Welcome to the New Jungle Bar in Las Vegas
Chris 'Tater' Gutierrez, general manager and cocktail creator at both Stray Pirate and Prowl, saw an opportunity when the T-shirt shop closed next door. But he didn't want to disrupt the cozy, chaotic vibe he fostered at Stray Pirate. 'So we wanted to do something else and create an entirely different bar, a bit the same, but more refined,' he says.
Inspired by Elvis's Jungle Room at Graceland, Gutierrez leaned into the kitsch: a moss-covered lava rock wall with a carved Olmec face, a crystal-lined cave hallway, and two standout bathrooms — one with an overhead butterfly display and the other with twinkling fiber optic 'fireflies' dangling from the ceiling. The 1,200-square-foot room seats just under 50 and features a retro feel with booths of burnt orange and avocado green beneath glowing glass orbs.
Prowl's cocktails follow the same inventive playbook Gutierrez developed next door at Stray Pirate — housemade syrups, fresh fruit, and unexpected flavors, all anchored by top-shelf spirits. Think ingredients like mashed sugar snap peas, honeydew, and housemade orgeat made from roasted pepitas, and a ginger beer infused with makrut lime leaf and hibiscus. It's a style Gutierrez has honed over the years behind the bar at the likes of Corduroy, Oak & Ivy, and Atomic Liquors.
The drinks at Prowl are cheeky by design. Gutierrez describes the Jungle Spirits menu as 'playfully raunchy,' with irreverent names and cult movie references. There's Sex Panther, a blend of reposado tequila and Oaxacan rum served in a ceramic panther head and teased on the menu as containing 'bits of real panther.' For a Good Time Call includes an actual phone number that patrons can dial for entertainment. 'We're trying to make the menu lighthearted and fun to read,' Gutierrez says.
But for him, it's still all about what's in the glass. Monstera Mash combines Capurro Quebranta Pisco with savory sugar snap peas, citrus, mint, elderflower, cardamom, and egg white. The Cougar is a light grapefruit-and-rose vodka drink, while the Morning Wood blends Vesta coffee with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, maple, Italian amaro, and sherry for something bold, balanced, and a little bit naughty.
Prowl's opening is the latest sign of the cocktail bar revolution that's happening in the Arts District. It joins other new arrivals like Natalie Young's Echo Taste and Sound, James Tree's Petite Boheme, Corner Bar Management's Doberman, and Nocturno from Milpa's DJ Flores — all run by bartenders with deep roots in Vegas and serious culinary chops. Together, they're redefining the Las Vegas cocktail bar: serving elevated drinks in high-concept spaces built for bar-hopping nights in a walkable, fast-evolving neighborhood.
'This is the area where people's dreams are coming true,' Gutierrez says about the Arts District. 'You can go into a spot and see somebody's dream come together within four walls.' See More: Eater Inside
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Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Restaurant review: Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, a flagship for pork in Chicago
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The silky chicharrón guisado, fried pork rinds simmered soft in red sauce, remains a weekend-only item at the original store, but is available every day at the sibling locations to tuck into tortillas. Glossy green guacamole and thick-cut chips, the metamorphosis of those tortillas by baptism in bubbling hot manteca, offers a cooling contrast, as does a bright ensalada de nopales (cactus salad). The golden tacos dorados — filled with pillowy pockets of potato and cheese, potato and chorizo, or sesos (spicy pork brain) — crackle when hot from the fryer. Surprisingly, there's one filling that's common across the neighborhoods. 'By far the traditional pork brain,' said Carbajal. 'Because carnitas places in Michoacán are known for selling those hand in hand with the carnitas.' The sesos gets seasoned and cooked with salt, garlic, serrano chile, onion and cilantro before it's stuffed into a tortilla and flash-fried in the caso, or cauldron. 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He worked with cantinero (bartender) Luis Estrada, bar manager at The Press Room. Nonalcoholic drinks are delicious too, from an iced café de olla to the house-made horchata, both delicately spiced and sweetened. Regulars should note that a horchata or agua de jamaica (hibiscus) is no longer included with the weekday carnitas meal. 