Simple as this endeavor may sound, there’s a bit of research involved if one intends to drink more than just typical mass market-branded root beers, so I came armed with a root beer scavenger hunt list. Unfortunately, my first two potential root beer destinations both turn out to be busts – one location is purported to carry a certain label’s brew per that label’s website, though a thorough search of all shops inside said location yields no results; the second location is alleged to make its own root beer for floats, though neither root beer nor float appear on said location’s menu, as the menu itself appears absent, and said location no longer appears to serve any desserts in the shop itself (except chocolate samples, which are quite good enough for me to forgive the apparent lack of root beer).
Gathering this fair city’s true hidden treasures is not without peril, however, as I came to realize that the Vegas Strip is kind of like America’s ash tray. Casinos (more like theme parks…) which were once glamorous and much ballyhooed at their openings are quickly forgotten as soon as the next brightly-lit stage production of a resort is opened, neglected, left to gather filth and idle in disrepair until their proprietors, already having long realized the fickle nature of human interest, spectacularly raze the once-noble (false) edifices in favor of shiny new ventures. Where once there was spark, their initial brilliance slowly smolders until their embers are eventually discarded. While much of that statement is another discussion for another time, my first root beer find is case in point. Just one long block east of the Strip, the sidewalk is either crumbling or non-existent and the most brightly lit neon sits above a liquor store. Nestled into these fine environs is the Ellis Island Casino and Brewery.
They store grain for their microbrews in their sign!!! (November 2011)Contrary to appearance, Ellis Island is not named for the immigration hub in old New York, but for owner Gary Ellis. And while Ellis Island has all the hallmarks of “Old Vegas” – ringing slot machines in dimly-lit cigarette smoke-filled rooms – it was actually first opened as a restaurant in 1968. Today it’s known among locals for its award-winning microbrews, ribs, crazy cheap steak dinner, and karaoke night. Of course, it’s also known for this:
The Pooj wonders if drinking this elixir will make him big again.On the whole, Ellis Island’s root beer has a good root-y flavor, though it does taste slightly watered down. It’s therefore a little hard to pin down what the dominant flavor is, but if pressed, I’d say it leans very slightly to the licorice side, with a good sassafras finish that results in a nice herb-y aftertaste. There’s little head to speak of and it’s not particularly smooth, but it’s also not too sweet, so that lets some of the herbs come through, a little like an old fashioned root beer candy. While the root-y flavor does build as I drink more, it’s still a little hard to really make any distinction in the flavors since they’re fighting with the cigarette haze infiltrating the whole establishment for dominance. Consequently, any possible scents are also drowned out.
In hindsight, I should have partaken of the crazy cheap steak dinner special (for research purposes, naturally), but I didn’t want my root beer sampling facilities to be impaired in any way. Plus, I had just spent the morning eating everything in our cooler that could potentially spoil, since no usable refrigeration was provided in our hotel room that wouldn’t have entailed disturbing the motion-sensored mini-bar… Next time we’re here, I’ll definitely have to give it a shot, since the dinner special comes with a root beer (or microbrew of your choice), and I do like the root beer enough to have it again – not enough to bring a half gallon of it home, but definitely enough to stop in if we’re nearby. That’ll get Ellis Island a high 3.
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