You....lookin' at me?

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… as she and  2009 Hot Hostess of the Year Brianna…

Ashley and Brianna will miss ELV

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…wonder just where oh where ELV has gone for the weekend?

Why to Athens (Georgia, not West Virginia), of course, to visit Marcella Ruth Schroader Curtas (D.O.B. 8.10.24 – The Official Mother of ELV)…to celebrate his birthday with the woman who foisted him upon an unsuspecting world so many years ago.

Those of you who might miss the perceptive, pensive, pretentious, precocious, precious, pervasive, persuasive and preeminent prose, for which he is known, would do well to take a tip from Brooklyn Lee (she of certain insatiable appetites)…

Brooklyn has great taste

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…and take a look (and a lick) out of EATING LAS VEGAS – The 50 Essential Restaurants for the next few days.

To those of you doing a double take…yes, ELV has managed to work both his Hot Hostesses and a porn star into a post that also mentions his mother.*

SIMON at PALMS PLACE

In the Palms Place Hotel and Casino

4381 West Flamingo Road

Las Vegas, NV 89103

702.944.3292

http://www.simonatpalmsplace.com/

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* I’m Ruth Curtas and I approved this message.

Who knew the city of Rowland Heights, CA was another bastion of incredible Asian eats? Apparently, it’s known as Little Taipei in the San Gabriel Valley, and from the looks of things, Chinese restaurants are as plentiful as automobiles in this part of the world.

When Mary Shao — partner/founder of our very own China MaMa – asked us to stop by last month on our way to San Diego, we discovered her four month old restaurant was but a five minute detour off the main highway. We also discovered Chinese food of a sort that trumps the versions we’re used to in this neck of the woods.

As we’ve said many times, Chinese food (like Italian, Greek and Mexican) is done so badly so often (and sells anyway), that it’s a revelation to eat authentic renditions of the recipes that made it famous in the first place. We’ve been lucky enough over the past few years to have had an influx of great Chinese food (the real enchilada, not sweet and sour slop for the Asian buffet crowd), at places like J & J Szechuan, Yunnan Garden, Asian BBQ & Noodle et al, but we also know that Southern California is where the densest  collection of Asian emigrés resides — meaning: that’s where you’re most likely to find the most good stuff.

And so we went and so we did. Mary’s menu is similar to China MaMa’s,  but the oddly-named squirrel fish was an even better version than we’ve had in Vegas, and the Zhang Fei sliced beef, a thing of beauty that tops even Beijing Noodle #9’s take on this slowly braised, cold beef classic. Chinese chefs have told us it is the world’s best hangover food, and we’ll take their word for it, but its dense-yet-tender, five-spice savoriness is what kept us digging for bite after bite.

As with China MaMa, the presentations alone will have you dropping your chopsticks in appreciation, and if you want to taste perfectly blanched and stir-fried bok choy, incendiary ma po dofu, or pork-stuffed eggplant from another planet, this is the place.

Take it from ELV’s staff, a meal here makes the drive to San Diego all the more fun…and much tastier than the Asian food you’ll find down there.

GOLDEN SPOON RESTAURANT

18347 Colima Road

Rowland Heights, CA 91748

(626) 581-8951

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To read what the Yelp-ers say about all this Shanghai/Szechuan sumptuousness, click here.

ELV note: We’ve been to Rome twice in our life and enjoyed every second and every morsel. Unfortunately, due to the depression (and the depressed dollar), a trip to Europe has been out of the question for the past few years. Thankfully, we have foodie friends like John Arena with the palate and writing skills to capture the sweet and savory essence of the Eternal City for us, and make us hungry for another trip there (although from his conclusions, maybe it’s just as well we stay home for awhile and appreciate the buon gusto! we have at our doorstep).

Rome still stands… but Las Vegas may be gaining on it.

by John Arena

There is a famous quote that links the fate of civilization to the continued existence of the “Eternal City”. This idea may be an exaggeration, but Rome is certainly an international center of art, religion, culture, and of course food. After a 3 year hiatus I felt that a return to Rome was long overdue. Considering all that has happened on the local food scene I was curious to see how Las Vegas is measuring up to one of the world’s great culinary capitols.

