Fukuburger is one of the best of the few food trucks in Las Vegas. But for their first restaurant without wheels, they teamed with Harry Morton to open in Hollywood. My report ran in the Las Vegas Weekly, but I couldn’t resist posting all my food porn from the tasting, too…

While some might have enjoyed merely rubbing shoulders with Gail Simmons and the many Top Chef “Cheftestants,” this past weekend’s Food + Wine All-Star Weekend was a reminder of one important thing: Aria, City Center is one of the strongest destinations on the Las Vegas Strip for fine dining. Of all the restaurants represented at [...]

My good friend Zeke Quezada has been the GoVegas Editor for the New York Times’ About.com pretty much as long as anyone can remember. As such, he’s essentially the single most-read voice on Las Vegas anywhere on the interwebs (in other words, Anywhere, Period), and is remarkably humble about it. Well, humble relative to many [...]

While many Downtown Las Vegas Casino Hotels have been slowly updating themselves, the El Cortez–one of the oldest, in continual operation since the ’40s–has done a particularly good job of reclaiming past glories while inserting bits of hip modernism. Here’s my most recent report, as a guest blogger on About.com, as well as some extra [...]

I have to admit, I was a skeptic. I didn’t think the Margaritaville chain was much more than a gimmick attached to an old song by an old MOR artist. Boy, was I wrong. Margaritaville, clearly, is part of a lifestyle. Last weekend I attended the first of two parties celebrating the opening of the [...]

Some things in Las Vegas have a way of hiding in plain sight. Aureole Wine Lounge is a fine example of this. Late last year, the Charlie Palmer restaurant in Mandalay Bay decided to update it’s rather austere entrance last year, opening up a huge window to their famous wine tower and dining room; it was a great idea, and arguably overdue, the first real change to the restaurant since it opened in the late ‘90s. At the same time, they also thought to gather some energy from the casino floor by creating a small “wine lounge” in front of the window, with a few select wines by the glass, and some small bites to accompany them.

Sometimes when you run a steady, sturdy ship it’s easy to get overlooked relative to newer, flashier restaurants with more marketing money. Such might be the case for Ping Pang Pong, perhaps one of the few perennial winners of the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s “Best Of Vegas” that actually deserves it. Both local and national critics [...]

I’ll be honest: in years of covering the Vegas dining scene, I’ve really only experienced a couple handfuls of restaurants off-Strip (or more specifically, outside a casino resort) worth writing about. Granted, that is probably on par with what you might expect of an average Southwest city even if it didn’t have a foodie-frustrating overload of fine dining right in the middle of it. But particularly in Vegas, most anyone with serious chef talent is going to want to be on the Strip. That’s where most of the money is, easy or hard.

Social House is easily the strongest culinary destination in Crystals, and one of the Strip’s most creatively approachable, ingredient-driven Japanese restaurants. No, it does not necessarily compete with the most adventuresome Japanese eateries in town, such as Spring Mountain’s Iburiya Raku and Ichiza, but this is a more relaxed, lavish, internationally-appealing experience, with strong quality and technique. The kitchen understands how to balance salty, sweet, sour and bitter with crispy, crunchy and soft textures for mouth-pleasing bites. That talent is all too rare.

There is a certain irony in the fact that the first official “tribute” to organized crime in Las Vegas is in the casino hotel which was discovered to be skimmed by the mob more than any other, the Tropicana. Of course, the resort has long since changed ownership several times, and this “Mob Experience” –not to be confused with the Mob Museum in the works for downtown Las Vegas–is one aspect of a major property overhaul which has done wonders with the old dame.

The Palazzo’s Double Helix has long been one of my favorite wine destinations on the Las Vegas Strip: it was one of the first to have an extensive by-the-glass selection, and with owner Ray Nisi frequently on premises, it’s also always had a very well trained and knowledgeable bar staff–regrettably still a rarity.
It also seems [...]

Have you checked out Rocket Fizz? While the Burbank store hardly originated the idea of selling every retro candy and soda pop available–shout outs to Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Highland Park and Powell’s Sweet Shop in Belmont Shores (and 17 other locations)–I’ve been so overdue to check it out that, while I slept they’ve expanded to branches in:

Jeff Norman is like a rock star in the liquor business. And not just because he is the Master Taster of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, one of the most popular brown liquors in the world, one of the best selling American liquors overall, and one of the best known American brands of any kind. No, Jeff Norman is like a rock star mainly because he’s like a rock star. I’m not exactly saying he’s Steven Tyler or Robert Plant, but the guy wouldn’t look out of place next to them, for sure.

