The Restaurants You Must Visit In Las Vegas
Harvest – Chef Roy Ellamar is a guy from Hawaii and that means he has a style that is very much like the islands. Harvest is about the ingredients. When Chef found out that one of the local farmers he works with was on the brink of closing up shop he saw that as an opportunity to secure some of the best produce on the strip. No, he didn’t become a farmer, he helped a friend out and now that farm is supplying this Bellagio Las Vegas restaurant with its entire crop. You’ll see a Poke’ cart in the restaurant and you’ll have to have them swing by and make up a batch of ahi tuna and a collection of condiments that will place you firmly on the sand awaiting your next dazzling sunset. You’ll eventually make it to a dry aged rib eye that is one of the best steaks on the strip but before that order the charred octopus and the smoked brisket buns. As continental American as this menu is you’ll get a sense for where the Chef comes from in his food. Harvest Hour features $7 signature cocktails and wine as well as $7 Snacks as the bar and lounge. Harvest by Roy Ellamar, Bellagio Resort Las Vegas. Nightly 5pm-10pm. 866.259.7111
Costa Di Mare – When Paul Bartolotta opened his seafood restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas the culinary community was impressed with the way he was sourcing fish for the Las Vegas strip. When they tasted his food they could not get enough of it. So, naturally, when he left the restaurant the thought was that the era had ended and their favorite Las Vegas seafood spot was gone. Well, the staff stayed in place and chef Mark LoRusso was brought in to set sail in a familiar direction but on a slightly different heading. The menu at Costa Di Mare retained some old favorites from the Bartolotta days but in came some variances with an addition of crudo plates and variations using the same ingredients. The sources did not change and the ambiance is still as luxurious as you would expect from Wynn Las Vegas. When you sit down for a meal at Costa Di Mare pause for a second and take it all in. The room, the atmosphere, the service and then the tantalizing flavors. Costa Di Mare, Wynn Las Vegas. Nightly 5:30pm-10pm. (702)770-3305
Carnevino – The aroma from a dry aged steak is intoxicating to meat lovers. It’s not pungent, it’s funky. If rustic had a flavor I believe that a properly dry aged steak would be described as rustic with hints of the earth and the pleasures of the unknown qualities that science adds to food. Well, I’m positive that nobody would mix up the word science with fine dining but in its truest form, dry aging beef is a dance with science. Prime beef is allowed to slowly decay (for lack of a better term) and slowly allow enzymes to break down the connective tissue in meat. This process alters the beef and based on the time it is dry aged will produce a steak that should be far more flavorful and supple. The term supple is rarely used for meat because it would mean that the steak might retain some shape but in the form of a great piece of dry-aged beef that flexibility in the tissue allows for the meat to practically fall apart in your mouth. The flavors that range from earthy and musky to beefy and gamy evolve over time and completely envelope your taste buds. Carnevino does dry aging better than anyone else in Las Vegas and one taste of the 100-day aged strip or rib eye will soon have you eyeing the real prize, the 240 day dry aged Riserva. Carnevino Italian Steakhouse at Palazzo Las Vegas if for the real steak lover who ponders just how much funk they can get with their meat. Carnevino Italian Steakhouse, Palazzo Las Vegas. Daily 12pm-11pm. (702) 789-4141
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon – There is rarely a time when you would consider sitting at the bar at a fine dining establishment. Maybe you start your meal with a cocktail but eventually, you move to your white tablecloth spot in a well put together dining room and wait to be catered to like royalty. Well, toss out the formalities and the formula that fine dining adheres to and find the best seat in the house that has a view of the show kitchen. At L’atelier de Joel Robuchon if you see someone at a table it just means that they were not lucky enough to garner a seat with a view of the kitchen. This is about the complete food experience. This meal is all about the full disclosure of what your dish just went through to make it to your plate in such an impeccable package. What you see is the artistry of the culinary world. The food is brilliant and the flavors are delicious. The experience is one of a kind and a must do in Las Vegas. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, MGM Grand Las Vegas. Nightly 5-10:30 pm. (702) 891-7358
