A bite at the bar

Desert Companion

Feature

A bite at the bar

Sep 29, 2016

by:

Greg Thilmont, Mitchell Wilburn and Jason Scavone

spinach_artichoke_dip_044.jpg

Christopher Smith & Brent Holmes

Artichoke Crab Dip at Therapy

Now that the Mojave Desert weather is getting a bit crisp in the evenings, it’s the perfect season for something warm and filling at the bar. The perfect prescription: artichoke and crab dip at Therapy. Pulverized artichoke hearts and lumps of blue crab are united with melty Parmesan cheese in ramekins. Blue corn tortillas for dipping and scooping give the snack some Southwestern street cred. GT 518 E. Fremont St., 702-912-1622, therapylv.com

mini_tostadas_016.jpg

Christopher Smith & Brent Holmes

Lobster Tostadas at Other Mama

There are no standard refried bean tostadas at Other Mama, the wildly popular (and excellent) seafood-focused bar/restaurant on the west side. Rather, the inventive kitchen takes a pair of toasted corn mini-tortillas and loads them up with mounds of sweet lobster meat crowned with generous portions of avocado. GT
3655 S. Durango Road #6, 702-463-8382, othermamalv.com

olives_017.jpg

Christopher Smith & Brent Holmes

Scotch Olives at Libertine Social

A good bar bite provides good balance to a tasty cocktail, so Chef Shawn McClain put an imaginative twist on a classic Scottish pub food: the Scotch Olive. A big, juicy Castelvetrano olive stuffed with feta cheese, wrapped in Merguez lamb sausage, breaded and fried — a perfect complement for Tony Abou-Ganim’s masterpieces of modern mixology. MW
Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7200

suckling_pig_sandwich_012.jpg

Photography by Christopher Smith

Suckling Pig Sandwich at Bazaar Meat

Exclusive to their Bar Centro menu, the much-celebrated Conchinillo — slow roasted suckling pig — gets a second life as the suckling pig sandwich. The crispy skin and tender, sweet meat, roasted for hours in their big Josper ovens, is complemented by caramelized onions, a unique honey mustard sauce, on pan de cristal. MW SLS Las Vegas, 702-761-7610

skins_balls_033.jpg

Christopher Smith & Brent Holmes

Skins & Balls at Sporting Life

One of the great benedictions of being six cocktails past the point of reason is that it’s one of the few times in life that blank-faced indecision is flatly, if impatiently, tolerated. It’s savvy, then, to introduce two-in-ones of bar food munchables, like the Skins & Balls at Sporting Life. Venerable potato skins are joined by their hipper, European cousin: croquettes of chicken and smoked gouda. Go ahead. Slather the sour cream-based dipping sauce on everything. It’s all you can handle right now anyway. JS 7770 S. Jones Blvd., 702-331-4647, sportinglifebar.com