our main player,” he explained. “That’s something that we agreed: Vodka is a supportive player to give a booze boost to the ingredients behind it.”
But Squyer also wanted to incorporate local spirits, so this was the first vodka drink on the menu. Lavender bitters were added, and it was finished with citric acid.
Bartender Kate Chambers was behind another fall drink, the Witchy One. This involves London Gin, Campari, lime, turmeric, and egg white.
“I love turmeric. I think it’s a great spicy, bitter flavor that I don’t really see in cocktails,” said Chambers.
Mohr says the entire cocktail crew was put to the test for a trio of new drinks paired with Skip Day seltzers by Fernson Brewing Company.
“[Fernson’s marketing team] came in and they asked us if we’d be interested in doing a collaboration cocktail with the launch of the Skip Day,” recalled Mohr. “They brought us in a couple cans of each of them.”
They ended up going through quite a few more cans, as they struggled to create cocktails for Black Raspberry, Orange Pineapple, and Fruit Punch. The Bramble came together in Squyer’s mind first.
“One high mark to come out of 1980s cocktail culture was the Bramble out of London, which was traditionally blackberries, blackberry liqueur, gin, lemon,” he said. “That was the most obvious one when I looked at the three Skip Days.”
The finished product had London Dry Gin, crème de cassis, basil, blackberry, and lemon. Next was the Spritz & Shout with the Skip Day Orange Pineapple, aperitivo, and lemon. Last, but (definitely) not least, was Candy Shop.
“The fruit punch was so hard,” recalled Squyer.
After going through “over 18 cans,” the final product had Peychaud’s Aperitivo and lime.
“It’s such a familiar flavor that I think we really made it different,” said Chambers.
And different is what The Treasury hopes to be all around.
“The atmosphere speaks for itself,” said Regnier. “It’s a little bit edgy, but we’re just going to keep pushing.”
