Story Archive

East meets best

Yellowtail, the newest tenant of the Bellagio, appears headed for great success

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008

I’ve been to Yellowtail twice now, and both times the place seemed to be firing on all cylinders. Chef Akira Back, a personable sort, is comfortable in the fusion genre, and many of these creations are tasty and original.

Small-town sensations

Boulder City is more of a foodie’s paradise than you’d think

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008

The charming little hamlet of Boulder City has a historic downtown, lots of resident cheerleaders and, believe it or not, more than its share of decent places to eat.

Vegans beware!

Texas de Brazil is all about the meat—and lots of it

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008

Looking around at the throngs eating giant slabs of meat with fervor at the new Texas de Brazil, my thoughts turned to Nero, who allegedly played the lyre while Rome burned.

Getting your goat

Its jerk chicken is so-so, but Goat Post Tropical Grill is great with other Jamaican food

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008

This comely little place does breakfast, Mexican specialties and American-style sandwiches, so the kitchen is quite ambitious. And to quote Marc Antony, when he eulogized Julius Caesar, ambition can be (in this case only sometimes) a grievous fault.

A worthy indulgence

Don’t let these uncertain times stop you from treating yourself to Intimate Dining

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008

Let’s call the menu eclectic; the chef, a passionate young Hawaiian, Don Espaniola, literally does foods from all over the planet. And he’s quick to tell you he makes virtually everything from scratch.

Small wonder

Raku serves up the best Japanese food this side of Tokyo

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008

My first reaction to Raku, a Japanese pub restaurant on the western edge of Spring Mountain’s Chinatown, may have been undeservedly restrained.

Waistbands beware

You’ll find the city’s best deep-dish pizza—and calories—at Pie Town Pizza

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008

Transplants love to bring their native comfort foods with them, as witnessed by the proliferation of restaurants in this Valley from places such as Hawaii and Chicago. I can say that in general, most of them are shadowy approximations of the originals, Xeroxed Xerox copies without a soul, poseurs with faded flavors, made with dodgy ingredients.

Steele yourself

The variety of options at this new tapas restaurant are pretty intimidating

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008

Seafood paella Velazquez is surprisingly good, even if it does take a full 20 minutes to arrive. The rice is moist and chock-full of shellfish and chorizo. Cuban bites are like sliders in the form of three pint-sized Cuban sandwiches.

A (too) sweet time

The food rocks at Thai-themed Basil 'n Lime, but you may want to tell them to leave the sugar off

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008

I had two very different experiences at Basil ’n Lime, a charming newcomer on the west side, advertising “Authentic Thai Cuisine” on its outside sign. If you’re not Thai, you’re not a favorite to get much of it, even though the kitchen is capable of producing it.

Erin go blah

McFadden's is short on ambiance and authentic pub food, but, oh!--that Reuben

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

The food at McFadden’s, a self-styled Irish pub that originated in New York City before expanding into a national chain, is quite good, although only marginally Irish.

The next big thing

Peru's popular dishes get their due in Henderson

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008

Some have been touting the cooking of Peru as “the next big thing.” I don’t know if this is true, but I can say that Mi Peru, a South American grill housed in the Henderson space once home to Barbecue Masters, serves the best Peruvian food I’ve yet eaten in Vegas

A new dynasty

Noodle Exchange increases the Gold Coast's reputation for Chinese food

Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008

Who would have imagined the Gold Coast casino would be a hotbed for authentic Chinese cooking? Now the recent opening of Noodle Exchange has thrust it into the forefront of Chinese dining in Vegas, and customers are slowly getting the message.

High-concept classics

Espee's Gourmet Tamales puts a spin on an ancient formula

Thursday, July 31, 2008

When I was a university student, my anthropology professor claimed that the first takeout food in North America was the tamale, or tamal, as it is called in the Nauhatl language of southern Mexico.

Ciao Bella!

La Focaccia may just be the best restaurant we've discovered this year

Thursday, July 24, 2008

You mightn’t know it to look at me, but I occasionally work out at Las Vegas Athletic Club on South Eastern Avenue, and a mere stone’s throw away is one of Vegas’ truly great Italian restaurants, the unassuming La Focaccia.

