Las Vegas Weekly

September 13, 2010 · 1:06 PM

Counter Intelligence: Fleur de Lys, Kerry Simon, Project Dinner Table

By Robin Leach

Chef Hubert Keller waves goodbye to Fleur de Lys in the Mandalay Bay.

Photo: TVT

After a six-year run at Mandalay Bay, star chef Hubert Keller’s upscale Fleur de Lys shut its doors Saturday, and he declared, “This is the end of an era.” However, he will be reopening Dec. 15 with new decor and a casual tapas restaurant featuring 75 small plates from around the world.

Hubert told me: “It’s a little bit sweet and sour. In French, we call it ‘turning the page.’ It doesn’t hurt so much because there will be another day. This has been my flagship in Las Vegas since September 2004, and even after six years, we are more popular than ever.

“But we have to respond to the economy that is putting an end to upscale, expensive restaurants. People want to be more casual and have the option of pricing their own meals. We have been dinner only until now, but when we reopen, we will do lunches, as well.”

Photo: TVT

Rick Moonen celebrates his birthday with Hubert Keller during closing night at Fleur de Lys in the Mandalay Bay.

The Top Chef contestant and judge said he’s still working on the new name, but says it may be Petit Fleur by Keller. “It’s going to be a little from the concept of build-your-own meal that we have at our Burger Bar in Mandalay Place. Nobody feels ripped off if they get to choose a great burger with toppings at $12.75, or they spend $25 adding and adding.

“It’s a sad thing to see fine dining disappearing. Michael Mina couldn’t be with me tonight because he, too, is closing his upscale restaurant in San Francisco and turning it into a steakhouse. It’s the trend from New York to Los Angeles. It’s not just about the money; it’s about being less formal and much more casual. It’s a sign of the times.

“Look at the way everybody dresses down today. We had to let go of the dress code because people want to wear sports clothes, casual clothes, jeans, T-shirts -- not suits. So it is an end of an era. Guys just don’t want to look that smart, although girls all seem to dress up.”

Hubert had 70 staff members at Fleur des Lys. His wait staff wants to tough it out and be available for the new tapas restaurant. Meantime, his kitchen crew will be used for hotel corporate banquet business. “I’m not losing one person,” Hubert said proudly. “And we’ll have 100 people on staff when we reopen.”

Fellow Top Chef and Mandalay Bay star chef Rick Moonen stopped by to greet Hubert and also to celebrate his own birthday. He told me: “Hubert is one of the coolest, classiest people ever in life -- a class act with extraordinary food. But the end of fine dining is a travesty.

“We have no choice, though, to redefine what it is now. We’ll all go through this awkward stumbling period before we find ourselves again. It’s a bittersweet process because we lose the past, yet we keep fresh finding the future.”

KERRY SIMON IN TORONTO

Iron Chef winner Kerry Simon of Simon in Palms Place and KGB at Harrah’s became a star in his own right over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. Our boost-tourism bureau picked Kerry to create and prepare Las Vegas-inspired menus for the post-movie premiere parties. Kerry helped set up a number of “pop-up Vegas restaurants” in Toronto for the star-studded movie festival. At Buca, Kerry was joined by chef Rob Gentile, and they served partygoers including Megan Fox, Bill Murray, John Legend, Jon Hamm, Mitch Glazer and Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter.

PROJECT DINNER TABLE

You couldn’t have asked for a better setting and more ideal weather for the latest Project Dinner Table experience. About 150 of us sat at one long table Saturday night as six talented MGM Grand restaurant chefs served an extraordinary six-course extravaganza. We dined by candlelight in the courtyard of the downtown historic 5th Street School, a Spanish-style mission built in an era before air conditioning. If you’ve never seen this cultural oasis, please visit because the unique building is a stunning piece of history and truly beautiful.

Banquet chef Jennifer Bargisen served four sets of hors d’oeuvres; Stefano Chiarugi of Fiamma served homemade ravioli with goose and foie gras; Top Chef star Stephen Hopcraft from Michael Mina’s Seablue served Carlsbad mussels and Santa Barbara spicy prawns; Stephane Chevet from Shibuya masterminded scallops in sake; Patrick Schaeffer from Studio Cafe cooked up a climax with braised veal cheeks and roasted summer vegetables; and Kamel Guechida from Joel Robuchon and L’Atelier produced amazing desserts. It was a meal fit for royalty made all the more perfect because of the surroundings and because it was a fundraiser for children’s literacy and Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival.

This is the debut year of Project Dinner Table, and since spring every one has been a sell-out. Founder Gina Gavan told me that next year is a definite go with even more exciting locations and chefs. The two remaining dinners in this year’s seven Project Dinner Tables are Oct. 30 at Gilcrease Orchard with RM Seafood’s Moonen and Nov. 14 with chef Roy Ellamar from Bellagio’s sensational Sensi.

I loved the whole concept because it mixes a philanthropic approach and an appreciation for the farm-to-table movement involving food, fun and community. A different local charity benefits from every dinner, and you can buy tickets for the final two this year for $200 per person at ProjectDinnerTable.com.

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.

Share This