Enjoy so many local favorite foods — and just in time for the holidays.
In this weekly update, food and beverage reporter Bob Barnes fills us in on noteworthy restaurant openings and closings, special dining news and culinary events about delicious bites worth knowing about.
Upcoming Events
Basilico Ristorante Italiano
November 15
Basilico Ristorante Italiano will present a four-course beer dinner created by Executive Chef Francesco Di Caudo paired with the Belgian beers of Delirium.
Pairings are Crochetta with cacio, sarawak pepper and sour cherry gel and Mackerel with mussels, almond and sea grape paired with Delirium Red; Duck Ravioli with foie gras & marsala and Gnocchi with bay scallops and blood orange paired with Delirium Tremens; Seared Venison with parsnips and black pearl mushroom and Poached Salmon with liquorice gel and artichokes paired with Delirium Nocturnum; and Beermisu paired with Delirium Black Barrel Aged.
The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. and the cost is $95 per person. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 702-534-7716.
Whiskey on Wheels
November 15-18
Whiskey on Wheels, a high-end luxury experience, is being hosted at Wynn and Encore Las Vegas during the F1 Race.
The ultra-premium experience includes exclusive whisky & spirits tastings led by Master Distillers and world-class experts; a welcome reception launch party; access to order rare and unavailable spirits, including casks and unique bottlings; masterclass on collecting rare whisky and spirits; wine and champagne tasting; unique and creative cocktails presented by renowned mixologists; fine hand-rolled cigar offerings paired with whisky, spirits and wines; gourmet chocolate pairing; plated dinners paired with wine, whisky and spirits including a grand finale gala dinner; and celebrity-style swag bags.
The Echelon Experience package also includes accommodations at Encore, VIP transfers, tickets to the Wynn MSG Sphere Zone grandstand and three nights of entertainment by headliners. For more info, pricing and package options, click here.
Black Tap Craft Burgers + Beer
November 18
Black Tap Craft Burgers + Beer at The Venetian will present a premium all-you-can-eat and -drink party to celebrate the F1 race, held from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and priced at $500 per person.
The event will include unlimited passed burgers, snacks, mini shakes, beer and most top-shelf alcohol. Premium specialty items served during the party, and available as specials all weekend, include the Pitmaster Brisket Burger with prime beef, smoked brisket, chili gouda, pickled Fresno chilis, pickled onions, kosher pickles and white barbecue; and Champagne Strawberry CrazyShake made with crushed dried strawberry rim, topped with a gold dusted champagne cupcake, champagne strawberry ice pop and whipped cream. The race will be shown on numerous screens throughout the Strip-side restaurant and the sound of the roaring engines whizzing past on Las Vegas Boulevard will be heard from the restaurant’s open-air patio.
To purchase Black Tap Race Day event tickets, email events@blacktaplv.com. All purchased tickets are non-refundable and track views are not guaranteed.
Emerald Island Casino and the Rainbow Club Casino
November 23
Both Emerald Island Casino and the Rainbow Club Casino in the Henderson Water Street District are offering an incredible Thanksgiving prix fixe deal at the unbelievable price of $14.99 per person, offered from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Rainbow Club’s Triple B Restaurant will have a spread that includes Creamy Mushroom Soup with Black Pepper Crème Fraiche, Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, House-made Truffle Gravy, Roasted Baby Red Mashed Potatoes, Focaccia Bread Stuffing, Sauteed Seasonal Vegetables, Green Bean Almondine, Fresh Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream.
A more traditional menu at the Emerald Island Grille includes Autumn Squash Bisque, Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Cornbread Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Candied Yams, Giblet Gravy, Green Bean Almondine, Cranberry Relish and Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream.
Both restaurants are overseen by Chef Scott Pajak, former executive chef of Lagasse’s Stadium at The Palazzo.
7th & Carson
November 23
7th & Carson will serve a prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner, which will be available for dine-in, take out or delivery.
Priced at $70 per person (plus tax and tip), included are a glass of warm spiked cider; roasted butternut squash soup; harvest salad with green apple, cherries, feta and apple cider vinaigrette; roasted turkey; sides of sweet potato mash, traditional stuffing, house-made gravy, green beans, baby Brussel sprouts and cranberry jelly; and pumpkin cake.
The first hour of parking is free. Available seatings for dine-in are 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. For more details and to make a dine-in reservation, schedule pick up or delivery, visit www.7thandcarson.com.
Echo & Rig
November 22-23
Echo & Rig will offer its annual Thanksgiving Feast, featuring oven-ready turkey and heat-and-serve sides to serve at your home.
