You say Andrea’s (an-DRAY-əs), I say Andrea’s (AN-dree-əs).

Named after Wynn’s wife and featuring her ever-present eyes glaring across the expansive lifted dining area Big Brother-style, Andrea’s opened just before NYE among a roar of… cautious optimism?  I’m not sure what everyone was supposed to feel about something as vague as another “hip Asian dining” opening in a casino that has Mizumi, Wing Lei, Wazuzu, and even a central dim sum kitchen (for buffet, brunches, in room, and any dim sum menu items in the restaurants) in the way most just have a central pastry kitchen.  While I’m sure the people tirelessly churning out mountains of dumpling steam-baskets were perhaps less than thrilled, the promise of Joseph Elevado taking the reigns as Exec Chef should pique a good interest or two.  With experience in Social House, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, and TWO whole Nobu locations, Andrea’s looks right in his wheelhouse.  Wynn does have a penchant for churning out spaces that fit his specific view of  class, and Elevado’s cuisine sounds like a match made in heaven.  Well, let’s go ahead and take a look at the website, why not?

She's always watching...

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Side by Side Reviews: Le Cirque and Olive Garden

I’d like to start off my writings here on a humorous note.  Don’t worry, proper reviews are just over the next ridge, but maybe we get to know each other first?  Take a seat.  How are the kids?  Is little Jayden still in lacrosse?  How nice.

I wrote this a while back when everyone and their adorably-naive grandmothers were writing articles about Olive Garden for laughs.  I actually really like to write comedy, so I did it, and people seemed to like it.  Enjoy it, won’t you?  Thank you.

– your pal, Mitchell Wilburn

View original article on my own website

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In retrospect of my last birthday fun-times, I realized the potential for an interesting article comparing the two dinners and dining establishments I made merry.  So what I thought I’d do is parse out my thoughts, pull an article together, people read it and laugh, I become rich and famous overnight, retire in the Bahamas, you know, that old chestnut.  So, that private nude beach is waiting – let’s get cracking.

Pictured: Palace of woes

I thought the best way to compare the two is to set up some kind of metric that would compare their common features.  What do they share?  How do they differ?  What are all those fancy Stars and Forbes ratings REALLY about?  Well, I decided on the categories of decor, service, and food.  I couldn’t properly compare some things that the Olive Garden has a monopoly on, so there is no category for senior discounts or all you can eat deals.

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ELV Remains Elusive, but Wilburn is Willing

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If you click on and look closely at the above picture, you will see yours truly settling in for his birthday dinner at Antoine’s in New Orleans last Friday night. The setting was chosen with particularity since it was at this fabled restaurant that I had my first food epiphany way back in 1962. (Over a silver dish of crab meat bubbling in a sherry-butter sauce, if memory serves. I still recall turning to my mother — Marcella Ruth Schroader Curtas – d.o.b. 08-10-24 – and asking, “Why don’t you cook like this?”).

As you may recall, I was in N’Awlins shooting another episode of “All Forked Up,” premiering this Spring on the Travel Channel. That gig has kept me traveling around the U.S.A. for the past four months (Philly, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago and New Orleans), with one episode left to go. After that, it’ll be all over except the shouting as we wait for the public to give its verdict. If ratings are good, we’ll hit the road for more episodes. If the public decides we’re not worthy of its viewing attention, it’ll be back to Vegas with a great experience under our belt and lots of stories to tell.

Truth be told, our delusions are less grand than you might think. Sin City Rules set a pretty low bar  that succeeded only in reinforcing the shallow and stupid stereotypes that surround our humble burg. Insofar as it besmirched all things Vegas with its cast of spoiled lamebrains — and believe me,  it made Hillbilly Hand Fishing look like Tennessee Williams — our show tries to edify and entertain….oh, who am I kidding? Mostly it’s just me and Mancini yelling at each other over everything from soup to nuts, hurling invectives and mining our insult thesauruses daily. But we love the cities and the food and the production is going to look MAH-VEL-ous.

Until the show airs — looking to be late April right now — our travel schedule makes covering the Vegas food scene impossible. But an un-posted blog is an unhappy blog, soooooo cue Mitchell Wilburn!

Yes, Mitchell Wilburn… a young, stylish fellow who is a spirits and suds fanatic looking to expand his coverage of our food and beverage scene. My staff and I have given Mitchell the keys to the kingdom, as it were, and you will now see occasional articles and postings from his passionate pen. (There may also be other guest writers popping up from time to time to keep all of us on our toes, and who knows? you may even see an occasional iconoclastic exclamation from moi!

Please be patient with Mitchell (and all young writers), as he’s still finding his sea legs. He won’t be as edgy and outrageous as the guy whose picture is at the top of the page, but he loves excellence in eating and drinking just as much as your favorite bloviating blowhard.

Speaking of edgy and entertaining blowhards, Michael Winner died yesterday and you could hear the sighs of relief go up from restaurateurs across Great Britain. He was opinionated, imperious and impossible, but his Winner’s Dinners column was always a great read.

R.I.P. Michael Winner.michael winner