So it certainly took some guts for Carlos Buscaglia, formerly one of the best Italian chefs on the Strip at the MGM Grand’s Fiamma Trattoria, to take that leap and open up a pizza place on Summerlin’s Town Center Drive, particularly in the middle of a severe economic downturn. Thus far, Due Forni Pizza & Wine seems to be doing fine… but if it fails, don’t blame the food.

I’ve attended Aureole’s Wine Weekend for the past two years, and I remain convinced that this small, rather under-publicized affair, is among the best annual food and wine events in the country. The first year, 2009, I documented on this website, here. The second, 2010, on EscapeHatchDallas.com, here.

I rarely feel compelled to promote corporate brands, but I recently enjoyed tastings at two restaurants in Las Vegas, both of which happen to be somewhat “under the radar;” happen to offer price points slightly below their quality might call for; and happen to be operated by the Los Angeles-based MCC Hospitality Group. It can’t be a coincidence.

It’s an odd thing to stake a claim as something of an expert when it comes to Las Vegas buffets…especially when you weigh in at under 200 lbs…but why hide it? I’m probably one of the few people on the planet to have dined at virtually all of the casino-resort buffets, typically in the course of research (see my Orbitz.com Top Ten Buffets, most of which I believe still holds accurate, with the exception of Mirage’s Cravings, about which I’ve heard too many complaints) but occasionally just in the pursuit of a quick, effortless meal. Which is largely the point of these casino smorgasbords, at least historically, as I noted in another piece I wrote on the topic for the Las Vegas Weekly.

I will always have a soft spot for a category killer: that intrepid soul, that rugged individual who decides that his or her place must have the largest, widest, most expensive or strangest selection of any one thing. Somehow I feel it echoes the pioneering spirit that made this country great. Even if its not really unique to America. Still, Las Vegas has always been a safe haven for category killers, and now it has one more: The Pub at Monte Carlo.

Last Friday, USA Today devoted the better part of a two-page spread on The Best of Las Vegas Nightlife, a pictorial written by Kitty Bean Yancey with the input of Vegas “panelists” Norm Clarke (Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist), Anthony Curtis (LasVegasAdvisor.com), Sarah Feldberg (Las Vegas Weekly), Oscar Goodman (outgoing Mayor of downtown Las Vegas), Dan Hippler (Vegas.com), Jack Houston (Las Vegas Magazine), John Katsilometes (Las Vegas Sun), and Abby Tegnalia (VEGAS magazine).

I have to tell you, I was pretty dumbstruck by it. I had to check the date of the paper—and wonder how much input my colleagues actually had. Because without exception, every single one of the choices—most of which wouldn’t generally be considered ‘nightlife’ specifically—could have been made two years ago. If not longer. YAWN.

Though coastal city snobs can continue to sneer, few if any cities can come near to rivaling the chef star power that is available in Las Vegas, where over the past 15 years, a fine food scene of remarkable breadth, depth and sheer volume has been gathered at the major resorts—and increasingly off-Strip, too. And the best representation of that scene, the best assemblage and celebration, remains Vegas Uncork’d by bon appetit.

Seems like all you hear about in Las Vegas anymore is the Cosmopolitan. That’s probably partially my fault. Here’s yet another piece I wrote on the resort, for Dallas/Ft. Worth’s 360 West:

Among the myriad fine dining grouped on the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ third level, Blue Ribbon appears as something of a sleeper. Unlike the flashy, hostess-heavy Jaleo and STK, the uber-fancy Milos, or classically modern Scarpetta and Comme Ça, Blue Ribbon is in a darker corner and somewhat hidden behind a patterned screen wall. But [...]

Sometimes when you’re producing a photo shoot, you have to demonstrate what you’re looking for to the photographer….
Luckily the final results, featuring Wet Republic model-server Claudia Morales, are far more appetizing…
From an upcoming feature on Skyy Dragon Fruit for The Tasting Panel… Pics by Beverly Poppe

I’m not one to be starstruck–often–but there’s always something cool about meeting the namesake of a wine, and Hailey Trefethen can claim that twice. Not only is she one of the daughters of the well-known Trefethen wine family (the scions of the Oak Knoll A.V.A.) but their single vineyard reserve HaLo was named after Hailey and sister Loren.

