Diner's Notebook
Diner's Notebook
Las Vegas’ racks up the James Beard noms, and Noe Alcala has his eye on the pies.
March 8th, 2012
No oxymoron seems less appropriate at the moment than the two words “British cuisine.” I found myself in London last week, where I visited two restaurants with ties to Las Vegas: Wolfgang Puck’s Cut in the elegant Dorchester Collection and Sketch London from the imaginative chef Pierre Gagnaire of Twist in our Mandarin Oriental. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
State of the farmers market, and Vegas’ brunchification continues
March 1st, 2012
The countdown has begun for the March 9 launch of the Downtown 3rd Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. every Friday on Third Street between Stewart and Ogden avenues in the Downtown Transportation Center, a huge complex with a shiny copper ceiling and lots of free parking. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
How Italy and Brazil do brunch; Restaurant Week goes semi-annual
February 23rd, 2012
The Grill at Piero Selvaggio’s Valentino is rather drab. That’s a pity, because it is so well located at the casino end of Restaurant Row at the Venetian. You might have walked by it and not stopped in. Don’t make that mistake again if it is Sunday Brunch time, because this may be the best brunch in Las Vegas. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
A dim sum gala, next on a bun and Comme Ça’s study in Bistronomy
February 16th, 2012
How does Ping Pang Pong continue to be my favorite local Chinese restaurant? Let me count the ways. In addition to serving the best dim sum in Las Vegas seven days a week, the restaurant (in the Gold Coast, 367-7111) has great fare during the evening, such as Night Market fried rice and excellent crab dishes. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
Breakfast ’cue, Chinese wine and aphrodisiacs for your Valentine’s Day pleasure
February 9th, 2012
I drive by Memphis Championship BBQ at 2250 E. Warm Springs Road almost every day, but it took me nearly two years to stop by for the weekend breakfast advertised on their sign. What a surprise to discover they now have the best breakfast east of the Strip, since Original Pancake House is no longer at Green Valley Ranch. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
Swedish oddities, healthful choices, wine reading and Super Bowl eats
February 2nd, 2012
Longtime local sommelier Patty Beck, who has served me at Caesars Palace restaurants such as Neros and Bradley Ogden, has written a new book, Selling Wine in Las Vegas ($20, Blurb.com). In it, Beck describes service, stemware, varietals of wine and innovative California wineries. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
Elbow-rubbing with Portugal’s Michelin stars, and Gordo finally says Go!
January 26th, 2012
Gordon Ramsay Steak will open at the Paris Las Vegas in the spring in the former home to Les Artistes Steakhouse, and will seat 274. The chef will personally direct the restaurant’s beef-aging program and serve British fare as well, such as fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
New Year treats and predictions, the other Oscar’s, and top Indian
January 19th, 2012
The coming year will bring new trends in the restaurant industry as well, according to no less a sage than John Mariani, Esquire’s scribe and blogger extraordinaire. (Read him at JohnMariani.com). He predicts that there will be several famous chefs closing their restaurants in Las Vegas during 2012—though he’s not naming names, so be warned. He goes on to say that Asian dumplings are going to be among the hottest dishes, and also that the Old Fashioned will achieve its once preeminent place in the cocktail world yet again. Furthermore, he’s banking on the locavore movement, doughnuts and Peruvian cuisine, even if he thinks that there “isn’t all that much to it.” Read more »
Diner's Notebook
Steak Oscar, another New Year and store-bought chicken that’s actually good
January 12th, 2012
Her honor, Mayor Carolyn Goodman, was on hand to bolster her husband’s newest venture, the downtown steak house Oscar’s, housed in the Plaza under its fabled dome. The concept is “Beef, Booze and Broads,” and there will be a stable of scantily clad women on hand to chat up customers. The hope is that it will help revitalize downtown. And if what I ate is an indication, things are off to a reasonable start. Read more »
Diner's Notebook
Our man Ogden, a dessert fit for The King, and wine for your burger
January 5th, 2012
Everyone's favorite local pizzeria, Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana at the District in Henderson, has opened a sister restaurant in Pasadena, Calif. (625 E. Colorado Blvd., 626-765-9550). If you're in town, stop by for a VPN pizza, an Italian acronym for a "real Neapolitan-style" pizza, cooked in a wood oven. You tear it by hand. Read more »
