Valley's best cocktails

Canal Bianco

The Place: Canal, 7144 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, 480-949-9000, canalaz.com

The menu from which you order them - a misguided high-school-art-class-style pastiche of fashion ads - notwithstanding, the drinks at Canal are worth braving the flashing lights of the high-def video wall and the conspicuously styled crowds. Ignore the allure of the glowing glass runway and indulge your inner glamazon by ordering one of the restaurant's sizable martinis or other cocktails. The Canal Bianco, in particular, is notable. It's cold, rich, bitter and complex, possibly like some of the people you're sitting with. The water-clear drink is sharp and icy, but the citrus makes it sexy. It's like being naked in an orange grove after a frost. For the fashionista, it may evoke Balenciaga's structured little black dresses with nearly hip-baring thigh slits from Nicolas Ghesquière's fall Paris collection.

Price: $10

The Magic: Tanquery 10 Gin, dry vermouth and orange bitters, shaken, garnished with a lemon or orange peel.