Las Vegas Weekly

Ladies First

First Food & Bar to focus on the fairer sex

First Food & Bar in the Palazzo.

Isaac Brekken

First Food & Bar will launch its new female-centric weekly, First Ladies Retail Therapy Thursdays, on March 4. The party begins when ladies arrive and receive their First Lady card. The custom membership card gives all women access to $5 specialty drinks and cocktails all night long plus a little much-needed retail therapy (gift bags!) as provided by partner Dior Cosmetics. Other high-end retailers will also be jumping on board to spice things up further with raffles galore.

Photo: Isaac Brekken

Chef Sam "Sammy D" DeMarco at First Food & Bar.

Furthermore, select influential First Ladies will be invited to be Chef Sammy "D" DeMarco's personal guests for the evening, enjoying comped dinners and some much deserved personal attention. "You'll feel like you're belonging to something rather than just coming in for a drink," says DeMarco who does much of his venue's research and development personally, venturing out into the club world to answer that age-old question — what women want.

Located at the threshold of the Venetian (or Palazzo, depending on where you're coming from; Chef Sammy calls it "the Velazzo"), First Food & Bar divides its attention evenly between food, beverage and vibe. Newly dubbed resident DJ Jeff Retro will provide the mood-setting, mellow house sounds for First Ladies Thursday; following the ladies night's launch, Chef will also be re-launching First's happy hour as well as introducing new late-night activities.

"Moving towards spring we're going to do a lot of new stuff," says Chef, starting with his new late-night menu aptly titled Size Matters, and featuring an "enormous" chicken-fried steak, half a chicken served with two large waffles, and a one-pound burger 10 inches in diameter that Chef could only describe as "obscene."

It all harkens back, says Chef, to the good ol' days of the Rat Pack's Vegas, when you would wrap things up at the club, lounge or tables and head to a restaurant for an inexpensive late-night meal that always hit the spot right about then. And "size does matter," says the chef. These late-night snacks were meant for sharing so your one-pound burger will arrive cut into pie slices. Thrill-seekers also can take on Chef's four-level hot-sauce challenge, guaranteed to leave an indelible mark on your weekend.

Offering both early evening and late-night parties, it is Chef Sammy's hope that you'll make First your first stop of the night ... and maybe your last stop, too.