As a long time operator of local Italian- American eateries, I would never comment on the efforts of my colleagues in that realm. However, I think many of ELV’s readers will be interested in some objective observations about how the best of Rome compares to our local “authentic” Italian venues.

First off, let me state that last week’s issue of Seven was justified in largely copying ELV’s opinions. Many of the Las Vegas restaurants I mention are going to be very familiar to readers of this site. So, here goes and let the controversy begin.

Coffee- Sant Eustachio il Caffee is a great coffee bar, but our own Sambalatte featuring freshly roasted small batch coffee from Colorado River Coffee Roasters is an adequate alternative.

Neapolitan Pizza- There are decent pizzerias featuring forno a legna (wood oven) pizza all over Rome. None of them are any better than Settebello, the Las Vegas stalwart of vera pizza Neapolitana.

Roman style pizza- Pizzeria da Bafetto, just off of the Campo di Fiore is a favorite for super thin crust Roman pizza. The truth is Las Vegas upstart Due Forni is just as good. Beyond the pizza this new Las Vegas pizzeria is creating outstanding side dishes and features a wine list that is far better than anything you can find in a humble Roman pizzeria.

Seafood- Not even close, Rome has never been considered a great fish city. La Rosetta, near the Pantheon is good but Bartolotta at the Wynn is great, for excellent Italian seafood stay here in the desert.

Locals and visitors alike love the food at Rosciolo if they can manage to secure a reservation. This Roman favorite is particularly renowned for beef provided by famous Italian butcher Franco Cazzamali. Their steaks are good but they don’t compare to Carnevino . Rosciolo does have a great bakery near their restaurant, so skip the snooty service and the sticker shock at the restaurant by visiting the forno instead.

For a traditional trattoria experience Romans flock to Felice in the Testaccio neighborhood. It’s very good but six thousand miles is a bit far to travel for carbonara. DOCG at the Cosmoplitan is doing a comparable job and Scarpetta may be better.

Of course Rome still has us beat in a few areas. We don’t have an Italian deli that comes close to Volpetti which is practically worth a trip by itself. Of course we do have Valley Cheese and Wine. The selection is much smaller, but the products they offer are always carefully selected and the service from owners Bob and Kristen couldn’t be better. Our local gelato shops simply don’t have the selection of Della Palma or the history of Giolitti. We are still lacking a great Italian bakery that compares to the simple il Fornaio off of Corso Vittorio Emanuele which makes a Neapolitan cheesecake that even my mother admits is a good as her own.

Looking for great bread in Rome is a hit and miss affair. Sadly much of the bread in Italy is now mass produced. Here at home Bon Breads is turning out crusty artisan loaves that are every bit as good as anything you will get in the best Roman restaurants.

So is Rome still a great restaurant city? Of course, as a center of food culture, style and living the good life Rome is one of the world’s premier destinations. But, as John Curtas has pointed out, Las Vegas is now living up to its celebrity chef-driven promise. The culinary superstars are no longer simply cashing in by attaching their names to branded imitation versions of their famous venues. We have a growing number of restaurants and suppliers that can compete against some of the best in the world. Go to Rome to visit Villa Borghese…stay in Las Vegas for the food.

Las Vegas does food better than any place on Earth.

From a simple shrimp cocktail to a banquet for thousands, our hospitality industry is legendary. That legend has grown during the past two decades to include scores of the world’s greatest restaurants. An argument can be made that because of the breadth and depth of our culinary offerings, we are, alongside New York, the greatest restaurant city on the planet. If any other city in the world had our concentration of great restaurants and chefs, everyone from the captains of industry to ordinary citizens would be shouting about it from rooftops. As it is, despite all of this world-class quality, much of the known food-centric universe who could and should be beating a path to our delicious door never hear about it. They don’t hear about it because, in a classic case of the tail wagging the dog, Las Vegas’ marketing machines have failed to keep pace with the extraordinary changes that have occurred ever since Wolfgang Puck took the bold step of opening Spago in the Forum Shops in December 1992. But the fact is, no place in the world has such a unique food and beverage product to sell, and nowhere sells so much of it against such a stunning backdrop.

