Dining

A GLOBAL CULINARY CROSSROADS
Once known for its all-you-can-eat buffets and bargain shrimp cocktails, Las Vegas has transformed itself into a top culinary destination. Within a decade, Las Vegas has redefined the culinary and wine experience by offering the most comprehensive collection of celebrity chefs and world-class restaurants, more Master Sommeliers than any other city in the world and more wine sold per capita than in any other destination.

In the fall of 2007, Las Vegas' credibility as one of the globe's centers for fine dining grew even more when it became the fourth U.S. city to be profiled by the authors of the Michelin Guide, the prestigious restaurant and lodging guidebook. For more than a century, the Michelin Guide has provided reviews of restaurants and lodging and its one- to three-star rating system is regarded as the most discriminating in the world.

Bon Appétit magazine, a leading authority in the culinary world, cemented Las Vegas' place among U.S. dining capitals by declaring the destination as one of the nation's top five restaurant cities. In addition, the popular online travel site Travelocity ranked the city in second place, only to Barcelona, Spain, in its list of the Top Ten
Gourmet Destinations in the World.

Las Vegas continues to be recognized year after year for its quality restaurants. In December 2006, two restaurants were honored with a five-star rating by Mobil Travel Guide, Alex at Wynn Las Vegas and Joël Robuchon at The Mansion at MGM Grand. Recently, AAA announced their Five Diamond Award-winners for 2007, considered one of the most prestigious recognitions that a restaurant can achieve. AAA Five Diamond Award-winning restaurants include Picasso at Bellagio, Le Cirque at Bellagio, Alex at Wynn Las Vegas and Joël Robuchon at The Mansion at MGM Grand.

As the dining scene continues to evolve in Las Vegas, new restaurants continue to open nearly every month, providing unique experiences for repeat visitors. Some of th many new restaurants in 2008 include the following:

Coinciding with the opening of Palazzo in January will be the debut of CUT, Master Chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck's sixth entry on the Las Vegas dining scene. The original location of this latest Puck creation in Beverly Hills was nominated for the James Beard Foundation's prestigious New Restaurant of the Year honor in 2007.

Global restaurant group SUSHISAMBA will open its seventh and largest outpost in Las Vegas in January 2008. Located at The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort adjacent to the Venetian and the Sands Expo Convention Center, the 14,000 square-foot restaurant will offer a 150-seat dining room, 21-seat sushi bar and 35-seat main bar. The restaurant will also feature the Sugarcane Lounge, the first extension of SUSHISAMBA'S New York lounge concept.

Stephen Hanson and B.R. Guest recently announced the highly anticipated arrival of Dos Caminos Las Vegas, opening at The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino. Dos Caminos Las Vegas will be the fourth outpost of the Mexican cuisine Mecca and the first outside of New York City. As with its sister locations, Dos Caminos Las Vegas will offer authentic, inventive Mexican fare along with a vibrant bar scene. The lounge at Dos Caminos Las
Vegas will offer the latest DJ stylings, bottle service and top-notch people-watching as well as a delectable lounge menu for late-night dining well into the wee hours.

The Mirage will become home to acclaimed Chef Laurent Tourondel's BLT Burger in spring 2008. BLT Burger's hip and casual setting, designed by Rockwell Group, will feature an energetic environment for lunch, dinner or a late-night bite. BLT Burger's diverse menu will offer quality ingredients including beef, American and Japanese Kobe, lamb and Ahi tuna burgers, onion rings, a variety of French fry options, an array of milkshakes in classic and spiked varities, nostalgic glass-bottled sodas, and innovative cocktails.

