Cooking With ...
Cooking With ...
Carlos Enriquez
The Block 16 executive pastry chef shares his very Vegas twist on an American classic
November 3rd, 2011
Some might say that Carlos Enriquez has just had his 15 minutes of fame. Last month, after surviving eight weeks of competition on Bravo’s Top Chef: Just Desserts, the Block 16 Hospitality Group executive pastry chef was eliminated from the show and sent back to the real world. Read more »
Cooking With ...
Bruce and Eric Bromberg
The Cosmo’s culinary brothers welcome autumn with seasonal side dishes
October 20th, 2011
Bruce and Eric Bromberg acquired their love of food while accompanying their globetrotting businessman father on his travels, and we are the beneficiaries. The concept for Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill sprang from the original Blue Ribbon in Greenwich Village, N.Y., an eclectic restaurant that still offers terrific versions of matzo ball soup and fried chicken. Cosmopolitan CEO John Unwin agressively recruited them, and today, big brother Eric remains mostly in New York City, while younger brother Bruce has relocated to Las Vegas with his wife and children. Read more »
Cooking With ...
A Jazzed Legend
Resurrecting a Vegas institution, if but for one more delicious bite
August 25th, 2011
The Jazzed Café & Vinoteca may be long gone, but the menu has lived on in delicious posterity. And though the place no longer exists—the original location, on East Tropicana Avenue, closed in 2001; the westside location followed in 2005—Jazzed Café chef and co-owner Kirk Offerle still prepares the old dishes such as penne cream pomodoro, eggplant Parmesan, bruschetta and a variety of risottos for family and friends. Read more »
Cooking With ...
Scott Conant
A lesson in the simpler, finer things with Scarpetta’s ‘Bold Italian’
July 21st, 2011
It might seem like a stretch to call a bowl of pasta “elegant,” but Scarpetta’s tomato and basil spaghetti is an unquestionably sophisticated dish. “Something as simple as spaghetti with tomato-basil [sauce], if you can do that right, it really speaks volumes,” chef Scott Conant says. “Inherent simplicity—that’s what’s elegant about it.” And Scarpetta sells about 2,000 plates of Conant’s legendary tomato and basil spaghetti every month. Read more »
Cooking with ...
Ron Lutz
Vegas Seven grills a butcher for the secret to righteous ribs
May 19th, 2011
Ron Lutz is exactly what would imagine your local butcher to look like: short, stocky build; thick hands toughened by years of cutting meat; and a mustache that perfectly embodies his East Coast upbringing. A second-generation butcher, Lutz moved to Las Vegas with his family in 1985 from Pittsburgh right before his senior year of high school. After finishing his education at the Southern Nevada Vocational Center, Lutz followed in his father’s footsteps and began a two-year apprenticeship at two supermarkets, J&J and Lucky (now Albertsons). Read more »
Cooking with ...
David Myers
A classic dish shows off Comme Ça’s raw talent
May 5th, 2011
Raised in Ohio, David Myers worked his way up the food ladder by landing a job at Chicago’s Charlie Trotter. Trotter sent him off to work at the legendary Boyer in Reims, France, where Myers fell in love with the local cuisine and developed his passion for the brasserie. “I chose to give you a recipe for steak tartare because a good tartare is indicative of a good brasserie,” Myers says. Comme Ça Las Vegas certainly qualifies. Read more »
Cooking With ...
Brian Massie
Get frying with one audacious appetizer from the Fix kitchen
April 21st, 2011
To deep-fry macaroni and cheese, from a health nut’s perspective, is to add insult to injury. Yet fans of the dish insist it’s worth every finger-licking calorie. Light Group introduced Las Vegas to these delicious diet-busters when Fix opened its doors at Bellagio in 2004. Today, the Very Adult Mac & Cheese is the eatery’s most popular appetizer, with staff serving some 60 to 70 orders on a typical Saturday night. Read more »
Cooking With ...
Jolene Mannina
The first lady of food trucks pulls over for Vegas Seven
April 7th, 2011
Inspired by Los Angeles’ thriving food truck scene, Jolene Mannina admits she at first had doubts her own concept would work on the Strip. But after observing the recent success of other food trucks throughout the Valley, Mannina decided, “I’m doing this! I’m getting the truck, and I’m not fucking around.” Sloppi Jo’s launched on Dec. 30. There was just one problem—Mannina knew people would expect a sloppy joe to be on the menu, but wasn’t sure how to make it work with her New Mexican-inspired cuisine. Read more »
Cooking With ...
Matthew Piekarski
Beso’s new chef works dessert magic
March 31st, 2011
At just 28 years old, Milwaukee native Matthew Piekarski has already worked with some of the biggest names in the business—including Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay and Kim Canteenwalla—and since his promotion from executive sous chef at Beso, now reigns as one of the youngest executive chefs on the Strip. Read more »
