B.B. King’s Blues Club Blasts Off!
(You don’t get the ‘blues’ at B.B. King’s…)
SATURDAY NIGHT THE air is cool outside, but when you enter the new restaurant and hear the live blues music, you feel the warmth at the B.B. King’s Blues Club located inside the Mirage Hotel and Casino. B.B. King—the grandmaster of the blues—has brought the pulse of the blues to the soul and now brings delicious sensations to the palette. Real comfort food from the south—music wafting through the air—a laid back—just enjoy yourself atmosphere permeates the room.
Chris Cain (a special blues player for many years and who has played at numerous blues festivals throughout the 
world) was performing as the opening act and the blues music was sensational. He opened with “I Feel So Good” and so did everyone in the house. The sounds of the rhythms and the scent of real southern food were a combination not to be beat! Later that evening, B.B. King’s All-Star House Band came on stage and rocked the house.
On the dance floor, there were two gentlemen from the audience who spontaneously got up and were rolling with the sounds—each outdoing the other with their fancy footwork—taking turns in an almost competitive impromptu performance that was a true sight to behold in this town of ultra lounges and plastic environments.
The food is perhaps the best Creole cuisine this side of the Nevada border. Chef Oscar Pena has on the menu some really southern delights such as, fried green tomatoes and deep-fried dill pickle chips with horseradish sauce. The Gumbo Ya Ya seems to have been freshly made in the Bayou. Southern Fried Catfish are filets accompanied with a southern staple—onion hush puppies. The number one item on the menu is the bone-sucking BBQ ribs—bet you can’t eat just one rack! If you want a great dessert just ask for the banana bread pudding—it is baked to order and drips with a caramel sauce—outrageous! Naturally, when it comes to a signature drink, order the Boll Weevil—a cocktail made from Grey Goose Vodka (Lucille’s favorite—no not Mr. King’s guitar—but the female half of our Valley News Team), Patron Reposado, Patron Citronge, Tanqueray Gin, Don Q Rum, with a squirt of Sprite, grenadine and pineapple juice—give me some more blues… There’s also a Rock Me Baby, and a Hoochie Coochie cocktail to tantalize your tongue and spirits.
The best thing that B.B. King realized when he created his restaurant in Las Vegas was to keep a quality menu with affordable prices. He also added dishes to the menu that were aimed at the Las Vegas crowd. You don’t have to be a high roller with a big bankroll to roll and rock at B.B. King’s. After you eat, get yourself on that dance floor—just like the two men we were entertained by on Saturday—let your body blues out and shake and shimmy to the beat.
The official grand opening for the B.B. King’s Blues Club will be in December. So, get your happy mood out, shake away those holiday blues, put on your dancing shoes and join the blues-making man for a great time.
Hey B.B. we have a question: If a lady’s given, legal name is Lucille, would you play a song on your guitar, ‘Lucille,’ for the crowd?
The club is not just a nightspot it is open seven days a week from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (Monday through Thursday) and from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. (Friday through Sunday), giving credence that this place is not just another nightspot. You can have a breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night meal.
Mr. B.B. King, the original Beale Street Blues Boy to his days as Blues Boy King and finally to the inimitable B.B. King—still can wail out those notes, and now has expanded his ventures into a great, solid restaurant. The Las Vegas menu was created with the foods that are aimed at our local and tourist patrons. In 1991, he opened his original club in Tennessee (on Beale Street—home of the blues) and later expanded to Nashville, New York, Orlando and West Palm Beach. Now, the Las Vegas Strip is the sight of his newest venue and we predict a Thrilling Success!
Thank you, Mr. King!
