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Fado Irish Pub's interior was built in Ireland, shipped to the United States and reassembled here.
Photo by KEN WHITE/ REVIEW-JOURNAL
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Wednesday, March 13, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
APPETIZERS: Ken White
Emerald Isle favorites given international twist at Fado
Traditional Irish pubs have been cropping up in Southern Nevada during the past few years, selling typical Irish cuisine and an atmosphere that is supposed to send diners back to the old sod.
Fado Irish Pub, the latest eatery to open at Green Valley Ranch, has the atmosphere, but offers what executive chef James Moore calls Irish fusion cuisine.
Traditional items are on the menu -- corned beef and cabbage (actually not a dish commonly found in Ireland, but created in America), fish and chips, bangers and mash, and shepherd's pie -- but diners also will find dishes usually associated with Ireland mixed with ingredients from French, Asian, Cajun and Mexican cuisines.
"It's a tough sell to tell people Irish cuisine is world-class," says Moore, who grew up in Ireland and worked on the Aran Islands and in Dublin restaurants before coming to the United States eight years ago.
Neither Ireland nor England have been known for great cuisine, but Moore says Ireland's improved economy has brought chefs back to the country who have made the traditional cuisine more innovative.
Fado (pronounced f'doe) is one of 10 in a chain of Irish pubs. The company has the pubs' interiors built in Ireland, dismantled and shipped to the United States, where they are reassembled on-site.
The restaurant at Green Valley Ranch, 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway in Henderson, features a Victorian look, with a nod to Ireland's past in which the typical pub was a combination of post office, grocery and bar.
Fado, which seats 185, does go for the most authentic Irish brews on tap. It installed a beer system that Moore says pours a pint of Guinness Stout that would make a Dubliner smile. Most Irishmen, he says, won't drink Guinness on tap at an American version of an Irish pub.
"We wanted to make it 100 percent right," Moore says.
An authentic glass of Guinness, which contains a high amount of iron, is light and creamy, as opposed to its reputation in America as being heavy and virtually undrinkable.
The pub also features Harp Lager, Bass Ale, Murphy's Amber Ale, Boddington's, Stella Artois and Strongbow Cider on tap.
There's also a large selection of Irish whiskeys -- Jameson, Black Bush, Bushmills Single Malt, Midleton Very Rare, Power's, Redbreast and Tullamore Dew.
Appetizer items on the dinner menu include Irish-oak smoked salmon served with capers, onion, horseradish and brown bread ($8.95); baked brie in phyllo pastry served with brown bread, and a honey and green-onion dressing ($7.95); and Galway Bay mussels steamed in white wine and garlic broth ($7.95).
Fado also serves salads and daily specials such as bangers and mash with onion gravy ($7.95), Irish-style meatloaf ($7.95), and traditional corned beef and cabbage ($8.95).
Even the traditional Irish boxty dish (a potato pancake stuffed with a filling) gets a makeover. The seafood boxty includes yellow rice, salmon, cod, shrimp and mussels topped with red pepper aioli, and a black bean and sweet corn relish ($12.95); barbecue chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage boxty with grilled chicken, shrimp and spicy Cajun andouille sausage with black beans and sweet corn in a Guinness barbecue sauce, topped with pepper jack cheese, barbecue sauce and tomato pico ($11.95); steak and portabella mushroom boxty with steak sautéed with Cajun spice, portabella mushrooms, and topped with melted cheddar cheese and salsa ($12.95); and grilled vegetable boxty with grilled garden vegetables, garlic, basil, ginger and sesame seeds tossed in a sweet hoisin sauce, and topped with pesto aioli and jicama slaw garnish ($10.95).
Sandwich choices include grilled salmon on toasted sourdough bread with lettuce, tomato and onion ($8.95); battered cod on a hoagie roll with lettuce, onion, tomato and tartar sauce ($7.95); and tuna salad topped with cheddar and served on a croissant with baby field greens, tomato, cucumber, red pepper and mayonnaise ($7.95).
Entrees include Fisherman's Pasta, a dish featuring salmon, mussels, shrimp and cod in a ginger-lime sauce, tossed with penne pasta, green beans and tomatoes ($11.95); Dublin-style chicken curry on a bed of rice pilaf ($10.95); blackened fish and chips with salmon, and served with coleslaw and red chili tartar sauce ($12.95); and homemade shepherd's pie, grilled sirloin and vegetables and gravy, topped with colcannon (a dish whose main ingredients are cabbage and potatoes) and served with a greens and vegetable garnish ($11.95).
If you're looking for that robust traditional Irish starter, Fado offers the All-Day Irish Breakfast: two eggs, Irish sausages, rashers (Irish bacon), black and white puddings, baked beans, tomatoes and brown bread ($9.95).
Desserts include brown bread ice cream ($4.75), rhubarb custard pie ($4.95), chocolate cappuccino torte ($5.25)00 and harvest bread pudding ($4.95).
The lunch menu is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Other menu items are available throughout the day.
Fado, which has open seating, is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Appetizers is a weekly informational column about new developments on the Las Vegas dining scene. Items should not be considered reviews or recommendations and none is a paid advertisement.
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