Las Vegas Weekly

March 19, 2009 · 10:26 AM

Celebrity chefs’ menus reflect spring and tough economic times

By Robin Leach

Steve Martorano and Tom Jones.

Photo: TVT

The Las Vegas dining scene has some new looks as our group of the world’s best chefs set dining trends. We’ve got three of the top menu changes as spring brings new vegetables into play and chefs combat the global economic slowdown with price challenges and changes.

Spago @Caesars Palace

At Caesars Palace’s Spago, the longest running celebrity chef restaurant in Vegas, Wolfgang Puck’s executive chef Erik Klein has added a unique beer-pairing menu to a full-on Spago tasting meal. It’s akin to taking a pub tour vacation halfway around the world. Erik serves beers from Germany, Japan, Italy, England, Belgium and even a sensational pumpkin beer from Michigan! They come with six extraordinary items, plus a trio of chocolate creations for dessert.

The tasting menu is an Alsatian pizza-styled tarte; yellowfin tuna sashimi; on the same plate, potato soup and Washington apple salad; veal agnolotti; scallops; and braised short ribs. The delicacies, also from around the world, match the beers and are a full-blown feast! The beers also are available a la carte.

I’ve always noted that Wolf keeps his prices in line, so Spago continues to be the best value for star chef action on the Strip. Wolf, who pioneered the fine dining revolution here, also has given his Postrio at The Venetian a design makeover to celebrate its 10th anniversary. He’s installed not only a chef’s table but also an extended bar that juts out into St. Mark’s Square to give a sense of outdoor al fresco drinking and dining. They’ve both instantly become prime locations!

Cafe Martorano @The Rio

My Italian star chef friend Steve Martorano has created a new menu at his Rio Cafe Martorano in a spring salute to vegetables. Thank goodness, though, his world famous spaghetti meatballs and the leaning tower of eggplant and mozzarella are intact! The food is so sensational that hip-hop star and regular Ludacris always takes the mic at Steve’s deejay deck in the kitchen to perform his hits! The bald, multi-tattooed chef has played host to numerous stars, including Shaquille O’Neal, as he celebrates his second anniversary at The Rio.

To herald his new spring menu, Steve had a cooking demonstration at the Bloomingdale’s Home Store in our Fashion Show Mall. He prepared penne pasta with his own spicy Sicilian sauce, along with hot and sweet sausage escarole and beans and an all-beef hot dog with sweet peppers in a nod to his South Philadelphia upbringing.

Incidentally, Steve has started on his autobiography complete with recipes from Cafe Martorano. It’s titled Yo Cuz, and I got a sneak peek at the first chapter. It’s a hoot and will wind up when finished as a TV movie. Think of The Godfather trilogy set around the kitchen! Steve could never make up his mind between deejaying or continuing on with the traditions of authentic South Philadelphia-styled Italian food. So he did both and is now the only chef in the world who can serve up the best linguine, clams and peas while spinning Barry White and Lou Rawls hits in between screening excerpts from The Sopranos!

Andre’s @Monte Carlo

Star chef Andre Rochat put a For Sale sign on his landmark downtown Andre’s restaurant while it continues to host private parties and banquets, but he’s reopened his amazing Andre’s restaurant in the Monte Carlo to serve his signature cuisine in a transformed setting. Andre was a star chef in Vegas 25-plus years ago before the term was even coined! He truly was a pioneer here. (Click HERE for our interview with Andre in January.)

In addition to all the old favorites from downtown, Andre’s added some new favorites for his move to the Strip. Nothing has been lost, and everything has been gained -- but he, too, has kept the menu prices reasonable for exquisite food in these tough economic times.

However, what’s extraordinary is that he’s managed to open a second-floor, self-contained cigar lounge. It’s a masterpiece and the best place for a smoke on the Strip. Andre has a humidor as tall as himself that has one of the best cigar lists I’ve seen anywhere in the world. So now you can dine in the plush, intimate restaurant and then smoke a super stogie afterward with a beautiful brandy. Be sure to have Andre cook you his renowned Dover sole flown in fresh every day from England! It’s the best in all of Vegas. Then wind down your night in his new parlor of choice and relax with an extraordinary cigar and a cognac!

Bon appétit!

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