'We can blame inflation for that,' said the restaurateur. But the weekend-only menudo is still a steal. One of the world's legendary hangover cures transforms beef tripe, guajillo chiles and aromatics into a soothing stew. You dress your bowl to taste with onion, cilantro and oregano as part of the restorative ritual. 'Price is something I'm very mindful of,' said Carbajal. 'I want big families to come by.' I ordered online for one visit, because the majority of the business is still takeout, and dined in for another. When I called to confirm my order, after I got through the voice prompts in Spanish, I was able to speak to a live bilingual person. 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is a journalist and longtime Las Vegas resident who has been covering entertainment and following trends within the city's restaurant and bar scene for the better part of two decades. The crew behind the popular dog-themed shipwreck bar Stray Pirate is trading pups for cats — big cats. On Thursday, June 12, they unveiled Prowl right next door, a new jungle-inspired cocktail lounge with shadowy rock walls and adventurous cocktails — all under the watchful gaze of a black panther that stalks silently across the screens behind the bar. Chris 'Tater' Gutierrez, general manager and cocktail creator at both Stray Pirate and Prowl, saw an opportunity when the T-shirt shop closed next door. But he didn't want to disrupt the cozy, chaotic vibe he fostered at Stray Pirate. 'So we wanted to do something else and create an entirely different bar, a bit the same, but more refined,' he says. Inspired by Elvis's Jungle Room at Graceland, Gutierrez leaned into the kitsch: a moss-covered lava rock wall with a carved Olmec face, a crystal-lined cave hallway, and two standout bathrooms — one with an overhead butterfly display and the other with twinkling fiber optic 'fireflies' dangling from the ceiling. The 1,200-square-foot room seats just under 50 and features a retro feel with booths of burnt orange and avocado green beneath glowing glass orbs. Prowl. Louiie Victa Prowl's cocktails follow the same inventive playbook Gutierrez developed next door at Stray Pirate — housemade syrups, fresh fruit, and unexpected flavors, all anchored by top-shelf spirits. Think ingredients like mashed sugar snap peas, honeydew, and housemade orgeat made from roasted pepitas, and a ginger beer infused with makrut lime leaf and hibiscus. It's a style Gutierrez has honed over the years behind the bar at the likes of Corduroy, Oak & Ivy, and Atomic Liquors. The drinks at Prowl are cheeky by design. Gutierrez describes the Jungle Spirits menu as 'playfully raunchy,' with irreverent names and cult movie references. There's Sex Panther, a blend of reposado tequila and Oaxacan rum served in a ceramic panther head and teased on the menu as containing 'bits of real panther.' For a Good Time Call includes an actual phone number that patrons can dial for entertainment. 'We're trying to make the menu lighthearted and fun to read,' Gutierrez says. But for him, it's still all about what's in the glass. Monstera Mash combines Capurro Quebranta Pisco with savory sugar snap peas, citrus, mint, elderflower, cardamom, and egg white. The Cougar is a light grapefruit-and-rose vodka drink, while the Morning Wood blends Vesta coffee with Woodford Reserve Bourbon, maple, Italian amaro, and sherry for something bold, balanced, and a little bit naughty. Prowl. Louiie Victa Prowl's opening is the latest sign of the cocktail bar revolution that's happening in the Arts District. It joins other new arrivals like Natalie Young's Echo Taste and Sound, James Tree's Petite Boheme, Corner Bar Management's Doberman, and Nocturno from Milpa's DJ Flores — all run by bartenders with deep roots in Vegas and serious culinary chops. Together, they're redefining the Las Vegas cocktail bar: serving elevated drinks in high-concept spaces built for bar-hopping nights in a walkable, fast-evolving neighborhood. 'This is the area where people's dreams are coming true,' Gutierrez says about the Arts District. 'You can go into a spot and see somebody's dream come together within four walls.' Louiie Victa Prowl. Louiie Victa Prowl. Louiie Victa
