Las Vegas Weekly

January 14, 2009 · 12:07 PM

Strip Scribbles: Legendary restaurant reopens at Monte Carlo after $2 million makeover

By Robin Leach

Chef Andre Rochat.

Photo: TVT

When we first revealed exclusively that veteran downtown restaurateur Andre Rochat was calling it quits after a 29-year run, his fans feared he’d fulfill his dream of going fishing and just take off. Not quite so! He did promise to continue running his outposts of Alize atop the Palms and reopen his namesake restaurant at the Monte Carlo. The transition from closing downtown Jan. 1 and reopening Andre’s at the Monte Carlo was literally a matter of days. So we’re delighted to report that, after a $2 million renovation, the all-new-look Andre’s Restaurant has just reopened there.

The new layout and design includes floor-to-ceiling clear glass entrance doors to showcase the expanded wine bar with its accents of gold and blue mosaic tiles, silk-wrapped lighting, metal barstools of blue cowhide and four stunning, large glass bottle sculptures by Las Vegas artist Tony Milici. Then hold your breath, folks: You can peek into the award-winning 12,000-bottle cellar with 1,500 different selections given the Best of Award of Excellence by the prestigious Wine Spectator. Colorful contemporary artwork adorns the pearly white and gray walls accented with turquoise blue, antiqued mirrors and whimsical silver chandelier-inspired sconces. Each of the dining room’s tables is lit by romantic candlelight.

In addition to the three private dining rooms, on the second level there’s an intimate, separate Cigar Lounge with one of the biggest selections of after-dinner drinks in North America. The expert there will even pair your cigar with your cognac!

Andre will still get to go fishing, though, when he wants because he’s installed his Chef de Cuisine Greg Engelhardt from the recently closed downtown Andre’s. Greg won a star rating from the prestigious Michelin Travel Guide for his contemporary interpretations of Andre’s classics and the traditional French gourmet cuisine.

Chef Andre said: “I am very excited about the transformation the restaurant and lounge has made at Monte Carlo. There have been many culinary changes in Las Vegas, and while the clientele is always looking for a new and exciting experience, our guests also are looking for great food, superior service and a good value. We deliver it all!”

*Episodes of the Spike TV countdown to the UFC 94 battle between Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn begin tonight. UFC Primetime is a unique series that continues each Wednesday leading up to the Jan. 31 showdown at the MGM Grand. It’s an eagerly awaited mixed martial arts rematch between welterweight champion St. Pierre and lightweight champion Penn. Spike has taken a really unique and different tack to the TV project showing the final preparations of both men. Camera crews will spend 25 days with each fighter rather than the usual three, and episodes will air within 24 hours of being filmed to provide up-to-the-minute updates on their status. It’s labeled a real-life docu-drama and not a reality series because the no-holds barred shooting will show it exactly as it is!

Photo: Denise Truscello

Billy Packer, Bob Oseland and Johnny Avello.

*An intriguing and unique new way to get “ interactive involved” with the upcoming men’s college basketball tournament has been unveiled at the Wynn Race & Sports Book. Famed college basketball coach Bob Knight, who holds an unprecedented 902 wins, has teamed with CBS lead analyst broadcaster Billy Packer for Survive and Advance, a series of five one-hour TV programs analyzing the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The March Madness shows will air from the Wynn on Fox Sports Network following the big basketball games March 15, 22 and 29 and April 3 and 5. It combines an interactive Web platform with custom games, video, analysis and player blogs.

Photo: Pure Management Group

Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Pure.

*Former boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. made his first visit to Victor Drai’s new lavish XS nightclub in the Encore, and a champagne bottle war erupted between hip-hop star Pittsburgh Slim and him. Both guys at their separate VIP dance floor tables started a champagne bottle-buying spree, with the cocktail servers carrying out hundreds of sparklers as each star topped the other! In the end, it was declared a draw, with a slight edge to Pittsburgh Slim because he stood on his table and sang his yet-to-be-released song “ Sip Champagne.” His impromptu 3 a.m. performance also included his hit “Girls Kiss Girls.” The 3,000-plus crowd, including poker star David Williams, cheered them on and captured it all on their hundreds of flashing cameras. Just 24 hours earlier, XS became the favorite late-night hangout of the UFC fighters, and photographer Al Powers from SpyOnVegas.com found Randy Couture and wife Kim out on a date there with fellow UFC fighter Forrest Griffin sporting a hat and an unidentified blonde beauty!

