by David Grisham
TUNICA RESORTS — When Toni Burns, vice president and general manager of Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, described the casino’s new Flights Craft Brews and Apps as an “elevated bar experience without the elevated bill,” it got my attention. So much so that I found myself planning to take a party over to check it out.
My plans to visit got fast-tracked when Cynthia Morgan, beverage manager, invited me to drive over and experience the new bar. My wife and I left for Sam’s Town posthaste and were greeted by Morgan at the entrance to Flights, along with Michael Pastore, director of operations, and Alan Handler, food and beverage manager.
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| Pulled pork egg rolls |
Pastore gave us a quick tour and emphasized the care that has gone into ensuring an ultimate beer-tasting experience, pointing out the beer taps that are set up to serve craft beer at its ideal temperature - 29 degrees. The selection of craft beer at Flights is impressive and includes brands from regional breweries that emphasize quality, flavor and brewing technique. The price is right, too. A flight, which consists of four 4-ounce beer glasses, each containing different beers of your choice, costs $10.
We sat down with Pastore and Handler, who went over the beer selections and app choices with us and made a few recommendations, which we eagerly agreed to sample. I found the Flights experience to be thoroughly enjoyable. To me, sampling a flight of beer is kind of like a wine tasting, only it’s beer that is being served. A flight allows one to try multiple styles and brands of beer in one sitting in moderate amounts. After a tasting, one might want to order larger quantities of a favorite, or sample another flight. I believe I would go with multiple flights. It’s a lot of fun comparing different varieties of beer.
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| Beef tenderloin sliders |
For my flight, I chose Shock Top Lemon Shandy, Covington Strawberry Ale, Chafunkta King Fish Ale and Yalobusha Copperhead Amber Ale. My wife opted for Naked Pig Pale Ale, Abita Andygator High Gravity and Wiseacre Get Up to Get Down Coffee Stout, along with the Copperhead. A detailed description of each beer is included on the menu, which I found to be extremely helpful. It was not intimidating at all to this rookie. I admit that I’m late to this craft beer party, having been a strict Corona-with-lime drinker for years.
Of the beer I sampled, I enjoyed the Lemon Shandy so much that I bought a six-pack later in the week when I spotted it at a specialty market. It was a refreshing, crisp and smooth beer. The Strawberry Ale was especially good. My wife’s favorite was the Copperhead, which craft beer aficionados describe as having a hop and mostly caramel malt aroma with well-balanced taste, medium body and medium carbonation. I confess that I will have to train my palate a little more to define beers to that extent.
Looking over at my partner’s flight, I felt compelled to sample her Wiseacre Get Up to Get Down Coffee Stout and was really amazed at how much I enjoyed it. For a second I thought I was drinking something from Starbucks - only this was beer!
The co-stars at Flights are the apps. Appetizers available include waffle fry nachos, pulled pork egg rolls, hummus and vegetable platter, buffalo tenders, turkey lollipops, pulled pork nachos, pulled pork sliders, chicken wings, Italian stuffed mushrooms, Bang Bang Shrimp and beef tenderloin sliders.
We ordered the pulled pork egg rolls, which are prepared by chefs onsite using Sam’s Town’s famous pulled pork; beef tenderloin sliders, which consist of Twain’s tenderloin topped with a homemade Jack Daniels sauce; and Bang Bang Shrimp, shrimp battered Asian-style and served with Thai chili and sriracha sauce. We also added an order of turkey lollipops - two skewers of turkey meatballs served with a honey and sriracha dipping sauce. All were delicious apps that tasted more like fine dining than bar food.
These apps, like the beer, are budget-friendly. The beef tenderloin sliders and Bang Bang Shrimp are $9.99. The pulled pork egg rolls and turkey lollipops are $6.99. Most items are $6.99 with no app on the menu costing more than $9.99. I believe the location of Flights next to Twain’s Steakhouse may be the secret to giving beer lovers upscale apps and a non-upscale price.
Add Wi-Fi and football on the HDTV monitors throughout the place and you’ve got the prescription for a real good time. In addition to craft beer and apps, one can also enjoy crafted cocktails from a cocktail menu and a fine selection of bottled beer.
Flights is open Thursday-Sunday from 4 p.m. to midnight. You’ll want to check it out for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.
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Pictured left to right at Flights are: Sous Chef Rico Mckay, Food and Beverage Manager Alan Handler, Beverage Manager Cynthia Morgan and Director of Operations Michael Pastore.
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