According to Ben Bethel, the owner and general manager at the Clarendon, a new restaurant will debut at the hotel by late summer.
It'll be called C4, and the menu will feature casual Asian fusion dishes with a Southwestern touch -- sunomono with chili flakes, gyoza with habanero sauce, ramen noodle soup, and perhaps even shabu-shabu, a style of cook-it-yourself Japanese cuisine that usually includes vegetables, paper-thin slices of beef, and boiling broth to swish it around in. Phoenix could use something like that.
There'll be sushi, too, and if permits come through, look for a sushi bar in the lobby area, which is currently being remodeled to include space for dining.
You'll be able to order food to eat in the hotel's new rooftop lounge -- set to open by August 31 -- or in the pool area, which will soon feature a giant waterfall.
As for Camus, the chi-chi eatery and bar that's been attracting hipsters ever since the hotel opened, it's been on hiatus since April 24. For legal reasons, Bethel can't comment on the status of the Clarendon's relationship with Camus, which is owned by Carson Quinn. However, the restaurant's voicemail greeting states that the restaurant will reopen on "Tuesday, July 5, due to hotel negligence and hotel flooding of the restaurant."
Ouch. Not sure what to think of that, other than the fact that July 5 is a Thursday.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted if I hear more. Let's hope they can work things out.
