Tag: The Virtual Gourmet

LAS VEGAS BETS BIG ON ITSELF in John Mariani’s The Virtual Gourmet

ELV note: The following article, penned by you-know-who, was published on John Mariani’s website late yesterday. Avid ELV readers (and you know who you are!) will recognize some of the prose and observations as having appeared on this website in the past few months. Click on the link above to read it in its original format or continue below for the whole enchilada.

After a few shaky years when further development of Las Vegas had been shut down by the recession, hope still springs eternal. Last year Aria Resort and Casino opened, with a slew of good restaurants that included Sage, Julian Serrano, Sirio, and American Fish. The next big thing in Las Vegas is here and it’s called The Cosmopolitan, which opened over New Year’s Eve.
On the third floor of this über-hip joint is a circle of six, upscale restaurants (Comme Ça, Scarpetta, D.O.C.G., STK, Blue Ribbon, Milos, and Jaleo) that are all within a stone’s throw of each other, and a lot more casual eateries throughout. Locals are already calling it the Ultimate Gourmet Food Court, and it seems to have kindled the flame for food-focused (as opposed to celebrity-chef-focused), restaurants. Although, to be fair, each of them, with the exception of José Andrés’ China Poblano and Holstein’s one floor below, are off-shoots of the same concepts in other cities.) Regardless, this opening may well signal another epicurean wave, similar to Bellagio’s chefs surge in 1998, and the arrival of the French Connection (Joël Robuchon and Guy Savoy) in 2005-2006.

Here’s a look at (some of) The Cosmopolitan’s new entries in the Vegas dining sweepstakes.

Estiatorio Milos
3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South

702-698-7930

www.estiatoriomilos.com

Continue reading “LAS VEGAS BETS BIG ON ITSELF in John Mariani’s The Virtual Gourmet”

LE CIRQUE (New York) Reviewed in The Virtual Gourmet

By: John Mariani


Seven years into its fourth decade, Le Cirque has seen the American dining landscape change, shake,  rock, roll, slide, soar, and come back to the need for a sense of refinement that the restaurant has always represented under the Maccioni family (below), which includes paterfamilias Sirio, his wife Egi, and their sons  Mario (far left, who runs the Maccioni restaurants in Las Vegas), Marco, and Mauro, whom I have literally watched grow up and become various reflections of their parents while having each his own style and distinct degree of savoir-faire. Le Cirque–the circus–is still a daily draw for international celebrities, winemakers, Hollywood stars, even royalty, as it has been from the start. Continue reading “LE CIRQUE (New York) Reviewed in The Virtual Gourmet”