PhotograPhy
by
bill
Milne
(boulud);
courtesy
of
bartolotta
(triglia);
courtesy
of
caesars
(guy
savoy)
Brotherhood of
the Toque
competition among restaurant kitchens may be
natural, but that won't stop Vegas's top chefs
from singing each other's praises.
by jennifer leuzzi
If reality TV teaches us anything, it's
that people love a good chef-versus-
chef showdown. But is the rivalry
genuine? When Daniel Boulud, of
db Brasserie
in Venetian (702-430-
1235;
dbbrasserie.com), goes to dinner,
is he checking out his competition?
"No, we don't think of that," says
Boulud emphatically. "Never."
Then what do they think about as
they peruse the menu? "We don't even
open the menu, because the chef
wants to cook for you," he explains.
"It is a real fraternal relationship."
And as with actual siblings, some-
times you have a favorite. "While I
love them all, there is one in particu-
lar I'm more attached to," Boulud
confesses. "Guy Savoy. He's one of my
closest friends and has one of the finest
restaurants in Vegas." The artichoke
and black truff le soup at Caesars
Palace's Restaurant Guy Savoy
(702-731-7110; caesarspalace.com) is
"something very special," Boulud
says. "It looks like a simple artichoke
soup, but it takes so much to make it."
For Savoy, there's no rivalry at
all. "Each restaurant has its own
individual style and we all try to do
our best," he says. Savoy's favorite is
Mitsuo Endo's Aburiya Raku
(702-367-3511; raku-grill.com). He
describes its cuisine as product-driven
and Japanese with a world view. "It is
made for cooks," Savoy says. "He's
open at night until 3
am, so we can go
after service." Mario Batali agrees: "I
crave all of the robata grill dishes at
Raku, as well as the Kobe beef liver
sashimi and just about anything chef
Mitsuo Endo makes."
On the Strip—where he has four
restaurants in Venetian and Palazzo,
including Carnevino (702-789-
4141; carnevino.com)—Batali favors
the scampi crudi and the antipasto
menu at Wynn's
Bartolotta
Ristorante
di Mare
(702-770-3298;
wynnlasvegas.com).
From the octopus
salad to the bottarga salad, "Paul's
cooking is simple, clean, confident
Italian magnificence at the top of the
field internationally," raves Batali.
For Paul Bartolotta, traditional
Neapolitan pizza "is one of my soft
spots." Sometimes twice a week
he'll order sliced mortadella, a glass
of wine, and a margherita pizza
at
Settebello (702-901-4877;
s
et
t
ebello.net).
"It makes me smile."
"There's a little bit of a fraternity,"
says Bartolotta about Vegas's chefs.
He goes down the list: "Ducasse is
amazing. So is Thomas Keller. Daniel
has done a beautiful bistro…. But
you'd be hard-pressed to find a more
precise and perfect restaurant than
Joël Robuchon
(702-891-7925;
j
o
e
l-robuchon.com).
Dish for dish, I'm
proud of the food I make, but you have
to acknowledge that he's the man."
V
from top: Chef Daniel
Boulud, who says
there's a "real fraternal
relationship" among Las
Vegas's chefs; Paul
Bartolotta's Triglia alla
Ponentina (red mullet
with olives and capers);
Restaurant Guy Savoy.
78 vegasmagazine.com
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