Restaurants, bars find winning strategy matching menus to NFL teams

If you’re from Philadelphia and an Eagles fan and you’re new to Las Vegas, here’s a taste of home, literally and figuratively: The Madison Ave. Bar and Grill, 855 E. Twain Ave., is serving scrapple and eggs ($8), Philly cheese steaks ($8.50) and Taylor pork roll as a sandwich or with eggs ($8) during all Eagles games.

Yes, scrapple — in Las Vegas. And there’s a free Tastykake buffet at halftime.

The Madison Ave. is just one example of local watering holes that specialize in hometown foods during the games of specific NFL teams.

“We’ve been an Eagles bar the last 17 years, because the owner is originally from the Philadelphia area,” said bartender Brian Zimmer.

Scrapple and eggs tends to be the most popular dish because scrapple is virtually unknown in the valley, Zimmer noted.

“Go to a restaurant here and 90 percent of the people don’t even know what it is,” he said. (If you’re one of them, it’s a mixture of pork scraps, cornmeal, seasonings and other ingredients, formed into a loaf, then sliced and pan-fried.)

Josh Bernat is an Eagles fan, too, but he won’t be serving any scrapple. Bernat is the manager of Shuck’s Tavern at 7155 N. Durango Drive, which has been a Chicago Bears bar since it opened 10 years ago. His boss back then was a native of Chicago.

“He’s no longer with the company, but I stayed with Chicago,” he said. “It’s not because the team’s that good. I wish they were better.”

Bernat, a native of California, said he occasionally goes to Chicago to research the food, and in fact just got back from a trip there.

“We’re really good at doing the food the right way,” he said. “We make sure we use Vienna beef and the Italian beef. We don’t skimp on it.”

Shuck’s Tavern will be serving an Italian beef sandwich with giardiniera ($6.95), Italian sausage and peppers ($6.95), a sausage and beef combo sandwich ($7.95), beer-basted bratwurst ($6.95), an Italian beef flatbread ($6.95) and the ever-popular Chicago hot dog ($4.95).

“They’re not my team, so it makes it easier to work it,” Bernat said.

But no matter who your team is, you’ll find hometown food at Lagasse’s Stadium at the Palazzo during the team’s games on Monday and Thursday nights. Scott Pajak, chef de cuisine, explained that he doesn’t offer the food during Sunday games, because Sundays are just too busy.

This is the fourth year Lagasse’s Stadium has offered the special menus (the regular menu also is available).

“People come in just for that one night, for that game, to support their team,” he said.

There tends to be a lot of Denver fans, because the city’s comparatively close to Las Vegas.

“There’s a lot of Pittsburgh fans out here,” he said. “Chicago’s got a good following.”

Pajak said he tries to tweak the offerings every year. Some cities are a lot easier than others, he noted.

“Indianapolis is a tough one,” he said, “because there’s only a few signature things they’re known for. Washington, D.C., is a tough one because they’re so diverse.”

For Thursday’s Panthers at Broncos game, he’ll be serving a Carolina pulled-pork sandwich with seasoned fries ($15) for the former and a green chili cheeseburger with seasoned fries ($16) for the latter. For Monday night’s game featuring the Steelers at Redskins, it’ll be a turkey BLT Primanti Brothers-style ($14) and a pork-belly BLT with black pepper mayo and seasoned french fries ($15); for Monday’s Rams at 49ers game it’s a spicy tuna sushi roll with ponzu dipping sauce ($13) and seafood cioppino with focaccia ($24).

So how’s the turnout among loyal fans? Zimmer said they’ve been getting a good crowd of Eagles fans at Madison Ave., especially during the past few years.

Pajak said Lagasse’s Stadium gets a mix of tourists and locals, especially on Monday nights.

“It’s kind of nice to get out and watch your game in a different environment instead of watching it at home,” he said.

“We get a good turnout,” agreed Bernat of Shuck’s. “The first six weeks we’re packed.

“Then, depending on how the Bears are doing …”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at reviewjournal.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.