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| TENAYA CREEK RESTAURANT & BREWERY |
 Tenaya Creek3101 N. Tenaya Way, Tel: 702-362-7335 The waiter claims they're more a restaurant than a brewery, but first things first - the beer. The usual sampler is available, brought to you in a spiral wrought iron rack - but wait, are those 2 ounce glasses? Ten ounces of beer for $5? Seems like the other breweries give you 4 oz. samplers. The selections seem to have been formulated with the lowest common denominator in mind. The Pilsner is for you Bud drinkers. The Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Hefeweizen and Porter are all decent representatives of those styles. When we visited they were offering a Barley Wine, an extra-strong type of beer that you usually have to brew yourself - we've never seen it commercially available before. In general, the beers held back from excess on any flavor factor - malt, bitterness or aroma. The menu aims at American food creatively prepared. Vodka salmon, Cantonese black bean chicken, a tequila lime quesadilla, and toasted artichoke ravioli are some of the more daring offerings. There are some clever pizzas - BBQ chicken with caramelized red onions, cilantro and smoked cheese; cilantro lime chicken with black beans, roasted chilis, sweet onions, cheddar and mozzarella; and a garlic shrimp pizza with sun-dried tomates and a garlic-white wine sauce or pesto, your choice. The menu also offers you vegetarian pizzas or cheeseless pizzas if you ask. Our waiter echoed that we could request a vegetarian meal of any of the ingredients we saw on the menu. There is also a variety of seafood, pork chops, ribs, steaks and a couple of pasta choices. The sides are interesting: horseradish mashed potatoes, caramelized butternut squash, pearled couscous, pineapple mango salsa. I had the grilled portabella on focaccia, which was huge and was just as nice for breakfast cold the next day . Unlike the Chicago Brewing Co.,, someone in this kitchen knows the meaning of "grilled vegetables" - congratulations on your mastery of this culinary subtlety. My friend had the salmon special, which at $16, all alone on the plate with only couscous to keep it company, was a bit high. The house salad spotlighted a reckless disregard in the side dish department: plain ol' romaine with carrot shreds. Reminded me of the blue plate special. Despite their promising descriptions, the side dishes were oddly lacking in flavor. Maybe restaurants these days want the customer to decide if their food is to contain salt, and I can't fault that, but isn't it better to honor special requests for salt-free food and try to put some flavor in the standard recipe? My overall judgment is: nice try, but no cigar. |
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