Echo & Rig is collaborating with Diestel Family Ranch, trusted turkey farmers since 1949. The full menu, which serves 6-8 and is priced at $245, includes oven-ready Diestel Farms whole turkey (14-16 lbs), brown sugar yams, roasted autumn vegetables, dinner rolls, traditional stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. All of the sides are pre-cooked and instructions for heating will be included. All items on the menu are also available à la carte. Pick up will be only at the Echo & Rig Las Vegas location at Tivoli Village.
Available pick-up times will be Wednesday, Nov. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 23 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. To place your order and reserve your pick-up time, visit www.echoandrig.com/thanksgiving.
Pick of the Week
The Sundry
Food courts and food halls are not new. What’s convenient about them is having a plethora of options so if one of the people in your group wants Italian, another desires Mexican and yet another feels like Indian cuisine, it’s convenient to have all options in one place. What isn’t convenient is having to split up to visit each venue individually. If only you could order from all of them without leaving your seat.
Well, you can do exactly that at The Sundry, which is located within UnCommons—the 40-acre mixed-use urban campus development off of Durango just south of the 215. Once seated at one of the several tables and booths, after scanning a code on your tabletop you are taken to the digital menus of 14 restaurant concepts and four bars.
After placing your order from the venues of your choice and entering payment, your selections will be delivered to you, so the whole transaction takes place without ever having to leave your seat. The scan code also alerts servers where to deliver your order. If you’re not savvy with tech, not to worry, as there are a handful of staff floating about to assist.
There are no national chains and all of the eateries are either from acclaimed chefs new to Las Vegas or established Vegas restaurants.
The dozen plus eateries include Bar Oysterette (raw bar), BARZOTTO (Italian, by San Francisco’s Marko Sotto), B.S. TAQUERIA (Mexican, by Chef Ray Garcia), DHABA JI (Indian cuisine, by Santa Barbara’s Bibi Ji), Diane Mina’s Garden Grown Blends (Bloody Mary bar set in a vintage hitch trailer), Easy SLIDER (burgers), HAPPY HOAGIE (sandwiches & salads by local chef Eric Perlin), KAVOS Coastal Greek Grill (Mediterranean seafood by the team behind Vegas’ Meráki Greek Grill), Kowbird (Southern fried chicken by Oakland’s Matt Horn) and MiZUNARA (Japanese comfort food by Chef Shotaro “Sho” Kamio of the Berkeley, California restaurant Iyasare).
Don’t forget PESO (Modern Filipino by Los Angeles’ Ria Dolly Barbosa), Saint Honore (doughnuts and beignets), Smitten (ice cream by San Francisco’s Robyn Sue Fisher) and SoulBelly BBQ (a second Vegas location by former Top Chef contestant Bruce Kalman).
Local beer is spotlighted as there are four local breweries always represented, two of which are offered full time—Able Baker and CrafHaus—and the other two rotating locals.
Initially two of the venues—B.S. TAQUERIA and MiZUNARA—were sit-down restaurants with wait staff taking your order, but as of Nov. 1 they have merged with the other 12. But you can still sit within their spaces, and in fact, MiZUNARA has a unique whiskey bar fashioned from a shipping container serving several Japanese whiskeys including three expressions of Nikka Coffey (which you can order separately or in flights of three) and has one of only a few Suntory Toki hi-ball draft dispensers in Las Vegas.
The Sundry isn’t the only food option at UnCommons. Steps away are Urth Caffe, offering organic coffees; Mercadito, a Cuban bodega corner stop with empanadas and Cuban sandwiches; Teaspoon, a boba tea shop with hand-selected fine teas; and Amari Italian Kitchen and Wine Shop, which I reported on previously in this column.
And, there’s plenty more to come, as the mixed-use complex has completed the first of its four planned phases and has started on Phase 2. Expected to open before the end of the year are Mexican-inspired bar and restaurant Todo Bien, General Admission sports bar, All’antico Vinaio Florentine sandwich shop, and following in the next phase in 2024 will be an entertainment-focused building anchored by a movie theater.
There’s plenty of parking in two self-parking garages, which offer two hours for free and $3 an hour after that.
More Dining News and Delicious Bites Around Las Vegas
Sean O’Hara Named Executive Chef of Esther’s Kitchen Chef/owner James Trees has named Sean O’Hara as Executive Chef of Esther’s Kitchen, making O’Hara the first chef to be named to this newly created position for the seasonal Italian restaurant in the Las Vegas Arts District.
“Sean brings an incredible array of experiences, awesome creativity, and most of all the right mindset, making him the perfect choice for the first Executive Chef of Esther’s. We’re lucky to have him and excited for the future!” says Chef Trees.
A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, O’Hara’s resume includes significant time in the kitchens of New York’s legendary Jean-Georges and Del Posto as well as six years in Napa, CA’s legendary The French Laundry.
In coordination with Chef Trees, O’Hara will be leading the team as they transition to Esther’s new Main Street location in the next few weeks.