New York City's highly acclaimed RUB BBQ will add some extra heat to Las Vegas early this fall with its new location inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. This will be the restaurant's second and only venue outside of the New York Original. The 9,000-square foot RUB BBQ will feature championship-level barbeque created by Paul Kirk, aka The Kansas City Baron of Barbecue and The Ambassador of Barbecue. Standard dishes include Barbequed Ribs prepared St. Louis-style, Barbequed Sausage and Pastrami prepared the old-fashioned way, slow-cooked over wood in pits for 14 hours. RUB BBQ will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Famed restaurateur Kerry Simon has announced that he will open his latest epicurean venture Simon at Palms Place at the new Palms Place Hotel, Condo & Spa. The Rock & Roll chef, who has catered to the stars for almost two decades, will bring his style of cutting-edge, globally inspired fare to the eagerly anticipated new property. specializing in sushi, steak and seafood with more than 8,400 square feet of dining space, Simon at Palms Place aims to be a hip, edgy and delectable new dining destination unlike any other in Las Vegas.

AGO, the elegant Italian trattoria named after its celebrated executive chef partner Agostino Sciandri, will launch a new Las Vegas location at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino this winter, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the landmark Los Angeles eatery. AGO is best known for its authentic, Tuscan-style Italian fare that emphasizes
light and simple cooking. AGO Las Vegas, designed by Ralph Gentile, will include a sleek and welcoming lounge where diners can sample AGO's one-of-a kind cocktails or small plates from the bar menu. Guests then enter the intimate dining area which will include a special "Cava" room inspired by the ambience of an underground wine cave.

Celebrity Chefs
Historically, major hotel-casinos featured "gourmet rooms" in order to cater to high rollers' tastes. Each restaurant created an ambience designed to transport diners to a world far away from the action of the casinos. However, by the late '90s, high-end eateries became the rage with their appeal extending beyond just high rollers. Las Vegas hotels recruited some of the top chefs in the world to open and run restaurants inside their properties. Today, Las Vegas has the most comprehensive collection of the world's top chefs and television icons. Continuing to satisfy Las Vegas visitors' appetites, they include - in alphabetical order:

Paul Bartolotta (Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas)
Mario Batali (B & B Ristorante and Enoteca San Marco at The Venetian)
Daniel Boulud (Daniel Boulud at Wynn Las Vegas)
David Burke (David Burke at The Venetian)
Tom Colicchio (Craftsteak at MGM Grand)
Alain Ducasse (Mix at Mandalay Bay's THEhotel)
Todd English (Olives at Bellagio)
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken (Border Grill at Mandalay Bay)
Bobby Flay (Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace)
Jean-Marie Josselin (8-0-8 at Caesars Palace)
Joseph Keller (Bistro Zinc at Monte Lake Village at Lake Las Vegas)
Hubert Keller (Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay)
Thomas Keller (Bouchon at The Venetian)
Emeril Lagasse (Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand and Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian)
Sirio Maccioni (Le Cirque at Bellagio)
Steve Martorano (Café Martorano at Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino)
Nobu Matsuhisa (Nobu at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)
Maurizio Mazzon (Canaletto at the Venetian and Il Fornaio at the New York-New York and Green Valley Ranch)
Michael Mina (NOBHILL and SEABLUE at MGM Grand, MICHAEL MINA at Bellagio and Strip Steak at Mandalay Bay)
Tom Moloney (AquaKnox at the Venetian)
Rick Moonen (RM Seafood at Mandalay Place)
Bradley Ogden (Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace)
Charlie Palmer (Aureole at Mandalay Bay and Charlie Palmer Steak at The Four Seasons)
Wolfgang Puck (Spago and Chinois at The Forum Shops at Caesars, Postrio at The Venetian, Trattoria del Lupo at Mandalay Bay and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at MGM Grand)
Joël Robuchon (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Joël Robuchon at The Mansion at MGM Grand)
André Rochat (Alizé at the Palms, Andre's in downtown Las Vegas and Monte Carlo)
Guy Savoy (Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace)
Piero Selvaggio (Valentino at The Venetian and Giorgio and Ristorante at Mandalay Place)
Julian Serrano (Picasso at Bellagio)
Kerry Sion (CatHouse at Luxor, Simon at Palms Place)
Alessandro Stratta (Alex at Wynn Las Vegas)
Joachim Splichal (Pinot Brasserie at The Venetian)
Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Prime at Bellagio)
Michael White (Fiamma at MGM Grand)
Takashi Yagihashi (Okada at Wynn Las Vegas)

