las vegas restaurants

Wynn Resort's Alex Restaurant To Close

Filed under: Dining

The luxurious Wynn Resort in Las Vegas has gone through several dining transitions recently. Back in August we heard about the resort's decision to add more vegan and vegetarian options. In November, we learned that the space formerly occupied by Daniel Boulud Brasserie became the Lakeside Grill on the hotel's Lake of Dreams. Now Wine Spectator reports that the Wynn's Alex restaurant, one of the most luxurious restaurants on the Strip, will close on January 15 after a six-year run. Chef Alessandro "Alex" Stratta will stay at the hotel and run Stratta, a more casual restaurant that focuses on wood-fired pizza and Italian-inspired cuisine.
The restaurant served classic French cuisine with an Italian twist and using fresh ingredients. The $185 tasting menu included items including crispy carbinieri prawn with cauliflower, savory custard, vadouvan curry and carrot ginger sauce and saute of Sonoma foie gras with sweet potato, caramelized onions, black truffles and butternut squash sauce. The restaurant's jewel-box-like setting will now be used for special events and private parties.

The comprehensive and expensive Alex wine list had earned a Wine Spectator Grand Award in 2010 and the resort plans to distribute the wines in Alex's several cellars to other restaurants at the Wynn. Danielle Price, wine director for Wynn and its sister resort Encore, who expressed disappointment in the decision, told Wine Spectator that the high-end Italian wines will got to Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare and the majority of the other wines from the cellar will be added to the SW Steakhouse wine list.

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Valentine's Day Dinner at Alizé at the Top of the Palms

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

If your Valentine's Day celebration takes you to Las Vegas, chef André Rochat of Alizé at the Top of the Palms has your recipe for romance. The chef has created a romantic prix fixe menu served at the restaurant which has panoramic views above the Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding mountains.

The meal begins with an amuse bouche of Belon oyster with Oscetra caviar and lemon mignonette followed by a choice between the Roasted King Crab and Celery Root Bisque flavored with crab leg, Fugi apple and fresh Perigord truffle or Andre's foie gras terrine with duck confit, toasted brioche and endive marmalade. Next there is a choice between arugula and citrus marinated hearts of palm salad with apricot confiture, red endive and candied pecans or seared diver scallop with roasted salsify purée, grapefruit emulsion and minced chives. A lemon kiwi sorbet prepares the taste buds for the main course which is a choice of macadamia crusted northern halibut with roasted mushroom, smoked bacon strudel and sautéed spinach with a bordelaise sauce or roasted free range chicken with a chive and potato croquette, braised leeks, foie gras and black truffle jus. Other entrée selections include sautéed filet of beef with jumbo green asparagus, red onion confit, potato purée and cognac green pepper corn sauce or a veal loin chop with Chamonix potato, browned-buttered cauliflower and veal jus.

The desert finishes off the meal with a choice of passion fruit and Milk Chocolate Bavarian terrine or fresh long stem strawberries with chocolate fondue and shortbread cookies or salted honey-milk caramel cake with crispy almond praline. The Valentine's Day menu at Alizé at the Top of The Palms will be served Monday, Feb. 14 beginning at 5:30 p.m. and costs $125 per person plus 18 percent gratuity.

Tags: alize at the top of the palms, las vegas restaurants, valentines day dinner

Chef Hubert Keller Opens New Las Vegas Restaurant, Fleur At Mandalay Bay

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Chef Hubert Keller charmed audiences when he appeared in the first Top Chef Masters competition in 2009. The chef behind the Fleur de Lys restaurant in San Francisco and also the Fleur de Lys restaurant at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas has rebranded that second restaurant as simply Fleur by Hubert Keller.

The revamped restaurant now focuses on gourmet small plates inspired by Keller's travels to Spain, Italy, North Africa, South America, Asia, and his homeland of France. "At Fleur by Hubert Keller I'm taking guests on a journey to different countries through small plates that are really well prepared, with great flavor," says Keller. "My new restaurant features several different moods and dining experiences. Guests can watch sports and enjoy a beer in our circular center bar, take in the hotel action from our patio dining, sip cocktails in the lounge, enjoy an elegant dinner in our main room or have an exclusive meal or celebration within our semi-private cabana dining spaces."

