Yardbird Southern Table and Bar opened at The Venetian in January 2015, and from day one committed to supporting local beer. Its backing goes so far as to devote every single one of its taps to Nevada breweries, making it only one of two establishments on the Vegas Strip to do so.
The decision to spotlight local brews came from 50Eggs (the restaurant group Yardbird is a part of) CEO/founder John Kunkel. “We started as a local restaurant in Miami and embraced the local audience,” he said. “Vegas beer is awesome, and we have great local artisans who are doing great stuff, so why go elsewhere?”
Beers flowing from the 12 taps currently include Able Baker Chis Kael Impale’d ale, Astronomy Hawking hazy pale ale, Bad Beat Gutshot stout, Big Dog’s Dirty Dog IPA, Great Basin Wild Horse ale and Tenaya Creek pilsner.
One of the standouts is Yardbird’s house beer, Unforgritable, made by Able Baker and served exclusively at Yardbird. After pitching the idea and brewing pilot batches for the Yardbird leadership team, Able Baker co-founder James Manos struck gold, or maybe grits, with this rendition, rendering the flavor of grits through additions of bread, biscuits and hominy to complement the grits and the shrimp and grits on the menu. Manos describes the beer as a Southern pale ale.“It’s a bit more hoppy than a traditional light ale but not quite to the pale ale level.”
Speaking of his relationship with Yardbird, Manos added, “Yardbird has been extremely supportive of local beers since their opening. I’m friends with many of their servers, bartenders and management, and they always go out of their way to recommend my beers and support me both personally and professionally. Great spot full of great people.”
While you may come for the beer, do yourself a favor and stay for the Southern-inspired grub. Topping the list is Lewellyn’s Fine Fried Chicken, named for the mastermind behind the recipe: Kunkel’s grandmother. It’s extremely tender, thanks to being brined and seasoned for 27 hours, and the honey hot sauce accompanying it is so good you’ll be tempted to drink it out of the little swing-top bottle it’s served in.
The Venetian, 702.297.6547
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