You name it, we’ve got it: More master sommeliers than New York, more great steakhouses anywhere but the Big Apple and more extraordinary French chefs anywhere but Paris. Do London, Chicago, San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles have two Joël Robuchon restaurants plus a Guy Savoy plus Alain Ducasse plus a Pierre Gagnaire outlet? Nope. Does anywhere but here have a concentration of 50—50!—world-class eateries along a two-mile stretch of road? Not even close. How many cities can boast the best of Wolfgang Puck, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse? None. But outside of food professionals, writers and intrepid foodies, precious few seem to know the depth and scope of what’s going on along Las Vegas Boulevard. Even the hotels, both individually and collectively, seem behind the croissant curve when it comes to crowing about the phenomenon that has taken the food world by storm.

As cataclysmic as Spago’s opening proved to be, it took a few years for its seismic effects to be felt. Shortly thereafter, in 1994, the MGM Grand moved our epicurean needle forward, when it brought Mark Miller (Coyote Café), Emeril Lagasse and Charlie Trotter on board. But it was only when Steve Wynn opened the Bellagio in 1998 that the gastronomic ground shook under the High Mojave Desert and the whole world felt the shudder. That’s the moment that Las Vegas really became a major player on the world’s best restaurants stage, and everyone started paying attention. The September 1999 Wine Spectator (a bible for serious foodies) devoted more than 70 pages to analyzing our city’s restaurant scene, with multiple articles declaring “Las Vegas Raises the Stakes” and “The New Mecca for Fine Dining.” It stated unequivocally that this was a place no gourmet could afford to ignore and had to take seriously. And take us seriously they did. Le Cirque, Circo, Picasso, Prime, Aqua and Olives shortly became synonymous with a town previously associated with cheap shrimp, prime rib and late-night buffets. The wine lists were declared some of the best in the world (they still are) and the food every bit the equal of any metropolis in America. That was then. It’s even better now.

Within a matter of months, every chef and restaurateur was beating a path to Las Vegas’ door. In rapid succession, the Venetian and Mandalay Bay opened —sporting such chef superstars as both Kellers (Hubert and Thomas)—and then, every hotel knew it had to up its restaurant celebrity chef game. And up their games they did. Caesars brought Bradley Ogden on board and his restaurant won a Best New Restaurant James Beard Award, and, in short order, the MGM Grand and Caesars Palace inked deals with Joël Robuchon (declared the Chef of the Century in France) and Parisian superstar Guy Savoy, respectively. Raising the stakes, indeed. In many ways though, 13 years after Bellagio’s opening and six years since France’s greatest decided to plant their flags in our humble burg, Las Vegas is still getting used to the idea that this is anything more than a head ’em up and move ’em into a show, a bar or a gambling pit kind of town. It’s almost as if our gargantuan restaurant success and ever-growing culinary credibility has taken even the hotels and marketers by surprise. But in an economic climate with so few positives, in an economically desperate city, the fact that we have the best chefs in the world working here is nothing to be shy about. Nothing.

Las Vegas Conventions and Visitors Authority Vice President Cathy Tull couldn’t agree more. “Las Vegas has come a long way,” she says the minute we start to talk. “It has the greatest concentration of master chefs and master sommeliers in the world. Vegas needs to start making history with its culinary scene.” So why isn’t there more marketing focused on these facts? “We get more bang for the buck if we talk about other things as well.”

Such would seem the inherent contradiction of the Las Vegas marketing message. Yes, we have an international gem in our midst with our unparalleled dining scene, but we’re content just to point it out to our target audience as an amenity, not unlike listing the shops in a shopping mall. The difference being, of course, you can buy Prada almost anywhere, crazy circuses are everywhere, but eating in two Robuchon restaurants, then Guy Savoy’s or Pierre Gagnaire’s or even a string of world-class buffets if that’s your thing, is something you can only do in Las Vegas.