All-You-Can-Eat
In the early '40s, the first buffet opened at the original El Rancho Vegas Hotel, the Las Vegas Strip's first hotel. Beldon Katleman, El Rancho's owner, initiated the all-you-can-eat-for-a-dollar "Midnight Chuck Wagon Buffet" in an effort to keep patrons on the property during late-night hours. His idea of treating guests to an elaborate array of food for a small price was copied again and again. As a result, the Las Vegas buffet has earned its place in the city's history.

Buffets are still popular in Las Vegas. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the average buffet features about 45 food selections per meal including salads, fruits, roast beef, baked ham, roast turkey, vegetables and a variety of desserts. Several properties are taking their buffet experiences to the next level. The Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino renovated its Rio Carnival World Buffet by increasing its dish selections. The buffet has more than 300 offerings and 70 dessert dishes from around the world - from pizza to omelets and from teppanyaki to fresh pasta. The Buffet at TI (Treasure Island) and Cravings at The Mirage both showcase an international line-up as well with American barbeque, a sushi bar, and specialty pastas - all in addition to the traditional buffet items. Meanwhile, Flavors, Harrah's Las Vegas' newest buffet, features live cooking stations, freshly prepared seafood, Prime Rib and a varied menu that also includes Churrasco (Brazilian BBQ), hand-rolled sushi and Italian casseroles prepared in a wood-burning oven.

Entertainment Dining
Dining and entertainment go hand-in-hand at several locations throughout Southern Nevada. Dinner theater options include the "Tournament of Kings" at Excalibur where guests are transported to the feasts of the Renaissance while watching a knightly battle. If you're in the mood for love, how about "Tony 'n Tina's Wedding" at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino? Be a special guest of Anthony Nunzio, Jr., and Valentina Lynne Vitale, an Italian-American couple who come from two slightly dysfunctional families. The wedding is complete with drunken guests, a pregnant maid-of-honor, an impromptu "YMCA" dance and, of course, family bickering. Guests can either participate in the wedding with actors who never step out of character or they can simply watch the family drama unfold.

Themed Restaurants
Las Vegas also boasts a bevy of themed restaurants. Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas, located near The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, is an authentic replica of the Munich Hofbräuhaus. The restaurant features German/Bavarian cuisine, imported Bavarian beer, meat and sausage produced exclusively for Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas and Bavarian pretzels imported directly from Munich. Trekkies can enjoy a meal among their favorite characters at Quark's Bar & Grill at Star Trek: The Experience inside the Las Vegas Hilton. Music connoisseurs can nosh on gourmet hamburgers while soaking up the unique atmosphere and music memorabilia at the Hard Rock Café. Planet Hollywood serves up the best Hollywood fare inside the Forum Shops, while NASCAR Café (Sahara) and ESPNZone (New York-New York) are must-sees for sports enthusiasts. Parrotheads can nosh on a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at the Flamingo and the Harley-Davidson Café serves up chow for Hog aficionados.

Cooking Classes
If you've ever wanted to learn how to prepare cuisine like a world-class chef, now you can. Numerous restaurants now offer cooking classes. Renowned restaurateur Piero Selvaggio's Italian eatery, Giorgio Caffè & Ristorante, offers custom cooking classes for groups ranging from 15 to 40 people. Located at Mandalay Place, the classes include a full tasting menu and can be scheduled any day of the week. At Café Ba Ba Reeba! at Fashion Show, groups can learn how to prepare paella, the classic Spanish dish. This class is offered on Saturdays and includes a five-course lunch with tapas and two wines. In addition to classes on the Strip, there are off-Strip cooking schools as well, such as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas. Classes cover the culinary gamut, ranging from vegetarian cuisine to Thai to Southwest Thanksgiving. Classes are limited in size and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.