Neighborhood bars often take years, if not decades, to fully establish their character. Jive Turkey, a new Downtown dive located across from Huntridge Center on Maryland and Charleston, feels like an exception to that rule.
Housed in the former space of the historic Mahoney’s Drum Shop and founded by bar industry veterans Sam Pulliam and Adam O’Donnell, Jive Turkey is every bit as funky as its name suggests. The 4,300-square-foot bar, which features an outdoor courtyard and an adjacent building with seating and a stage for live music, nails a number of retro motifs, from kitschy wallpaper in the restrooms to a vintage mural of bursting stripes behind the bar. There’s even natural light inside—what a concept!
A time capsule comes to mind when Pulliam thinks of the space, but he’s quick to add that Jive Turkey isn’t a ’70s-themed bar, “but a bar that could have existed in the ’70s.”
“Downtown spoke to us because it’s actually got some style and history. Vegas is known for knocking things down and building anew,” says Pulliam. “We looked at the Arts District, but then this area just felt like the right timing and opportunity to get into. …This building was built in 1963, so trying to shoehorn a bar into a unique space was exciting.”
Jive Turkey highlights local history and pays respect in several ways. Its Bonneville cocktail tips its hat to the Downtown street, but also delivers a banging recipe. There’s also a section of the menu for Other People’s Property, which features cocktail staples like the Cable Car and Infante from household names like Tony Abou-Ganim and Giuseppe González, respectively.
The rest of the menu is exceptionally playful, with cocktails like Birds Aren’t Real ($14) tapping into our inner conspiracy theorist, and Take It In the Can ($14) unlocking a new appreciation for vacation drinks with a bite. In contrast, the Over 21 ($14), a concoction of cinnamon amaretto, rye whiskey and—wait for it—Yoo-hoo chocolate drink, sings back to our childhood in a way no other cocktail can.
On top of those offerings, you can also choose … mayhem. Jive Turkey’s menu offers a list of silly activities. You can pay to “ice” someone with a bottle of Smirnoff. You can pay to have your Polaroid taken and pinned to the wall. You can even pay to have a good cry in the bar’s walk-in, though hugs might come with an extra fee.
It’s totally unserious, and Pulliam knows it. But it’s also what makes a memorable night. That’s why there’s also a “family meal.”
“In restaurants, you have a family meal before your shift,” Pulliam explains. “If you stay with us until close, most nights, we are going to offer some kind of fun food item for those people who make it to the end of the night.”
Pulliam doesn’t identify Jive Turkey as a gastropub but sees its food menu as “our best possible version of classic bar food.” Being from Chicago, he had to have a Chicago dog ($9) on the menu—the man’s got a tattoo of one on his forearm, for crying out loud. Pulliam says they dice all the traditional toppings of the hot dog into a relish, ensuring texture and consistency in every bite. The Oklahoma-style onion smashburger ($9) also knocks it out of the park with a chuck, short rib and brisket beef blend, thinly sliced onion, house-made burger sauce and pickles wedged into a potato bun.
Acknowledging those tasty bites, the Short Rib Sando ($16) is the standout.
“Our chef, Bruce Flowers, is braising short ribs for three to four hours in the back with tons of vegetables and aromatics, and it becomes super tender. Then he makes a gravy out of that, the renderings from all the short rib,” Pulliam says. “It goes on a sandwich with arugula, dijonnaise, caramelized onions and local sourdough from a bakery by my house, the Daily Bread.”
If you’ve saved some room, you can also order Mom’s Dessert of the Week ($7) from Jive Turkey’s “other” chef.
“Adam’s mom literally volunteered herself as tribute to make us desserts,” Pulliam says. “The first week she brought in Texas sheet cake, a chocolate cake that she made. We had an apple rhubarb pie and a blueberry pie. She’s busy!”
You can’t ask for more character than that.
JIVE TURKEY 608 S. Maryland Parkway #160, 702-202-0023. Daily, 3 p.m.-3 a.m.
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