Author: Max Jacobson
Raymi Mosca
Summer comfort food, from the city’s top Peruvian chef
Raymi Mosca, who owns Mi Peru South American Grill in Henderson (1450 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway), was a real estate agent in Chicago for 14 years before going back to his roots as a chef of his native Peruvian cuisine. He once had a small restaurant in Lima that specialized in criollo (native) dishes such as seco, dried beef and the mixed grilled local seafood specialty known as parihuela.
Read More »A heavenly ramen bar and another yogurt twist
It’s not every day that I get to write that a meal is a life-changing experience. But from now on I’ll probably be eating at Monta, a new Japanese ramen noodle bar at 5030 Spring Mountain Road (367-4600), at least once a week. It’s that good.
Read More »Lavo Love
Yes, our food critic fell for the meatballs, and the rest of the Palazzo restaurant’s menu, too
At first I was confused by the slogan on the billboard advertising Lavo at the Palazzo: “If you like our dumplings, you’ll love our meatballs.” Well, Lavo doesn’t serve dumplings. Later, it was explained to me that Lavo is part of the Tao Group, whose Tao restaurant/nightclub next door at the Venetian does have dumplings.
This is worth knowing because Tao is the No. 1 grossing independent restaurant in the United States, and Lavo is projected to finish No. 7 this year. It’s obvious, then, that somebody up there knows what the people want.
Gallery: Lavo
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The New Raku
Vegas’ only true gastropub expands to accommodate its growing foodie fan base
There’s no doubt that Raku, despite the fact that it serves no sushi, is the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas. Mitsuo Endo, a Tokyo native who won critical raves for his New York City restaurant, Megu, refers to it as an aburiya, basically a gastropub.
Read More »Great summer wines and a couple of Old Vegas classics
July is a good month to cool down with summer wines, and one of the best local places to buy them is Khoury’s Fine Wine and Spirits (in two locations: 9915 S. Eastern Ave. in Henderson, and 7150 S. Durango Dr.). Young entrepreneur Issa Khoury is a native of Elko who grew up in retail, and his stores have a big inventory of both New and Old World wines, plus vintage cognacs and Scotches.
Read More »Nostalgic Vibe, Hearty Entrées
Italian-American Social Club serves comfort and value
Groucho Marx once said that he wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would accept him as a member. So the good news is that you don’t have to join the Italian-American Social Club to eat there.
Read More »Man of the House
Social House is all-new again except for one key ingredient: Chef Joe Elevado
It would be tempting to call Joe Elevado the best Japanese chef in the city, were it not for the fact that his food is pan-Asian and his ethnicity Filipino-American.
Elevado is the executive chef at Social House in Crystals at CityCenter, the same position he held when the restaurant was at the TI. And he hasn’t changed the menu radically, other than adding a dish or two, such as Crispy Pata, Filipino-style fried pork shank.
Read More »A taste of the Laundry and a perfect Match
Two weeks ago, I dined at The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s restaurant in Napa Valley, Calif., and am pleased to report the dinner exceeded my expectations. Housed in a stone building more than a century old, a meal here is a feast for the five senses.
Read More »Revel in Sinatra’s wine, an off-Strip innovator and superb bargains
One of the things making Wynn Las Vegas such a compelling destination for foodies is owner Steve Wynn’s insistence on having his chefs in house. Alex Stratta, Jet Tila and Paul Bartolotta are just three of the stars cooking every day at the hotel.
The talents of Theo Schoenegger, executive chef at Sinatra, shone brightly at a recent wine dinner for Sinatra Family Vineyards, attended by Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Tina, and Wynn himself.
Read More »Eastern Influence
MOzen Bistro offers variety, any time of day
It’s not enough that the Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter is the city’s most elegant hotel. It also has cutting-edge French cooking at Pierre Gagnaire’s Twist, and what I call our best three-meal restaurant, the casual MOzen Bistro.
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