The Public House
 Las Vegas, Nevada (The Venetian)      Date of Visit  12/16/12      http://publichouselv.com/

I had heard of the Public House in another city from one show or another and was looking forward to trying an official gastropub. Gastropubs are bars that have taken typical bar fare and upped the ante without apologizing for their affection for beer. Prior to a ride on the gondolas at The Venetian we dodged downstairs to check this one out. The interior was a little too clean and sleek to be a typical bar. The beer and wine list is delivered on an ipad for God’s sake. Our server was nearly clinical in her approach but she functioned pretty well. There were some female staff whose uniform included short shorts. I’m not sure what distinguished them from the rest of the staff but it always makes me a little uncomfortable when people aren’t wearing quite enough in a restaurant.
 

That's A Slick Bar Menu
 

We ordered a couple of appetizers, Poutine and Shepherd’s Pie Pierogi. I have heard tale of the sort of official dish of Québec. French fries, cheese curds and gravy. Poutine apparently helps the Canucks get through the long cold winters. At Public House Poutine is simply glorious. Thin cut fries are interspersed with salty cheese curds and topped with braised oxtail and the whole mess is anointed with a Bordelaise sauce instead of simple gravy.  The Bordelaise sauce is a dressed up demi glace and is intensely rich. Add the luxurious oxtail and you are forced to eat more than other dishes which are so rich because it is just that outstanding.

The Pierogi had a lightly crisped pocket of dough containing sweet and lightly gamey braised lamb and were served on a bed of potato puree with a bit of jus (cooking juice). Not quite the wow factor of the poutine but downright tasty.

 

We ordered the Pub Burger, the seasonal Banger and Mash, free range Chicken and two sides of Welsh Rarebit and roasted asparagus. The burger was topped with bacon marmalade, gruyere, a roasted tomato, frisee and a Guinness aioli. The burger itself was a beefy grass fed number which held it’s own against the toppings which all worked well together. A tin of herbed fries completed the ensemble. The seasonal banger was a beer bratwurst. This is not the brat wrapped in plastic at the grocery store or from the ball park…except maybe Minnesota. Coarse cut veal and seasonings are sausaged and set on a nice mash with mushrooms and onions. It may be more authentic and fairly good but might be more difficult for some to enjoy due to texture and flavor profile.
 

The free range chicken was very uniquely spiced. Different enough to be distracting but not enough to be disgusting. Served with a barley and porcini mushroom ragout it turned out to be an interesting dish but the entrees were never going to live up to the appetizers.

The sides ranged from standard asparagus and sauce béarnaise to the beer-cheese toast known as welsh rarebit. Crusty peasant bread was smeared with the ale and cheese mixture and then flashed under the broiler for a unique twist on grilled cheese. Everything at The Public House was good but the apps and the rarebit were dazzling.

I'm worried Poutine may have been ruined for me if I ever to make it to Quebec. Just too bad, I'll just have to head to one of the other Public House locations and get my fix.