Every Vegas foodie is looking forward to the opening of the Cosmopolitan later this year. CEO John Unwin has a solid food-and-beverage component to his new hotel, and many exciting restaurants have been signed, such as the hot New York steak house STK, the Italian restaurant Scarpetta, and the Greek seafood house Milos, which I recently visited in New York City.
I’m personally excited about the prospect of an upscale Greek restaurant on the Strip, which will be its first, and Unwin and his team could not have made a better choice. The restaurant specializes in Mediterranean seafood, much in the same way that Bartolotta does at the Wynn. But in this case, both the fish, and the flavors, are inspired by the cooking traditions of Greece.
At Milos in New York, I began my meal with three toothsome dips: taramo (a creamy fish roe), skordalia (a garlic and almond paste) and tzatziki (thick yogurt and cucumber paste), all three ideal for spreading on hot country-style house bread. The dips were followed by amazing charcoal-broiled shrimps and a selection of North American and Mediterranean fish, all simply broiled and doused with fresh lemon. If what I ate there is any indication of what’s to come, we’ve just rolled another seven.
Meanwhile, in Henderson, at 65 S. Stephanie St., a comely shack called Caribbean Cooker is doing a cute spin on Jamaican fusion fare in a pastel-colored dining room that would look more at home in the islands, mon.
Start with callaloo soup, which is spinach and other vegetables in tangy shrimp broth. Then try the conch fritters, jerk chicken or Jamaican-style curried goat. The homemade key lime pie, topped with hand-whipped cream, is wonderful. Call 888-6565 for a table.
Longtime local favorite Siena Deli has opened an actual restaurant (at 9500 W. Sahara Ave.) in the same spirit as its popular delicatessen (2250 E. Tropicana Ave.). Siena Deli remains one of the best places in Las Vegas to buy olive oils, sun-dried tomatoes and other essential components for the Italian home cook, and the cuisine of their chef, Giancarlo Bomparola, is comforting and authentic.
Now you can eat his dishes in a restaurant setting, and the company has plans to open the deli section there sometime in July. Dishes such as timpano (a stuffed pasta drum), crispy rice cakes and ricotta-and-herb-stuffed rigatoni, are highlights. The restaurant’s number is 360-3358.