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Restaurant Review: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill
IT'S A LITTLE BIT COUNTRYI may not be a fan of country music, but I am of its food – every battered, deep-fried, heavily spiced, barbecued, smothered-in-gravy bit of it. And while I’m sure that all the health-conscious, granola-loving diners out there are all in a tizzy over how fat-laden ‘country’ food is, there are equally the same number (if not more) who will gladly eat this type of food, day-in and day-out. It’s probably safe to say that I fall into the latter category. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill is what you get when country food gets franchised and operates on a national level, as opposed to being “some dive or neighborhood joint” one regularly frequents. Gone are the suspect cutlery, touch-and-go service and kooky characters seated next to you. These are replaced instead with servers in uniform (even if they’re dressed as cowgirls), menu items of “all-time favorites” and a highly-stylized and upmarket version of a “honky-tonk.” Not that this is a bad thing. We do, after all, live in Las Vegas, and there is a dearth of “authentic” country restaurants serving soul food in town, what more along the Strip.
There are some
non-traditional country items on the menu such as nachos and quesadillas,
which admittedly, have made its way into the mainstream American
diet, Southerners included. We opted to start with ‘Toby’s
Platter,’ comprising nachos, ‘Whiskey Girl’ wings,
jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks and fried mac & cheese.
Of all, my favorites were the wings for its Speaking of what’s good, I would have liked to try the other specialty appetizers like the chili cheese fries and deep-fried Cajun spiced shrimp. By the way, here’s a clue for the over-thinkers out there, ‘signature items’ are the ones with the guitar right next to them. When asked to recommend a dish, our server Kelly suggested, “anything deep-fried or doused with our barbecue sauce.”
Being a quick
learner, I opted for the ‘world famous fried bologna sandwich,’
while my fellow diner opted for a half-slab of baby back ribs. I
may not have grown-up in the South, but frying and mayonnaise, I
can definitely relate to. The ‘baloney’ sandwich was
pure comfort food – almost like a patty melt, except for the
meat - which was a just-as-thick-slice of bologna, instead of ground
beef, and served with onions, cheese and Miracle Whip, between slices
of grilled garlic toast. If it sounds like overkill, it isn’t.
Neither was it greasy, and boy, did it take me back to my childhood.
Only someone who’s eaten this before will The baby back ribs were your standard fare, except for its use of ‘Toby’s BBQ sauce,’ which was surprisingly very, very good. Like with the chicken wings, the sauce is at once sweet and tangy, and quite addictive. For dessert,
we had to try another Toby Keith signature item, the southern fried
twinkie. While not rare – Downtown Las Vegas specializes in
this – this version is ‘prettified’ and served
with whipped cream and strawberry sauce, which is a nice touch,
though I would still eat it on its own, minus all Health-conscious diners, fear not – there are other things on the menu – like the spinach salad with strawberries or grilled chicken and papaya salad; or even a grilled chicken salad wrap. There is also the daily $8.88 lunch special offering a choice of a steak sandwich, turkey melt or quesadilla. While these lighter options are available, I doubt this is the reason why Toby Keith (and others) loves this bar and grill. -Rachel M. Sugay Toby
Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill |
