A little reportage on Las Vegas.
We recently spent a week in Vegas,no, not for gambling, but rather for trying restaurants. Who would have guessed? And we came home with satisfied tummies and appreciation for those who had helped us find the best kind of dining off the strip. Anyone who spends more than two days visiting Las Vegas will be delighted to have these alternatives; and perhaps they may be all the choices you’ll want for even the shortest stay.
We did have a duet of higher-end dining experiences on The Strip, information on which I will include in another column as they are in a category of their own.
First of all, everybody always asks, “Where did you stay?” We belong to Marriott’s Vacation Club and used a week at Marriott’s Grand Chateau (a year old and just ready to open two more wings), which is practically at MGM’s back door and just over a block from The Strip and the Bellagio. Such a great location and a beautiful villa experience for lodging.
About a week before we left home, I called Max Jacobson, resident and restaurant critic in Las Vegas for the past eight years,some of you will remember his name from having been the restaurant critic here for the Los Angeles Times for quite a spell. He was tremendously helpful with restaurant suggestions as were our friends and people who were in top management of the big deal restaurants who told us where they ate with their families. It gave us plenty to work with for the week.
On the top of the list of recommendations was a Thai restaurant in which we ultimately found remarkable food, even though it is in a completely unbecoming strip mall. The “front” is utterly unimpressive with a parking lot facing its plain storefront scenario.
|
|
Lotus: rave reviews by food writers |
But, Lotus of Siam,on East Sahara Boulevard (five blocks before Maryland Parkway), (702) 735-3033,where the food is cooked by the lady chef/owner Saipin Chutima, is an absolute must place to go.
We discovered that it is a constant hangout for the big name performers in the city, not to mention gourmets from across the nation.
In fact, Lotus has been praised by stellar food writers. “The single best Thai restaurant in North America,” said Jonathan Gold, Gourmet Magazine. “The greatest Thai meal I’ve ever eaten outside of Thailand,” wrote David Rosengarten, Rosengarten Report. “There’s nothing as good in L.A.,” said S. Irene Virbila, Los Angeles Times. “The most addictive place to eat in the city,” wrote Jerry Shriver, USA Today.
Convincing enough.
Still, we did not expect to see limos dropping off bling-laden ladies with dapper partners and then other limos gliding up to retrieve those who had finished their dining. But there they were.
Inside, it’s adequately pleasant but very low key. The first surprise is that the food is almost on the cheap scale (most entrees between $9 and $14), and the second is encountering those beautiful tastes that had us wondering how we could find time to do it all over again. Color this marvelous, not-to-miss cuisine.
Nora’s Italian Cuisine,Flamingo Road at Jones, (702) 873-8990,was on virtually everyone’s recommendation list. It’s a neighborhood place, but in a newer mall location. The Mauro family has been dispensing Italian specialties with a Sicilian bent for years.
We were happy amid the mid-scale d & #233;cor and general friendliness it parlayed and even more pleased with the food,at lunch, the place was packed with people in business attire and in the evenings there was nice live jazz entertainment.
For me, it was quite a trip down memory lane, as I’d grown up with many immigrant families from Italy and France and there was lots of Sicilian and southern Italian cooking in general in my childhood. The food we ate at Nora’s was the same and it proved to be another affordable opportunity to dine well with the locals (dinner entrees about $8 to $16).
Yet another place to put on your “keepers” list is Firefly,Paradise Road at Corporate, just north of Flamingo, (702) 369-3971. It’s an engaging place in food, energy and decor (has a nice outdoor patio where the dining scene is quieter) with a large menu of tapas style plates.
We ordered many things: Spanish torta, grilled fresh anchovies on toast, eggplant cannelloni, albondigas (meatballs) in a sauce that packed a unique Mediterranean flavor, Portuguese clams with sausage and white wine and chocolate-cherry bread pudding in a Port wine reduction (plates are $3.50 to $10, adequate for sharing).
With all that, we still missed about 30 other dishes that sounded terrific and fun and we’re still wishing something like Firefly’s menu was available in OC.
San-Toki,4480 S. Paradise Road, (702) 732-8654,is still another restaurant that delivered so highly on taste with a modern and colorful ambiance that we were left pining for time to do it again. This is Korean food that’s cooked on a brazier centered in your table. Owners Brian and Emily Kim have a Japanese-fusion restaurant in the same center, Kaizen, that we had to forego due to time restraints, but it too looked quite inviting.
We had a fantastic kim chee pancake, one of the specialties, and various meats and seafood to grill and munch on. Specialty sauces, served in attractive little bowls, come with each choice, plus vegetables that are automatic sides. We wanted to have one of the stews that sounded heavenly, but too much food and only the two of us to consume it (specialty meat and seafood entrees $7 to $23).
Rosemary’s,on West Sahara Avenue, three blocks beyond Buffalo, (702) 869-2251,was the most upscale and expensive off The Strip place we tried. It’s been a favorite of some of our friends here in OC for a long time and it does have a lot to offer.
This is a complete restaurant and lounge and a fine place to have lunch as well as dinner. Tables are all laid out in linen, it has an intelligent wine list, service is very much on the professional level, the kitchen’s open at the back of the main dining room and the overall ambiance is pretty high.
We did lunch and there were families, lots of people in business attire and ladies lunching who were most fashionably dressed. Truly casual attire seemed to be properly left at home (or in the hotel) by all.
The food at Rosemary’s, which was very interesting and good, is the realm of owners Wendy and Michael Jordan, who met at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Wendy worked with the famed chef Susan Spicer in New Orleans and is a teaching chef at a local culinary academy.
We had one prix-fixe lunch and one a la carte. Plump shrimp with a Texas twang, sweet corn soup, Loch Duart salmon, bistro kabobs, unique eggplant “packages,” striped bass with andouille sausage and rock shrimp, and coconut bread pudding are indicative of the eclectic menu blend at Rosemary’s (lunch entrees $12 to $26, dinner entrees $24 to $38 range; three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner, $28 midday, $50 at dinner).
Finally, we had to give Bootlegger Bistro,7700 Las Vegas Blvd., South, (702) 736-4939,a try since it’s old hat Las Vegas, operated by the same family since 1972. It’s a short drive away from the sparkly resorts on Las Vegas Boulevard, having moved from its original site to this suburban location.
This restaurant is open around the clock. The food’s Italian. The place itself is a throwback to saloon restaurants of a past era. There’s live music every evening.
They are well known for their graveyard specials menu and it’s over all good looking (entrees about $10 to $25). However, we went for lunch and it was pretty quiet, so I think it is best put this one on your evening or late night list.
Unfortunately, we did not get to Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana,1776 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, (702) 222-3556. But according to those same educated palates I engaged for information, these hand-stretched pizzas are something to shout about, and we’ve got Settebello at the top of our list for next time.
We did do one casual restaurant on the strip, but that will go in with the report on the two fancier venues I’m covering later. I’m hoping that these tasty places will add dimension to your next trip to Las Vegas.
