Las Vegas Weekly

Eat like a top chef

The Las Vegas-based contestants’ local favorites on and off The Strip

Marcel’s a “Thai food whore,” but we still love him.

Photo: Beverly Poppe

Marcel: I’m a Thai food whore, so I’d say Archi’s [Thai Kitchen] and Lotus of Siam. I totally love those places. For Japanese food I kind of like Ichiza (4355 Spring Mountain Road). It’s kinda ghetto and kinda gangster, but I like it. Probably my all-time favorite restaurant is Pho Kim Long —good, inexpensive Asian flavors. I’m disappointed that there’s no really good Mexican food here, at least not as far as I know. As far as the Strip goes, Bouchon [at the Venetian] has always been solid. Bradley Ogden [at Caesars Palace] always does a good job. Obviously, [Joël] Robuchon [at The Mansion at MGM Grand] is really good. And I had a stellar meal at DJT—the new restaurant at Trump [Las Vegas] the other night. It was awesome, man.

Stephen: My favorite place on the Strip was Robuchon, and off the Strip was Lotus of Siam—the two best restaurants in Vegas.

Elia: I love Settebello the pizzeria. I like very much Sen of Japan (8480 W. Desert Inn). [The chef there] used to be executive chef at Nobu, and he left to do his own thing, so it’s like having Nobu but for half of the price. And I really like Lotus of Siam.

Tiffani: The little punk-rock Japanese restaurant, Ichiza. They serve food until like 3 in the morning. Eight of us would go in and eat and drink, and you’d be hard-pressed to spend $200 as a group. We used to go to Rosemary’s (8125 W. Sahara Ave.) for half-priced wine [Sunday nights]. And Lotus of Siam is amazing.

Hung: I love Pho So 1. I like Pho Kim Long. I love all the Asian restaurants. I spent my days off in Chinatown.