Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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TASTE Hot dogs aren't just for baseball games and backyards. On the Strip they've gone gourmet. "While I love Serendipity 3 for the desserts and great view, few people know that they also have amazing hot dogs," Hicks says. "One of my favorites is the foot-long with nacho cheese." To cool off, he suggests pairing it with the restaurant's famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate or a sundae. Caesars Palace, 702-731-7373; caesarspalace.com Ribs Summer fun is synonymous with good old-fashioned grilling, particularly smoky, glazed barbecued ribs. Celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse cooks some of the best fall-off-the-bone baby back pork ribs at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand. Glazed with sweet hoisin sauce, they're served with braised bok choy with ginger and garlic, and tempura fried shishito pepper. MGM Grand, 702-891-7374; mgmgrand.com Slaw A rare find in Vegas is hidden on the menu at the ultrahip Culinary Dropout (which also boasts Southern favorites like jambalaya), where coleslaw accompanies the beer-battered fish and chips. A huge slaw fan, Hicks put it on the menu at Saw's Juke Joint, the restaurant he cofounded in his hometown of Birmingham. "I like to make mine different by adding a little bit of spice," he says. "I serve a jalapeño slaw that's to die for." Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 702-522-8100; hardrockhotel.com Steak For a taste of home, Hicks prefers the USDA Prime porterhouse or the "Lollipop" rib-eye cuts at superswanky Old Homestead Steakhouse. "All of the steaks at Old Homestead are USDA Prime that are dry-aged in their own aging box for a minimum of 30 days," he says. "By the time the steak makes it to your table, it practically melts in your The foot-long mouth." Caesars Palace, 702-731-7558; hot dogs at caesarspalace.com V Serendipity 3. tapping a trend CICERONES, THE SOMMELIERS OF BEER, ARE CHALLENGING THE LOCAL FINE-DINING SCENE WITH MICROBREWS THAT CAN GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH VINO. BY JIM BEGLEY A s the craft beer market continues to expand rapidly, it should come as no surprise that microbrews have started to seep into Vegas's five-star dining scene. Yes, times are a-changin'. So how do you navigate the almost endless variety of beers now available on restaurant menus? The same way you might navigate a wine list as thick as the Bible: Bring in a pro. Just as a waiter might beckon the sommelier to help diners wade through the wine varietals, on-site cicerones are beginning to appear to help with all the new microbrew choices. Russell Gardner, director of craft for Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, was once a cicerone at Venetian's Public House, where he says the role was essential. "I worked with the chefs a lot because of the beercentric menu," he explains. "It was in probably 80 percent of the food, whether it's listed on the menu or not. A lot of the stocks are done with beer, and a lot of braising was done with beer, including the barley-crusted steaks." At Mandalay Bay, Sarah Johnson, a self-proclaimed beer nerd, has been expanding the hotel's craft beer offerings as director of food and beverage. Although Charlie Palmer's Aureole is most famous for its wine tower—which requires a graceful "wine angel" harnessed to a pulley to retrieve the bottles—it now has a complementary craft beer list. Side by side with the award-winning wine list, it offers choices as various as a Lagunitas IPA, several types of Belgian ale, and a German wheat beer from Weihenstephaner. Johnson also works with individual venues to expand their beer selections and suggest beer pairings. According to these pioneering cicerones, Vegas is actually behind the curve in its love affair with beer. "If you look at any other major city, they're five to 10 years ahead of us," says Gardner. "You go into any bar in San Diego and of their 12 taps, 10 are local breweries. Same with Chicago and New York—every place you go into has local and craft beers. Vegas is just now catching on." The right beer glass makes all the difference. Now that so many varieties of beer are INSET: Mandalay Bay cicerone Sarah Johnson. turning up in the Strip's nicest restaurants, discerning drinkers will naturally want to pair their brew with their food, the same way wine drinkers do. Not surprisingly, beer connoisseurs Gardner and Johnson say that given the diversity of its ingredients—beyond the basic barley, wheat, and hops, brewers have been known to add such things as chipotle peppers, Mexican chocolate, continued on page 66 PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK Hot dogs PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SERENDIPITY (HOT DOGS); MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL (JOHNSON); BY LEILA NAVIDI (BEER) continued from page 62 breast bacon, English cheddar, and a fried egg." Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, 702-7855555; planethollywoodresort.com 64 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 062-066_V_SC_Local Flavor_Sum13.indd 64 6/18/13 12:26 PM