Food by the Yard

A vast, eclectic menu means no one goes hungry at the Yard House. Oh, and there's beer.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The network of overhead pipes above you carries the world’s largest selection of draft beers, up to 250 delicious brews. And the menu seems almost as encyclopedic, as if the world’s largest selection of dishes were on hand to accompany them.

Beef, bison, veal or veggie; french fries, onions, blue cheese or lobster; potato rolls, slider buns or rye bread ...

10 great burgers you can chow down on in Vegas

Thursday, July 10, 2008

People get emotional when it comes to their favorite burger. At Father’s Office in Los Angeles, the burger joint du moment in that city, chef Sang Yoon has them lining up to eat his burger with bacon, onion and Gruyere cheese, and he totally forbids the use of ketchup.

A change does Marche Bacchus good

French restaurant only improves under new ownership

Thursday, July 3, 2008

For wine lovers in Las Vegas, Marche Bacchus, a small, comely wine store and bistro located in the bucolic Desert Shores community, has been a touchstone since the first day it opened.

Kan can cook

Kan’s Kitchen offers great Chinese dishes

Thursday, June 26, 2008

You don’t come to Kan’s Kitchen for a romantic date. This is one of those “turn up the lights and eat” establishments where Cantonese can be heard across the room, but almost every single dish I tried here was delicious.

Ay caramba!

Caminos de Morelia is a fresh face in a storied building

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The free-standing structure that houses Caminos de Morelia, one of our newer Mexican restaurants, is simmering with history. For years, it belonged to Lou and Angie Ruvo, a couple who operated a seminal Vegas Italian restaurant called The Venetian, the only place in town I knew of to eat pork neck, a dish I sorely miss.

Martini mania

Town Square’s Blue Martini is an instant smash, and it’s easy to see why

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Most of us in my field like to think of ourselves as knowledgeable in terms of predicting trends, as well as the potential success or failure of a concept when we are faced with it. But nothing can explain the frenzied response that has characterized Blue Martini, a new restaurant and lounge at the Town Square mall.

From across the world, right next door

Lily's offers Persian dishes that you may not be able to pronounce and you certainly won't forget

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The food here is as authentic as any Persian cooking I’ve eaten in this city. Isn’t Iran on the shores of the Caspian? You could’ve fooled me.

Middle East melange

Amena offers the moistest falafel balls in Vegas - that's a good thing

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Two restaurants using the buzzword “Mediterranean” to describe their respective cuisines sit in a modest upper Charleston Boulevard mall. Both of them serve food that is more Middle Eastern than anything else, but that label still carries a stigma as far as owners are concerned—or so it would seem.

Bella Bistro

Gina’s Bistro is notable for both its food and its namesake chef

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Opening a restaurant is a lifelong dream for many new Americans; usually places that represent the cooking of their native lands. Gina Linzi, who came here eight years ago to work as a bus girl at New York-New York’s Il Fornaio, has realized that dream. After a climb to that restaurant’s position of general manager, she struck out on her own to open a comely Italian bistro on the city’s west side. And it’s a real charmer, like Gina herself.

Bayou 'cue

Two New Orleans-influenced joints should have Las Vegans rejoicing

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Down-home cooking has never had it better in Sin City, with the advent of two places tinged by the Crescent City, New Orleans. One is an authentic N’awlins-style café, where po’ boys and file gumbo rule. The other is a barbecue shack serving some of the best ’cue in town, as well as side dishes that would make a Cajun grandmother weep with joy.

Sea (Stone) change

Boca Park’s newest Asian restaurant continues the high standards of previous tenants

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Jin Myung is hoping three will be the charm for her difficult and expensively constructed location, now home to Sea Stone, an Asian fusion and sushi restaurant. The space started life as Tre, run by the Maccioni family of Le Cirque fame, and later morphed into Hannah’s, Vietnamese/Asian fusion from Hannan An of Crustacean, before surfacing in its current incarnation.