Has anyone in any of the hotels ever suggested to Tull that the LVCVA should do an advertising campaign focusing solely on food, or complained that they don’t do enough to promote our culinary scene? “No,” is her emphatic reply. “Restaurants aren’t the sole focus of a singular advertising campaign, other than Uncork’d.”

Here’s the problem with Uncork’d: It’s only one weekend a year, and Vegas’ unique dining scene seems to be treated like just another high-end amenity. And in some people’s eyes, the growing legend of Uncork’d is becoming both a blessing and a curse.

“The whole celebrity chef thing is becoming less and less of an interest to people because a certain type of foodie knows they can come one time a year and see everybody,” says Langdon/Flynn partner Ken Langdon. Langdon is a former public relations director for Caesars Palace who has offices in Las Vegas and Chicago. “People say, ‘I’m not going to come in January because the big-name chefs won’t be there until May when Uncork’d is held.’ Mr. and Mrs. Kansas City want to see the celebrity chefs, even if the more sophisticated foodies know the food is just as good even if they’re not there.”

The Bobby Flays and Emeril Lagasses of the world may be becoming less important to the overall success of our city’s restaurant scene, but they’re the underpinnings of Vegas Uncork’d, the five-year-old extravaganza showcasing the best restaurants in town for four days every May.

“Vegas Uncork’d was designed to attract a skeptical, über-foodie audience,” says the former executive director of the event, Rob O’Keefe. “ ‘Build it and they will come’ wasn’t a very good long-term strategy for our fine dining scene. Even with the investment in amazing culinary offerings, there was a lucrative segment unwilling to buy in. Vegas Uncork’d was based on ‘market it and they will come’—provide a provocative reason to visit. And each year some 65 percent of the guests report they wouldn’t have come to Las Vegas if not for the event.”

The event, co-sponsored by Bon Appetit magazine as well as the LVCVA and partnering properties, has grown every year, even showing an 18 percent growth in 2009, when everything in town seemed headed toward permanent depression. According to O’Keefe, that’s because Uncork’d appeals to the more affluent tourist, exactly the market all the properties seek to attract—and one that’s decidedly more recession-proof than Mr. and Mrs. Kansas City.

“People will pay to travel to pursue their culinary passions,” O’Keefe says. “Research has shown that people will do many things while on a Vegas vacation. In the case of food, the question ‘will people travel long distances for exceptional dining?’ was answered in the affirmative by Vegas Uncork’d. But it’s not just dining, it’s the fine dining experience. The event brings together an unsurpassed combination of high-access epicurean experiences with the most renowned chefs in the world, in intimate settings against a culinary wonderland and backdrop, Las Vegas. A combination not available anywhere else on Earth.”

Speaking of research, food appears to be the low-hanging fruit that rarely gets picked by the bean counters. The LVCVA shows a single statistic about food in its yearly report that seeks to break down, in minute detail, every other aspect of what visitors do right down to the number of slot machines they play. According to its 2010 visitor survey, the average visitor spent $256 on food during their visit, as opposed to $122 on shopping. If you want to know how many hours someone spent gambling on how many different games or how many casinos they visited, those figures are at your fingertips. On where those tourist dollars go when it comes to food, the report is silent. Equally amazing, in a town awash with booze and the profits it brings, it keeps no statistics on liquor consumption. Comfortingly though, the same report solemnly declares between 99.8 and 100 percent of visitors eat when they come to Las Vegas. Good to know.

Yes, everybody eats. And everyone knows Vegas is a world culinary capital, containing, according to James Beard Award-winning Chef Bradley Ogden, “The top 100 restaurants in the country within a two-mile radius,” right? Wrong. Gary Okazaki a retired financial executive from Portland, and one of those über-foodies O’Keefe referred to, comes to Las Vegas multiple times a year.When asked if we do a good job in the Pacific Northwest of advertising ourselves as a culinary capital, his response is: “Not at all. When I tell friends I’m coming to Las Vegas to eat, they assume I mean at the buffets or steakhouses.” Ouch.

