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As sure as the cool April winds give way to blistering, 100 degree days in our humble burg, you can be sure that the east coast delicacies known as Callinectes sapidus (“beautiful savory swimmer” – aka the Maryland Blue Crab) will be hitting our better restaurants, ready to be munched on whole, without the necessity of pounding, poking and pricking your way into all those crabby delights.

Yep….that’s right….you eat ‘em whole, skin and all, biting right through the claws and the soft carapace to get to all that good meat.

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Who knew when we woke up early Monday morning such a week was in store for us?

It started with a 6am report on KLAS-TV about Firefly closing “voluntarily” because of “a few reported incidents of food poisoning.”

Our staff immediately smelled a rat (actually p.r. spin, read: poppycock) and prompted ELV to say so on this Website.

From there, things escalated quickly.

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The first bite is the banquet. – Chinese proverb

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Enough negativity already!

We at ELV are tired of pondering the craven meretriciousness that brings life-threatening food microbes into our digestive systems.

Instead, we should be focusing on the kind of cooking that got us into this gig in the first place.

Food like Pierre Gagnaire’s new Spring menu — containing ingredients so delicious you will think you are eating them for the first time.

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Things are improving, food-wise anyway, in our humble burg.

As young Wilburn points out in the previous post, our chefs and restaurants seem to be lifting themselves out of the doldrums. Menus (and cooking) seem more invigorated with passion this year, especially as compared to the last four. The molecular and the avant-garde seem to be fading (although foams are dying a slow, slow death, not fast enough for us) and fifteen course tasting extravaganzas (does anyone call them “degustations” anymore?) appear to be going the way of tasseled menus and tastevins.

One thing that will never go out of style is the well-crafted cocktail…and the list at Herbs & Rye is one of Las Vegas’s treasure troves of luscious libations:

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We at ELV consider a Bucks Fizz or Hemingway daiquiri to be the perfect way to launch (or end) an evening, and owner Nectaly Mendoza deserves major props for finally bringing the steakhouse fare up to something worthy of the cocktails.

After drinking at H&R, it’s an easy jaunt south on Valley View to Flamingo, where all sorts of modern, seasonal Japanese delights await at Yonaka,  like this ethereal tempura of shiso leaf:

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It’s that time of the year food fans. The time when yours truly begins researching in earnest for the next edition of EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants. Truth be told, our research (read: eating) never stops, but things heat up quickly once the weather warms, and we now start cruising old haunts and new faces (sometimes 3-4 in a day) to see who’s in and who’s out.

When it comes to those old haunts, usually a few swings at the menu is enough to tell us if the chefs have lost their fastball. One who still has a major league heater is JULIAN SERRANO.

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Selvaggio, Ahuja and Pellegrini sounds like a Sicilian law firm

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If ELV could wave a magic wand over the proceedings, he would use his powers to inspire the three gentlemen above (Piero Selvaggio, Sonny Ahuja and Luciano Pellegrini) to make a deal to bring a small, stylish, casual Italian trattoria to downtown Las Vegas, serving real Italian food and good wines to people who don’t think cheeseburgers, pizzas and tacos are the only sustenance on earth.

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Many thanks to Executive Chef Mike Minor and sous chef Jose Torres from Border Grill for ruining their nights sleep so that we could feature their fabulous food on the air at 6 am.

Here’s the list of our favorite outdoor dining spots:

SPRING INTO SPRING WITH AL FRESCO DINING!

Border Grill – Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino

Mon Ami Gabi - Paris Hotel and Casino

Verandah – Four Seasons Hotel

Poppy Den – inside Tivoli Village

Marche Bacchus – 2620 Regatta Drive, Las Vegas

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* There are only two things a man should be doing at 6am: 1) sleeping; or, 2) coming home and getting ready to go to sleep.

This being Eating Las Vegas’s fifth birthday* — hooray hooray! — our staff wanted to bask in some nostalgia and recount to you some of our trials and tribulations, victories and vanquishings over the past half decade, but instead we thought you should know that Charlie Trotter himself — that renowned chef, philathropist and humanitarian, went out of his way to e-mail us this morning congratulating us on being one of his favorite food/restaurant blogs and to tell us we are one of the reasons he misses being in Vegas.

Thanks, Charlie! It’s nice to be admired by such a famous, humble and fine man as yourself, and we long for the day when you will return to Las Vegas and grace us with your presence.

Happy Birthday….to us!

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* Coincidentally, we have done exactly 2,222 posts on this site since it began on April, 1, 2008. ELV doesn’t know what the fuck that means, but he thought you’d like to know.

ELV® recently completed his final ballot for the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards.

In case you’re interested, his ballot looked like this:

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As the first quarter careens towards its close, our staff thought it was time to take stock of Las Vegas’s dining scene and share a summary of our recent experiences.

And by “recent experiences” we mean the scenes of the crimes at some recent restaurants….along with the usual gossip, gall and gallivanting for which we are known.

Let’s start with the bad news first, shall we? (more…)