Category: Chefs

Au Revoir ANDRE’S

Now that Andre’s has officially closed, we at ELV thought this might be a good time to post the review I wrote of it for (the now defunct) Las Vegas Life magazine in April, 1999 that resulted in me being thrown out of Alize by the cheesecloth-skinned chef a couple of years later: French Persistence (1.8MB pdf — new window)

Judge for yourself just how “bad” a review it is, and perhaps you’ll see why we now designate all puerile pirouettes of petulance and pique (by chefs) a “FULL ANDRE.”

FYI: We tried to gain admission into Andre’s late last year (through the entreaties of one of its regular customers), but were told to expect a repeat performance — which indicates how much confidence Rochat must have in the quality of his food. (A shame really, since we think Chef Greg Englehardt is a very talented guy.) Perhaps Rochat just doesn’t know what to make of his cuisine, since Englehardt doesn’t cook French food that was outdated twenty years ago.

The List

Dear Readers: In his capacity as both restaurant critic and attorney to the stars, ELV is always being asked (besides: “How do you stay so young, thin and good looking?”): What are your favorite restaurants?” or “What are the top places in town?” Recently, we found ourself answering these questions so frequently that we decided to do a post that sums it all up.

As you’ll see, the only true “rankings” are the first category – Best of the Best, and steakhouses (Best Beef Eatin’). All other listed names are randomly placed within the category. And in case you’re wondering — yes, we have eaten in every one of these places multiple times over the years

The Best of the Best – when price is no object:

1) Joel Robuchon
2) Guy Savoy
3) Restaurant Charlie
4) Michael Mina
5) Picasso
6) ALEX
7) Le Cirque
8) RM Seafood

Continue reading “The List”

BOTERO – The Return Of Mark LoRusso

Mark LoRusso deserves to be a show horse. Not that he’s a showy or flashy guy. Far from it. He’s one of those humble, workaholic chefs who prefers to let his cuisine do the talking. As the Chef de Cuisine of Michael Mina’s Aqua (now Michael Mina), he was that kitchen’s secret weapon, and a guy whose reputation among fellow chefs was exalted long before the public had ever heard of him.

His work at Tableau in the Wynn from 2005-2007 earned him Chef of the Year honors in ’07 from KNPR, and when he’s on his game (which is just about every day and night) the guy is the Tiger Woods of kitchen consistency. Unfortunately, what he’s being asked to do at Botero is the equivalent of chaining a thoroughbred to a milk wagon — and then asking it to make deliveries at 50 miles an hour. Thus has the show horse become a work horse, and because of it, the results are mixed.

Continue reading “BOTERO – The Return Of Mark LoRusso”