“When it comes to marketing ourselves as a dining destination, we’re still finding our way,” says Aria Food and Beverage Vice President Christina Clifton. “Food has evolved from being a primary amenity to being a great one,” she said.

She agrees when I suggest perhaps we’ve come too far too fast, and the marketers haven’t been able to keep up. Quoting Bill MacBeath, she said: “Las Vegas is the longest-running party in the world. There are so many choices here both to eat at and to advertise—almost too many options. We’re a relatively young property and we’re trying out a bunch of things to see what takes hold.”

Aria has one of the strongest restaurant lineups in town, but when you consider Clifton’s words, the conundrums are obvious. What’s a property to do? Highlight a single, world renowned chef such as Julian Serrano or Shawn McClain, or hit customers with its blitzkrieg of choices? Clifton thinks it would be helpful if the LVCVA included more restaurant information when it gets the Vegas marketing message out, and one celebrity chef, Michael Mina—operator since 1998 of his eponymous restaurant in the Bellagio—agrees.

“There’s no such thing as too much promotion for a restaurant,” he flatly states. “Too much goes on here at once. If American Fish (his highly regarded restaurant in Aria) had opened in any other city in America, over the course of a year it might face competition from one or two other places of similar quality. When we opened, so did 12 other great restaurants—on the same day! I almost feel sorry for you critics having to cover so much. Almost.”

From what the pros are saying, you’d think Las Vegas is the poor little rich girl suffering from a surfeit of superior eats, at least when it comes to creating an identity for itself for what makes it unique in the food world. Looming in the background, as always, is the competitiveness between properties—casinos that have rarely played well together in this gold-lined sandbox. O’Keefe, along with many of the casino executives interviewed for this article, thinks Uncork’d has worked well to solve that problem—creating an atmosphere where everyone recognizes a rising tide raises all boats. But opinions vary as to how best to capitalize on this wealth of gastronomic riches for the other 51 weeks of the year.

“You see more ads for “Lion King” locally and nationally than you do for our restaurants,” says one well-known chef. For the record, approximately two-thirds of all visitors attend some kind of show when they’re here, and one-third of that group attends a large-scale or production show.

“The gears aren’t meshed,” says Tom Kaplan, senior managing partner for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. “We’ve spent 20 years building something that no one in the world has or will have in our lifetimes. We have the credibility and the infrastructure; now we need a unified voice.” Langdon continues: “One weekend a year won’t cut it. There needs to be a traveling road show of our great chefs, both the famous ones and the ones working in famous restaurants, going to the major feeder markets, along with a concerted, 12-month-a-year print ad campaign in major magazines.”

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? Use a fraction of the LVCVA’s $27.1 million yearly advertising budget to define our identity as something more than Sin City for naughty conventioneers, brimming with showgirls no one under 50 has the slightest interest in, and remind the world that we have something no other city does: A coterie of restaurants the world flocks to precisely because we’re the best in the world at serving first-class food in a variety of stunning settings, in an amazingly compact space. Yet, according to Tull: “No hotel has ever suggested we do a food-focused ad campaign concentrating on our collection of restaurants.” She’s quick to add, however, that “We do promote our restaurant scene through Uncork’d and bundle it with other ads that run in our feeder markets.” All of which sounds a bit like preaching to the converted.

Caesars Palace probably has the most aggressive food and beverage program going on the Strip right now and is soon bringing French chef extraordinaire Michel Richard, New York’s Old Homestead steakhouse, Nobu (in both hotel and restaurant form) and Gordon Ramsay. Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner sees a lot of room for promotional improvement.

“Food is one of three or four things that now drives people to Vegas. Where on Earth can you find so much culinary talent? The breadth and quality of what we have here is an incredible draw—there’s no question that we need to market it more locally, nationally and internationally. Also, our food asset needs to find its way into the print advertising the city does.”

Cosmopolitan President John Unwin, an über-foodie in his own right, agrees. “There needs to be a top-down commitment. Food and beverage executives will always push for more promotion, but it’s the decision makers who need to recognize what a spectacular product has evolved here in the last decade.” Unwin goes on to say how everyone he met on a recent business trip to the East Coast who had heard about the Cosmopolitan, knew about it because of its killer lineup of outstanding eateries—all beautifully bunched on the third floor of his au courant hotel, far away from the casino floor.

