The food scene in Las Vegas is one place where you do not have to gamble. With options ranging from cheap street food, to a fancy meal in celebrity chef's restaurant to the unbelievably ridiculous over the top buffets, you can keep hitting without busting.
I decided to go all-in and choose from the extraordinary list of celebrity chefs who run their restaurants (brands) in Vegas. These restaurants are run by extremely skilled executive-chefs, sous-chefs and their back-burner staff. I did not have too much time at my disposal and had to narrow two restaurants from a distinguished list. Finally it boiled down to Wolfgang Puck’s Spago and Emiril Lagasse’s New Orleans Fish House. B&B Ristorante and Mesa Grill lost purely because of the time factor.
The six-course meal at Spago was the pinnacle – Iron chef worthy food. It was the only way to eat here...you have to get a taste of the entire gamut. You knew instantly your dining experience went up by a couple of notches when the food started arriving...one after the other, seven different times.
First course: Margarita flatbread topped with house-made cheese..right on top of the 'best thing i've ever had' list.
Second Course: Yellowfin Sashimi layered with avacado, daikon radish and yuzu-wasabi topped with lychee pearls and ceviche ginger vinaigrette.
Third Course: Tomato,shaved red-onions with wild arugula, handcrafted burrata cheese, extra-virgin olive oil paired with cream of corn soup.
Fourth Course: Seven hand-rolled ricotta gnocchi in black truffle butter sauce with corn and butter foam. This is not on the menu; one of Chef Klein's signature dishes. One simple bite....too many pleasures.
Fifth Course: Alaskan Halibut, caramelized white asparagus, baby carrots, haricort verts soaked in broth au pistou.
Sixth Course: Roasted half free range chicken with goat cheese dressing served with cippolini onions, baby spinach and natural jus
The only way to end the evening meal - Chocolate crepe with wild berry sauce and a Chocolate Beignet with burnt creme
Second stop on the celebrity chef dining tour was another Iron Chef - Emeril Lagasse's Emeril' New Orleans Fish House.
Pomegranate Martini - Mix equal parts of Pomegranate Liqueur and Vodka (preferably Russian) in cocktail shaker with ice. Strain and serve...simply awesome.
Emeril's signature Barbequed shrimp
Pan-seared mahi-mahi and shrimp
A huge wine list with options to choose from bottles as little as $50 all the way to $12,000
Chef de cuisine Heath Cicerelli runs the show here while Emeril is the Executive Chef.
