I believe that if, at the end of the day, and according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a littler happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime, To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this, and am happy I lived long enough to find it out. – Roger Ebert

I met Roger Ebert once, in 1982, when he and Gene Siskel were just starting to hit it big with their “Sneak Previews” show on PBS. (more…)

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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…)

To everyone’s surprise but Eating Las Vegas’ the Venetian Hotel and Casino boarded up both Rattlecan and First Food & Bar last night….as well as The Act nightclub. Our sources tell us these closings occurred without notice to management or staff, and rumors are swirling about the reasons.

To our eyes and taste buds, Rattlecan was D.O.A.. It featured gimmicky, overwrought, poorly-executed burgers, a tagger/biker bar motif,*and abysmal service.

First Food & Bar hasn’t been good ever since Sammy DeMarco decided to expand his brand in other directions. (There’s a lesson in there for you empire-building chefs.)

Whatever the deal was is with The Act is anyone’s guess….but we at ELV feel would sorry for its Hot Chicks with Douchebags crowd IF it closed (which it hasn’t)….since they might be forced to “Get Caught in the Act” elsewhere.

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* Al Mancini and his ilk consider the spray paintings on the walls at Rattlecan to be “art.” Then again, Al Mancini and his ilk all look like refugees from a biker bar.

Eating Las Vegas has learned that, after 13 years and numerous accolades, Piero Selvaggio’s Valentino will be departing the Venetian Hotel and Casino in June.

Both sides describe the parting as amicable, and we have it on good authority that Selvaggio is actively seeking another home for an authentic trattoria concept in Las Vegas.

The Venetian remains mum on whatever concept will be replacing this pasta, wine and northern Italian palace, but our sources, who may or may not be reliable, have given us  information, which may or may not be true, that a famous French chef, who may or may not be named Daniel Boulud, will be taking over the space later this year.

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In 2004 it won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America.

As such, it was the first Las Vegas restaurant to win a James Beard Award of any kind.

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Effective July 23, Switch in Encore will be closing.

When it opened five years ago, the p.r. wags couldn’t wait to tell ELV that its signature (insert one: stupid, tacky, declassé, ridiculous, overwrought, wasteful, useless, bizarre, distracting, nouveau riche, unappetizing) moving walls cost Steve “Mr. Macau” Wynn $40 mil.

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Two closings have come to our attention in the past week. One made us sad, and the other barely made a blip — either on our palate or in the food community in the six years it slung its overpriced, boring food to conventioneers — who didn’t know enough to go elsewhere.

One was Boa Steakhouse.

The other was Bosa 1.

Guess which one made us sigh and sorry?

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S’il vous plaît être informé que Mon. Franck Savoy, Directeur des Restaurants à Caesars Palace va quitter Las Vegas cette semaine et le déplacement à New York, où il deviendra le directeur de la nourriture et des boissons pour l’Hôtel Four Seasons.

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ELV note: We only ate at Le Bec-Fin once, almost fifteen year ago now. In spite of what many would call a formal and dated restaurant, we found its cuisine outstanding and the whole experience transporting. True, its decor (somewhere between the inside of a Fabergé  egg and the boudoir of Louis XIV) represented something of a time warp, but the food was classic and impeccable, and the service nonpareil.  Au revoir to Georges Perrier — one of the titans of American gastronomy — a Frenchmen who took America (along with compatriots Andre Soltner and Jean Banchet) by the hand in the 1970s and showed it what great cuisine could be. The following testimonial was penned by our paisan John Mariani and can be read in its original form by clicking here. (BTW: ELV sat at the table at the bottom right of the page with his last ex-wife. Just thought you’d like to know.)

AU REVOIR TO LE BEC-FIN….FOR NOW

By John Mariani

The announcement that Philadelphia’s venerable Le Bec Fin, one of the true temples of haute cuisine in  the United States, was closing after 42 years under the obsessive leadership of chef-owner Georges Perrier, 68, was greeted with the usual gasps that always accompany the shuttering of an institution. Some came from longtime regulars, some from food media–many that hadn’t mentioned Le Bec Fin in years–and some from people who had never even dined there.

The NY Times wrote a lengthy obituary of the restaurant, covering last Saturday’s closing night, quoting the always quotable Perrier as saying he had “absolutely no regrets” handing over the reins to Nicholas Fanucci, who had worked at Le Bec Fin before becoming general manager at the French Laundry in Napa Valley. (Fanucci plans to cut Le Bec Fin and re-open later this year.)“He will be the onewho will bring back the glory of Le Bec-Fin,” said Perrier, adding “I have given everything that I have.”

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People tend to forget that Mandalay Bay began as a rival to the Bellagio and the Venetian. When it opened in 1999, Circus Entertainment (or whatever the corporation was called then) intended it to be as upscale as anyplace in town.

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