When the Bellagio opened in 1998, I called its lineup a “murderers row” of restaurants. It was sui generis at the time. No one hotel on Earth had ever seen such a collection of chefs, designs, wine and food like it brought forth under one (huge) roof. Today, we have eight hotels who can boast a lineup that can go toe to toe with it. Even better, what it inspired was a sense of gourmet one-upsmanship that continues to this day—to the sweet and savory benefit of every visitor from a buffet hound to the fussy gastronome. This ongoing culinary competition has left us with, according to O’Keefe, “A major opportunity to not only bring more people here, but more affluent visitors who spend more while they’re here.” With a standing inventory of so many high-end hotel rooms, it only makes sense to put wealthier heads in those beds and round out Las Vegas’ customer base before the whole town slides into “Jersey Shore” purgatory.

Back in 1999, skeptics wondered if our restaurant culture had legs. From Wine Spectator: “Uncertainty is built into the restaurant business, and nowhere greater than in this town, with no history and no real concern for anything other than the bottom line.” When those words were written, the future of our booming dining scene was in doubt. These days, there’s no doubt we’re one of the true epicenters of the epicurean universe. Once marketing professionals wake up and smell the coffee, and promote the town as such, Las Vegas will truly start creating a culinary history it can call its own.As a community, we need to embrace our restaurant culture and be proud of it. Clifton says, “Las Vegas has already become Restaurant City USA, we just need to get the message out.”

Amen, brother.

2011 Vegas Uncork’d: Masters’ Series Dinners at Caesars

New York is the greatest restaurant city in the world. – Daniel Boulud

Everyone knows ELV hearts New York City. He’s from Connecticut, lived an hour’s drive from mid-town for five years back in the 80s, and knows the restaurant territory there almost as well as he does Las Vegas’. Amazingly, after at least a hundred trips there, he still gets a tingle whenever he’s awakened from his red-eye slumber to see the sun rising over Manhattan (“Ah, civilization!” are the words and thoughts that immediately spring to his mind.):

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After checking in to the Gansevoort Hotel, smack dab in the middle of the meat-packing district, we considered polishing off our hunger at Pastis (right out our window):

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…but instead strolled over to Balthazar:

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…where one of the world’s great croissants awaits. (The cinnamon bun ain’t nuthin’ to sneeze at either.)

We would advise you to also hit Francois Payard’s small shop on Houston Street (pronounced HOW-ston), but were shooed away by snippy attendants who barked “no pictures allowed sir” as soon as we snapped a couple. (Memo to famous chefs: The only thing worse than people taking pictures of your precious food is when no one does.)

After our faux-French fortification from Balthazar, we headed straight to Eataly …where you will find all of your Italian (food) fantasies fulfilled…and perhaps some other ones as well:

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Eataly is like a giant candy store of Italian eats. Think of the world’s best Italian market with small (and not-so-small) bars, nooks, counters and full-service restaurants interspersed throughout — a veritable orgy of Italian indulgence. From salumi tastings to vegetable (verdure) counters, you name, you can probably eat it or drink it or buy it at Eataly.

We didn’t indulge much (a superb salumi/fromaggi platter and some wine), since there was still some serious drinking to be done at one of the most gorgeous rooms in Manhattan:

Eleven Madison Park

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…before meeting Uncle Alan (Richman) in Brooklyn at Fatty ‘Cue, where he poured over the menu like a rabbi scouring the Talmud, before ordering a variety of smoky meat flecked with Asian accents. After that, we forced him to go to a dive beer bar called Spuyten Duyvil — a place known for its Belgium ales — where he approved of our first choice (a tasty and tart La Moneuse saison), but pronounced the second (a Hassens Experimental Cassis ): “…one of the worst things (he’s) ever tasted.”):

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Fatty ‘Cue was a dump — albeit a friendly one with decent ‘cue — much better than the barbecue we’ve had across the river — which always tastes exactly like you’d expect barbecue to taste like when made by a bunch of New Yorkers. Spuyten Duyvil (in spite of the Devil) was also a dump — albeit a dump with a fabulous beer list. Walking around Williamsburg, Brooklyn, ELV decided everything there is a dump — albeit a hip and happening dump, where you won’t feel comfortable unless you are: a) under 35; and, b) wearing a t-shirt. The whole of Williamsburg seems to be a hipster museum of sorts — which must cause the hipsters serious concern — although Alan said there’s  “… also a lot of old Jews still living here, but they don’t come out much after dark.”