Dropped by for a quick visit with Chef Gary FX LaMorte at Andre’s Monte Carlo this evening, and the chef waylaid me with an unexpected menu tasting! I would complain, but every dish was remarkably creative and well-executed. While Andre Rochat, one of Las Vegas’ longest-established haute cuisine chefs, is very classically-minded, LaMorte has taken his namesake restaurant in exciting new directions (ask about the foie gras martini!) for which he’s relatively under-appreciated. This food is quite seriously up there with the finest in the city–and served formally in a gorgeous, cheerfully romantic, intimate dining room. Incidently, LaMorte told me it was the first time he’d actually sat down in his own dining room to experience the service, but I bet he tells all his dates that

It may not quite be a SCOOP, but it seems to have not been reported yet that Brian Howard has taken over the day-to-day reins as Executive Chef at Comme ça in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort. Howard is known as one of the more ambitious chefs in the local dining scene, most recently executing a very molecular/fusion menu at Nu Sanctuary in Town Square that should be remembered as one of the most adventurous culinary experiences in Las Vegas dining (particularly off-Strip–and joining Carlos Guia at Louis Osteen in the Town Square too good/too soon club).

Jet Tila is probably best known as Executive Chef of Wazuzu, the critically-acclaimed Pan-Asian restaurant in the Encore Las Vegas resort. But the LA native’s first professional identity was as a cooking instructor, holding classes in his backyard at 22 [He's also gone on to be accoladed for his recipes, blogs, videos, and making the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest stirfry. There are also frozen dinners on the way, I'm told. Here's a bio with more detail than I have the energy to paraphrase.] He moved his classes to Culver City’s New School of Cooking quite a while ago, but I only recently got a chance to sit in on a session to check it out. I confess that Thai is one cuisine I’ve always shied away from trying at home, the best dishes always seemed excessively complex and home versions never seemed to mirror what you could get very cheaply from a restaurant.

Well, maybe not so much song. But the Universal Whisky Experience, which gathered together dozens of distilled malt beverages from around the world at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas March 19-20 2010, was both educational and entertaining. Covering for The Tasting Panel, I took some candid snaps. Here’s the album:
And here’s my Tasting Panel [...]

Sometimes you have to take a stand. Sometimes you have to accept a difficult task. The kind of task that just can’t be left to amateurs. Sometimes, you have to judge a hot salsa contest. And that sometime, for me, came on February 15.

It’s not often I get to announce big food world news, but a right place-right time conversation with Scott Conant this morning about his wine program brought this bombshell. Master Sommelier Paolo Barbieri, late of the recently shuttered Restaurant Alex in the Wynn resort, has joined Conant’s team as Wine Director of both Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Even as the American palate expands dramatically in terms of wines and spirits, Japanese brewed sake remains remarkably misunderstood in the US. The selection is so broad—even just what’s available here—that every tasting provides more opportunity for knowledge and enjoyment.

Just teasing… one of the many outlets I’m proud to write for is the EscapeHatchDallas blog of my friend and colleague Mike Hiller…
Here are a few of the posts I’ve done for EHD…

•How’s Your Drink: An Interview with Cocktail Expert Charlotte Voisey

•Eating the Road: Aureole Las Vegas’ Wine Weekend

•Sneak Peak: New Vegas Resort, Cosmopolitan

•“Tequila Certification”: [...]

Since Yellowtail, the modern Japanese restaurant at Bellagio, is already well established, I don’t need to write a full review to explain it. However, a recent meal of Chef Akira Back’s specialties reassured me that even with the introduction of Blue Ribbon at Cosmopolitan, Yellowtail remains easily one of the Ten Best Japanese restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip… and possibly even Top Five (but don’t force me to make that difficult choice right now). And if the hostesses don’t convince you that it’s a sexy room all by themselves, the Rockwell Group interior design will. The patio is also one of the best places to watch the Bellagio fountains while dining.

Steven Siegel is Las Vegas Businessman of the Year–at least, if you ask me. I can’t think of any other entrepreneur who has made more dynamic, adventurous, and smart business moves in a challenging economy than the owner of the ever-expanding Siegel Suites as well as the Artisan, Rumor, Lodge at Mount Charleston, Gold Spike [...]

Few restaurant closings are truly happy occasions for anyone, but there might be no sadder news in the Vegas restaurants world than the announcement yesterday of the imminent shuttering of Wynn’s Restaurant Alex. Chef Alessandro Stratta’s Michelin-starred spot was not just inventive, not merely gorgeous and transportive, not solely decadent and delicious. It was all of these things at once–and certainly more. If anything, the restaurant’s greatest sin was how it made such a delicate balance look simple.

