America Restaurant is a new joint venture between INK Entertainment and O&B atop the fabulous Trump Hotel Toronto. The launch party was Kabouth-worthy, every detail proof of the commitment and passion that Charles Kabouth gives his venues.

With industry sized lighting, tastefully graffitied Victorian portraits, beautiful waitresses (that I can only describe as ‘Ameribots’), the experience was was truly fabulous. There were nitrogen frozen, chocolate dipped marshmallows, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket and perfectly mixed Negronis. With so many different tastes, smells, sounds and sights, my senses were on a taken on a ride that juxtaposed a classic ‘Trump old boys club’ with the colourful excitement of being in a place where all the ‘really cool kids’ hang out.

Speaking of cool kids, America’s newest sommelier took the time to discuss my favourite part of any restaurant: the wine list.

Master sommelier, John Szabo, was responsible for the wine list at Stock (America’s previous incarnate) and many of his choices are still available for purchase, hereby creating a solid wine selection base. However, with the name America, it makes sense that their wines-by-the-glasses are all New World, focusing heavily on Californian reds with VQA options to round out the list. They have built a wine list that caters to the young, educated, wine drinker who knows that wine consumption and wine knowledge is no longer reserved for a selected, elite few named Oscar or Christineth.

‘[I want to be] brash and experimental while offering people comfortable wines that they have seen before. [This is opposed to] some restaurants that really want to explore old European wines, ‘ says the young sommelier.

He doesn’t want patrons to look at the wine list and struggle with wines that they have never heard of at prices that break the bank. Expect to see Napa Valley’s McManus, Leaning Post and Cake Bread in the front pages of the mammoth wine book which caters to lifestyle wine drinkers like us Girls of TO. Although the wine list is huge, I feel as though the first few pages are all you need to enjoy a night at this 35^th floor supper club.

It’s always tough to successfully judge the quality of a restaurant on a launch night. All stops have been pulled, the crowd is curated and service is at its best. While a restaurant may indeed have all of these qualities, it is hard to be sure until it is just you, your date and your server on any given Thursday night. Regardless, after looking through the delicious wine list, I can tell you that America has the makings of an enjoyable, delicious and delectable wine experience.

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