Regardless, the neighborhood is also home to one of New York’s fabulous cheese shops…which was so groaning with fromage, we could’ve spent an hour (at least) in the tiny shop. :

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The next day it was off to Kitchen Stadium, to be re-acquainted with some old friends:

The Chairman and Kevin Brauch

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…and a couple of fellow Iron Chef America judges:

Jeffrey and Kady

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Jeffrey Steingarten and Kady Huffman

Before an exhausting-but-crazy-fun-day judging two episodes of ICA. In between those episodes, we had time to drop into Le Cirque for the single greatest thing we tasted on the trip — a lamb lasagna with fava beans:

Lamb lasagna with fava beans

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Remarkably, after almost twelve hours in studio (and over 20 courses of food), we were still hungry. So, we decided to kick it old school at one of New York’s oldest Italian restaurants, Barbetta:

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…where some cold minestrone, agnolotti, and braised rabbit was just the antidote to the creative cuisine we’d been consuming and discussing for hours. After a quick tour around Restaurant Row (46th Street), it was time to go visit a few friends:

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…then to Benoit for some beauteous profiteroles:

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…before finally calling it a day.

The next day we were hungry, of course, so it was off to a West Village farmers market:

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…before taking Scott’s Pizza Tour — and event already chronicled on these pages. After that, it was time for some libational lounging, first at Johnny’s Bar:

It wasn't and it isn't

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…then down the Chelsea street for some super suds a la Francais at Lyon:

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…before heading to Jacques Torres for the world’s best chocolate chunk cookie:

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…then cruising by The Spotted Pig:

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…before dropping by Spasso for some Spass-tastic stracciatella:

House-made stracciatella cheese

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House-made stracciatella cheese

The pictures above point out what makes New York’s dining scene so special. Spasso is hardly a famous restaurant. But it is small and well-appointed, with a thoughtful, manageable menu of Italian specialties and a well-chosen wine list with a number of Proseccos and Lambruscos by the glass. There are a hundred restaurants like it all over Manhattan, serving great food in a stylish setting at prices 25% less than we would’ve paid at Rosemary’s. New York has its Spassos; Las Vegas gets Nora’s…(sigh).

Finally, we cruised by some old friends (and one new one — The Dutch):

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…before heading home into the setting sun:

Au revoir Big Apple

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THE END

Paul Liebrandt, the enfant terrible of New York’s haute cuisine scene got his close-up on an HBO special earlier this summer. If you’re a fan of high-flying French food, molecular gastronomy, or great restaurant cooking (and restaurant gossip in general), you owe it to yourself to watch this documentary — filmed over an eight year span of his (still young) career.

Having eaten Liebrandt’s food several times in a couple of venues over that time span, we were fascinated by what makes him tick. Liebrandt is arguably, one of the most artistic/creative chefs in the world (chocolate covered scallops anyone?). We at ELV enjoyed the documentary and really enjoyed dinner at Corton last month.

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(Why wouldn’t we? He’s an acolyte of Pierre Gagnaire, and Gagnaire-ean touches abounded on the menu.)

Here are a few tasty snaps of one, memorable meal. The picture quality is a bit muted since the staff asked us not to use flash, but even with that, you can almost taste the smoked caramel with brown butter crumble — a dessert so good, Carême probably sat up in his grave and saluted when it first came off the line :

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The seven course prix fixe menu pictured above was $115. A longer degustation is available for $135/per.

