J R
Google
After hiking around Exploration Peak Park, what better way to negate all that fresh air and exercise than to indulge in beer and fried foods? So 15 minutes (by car) later, I arrive at The Bend, the new retail complex across from IKEA, to try out the even newer evoLVe (complete tag EVOLVE Brewing Project by Aces and Ales).
Food-
Beer Bites ($9): Briahna had told me there were about six to eight pieces; the even better reality was a dozen. Lightly chargrilled bottoms supporting delightfully puffy buttery bubbles. Beer cheese and slightly spicy marinara were very good; my preference was for the cheese (of course). Leftovers kept their deliciousness.
Pickle Chips ($11): About 10 pieces. Batter had a very crispy shell, slightly chewy innards, and rather too much as it practically muted the actual pickle slice. When asked, I expressed my opinion that the Bites were my winner and the Chips were proactively removed from my bill(!). These leftovers did not travel as well as the Beer Bites had. Came with dilly ranch and spicy aioli dips.
Our "Legendary" Prime Rib French Dip ($20) + $2 optional cheese (chose provolone): Generous amount of juicy meat, cheese melded well. Bottom bun couldn't handle the drippiness so this was a knife-and-fork sandwich. From the multitude of complimentary options, had selected Sweet Potato Fries as the side; nice amount in the wire basket, very crispy, sufficient sweet stuffing.
Beer-
24 options on the menu, very good variety of types, West Coast-centric with Las Vegas heavily represented. If one was uncertain about a beer, a sample was provided to test.
Value: Above average. Plates were large enough for sharing, accompanying sides/dips plentiful, and beers had flexible draw amounts from which to choose.
Service: Very friendly, upbeat, and helpful from hostess to bar staff, and remained so as the place gradually filled up.
Atmosphere: Upscale warehouse. Huge space, exposed pipeworks, warm dark color scheme but plenty of windows. Full brewing apparatus on display.
Plenty of large TVs at convenient angles, half the bar had video poker machines; bar also had charging stations in the undercarriage but, oddly unless I somehow missed them, no bag hooks. Have to mention the interesting design choice of positioning the sinks outside of the restrooms; if a person fails to wash up as one should after visiting the loo, a good portion of the floor will be able to witness and judge you accordingly.
Misc Notes:
Google Maps managed to direct me to the (free! as of this review) parking lot; the front (and sole that I could tell) door to EVOLVE actually faces the inner courtyard/promenade.
Half-wraparound outdoor patio, faces west, didn't seem to have much of a view but as currently designed will get the full brunt of the Vegas sun.
There was a (pretty decent) loyalty program advertised at the bottom of the receipt; I regrettably missed that promotion notice until I was writing this review.
Want to return, not just for the beer and Bites, but also to try the 16" Eddie Spaghetti Pizza ($27) for the novelty factor and which may not always be available to order.