Ellis Island Casino & Brewery Las Vegas, NV 89109 - Menu

This is my write-up of my favorite places (so far) here in town. Thought you guys might like it too.

Awhile Back I did a beer write-up for a new co-worker who also has a love for great beer. Here's that write-up. It's from a local's point of view, but there are some Strip locations in there too for the tourists. Enjoy!
Who’s ready for some beer? There are a bunch of cool places in town, so here is the rundown of my favorites.
(The shortened links go to a Google search for each place. Some of the websites aren’t available at work, so e-mail this to yourself at home and you can see all the beer glory when you get there).
Places to buy beer:

• Lee’s Liquor – You’re probably familiar with this one already, but Lee’s is a Vegas staple. It’s got a huge liquor selection but is also good for a solid selection of microbrews and craft beers. I usually stop by here if I’m heading to a get-together and plan on bringing a few six packs.
  
• Total Wine – Remember Lee’s Liquor? Forget everything you’ve ever learned about Lee’s Liquor. Total Wine is the Mecca of wine, beer, and everything in between. They have everything that can be legally shipped here (so no, Yuengling isn’t available). I’m not sure what side of town you live on, but the one in Summerlin in the Boca Park restaurant/shopping area is the one I go to. All of their best beers aren’t chilled, so if you plan on going beer crazy make sure to factor in the day or two it will need to be in the fridge first.
  

Places that Brew Beer:
BJ’s Restaurant and Gordon Biersch are the big chain breweries here in town. But here’s some with more of a local flavor.

• Tenaya Creek Brewery – Also in Summerlin, this is one of Vegas’ most well known breweries. I’ve been there once and have tried all of their beers either there or in restaurants around town. There are only two downsides to this place. 1.) They are a Steelers bar on Sundays (go Raiders). 2.) They don’t serve food. If you go on Sunday they usually do a potluck style things where people bring in food, and I hear they have food trucks out in the parking lot pretty regularly. If you ask super nice, or just ask normal, you can probably convince them to give you a tour of the brewery itself.
  
• Big Dog’s Brewing Company and Restaurant – There are two locations for Big Dog’s (there used to be three, but the one out near the base closed). The Draft House on Rancho is the only one of the remaining two that I have visited.
  

It. Is. Awesome.
They have their own brewed beer and house mixes (the 38-special is one I highly recommend). They are a Packer bar on Sundays, but they have great sports bar food with kind of a German feel to it. There are a lot of sausage-based entrees. I love their rib-eye sandwich and chicken strips appetizer with medium sauce. Along with their own brews, they also have guest brews from around the nation and the rest of the world. This is definitely worth going to.

• Ellis Island Casino and Brewery – This is probably my favorite place to go to in town when I’m starting the night or want really good cheap food and good beer. Really good for the price, that is. Good is relative when it's not Budweiser but it's still that cheap. Ellis Island is unique in that it doesn’t charge and outrageous amount for really good beer and it is just off of The Strip. At the Café in the casino they have a $7.99 deal 24 hours a days that gets you a steak, potatoes (baked, mashed, or fires), vegetables, a soup or salad and a 22oz glass of one of their beers (they also do root beer). I think it is the best deal in town. The deal is only available in the restaurant side of the café and will usually require a little bit of a wait, but it’s worth it. While you wait, just drink more beer. Their tall glasses of their own brews are only about 2-3 dollars a glass, which beats the $6 PBRs out on The Strip. I have no bad words to say about Ellis Island. Okay, it can be a little shady (it’s attached to a Super 8 motel), but I’ve never had any issues danger-wise. Just go there and have fun (it’s also known for the best Karaoke in Vegas in the bar area, so make sure to practice in the car on the way over).

Places for Fancy Shmancy Beer

• Todd English’s P.U.B. (Aria/City Center) – Attached to the Aria and Crystals (a high-end mall in the City Center), the P.U.B. is a favorite of mine for watching sports while eating good food and drinking exotic beer. They have all the varieties in a wide arrange of sizes (pint, pilsner, ginormous, can, tulip, etc.). They also have a 7 second pint challenge where you can get any beer for free so long as you drink it in 7 seconds. The only rule is the beer must start on the bar (but it doesn’t say you can’t start your face right next to the beer). The food has kind of an American-Asian Fusion thing going on, and it’s all good. Plus, they have cool bar games even though they are in more of an upscale environment. Foozball, sports, beer, food. It’s pretty much what heaven looks like.
  
