This past Friday, WineWench and I were trying to decide where to go for Happy Hour. We like to go out in the late afternoon, have a bottle of wine (or two), sample a draft beer (or five) and try out the happy hour appetizer list. This has served us well at places like The Yard House, The Blue Martini, Fado Irish Pub and others.
We decided to try The Rhythm Kitchen, a New Orleans themed bar and restaurant located at the south end of the Las Vegas Valley just off of the I-215 Beltway at Decatur Boulevard.
We prefer to sit at the bar, which allows us to talk to the bartender when they aren’t busy, as well as to other patrons. Heather, the bartender, was happy to fill us in on the various libations available and also offered suggestions from the happy hour menu.
We started off with a bottle of Row Eleven Pinot Noir ($39) and appetizers, Blackened Alligator Tail and Calamari. Normally we shy away from ordering Calamari since neither of us care for the heavy breading, but Heather let us know that they also offer the Calamari sauteed in a butter-lemon sauce so we gave it a shot.
The food arrived and we dove in. The alligator tail was nicely done, and well spiced, served with a mild sweet and a slightly tangy dipping sauce. Winewench is not the most adventurous foodie, and at first balked at the idea of eating alligator, so I went first. The alligator was a tad chewy, and the taste was midway between chicken and shrimp, but overall very good. Winewench finally relented and gave it a try, and decided that while it was not her favorite, it was still good.
The Calamari was excellent, very young fresh specimens in a delicious sauce, served with a outstanding homemade marinara that was chunky with onion, tomato, and pepper. After finishing the Calamari I ate the remaining marinara by itself, it was so good.
Next I ordered a cup of Gumbo for me and an order of Shrimp Brochette for Winewench. Since we were about out of wine I asked for a bottle of ’06 Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee ($36).
The Gumbo was good, but not great, lacking that bend-you-over-and spank-you spiciness that I normally associate with really good Gumbo. Heather told me to ask for more heat next time, and the chef would be happy to kick it up.
The Shrimp Brochette was another matter. Six large shrimp, well-seasoned, wrapped in crisp bacon and served with a sublime beurre blanc sauce were outstanding. I managed to score a small taste from Winewench, otherwise she pretty much kept them all for her. Definitely worth a return trip.
The last item we tried was the Charbroiled Oysters, six large, freshly shucked oysters, smothered in garlic and shredded parmesan cheese, and very lightly broiled, served on a halfshell. Now I’m not a big fan of raw oysters, due to a bad-oyster incident a few years ago, but these were delicious, warm, just slighly cooked, and very flavorful. Best of all was the happy hour price of $4.
Overall a great experience. Reasonably priced wines and good food, excellent service. We’ll be going back.
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