Reunion Dinner / Public House at The Venetian, Vegas

The first of our two reunion dinners was at Public House inside The Venetian. It’s a gastropub with one of the most amazing beer menus I’ve come across. The space was masculine and high-end. Think dark wood, leather chairs, metal accents. We were seated in one of the private rooms even though we didn’t request it with the reservation. It was the perfect setting for a reunion dinner. If you browse through the gallery on their site, it’s the last image before the food photos.

Before we had settled on Public House for dinner, I scoped it out to make sure they had vegetarian options. That said, this is definitely a place for foodie carnivores with a capital “C”. Steak tartare, bone marrow, pig tails, chicken liver, tendon chips, blood sausages… John refers to this place as a house of horrors. Even back when we were still meat eaters, we were not adventurous enough for many of these dishes. I ordered the Scallops ($29), and I must not have been paying close attention to the menu (probably distracted by Felicia reading from our yearbook!), because the scallops came with roasted beet puree, apple-herb slaw, and crispy black pudding. This vegetarian eats seafood for special occasions, but not sausages, especially blood sausages. I really hate to be that vegetarian that complains about meat, but even many of the non-vegetarians didn’t like the thought of those sausages. Everything else was so delicious though! John wasn’t very hungry, so he just ordered the Welsh rarebit ($7). No rabbit in there, just beer-cheese toast. I should have just ordered one of the salads or sides too, like the Kale & Frisee salad or the Lobster Mac & Cheese. Several people at our table ordered the Poutine ($11). French fries, duck confit, cheese curds, stout gravy. As if all that isn’t rich enough as it is, you can also add a fried egg for an extra $2.50. I really need to make this with a vegetarian gravy! Isabel ordered the Steak Tartare ($16). Tenderloin, shallots and capers with crispy bone marrow, tendon chips, sour beer mustard. Issac got the Roasted Bone Marrow ($15), which was served with bacon marmalade.Tracy ordered the Mussels, the chef’s special of the day. Lisa ordered the Pub Burger ($19). Grass-fed beef, bacon marmalade, gruyere cheese, roasted tomato, frisse, Guiness aioli, herbed fries on the side. Many of these photos are from my dear friend Lisa. We were at opposite ends of the table and got photos of almost all of the food! Unfortunately, no salad photos though.

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