CORTON

239 West Broadway

New York, NY 10013

212.219.2777

http://www.cortonnyc.com/

One caveat and one apology: The map quotes an outdated review of Bar + Bistro of ours (when it was doing a spaghetti and meatball menu). As readers of this website know, the nuevo/Latino/tapas food being done by Beni Velazquez has been a vast improvement. Also, Due Forni should also have been on the list. ELV regrets the error.

The Eater Las Vegas Heat Map: Where to Eat Right Now

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Bratalian Neopolitan Cantina

10740 S Eastern Ave Henderson, NV 89052 (702) 454-0104

“‘The secret,’” Carla Pellegrino, former top toque at Rao’s, tells me, ‘is in the ingredients. It’s easier to use inferior pastas, meats, tomatoes and …

Bacio Pasta & Vino

3801 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 739-2222

The sassy chef Carla Pellegrino’s straight-up Italian-American spot in the Tropicana, where she and her team do up dishes like arancini, mozz in carozza, and chicken …

Forte

4180 S Rainbow Blvd Spring Valley Town Center, Las Vegas, NV 89103 (702) 220-3876

A tapas bar that skews toward the Slavic with excellent preparations of stroganoff, dilled potatoes, and khinkali that need to be washed down with some beer — of …

DW Bistro

6115 S Fort Apache Rd Pine Plaza, Las Vegas, NV 89148 (702) 527-5200

This place is definitely not on the strip, or anywhere near it, but John Curtas finds DW to be “one of Las Vegas’ most able neighborhood eateries.” They do Jamaican/New …

Bar + Bistro

107 E Charleston Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89104 (702) 202-6060

“Downtown is desperate, and starving, for a non-hotel eatery that gains traction with locals and tourists alike. And if spaghetti and meatballs will do the trick, more …

D.O.C.G. Enoteca

3708 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 698-7000

With a name like that, no duh this a wine spot. But chef-owner Scott Conant doesn’t leave it at that: here you can sample his rustically refined takes on steak, pasta, …

estiatorio Milos

3708 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 698-7000

The Las Vegas representative of the Milos brand, which now boasts locations in Athens, Montreal, New York, and very soon, South Beach. The move here is fish, expensive …

China Poblano

3708 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 651-2432

From the expansionist Spanish chef José Andrés comes this colorful new concept exploring the links between Chinese and Mexican food. But don’t be alarmed: it’s …

Jaleo

3708 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 698-7000

Also from Andrés, a Vegas version of his DC classic, where he spreads the Spanish gospel, tapa by tapa. [link]

Patisserie Manon

8751 W Charleston Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89117 (702) 586-2666

Now you don’t have to brave through the tourist throngs to sample killer French baked goods. Instead, head to the outskirts of Summerlin where Jean-Paul and Rachel Layden …

Soyo Korean Barstaurant

An absolutely killer casual Korean drinking and dining spot where the fried chicken wings, dumplings, and stewed rice cakes are the way to go. Minor problem: they’ve been …

Where we first fell in love with frankfurters - circa 1963

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Where we still love them

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PS: For a beautiful short elegy for the last Howard Johnson’s in New York City (by our friend John Mariani) click here (and scroll down towards the end of the page).

Steve Dolinsky — Chicago’s Hungry Hound — is in town for a couple of days, and Eating Las Vegas caught up with him last night at The Cosmo for some spectacular sushi at Blue Ribbon (along with their famous fried chicken) and a tapas or ten at Jaleo.

As we’ve said before, besides always looking svelte and fit as a fiddle, the guy is a serious fresser. And despite having been traveling for twelve hours (between three cities no less), he was rarin’ to go.

ELV tapped out on at tapas long before Steve did (perhaps we shouldn’t have started our evening with desserts at Le Cirque, but more on that later), and for all we know, he’s still at Jaleo, chowing down.

Tomorrow, if you’re interested, he and ELV plan to hit Origin India on his way to the airport. (Forewarning: Eating Las Vegas is about to go on an all-Indian binge in an attempt to beat this heat. So get ready to get your fill of saag paneer posts in the near future, )

At LEGOLAND

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Photo courtesy of Maura Eggan

ELV thinks it’s pretty cool.