Keller's small plates are displayed in a way to highlight the presentation and flavors: Kushi oysters are topped with margarita sorbet and orange purée are served on an illuminated block of dry ice ; maple glazed pork ribs are hidden beneath a smoke-filled glass dome that when lifted and the Wagyu "Lava Rock" is served with tender slices of wagyu beef and cooked to guests' preference on a sizzling hot lava rock, then drizzled with wasabi-lime sauce. Keller pays homage to his appearance on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters"with his competition-winning "In The Shower" Mac & Cheese made with lobster and brunoise vegetables.

Gallery: Fleur at Mandalay Bay

Kushi Oysters with margarita sorbet and orange pur�e

Crab & Avocado Sphere with watermelon gazpacho

Artichoke Barigoule with asparagus, baby carrots and basil

Tags: hubert keller, las vegas restaurants, las vegas strip, mandalay bay

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Gordon Ramsay To Open Las Vegas Restaurant

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

It seems like Gordon Ramsay already has a Las Vegas restaurant, after all, practically every other star chef is there, but that hasn't happened yet. That's about to change. Robin Leach reports that Ramsay will open the Gordon Ramsay Steakhouse in the space currently occupied by Les Artistes at the Paris on the Las Vegas Strip. That restaurant will shut down at the end of January and Ramsay's restaurant is set to open by June 1. Leach reports that the move is part of the overall "de-Frenchification" of the Paris. The Eiffel Tower will remain but the move is to make it less of a theme-centered hotel.

Ramsay hasn't had the best luck controlling his empire and had to sell off several restaurants in the past year but now that he and his father-in-law have ended their business arrangement, Ramsay seems ready for expansion. It was also recently announced that Ramsay will open a new casual-dining restaurant near London's Borough Market next year, called Union Street Café.

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Wynn Las Vegas Opens Lakeside Grill

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Wynn Las Vegas has opened its latest restaurant, the Lakeside Grill on the hotel's picturesque Lake of Dreams. The restaurant is located in the space formally occupied by Daniel Boulud Brasserie. Executive Chef David Walzog (also of the hotel's SW Steakhouse) is at the helm serving up modern twists on classic American dishes. Entrees include pizza and pasta options such as Tomato Pizza with San Marzano tomato sauce, pecorino and basil and a Butternut Squash Agnolotti with sage brown butter. Sweets lovers can delight in the work of Executive Pastry Chef Kimberly Valdez who has created the special "dim sum" cart shown above which offers desserts divided into nutty, chocolate, creamy and fruit categories.

Tags: david walzog, las vegas, las vegas restaurants, wynn las vegas

Wynn Resorts Offer Vegan Delights

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Eating vegan no longer exists on the fringes of culinary culture. Even the Wynn Resorts are getting in on the vegan craze. The resorts have created an all-new vegan culinary program. The chefs at Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas have designed vegan dishes that highlight vegetables and contain no meat or dairy, instead using exotic grains and vegetables with coconut milk and vegetable purees to lend creaminess to risottos and sauces. Shown above is the tofu carpaccio at SWITCH restaurant, Encore Las Vegas.

Other dishes include fava bean puree with sauteed hon shimeji mushrooms, snap pea salad and aged balsamic vinegar at ALEX and the market chopped salad with avocado, carrots, celery, pumpkin seeds, edamame and tarragon vinaigrette at Society Cafe Encore. Other temping vegan delights include the summer vegetable gratin at Botero, risotto con verdure di stagione (risotto whipped with seasonal vegetables) at BARTOLOTTA Ristorante di Mare and Napoleon of savory tofu with ratatouille and fried eggplant at Tableau. The Country Club has a vegan version of their popular watermelon gazpacho with avocado, jicama, tomato, cucumber, cilantro and yucca crisp and STRATTA offers whole wheat pasta primavera. Even at SW, Wynn's signature steakhouse, vegans will dine well on grilled royal trumpet mushrooms with creamy polenta and shallot balsamic sauce.

Wazuzu's vegan crunch roll with crispy asparagus, avocado, cucumber and arare; Okada's vegan cold soba noodle and Wing Lei's crispy tofu with sugar pea, water chestnut, carrot and bean sprout feature flavorful Asian ingredients. Vegans aren't left out at desserts with treats like blueberry cobbler with toasted almond ice cream at Sinatra and banana crepes with coconut ice cream and avocado mousse at SWITCH. It's enough to keep both vegans and non-vegans quite satisfied.

Tags: las vegas restaurants, vegan, vegan diet, veganism, vegans, wynn resorts