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It’s rare to find a pie that tugs at the heart strings. It’s even rarer to find such a treasure outside of the home. And yet, that’s just the reaction I had when I took a bite of RiNo Yacht Club‘s buttermilk pie. The crust tasted homemade: flaky, delicate, and salted to perfection. The custard filling, tangy-sweet and incredibly light, reminded me of my family’s heirloom sweet potato pie recipe.
The fact that this beauty is served at Yacht Club, the cocktail lounge anchoring the Source’s main hall, reveals how seriously owner Mary Wright takes the bar’s food program. As part of a revamp that expanded Yacht Club by one third, Wright recently brought on chef Theo Adley (formerly of the Squeaky Bean) to create a menu that’s both inspired by the sea (a natural for a “yacht club”) and regional coastal cuisine. ”[We’re] creating a more comfortable bar experience and giving our guests and friends more reasons to stick around longer,” Wright says.
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A newly incorporated raw bar puts pristine oysters, razor clams, scallops, and shrimp on display. And because Wright and her partner McLain Hedges hail from Chattanooga, Tennessee, much of the menu leans southern with items such as boiled peanuts, country ham and biscuits, West Indies crab salad, and, of course, that incredible pie.
Turns out the glorious dessert came from Hedges. “It’s a recipe that’s near and dear to his family,” Adley says. The dollop of Benedictine-sweetened whipped cream that crowns each slice tips its hat to modernity and pays tribute to the cocktail lounge vibe.
Bonus: Check out Hedges’ new spring cocktail menu.
3350 Brighton Boulevard, 720-485-5581
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