Yardbird Southern Table & Bar [6,] Las Vegas NV

Yardbird

Fried Green Tomato BLT – pork belly, greens, tomato jam, house-made pimento cheese

Low & Slow Smoked Chicken Salad – Haas Avocado, Warm Fried Cornbread, Yogurt Dressing

Mama’s Chicken Biscuits – free range fried chicken, pepper jelly, housepickles, house-made buttermilk biscuit

St Louis Style Pork Ribs – tender slow-cooked, house BBQ sauce

Smoked & Roasted Bone Marrow – country bread, onion jam

Deviled Eggs – fresh chive, smoked trout roe ‘redneck caviar’

Warm Farmer’s Cheese – Watermelon, Olive Oil, Sea Salt

Shrimp n’ Grits – Florida shrimp, crisp Virginia ham, Nora Mill Granary grits

Pot Pie – Andouille Sausage, Italian Sausage, Smoked Chicken, Traditional Gravy, Laminated Biscuit Top

Macaroni and Cheese – Torchio Pasta, Five Artisinal Cheeses, Crispy Herb Crust

Chicken n’ Watermelon n’ Waffles – Fried Chicken, Hot Sauce Honey, Spiced Watermelon, Cheddar Cheese Chow Chow Waffle, Bourbon Maple Syrup

Short Rib n’ Grits – 18oz Bone-In Short Rib, Nora Mill Granary Corn Grits, Charred Corn, Haricot Vert, Sweet Garlic Bordelaise

Cornmeal Chess Pie – Sorghum Chantilly, Caramel Sauce, Caramel Pretzel, Popcorn

Deep Fried Oreos – Rice Crispy Doughnut Dough Fried Oreos, Oreo Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce

Blue and Black Cobbler – Blueberries, Blackberries, Oat Crumble, Honey Ice Cream

Bacon Butterscotch Cake – Pecan Filling, Bourbon Ice Cream, Butterscotch Sauce

Having previously visited Yardbird Las Vegas five times in the two months since opening, while also investing some of my appetite in Miami at the original in November, there was little doubt where I would spend my birthday dinner with friends and with the private room arranged by Marketing Manager Niceole Ismert and a carte blanche menu prepared by Chef Todd Harrington the experience was no less than exemplary, a few new plates experienced while several old favorites made an appearance at the table where I was joined by six friends.

Mostly allowing the kitchen to chart our course, a few suggestions made by myself so that friends could experience the plates I’ve come to love, every item I’ve described at length prior was just as good as ever and with service a given considering the circumstances everything from lighting to music was tailored to our needs, the only thing not ‘perfect’ being the fact that none of us had come prepared for quite so much irresistible food – most of the plates presented in duplicate at a prix-fixe cost far beneath what one would have paid ordering a la carte.

Speaking now to new items, a total of three including one not yet offered on the menu, much has been mentioned in the past of Yardbird’s smoking program and beginning with the St. Louis Style Ribs with a plethoric pile of bone marrow to follow one would be hard pressed to decide which was a more impressive use of the technique, the former fall-from-the-bone tender with sauce that served to compliment rather than overwhelm while the marrow was heavily imbued with char, the richness cut by housemade onion jam and pickles that made nearly everyone a temporary okra fan.

Always going above and beyond to invent, create, and improve a menu that has not sat on its laurels for even a moment since the space opened their doors it was after a few more favorites that Todd arrived tableside with an all-new item, and describing the laminated biscuit dough pastry overlying a ‘pot pie’ far more European than what would be expected from the Amish or folks down South one couldn’t help but be impressed, the golden crust again displaying the unabashed talent of the pastry team while the interior was densely packed with several types of meat ranging from smoky chicken to spicy andouille bathed in thick, savory jus.

Already quite full even before two full plates of the restaurant’s signature “Chicken n’ Watermelon n’ Waffles” arrived, not to mention crocks of macaroni and the newly introduced short rib with charred corn grits, it was with most of the table waving a white flag that desserts did appear and with cobbler, fried Oreos, and a thick wedge of Bacon Butterscotch Birthday Cake all prone to please it was the full sized Chess Pie that officially made my night – a perfect ending to a meal surrounded by friends from a kitchen I knew I could trust with my ‘special day.’

http://www.venetian.com/restaurants/american/yardbird.html