Category: Miscellaneous

At The Wynn-ing Table With Steve And Elaine

As you’ll see from this Wynn Private Menu (pdf – new window),* the couple who gave Vegas its gastronomic pretensions have decidedly unpretentious appetites.**

Seems sort of a shame really, since they have everyone from Alex Stratta to Theo Schoenegger at their beck and call. (e.g., “Hey Schoenegger, can I get a goddamn egg white omelet up here for chrissakes! I’m hungry as hell and Kazuo Okada is breathing down my neck…”)

If ELV (and the fictional Mrs. ELV) suddenly changed places with the Steverino and his missus (in a post-modern, culinary Prince and the Pauper switcheroo sort of way) here’s how the instructions to our private chef would read:

Likes: Ortolans

Does not like: Beenie Weenies

Enjoys: Roasted fetal baby pigs imported from Ristorante Diana in Bologna, Italy.

Does not like: Pigs In A Blanket

Loves: Komodo dragon steaks a la The Freshman

Does not like: Tuna noodle casserole

Loves:

– White truffles from Alba, Italy

– Black truffles from the Perigord region of France

– Belon oysters flown in fresh from Brittany daily

– Fresh butter from Neal’s Yard Dairy

– Jamon Iberico pata negra de bellota

– Hand-harvested Nantucket bay scallops

– Unpasteurized French cheeses

Does not like: Fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches

Loves (and insists upon): A new chocolate creation every day from Fredric Robert

Does not love: Jello molds

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* Whassup with the instructions: “Do not overfeed him. Control portion size.” What is the guy, a pet?

** Speaking of pets, after reading this, ELV (and the fictional Mrs. ELV) decided that being the Wynn’s personal chef must leave plenty of time for this.

Encore Spa

“It’s kinda like the Taj Mahal with hot tubs,” is how one ELV staffer described the ABA-designed Encore Spa after they’d completed a day of relaxation.

We realize this has nothing to do with food, but uber-designer Todd Avery Lenahan’s massage-motivated-palace-of-pleasure-zen-masterpiece is so spectacular that we just had to run a few snaps of it.

And in case you’re wondering, ELV ain’t exactly down with the whole health and relaxation thing — since his idea of a massage begins and ends with Kobe beef, and he’d rather have some Pedro Jimenez P.X. sherry than a pedicure.

Letter Of The Week

In light of the comment to the last post that mentioned finding a cockroach in the dumplings, we thought we’d publish a follow-up letter of some months ago, illustrating the good that happens when an empowered diner makes the right sort of complaint to conscientious management. Whether this sort of approach (and remedy) would work in restaurants of a lesser sort is debatable, but still, our devoted dining diva did the right thing (in response to ELV’s usual unassailable advise, admonition and expostulation), and her experience might be instructive to diners of all stripes.

Dear ELV,

I wanted to get back with you with the resolve of my first, negative dining
experience at B & B Ristorante in the Venetian.

Continue reading “Letter Of The Week”