With all the talk of the new cuisine in Cosmopolitan, a few other smaller restaurant openings on the Las Vegas Strip this season have been largely overlooked. One is so hidden, you can hardly blame anyone for missing it: SEA Thai, in Bally’s–a resort that’s long suffered without any significant food updates.
Nestled next to the [...]

For New Yorkers, Scott Conant is already a well-known name. The chef has been opening one hot restaurant after the other—all Alto Italiano—for nearly the past ten years, It’s only in the past two that Conant has expanded from the naked city. After opening his own Scarpetta in the Meat Packing district, he’s cloned it in Miami, Toronto, Beverly Hills and now Las Vegas, while getting his face on the Food Network (he’s far less of a TV ham than many other chefs).

Writing for Anthony Dias Blue’s The Tasting Panel magazine not only means I get invited to their regular tastings–it also means I have the pleasure of meeting winemakers from around the world, and even visiting their wineries. Here are some of my recent reports:

And yet, more! on the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas…

Just a fun article I got to write (and produce the photo shoot) for The Tasting Panel, collecting four of the up and coming somms in Vegas, plus two of the hottest mixologists. Definitely a difficult choice among the many talents in town…

I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for a great slice of New York style Pizza. I mean really, does it get any better? Hot out of the oven, with the aromas of fresh dough, sweet herbed tomato sauce, and almost-burning melted mozzarella forming an intoxicating blend? Whoa, I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it.

But [...]

What I’ve been trying to say to Al, without becoming “that guy,” is that I really don’t need to see the list. I know what it is. That’s not to say I’m uninterested in seeing how they ranked the restaurants, and who loved/hated what. But the Top 50 spots in Vegas? Since I’ve had the really fortunate opportunity to experience almost as much as they have, I pretty much know what they picked—partially because I know which places are the best, and partially because I know which places the guys all have soft spots for (and also, hard spots).

As most West Coast foodies are aware, Conant’s empire is expanding doubly by the end of the year, with two more of his Scarpetta restaurants—one at the Montage Beverly Hills, and another at the new Cosmopolitan Resort on the Las Vegas Strip (the Cosmo address will also have a casual Italian wine bar, called D.O.C.)

It’s true. I had the rare opportunity to participate in the first US Certification class from the Consejo Regulador del Tequila of Mexico, at Dos Caminos Las Vegas. Read all about it in my blog for EscapeHatchDallas!

I’ve been inside some of the most impressive high-roller suites in Las Vegas–almost too many to name (Oh alright, I’ll name them: The Paiza level at Palazzo, Villas at Mirage, MGM Sky Villas, several at Caesars Palace–though not the Presidential–Bellagio, Vdara, Aria, Mandarin Oriental, Tropicana–new and old–Imperial Palace, Harrah’s, and Metro at Flamingo, all the kooky ones at Palms and Hard Rock and a few at Wynn/Encore, though not the Wynn Villas).

There are worse fates than being assigned to do a tasting of sake cocktails and the creative, satisfying Japanese/Peruvian/Brazilian fusion menu at SushiSamba. This national chain disproves the notion that all corporate eateries are substandard, just as Rock Sake disproves that an American sake can’t compare to Japanese product. Read the results in Tasting Panel magazine (click to enlarge):

Here’s a Gonzo-ish take on one of my first full immersions into the world of spirits marketing: the annual Nightclub & Bar Show… click to enlarge:

I’ve been a fan of François Payard’s Patisserie and Bistro since the day the acclaimed French pattissier and chef came to town three years ago. Producing fine European pastries, gelatos, crepes and chocolates in large quantities is enough of an achievement, but Payard–who has strong competition in town in that regard–ambitiously added an intimate jewelbox [...]

In honor of the Grand Opening of Max Brenner in Las Vegas today (Forum Shops at Caesars Palace), I thought I’d post some pics from the preview party a few nights ago (I took all the crummy ones), as well as link to my lengthy profile piece on Max in the July issue of DAVID [...]

Click the pic to read my Las Vegas Weekly story on the amazing Atomic 7!

I’ve had the pleasure of writing about the astounding WET company (the forces behind the Bellagio fountain and so much more) three times now. I hope to do it again.
Click above for my Las Vegas Weekly on WET and the creation of the City Center features.

Click above to download my story about the new Mirage [...]