Hear that, dear Liberty Watch reader? It's Satan callin'. Day or night, Lisa the bartender is always ready to pour a beer before cayenne-peppering and hot-saucing her namesake burger for you. She's got a reason to: After all, it ain't called "Lisa's Lucifer Burger ($6)" for nothing.
Indeed, the Lucifer Burger goes perfectly with a Stella Artois and some Freakin' Fries on your lunch break. On the flat screen TVs above the bar, there's a baseball game. Next to it, there's an old Renee Zellweger movie, Empire Records playing. Afterwards, Lisa will pop in Tommy Boy, in which Chris Farley and David Spade terrorize a plane-full of passengers with an obnoxious airline-steward act that involves the threat of a ball-peen hammer.
Located directly across from UNLV, the Freakin' Frog isn't your ordinary college watering hole. With "more than 500 beers from 30 countries in 140 styles," the Frog is the beer connoisseur's bar. Where else can you enjoy a Rogue Juniper Pale Ale ($10), next to a Gulden Draak Ale (Belgian, $30), next to a Josef Bierbitzch (golden pilsner, $12), next to a Big Bear Stout Ale (Russian, $18), next to a Westmalle Dubble and Tripple (Trappist, $15)? There's even a Magners Irish Cider ($8) for those who drink the stuff. Heck, there's even a wine and a whiskey attic.
Of course, Liberty Watch doesn't recommend you down these back-to-back. Instead, you should match one and more of these bottled delicacies (is there anything delicate about beer, though?) with one and more items from the food menu, because the Frog offers a feast for the stomach.
The starters are sublime - everything from the Crack 'N Cheese Triangles ($5), which are called "crack" for its super-addictive properties, to the prosciutto bomb ($3), a Sicilian pepper stuffed with prosciutto and provolone cheese and marinated in oil and herbs. If you can handle the heat, the Pig's Noses ($6) will sear your taste buds with a surge of breaded and fired jalapeno slices. Don't forget to step up to the Tall Guy's Bratwurst ($6), two grilled brats served with spicy mustard. Needless to say, all of these go great with anything from the Frog's vast arsenal of classy suds. (We at Liberty Watch are partial to Stella, so it's really your call.)
The burgers will make your tongue smack your brains out. Gary's Teriyaki Burger ($6) comes with grilled onions, pineapple, Swiss cheese and teriyaki sauce. We already mentioned Lisa's dark patty. And for vegetarians, there's Trish's Vegetarian Black Bean Garden Burger ($6). But if you want to know the truth, the best thing on the menu is Adam's Freakin' Hot Chili ($5). This is from-scratch beef chili - no beans - served with cheese, onions and tortilla chips. So that your taste buds aren't permanently scorched, we suggest you ask for extra cheese (and a Stella). That's hot chili!
Another great reason to enter the Frog is the recent expansion. The Frog has swelled to twice its former size by absorbing what used to be the adjacent hydroponics shop. Now there's a foot-high stage and pro lighting and sound. The Killers' sax player, Tommy Marth (whose horns you hear in the popular rock band's hit single "Bones") is now the bar's entertainment director, and has booked a number of music acts through the next few months. In addition, Marth and Liberty Watch reporter and wine columnist David Himmel have introduced a Tuesday night laugh riot called, appropriately, "Dave Himmel's Freakin' Hilarious Half-hour Comedy Hour," which starts at 9:30 p.m. Be there and bring the satanic sense of humor, OK?
The Freakin' Frog is located at 4700 S. Maryland Pkwy. For more info, call 702-597-9702 or go to www.freakinfrog.com. LW