• The Public House (The Venetian) – Editor’s Note: Do not, under any circumstances, confuse this place with the abomination that shares the same name at the Luxor. That is more of a sports bar type of place, but the food is pretty bad and the beer selection is really limited.
  

Here is my hands down, “you can die happy if you gone here”, place. Like Todd English’s it’s a little more upscale, but you don’t need to get super dressed up or anything. The “upscale” part applies more to the price than anything. The food here is great which is why it is a little pricey. But the main attraction is the beer. They have a huge list (that you get to scroll through by iPad) of bottles, drafts, cans and cask beers. Cask beer, if you don’t already know, is the purest form of beer delivered straight from the barrel. Because of this it is usually around room temperature, but it is really good. But who has the final say on what awesome beers get selected for such an establishment? I’m glad you asked.
You have heard of wine sommeliers that have devoted their life to the knowledge and drinking of wine. Well, beer has that too. A Cicerone is the same concept, but for a much more delicious product (beer!). And The Public House is home to the only Cicerone in the entire state of Nevada. His name is Russell Gardner and he is like a beer magician. You tell him what kinds of beer you like, and what you’ll be eating, and he’ll find the beer that matches you. Russell has an amazing mustache/beard thing going on and is just a really cool guy. Here’s Russell.
The Public House is my favorite beer spot in Vegas. Hopefully you’ll like it as much as I do.
Places That Eat, Sleep, and Breathe Beer

• The Freakin’ Frog – Welcome back to college, where 21 year olds drink until they puke, and play beer bong to decide who will clean the common area this week. Freakin’ Frog is home to over 1,000 beers. Yes, your mind just processed that last sentence correctly. 1,000 beers. They have a walk in fridge full of the stuff that they let you go check out if you ask nicely. It’s a dive bar in comparison to places like the Public House, but it’s definitely not the worst atmosphere I’ve eaten in. They have good bar food like the “Crack’n’Cheese” (fried macaroni and cheese) and a bible/binder full of beer. They also boast the largest whiskey selection in all of North America in the second level of the bar. The owner, Adam Carmer, is a UNLV professor for alcohol (which is probably not a real thing, but he seemed to know what he was talking about). He actually invented a new technique for tasting whiskey that is crazy in how accurate it is. I took his “class” at the bar for a bachelor party (it’s like $70) and he had us try 7 different whiskies. After using his technique, you could actually smell every flavor inside of the whiskey. Cinnamon, rye, fruits, etc. It was a really good experience. But that’s not what we’re here for right? We’re here for beer. And Freakin’ Frog is a must-see for anyone who partakes in an adult beverage from time to time.
  
• Aces and Ales - Yes, go to Aces and Ales. It has next-level bar food and great beer selection. They also have brewers that come in from the West Coast and Pacific Northwest for tastings, releases, and beer festivals (We're talking big breweries like Stone and Deschutes). They rotate their draft and bottle selection and have a knowledgeable staff that knows their beer. It's divey (and really, really dark for some reason), but they have a lot of great specials if you sign up for their e-mail list. Just today I got something from them that said if you have $20 of play you get a free 14oz Ribeye Steak Dinner, and that they were about to start hosting the home-brew competition for the area. They also show up on Groupon from time to time so you can get good deals there ($10 for $20 worth of food/drink for lunch, $20 for $40 worth of food/drink for dinner). Every kind of food I've had there is great, and they even have a new gourmet grilled cheese menu that has something like 6 or 8 different unique grilled-cheese sandwiches. Their Macaroni and Cheese, Pizza's, and Jalapeno Poppers are great. Actually, all of their food is great. I really like this place and go there for lunch sometimes since I work on that side of town. If they had a location closer to the Northwest, I'd be there every other day. This place knows beer and knows food and is a perfect location for both.
  

Beer!
-BeerTodayGoneToday
EDIT of my first EDIT: Fine, by popular demand, Aces and Ales gets a longer section.
EDIT2: And for the sake of all that is good and holy, stop mentioning the Yard House. Every write-up I do, someone mentions how I forgot the Yard House. I love 150 draft beers but 1.) it's a chain, and I wanted a more local write-up and 2.) these are my favorite places, not every place in Vegas. Please give out suggestions for your favorite places as well so I can try them out and maybe add them to my list!
EDIT3: My mini-post in another obscure thread. More of the same but, as you can see, I did mentioned Aces and Ales. I swear, I like Aces and Ales.