Las Vegas Weekly

May 27, 2010 · 12:43 PM

Counter Intelligence: Chef Brian Howard elevates Nu Sanctuary

By Robin Leach

Nu Sanctuary Lounge

Photo: Mikey McNulty

Hot off the grill! Making a marriage between great dining and exotic nightlife without one overpowering the other has succeeded with the new ultra-lounge restaurant Nu Sanctuary Lounge, which has its grand opening tonight at Town Square. Now everybody is going to want to follow suit, and a trend is born!

NSL also introduces an extraordinary executive chef who is likely to become not only the overnight buzz here in Las Vegas culinary circles, but also heralded as one of our city’s new Top 10 kitchen kings.

Meet Brian Howard, who has wanted to cook ever since he was age 10. His father -- a short-order Coney Island cook -- would take him to work, and a passion for making magic behind the stove was born. Brian has proven his amazing culinary talents with a remarkable and totally unique menu at NSL of modern global fusion fare keyed to local farmers and sustainable seafood purveyors.

It’s a fun and hearty menu with a fusion of flavors beyond comparison. Our test dinner consisted of a four-way tasting plate for the first course comprised of tuna with compressed watermelon; Kumamoto oyster with pomegranate dipping, four versions of organic beets; sashimi of Australian Hiramasa; and a side dish of my own favorite heirloom tomatoes with homemade burrata cheese. Out of this world!

Amazingly, it got even better in the second and third courses of a carrot soup puree with Las Vegas grown celery and global aromatics, followed by seared foie gras with smoked and caramelized apple. The menu was so enticing that I ordered another four-way tasting platter to enjoy the chickpea-crusted scallop with intriguing cauliflower risotto, yellow fin tuna with lemongrass and sake steamed bok choy, Parisian-styled gnocchi with morel mushrooms and a potato- and cheese-stuffed pierogi topped with caviar and creme fraiche. Totally decadent and totally beyond anything I expected, particularly when Brian told me that he’s using a lot of produce from the farms in nearby Pahrump.

Brian also is playful with interactive table amusement centerpieces, including an overflowing and miraculously unbalanced off-kilter jug of “smoking” essence of rose, and the liquid nitrogen caramel corn for dessert was the chill-thrill of the night. There also was my favorite coconut sorbet, plus a jalapeno sorbet and rose-scented creme brulee from pastry chef Martha Araiza. I recommend you all of Brian’s magnificent taste treats by simply ordering The Menu Tour.

Brian has been here since 2000 and slowly worked his way up training at Lutece originally in The Venetian, Andre Rochat’s Alize in the Palms, and then he helped open Thomas Keller’s Bouchon at The Venetian, where the team won the 2006 Epicurean Award for Best New Restaurant and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for two consecutive years. After five years with Thomas’ restaurant group, Brian became chef de cuisine for Kerry Simon’s acclaimed Cathouse at the Luxor and then opened L.A. Market for Kerry in downtown L.A. Now he has his own much-deserved spotlight with the dynamic Nu Sanctuary Lounge.

The grand gala opening complete with a celebrity red carpet on which I’ll pop a mighty magnum of champagne is tonight, with Las Vegas nightlife guru Gino LoPinto as part of the management team. The patio and dining room provide indoor-outdoor dining with fruit hookah and cocktail selections. There are nine heaven clouds and seven hell rings of hookah choices. A sprawling tree provides a colorful LED lighting display as the branches span the ceiling as its own awning over the popular bar. My pal the talented DJ Shoe spins his special brand of house music through dinner.

At 11 p.m., there’s a dramatic transition with a brilliant flash of light and sound from another DJ that divides the room into Heaven and Hell for nightlife and after hours. The chefs of our city are already packing the place after their kitchen hours are over.

NSL also is open for lunch with a menu that includes Tandoori chicken, unique pizzas, lamb tangine and Asian new world bites. Check out the Fountain of Youth, which serves up totally different chicken Nu-ggets.

Take the trip just minutes south of the Strip to Town Square for this extraordinary experience. Over the years, I haven’t been wrong about top chefs and hit restaurants, and this one is yet one more definite big winner.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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