Category: Chefs

Dessert of the Year – Paris-Brest at EATT

Paris-Brest

ELV note: Here they are, food fans, the only restaurant awards that count in our humble burg. Put together by three devoted critics — Jim Begley, Mitchell Wilburn and yours truly — and thoroughly vetted by über-editor Andrew Kiraly, these accolades get published every year in Desert Companion magazine, and are the result of intense research, discussion and fat-chewing. I’m only reprinting the ones I wrote for the ‘zine on these pages today (as sort of a Merry Christmas present to all the recipients), but to see the complete list and article, click here.

There are two requirements for a dessert to be magnificent: one, that it be intense; and two, that it be French. A French renaissance of sorts has blossomed off the Strip in the last year, and the team at Eatt is one of the restaurants doing the food of its homeland proud. On a menu full of standouts both lavish and light, it is Vincent Pellerin’s desserts that will have you swooning — and forgetting about all the delicious, healthy fare you just had for dinner. These classic cream puffs, named to celebrate the Paris-to-Brest bicycle race, are filled with a praline cream, then topped with a house-made chocolate bar and caramelized hazelnuts. They come three to an order, which won’t be enough — whether there’s one person at the table, or three.

EATT GOURMET BISTRO

7865 W. Sahara Ave.

702.608.5233

http://eattfood.com/

Excellence in Service and Management – MOREL’S FRENCH STEAKHOUSE & BISTRO

Morels French Steakhouse

Running a three-meal-a-day restaurant in a busy Las Vegas hotel has to be one of the toughest jobs in the hospitality business. It’s one thing if the operation is a glorified coffee shop, but quite another if it aspires to be a top-flight French steakhouse with a wine bar, an outdoor patio, and a menu that runs the gamut from sparkling oysters to eggs Benedict to dry-aged ribeyes. Add a cheese program, au courant cocktails, tableside Caesar salads, rolling beverage carts, artisanal beers, and late-night dining, and you have the service challenge to end all service challenges. But every day of every week, from daybreak until well past midnight, G.M. Louis Hirsch (pictured) keeps Morel’s Steakhouse running like a luxury timepiece. I ate four meals here in the past year — two when I was recognized and two when I was not — and the service was perfect every time. JL Carrera’s classic steakhouse fare never disappoints; the ease and professionalism with which it is served, morning, noon and night, only deepens the pleasure of dining at this unsung restaurant.

MOREL’S FRENCH STEAKHOUSE & BISTRO

The Palazzo Hotel and Casino

702.607.6333

http://morelslv.com/

New Restaurant of the Year – SPARROW + WOLF

http://sparrowandwolflv.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Timelapse_Sparrow-and-Wolf.jpg

If you’re going to judge the New Restaurant of the Year based upon the splash it made, no one did a bigger cannonball in our restaurant pool than Sparrow + Wolf. After leaving the Strip and wandering in the desert for a few years, Chef Brian Howard found a home smack dab in the middle of Chinatown, and from day one he’s been pulling in locals and tourists with a protein-rich menu that demands you pay attention. Never before has Chinatown, much less the rest of Las Vegas, seen things like clams casino with an uni hollandaise, beef cheek and bone marrow dumplings, and halibut in a white Alabama bbq sauce, and our restaurant scene will never be the same again.

It’s that influence — along with the groovy cool vibe, inventive cocktails, and spot-on service — that will probably prove to be Howard’s legacy. By going so far out on a limb — with his menu, his concept, and his location — he has established a template for chefs who want to break with the corporate culture and do it their way. His is not cooking that bows to any convention (sweetbreads wrapped in grilled romaine with smoked bacon is not exactly grandma-friendly), but it is squarely aimed at the GenX/Millennial customers — those who have come of restaurant-age in the age of the internet. They are the customers who will drive the restaurant business for the next twenty years, and the S+W menu taps right into the zeitgeist.

Whether you’re looking for a fusion homage to the neighborhood (udon Bolognese), hearth-baked bread or coal-roasted beets, Howard has you covered. That he can squeeze so many flavors into such a modest space is a testament to passion and planning. That his intended audience responded immediately bodes well for the future of chef-driven restaurants. I don’t know if Las Vegas has enough dedicated foodies to support other young chefs trying to do what Sparrow+Wolf has pulled off, but its success is a mighty good start for the future of good eating.

SPARROW + WOLF

4480 Spring Mountain Road

702.790.2147

http://sparrowandwolflv.com/