By: Bob Gourley
 
There I was in Beatty after a full day of golf in Death Valley. Yes, not only is there a golf course in the national park but it is a full-length 18-hole affair with lots of grass, trees and water hazards.
 
Since I didn’t want to trek back to Vegas I decided to stay in the gateway town. The big question was where to eat dinner?
There was Denny’s at the Stagecoach Inn where I was staying but I wanted something else.
  
A couple of restaurants were closed permanently but after checking Yelp there was a lot of buzz about Smokin’ J’s Barbecue on Main Street. So, I headed there and as I entered the place the aroma of smoke filled my lungs and foretold of a tasty meal.

By Bob Barnes

A new arrival to the Las Vegas craft beer scene is Red Dwarf. The tiki/craft beer/pizza bar situated at 1305 Vegas Valley Dr. just east of Maryland Pkwy. opened in late December and is owned and operated by Russell Gardner.
 
A Las Vegas native, Russell’s been in the beer biz his whole adult life, working as a professional brewer, in distributing, running bars and most recently bartending at Astronomy Aleworks. Many will also remember him for his big beard and trademark handlebar moustache.
 
Russell says he chose the name because he’s always liked two-word bar names and it’s also a nod to a Detroit legendary devil and annual parade by the same name that is held to drive out the devil and bad omens. As for the design of the bar, Russell said, “If I was a bar, this is how I would look—punk, rock and roll, divey, but nice.”

By: Bob Gourley
 
Sports bars have in the past had a reputation for great suds and mediocre food. In the last few years things have begun to change.
 
The newest contestant in the improved cuisine scene is Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux at Harrah’s. This one is a little hard to find as it is located upstairs and nowhere near the sports book.
 
The fare is a clever mix of both Southern favorites and American classics. A recent interview with their Marketing Director Luke Derouen established that the Vegas location is the 64th in the chain and located the most west they have ventured.

By: Bob Barnes
​
Las Vegas Brewing Company is now open and is the city’s newest brewery. Located at 3101 N Tenaya just south of Cheyenne in the same spot as the original Tenaya Creek Brewery and subsequent PT’s Brewing, the 10-barrel brewing system is also the same, but three 10-barrel fermenters have been added and a bottling line is on the way. 

​By: Bob Gourley
     
The Garden Café at Green Valley Resort was a favorite watering hole for locals and out of towners. A few months ago the management decided to change things up and came up with a new moniker, Lucky Penny.
   
We decided to give it a try. We are all fans of the old place, and I couldn’t wait to see what changes have been made. First of all, the appearance is pretty much the same.
 
The pointed light fixtures are still there with a huge counter at the front that has an array of desserts and pastries that can be consumed there or taken out. Menu prices appear to be slightly higher but not too bad.

By: Bob Barnes
 
District Brewing Is Now Neon Desert Brewing. The rebranding of District Brewing is now official. In addition to the new name, there is new furniture in the taproom (neon green bar stools and pink/purple padded booths), additional brewing fermenters allowing it to triple its capacity and a canning line which will provide the ability to supply more outside accounts.
 
During my visit last month, I found 20 Neon Desert beers skillfully brewed by Founder/Head Brewer Jimmy Doyle and Assistant Brewer Cisco Talley pouring, including four core beers: Captain Haze (hazy IPA), Early Out (West Coast IPA), a Fruited Berliner Weisse (the fruit changes monthly) and Hue Hefeweizen (Bavarian-style).

I also enjoyed some intriguing, delicious seasonals such as Barreling Down Main—a collaboration blend of HUDL’s 10% barleywine and Neon Desert’s 15.4% Belgian Dark Strong; and Circles of Helles—a helles lager that you can blend with the same beer spiked with serrano, jalapeno, habanero, Carolina reapers and ghost peppers (kind of like dining at a Thai restaurant, you can ratchet up or down your desired level of heat by how much you blend).
http://neondesertbrewing.com

​By: Bob Gourley
 
It has been a long-standing policy that bars and taverns that have gaming have to serve food as well. In some cases, the cuisine isn’t of the highest quality, but many are making great efforts to elevate their menus.
   
One local chain that does a good job are the Distill/Remedy locations. Late in 2021 they introduced a new menu line-up, and I recently visited the Henderson location to check out both breakfast and dinner.
 
There is a long list of tapas and appetizers plus what they call “Poker Bites.”

By: Bob Barnes

This past summer I reported on the opening of Rebellion Pizza and commended its owners, pizza business veterans Ricky Lewis and Ryan Perras, for having a canned beer list comprised 100% of beers from Southern Nevada breweries, and possibly the only establishment other than brewpubs doing so.
 
Now the thriving business has added a draft line system, which also honors our local breweries with 100% of the taps pouring local beer. I stopped in after the draft lineup launched and found the eight taps pouring Able Baker Honey Dip Imperial Stout, Bad Beat Bluffing Isn’t Weiss Bavarian Hefeweizen, Big Dog’s Craft Lager, CraftHaus Hop Vegas WCIPA and Giggle Juice Imperial IPA, Lovelady 9th Island Pineapple Sour and Love Juice Hazy IPA and Tenaya Creek God of Thunder Baltic Porter.

​By Bob Gurley
 
You may have seen the billboards all over town about Teriyaki Madness. It seems as though every time I venture out I see one.
 
Part of the reason is there are a lot of locations in the valley. The closest to us is at the mini mall on the intersection of the 215 and Stephanie in Henderson.
    
They have a great selection of bowls with a variety of ingredients. I enjoy both the chicken and orange chicken picks.

​By: Bob Barnes
 
North 5th Brewing Now Open
The family-owned and operated North 5th Brewing opened its doors last month and became North Las Vegas’ first ever brewery. The brother brewer team of Head Brewer Patrick Tofte and Assistant Brewer Sam Tofte have been hard at work coming up with new recipes and making great beer.
 
The first beers out of the gate were a session IPA, West Coast IPA, hazy IPA, amber lager, Russian imperial stout and Fierro, a crushable Mexican lager named for owners/siblings Amanda and Matt Payan’s grandma’s hometown in New Mexico.
 
Being unveiled in January is a creation of Assistant Brewer Sam, a Scotch Ale. This is a style you don’t see that often and when you do it’s usually in the 10-12% ABV range, but Sam’s is a more approachable yet still complex 6.5% version.