Photo: Al Powers/www.spyonvegas.com

Forest Griffin, a blonde friend, Randy Couture and his wife Kim.

Star surveillance

Dining at separate tables all on the same night at the Strip House in Planet Hollywood were Rock of Love’s Brandi Mahon, rap star Cypress Hill and porn princess Brittaney Starr. … Yes, that is former professional champion ice skater Keith Green mixing those signature cocktails behind the bar at Morton’s Steakhouse. Keith was featured in several ice production shows and appeared with Dorothy Hamill in The Nutcracker. When Keith moved to Las Vegas in 1994, he performed in City Lights at the Flamingo, was featured in Le Ice at the Luxor and appeared with a slew of Olympic champions in the Disney holiday TV special. Keith stayed on in Vegas when he hung up his skates to continue working with ice, but this time around the kind that goes in your glass! His former ice skating pals always drop by when they visit Vegas, and U.S. pairs skaters and world champions Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner have been spotted at his bar!

Photo: Courtesy

Dorothy Hamill and Keith Green.

Photo: Keith Green

Keith Green and Robin Cousins.

*A Chinese New Year celebration starts today at the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens with a spectacular new exhibit to celebrate the Year of the Ox. The majestic centerpiece will be a 15-foot-long ox comprised of more than 10,000 living plants. The ox is the second animal in the Asian zodiac. Just steps away, an 18-foot-tall Chinese God of Wealth and Fortune will stand amid golden lucky coins along with a trio of charming, 6-foot-tall giant pandas made from more than 9,000 living plants frolicking in a lush garden filled with towering bamboo. The dramatic design in Bellagio’s Gardens will be guided by the ancient practice of Feng Shui, the art of using surroundings to attract harmony, balance and positive life energy. Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue will be there this morning to capture all the glory and majesty of the floral masterpiece, which we will post right here tomorrow. Visitors can explore the Year of the Ox exhibition until Feb. 28. The actual dates this year for the Earth Ox element are Jan. 26 through Feb. 14.

Photo: Andreani

Color king Michael Boychuck parties with Paris Hilton and Benji Madden last July.

*Congratulations to my good pal Michael Boychuck, as his lavish Color salon at Caesars Palace was just named Best Vegas Salon in the Bragging Rights Awards at the Bank in the Bellagio. His clients Paris and Nicky Hilton were among the stars who helped him open the salon alongside the Qua Spa in the Augustus Tower at Caesars.

*Congratulations also go to the downtown Golden Nugget Hotel for being named a coveted 2009 4-Diamond Award winner for the 32nd consecutive year. The Automobile Association of America reports that only 14 hotels in the United States have earned the prestigious award for 32 consecutive years or longer. The Golden Nugget is the only 4-Diamond winner downtown. All told, there were 19 AAA 4-Diamond winners in Nevada, with 17 of those being located right here. The total count across the country of 4-Diamond winners was 1,224. Since 2005, the Golden Nugget has undergone an incredible $170 million-plus property-wide renovation and expansion project, which upgraded hotel rooms and added restaurants, nightlife venues and the now world-renowned $30 million pool and shark aquarium, The Tank. Late this year, the legendary property will complete and open its new $150 million, 500-room hotel tower.

Tonight’s tip

Congratulations also to the Cirque du Soleil Revolution lounge at The Mirage as it celebrates its second anniversary party. There’s an open bar to toast the celebration for two hours starting at 10 p.m. No, we’re not expecting The Beatles to attend, but the cast of Love will be there along with other celebrities and VIPs.

Photo: TVT

Danny Gans.

Tomorrow’s tease

Entertainer Danny Gans is now 10 days away from his first new shows at Steve Wynn’s reconfigured Encore Theater and has just set Feb. 6 as his gala opening night. We drop in as he rehearses at the former Spamalot Theater, which has been turned into his new 1,500-seat home of technical wonders. … Beloved Magicians of the Century Siegfried & Roy prepare for their One Night of Magic reunion at the Feb. 28 Keep Memory Alive gala at the Bellagio, and we’re a week away from all their big news being revealed.

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