Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/49393
BACK STORY lobsters from trap to table for Lakeside's expanded Chef David Walzog sources LOBSTER TALE A seafood menu. BY MATT KELEMEN C 134 WYNN hef David Walzog stands in the lobster room deep in the underground operations levels beneath Wynn Las Vegas. Six giant tanks house dozens of the resort's most temporary guests, which are segregated by weight before arriving at their ultimate destination. In Walzog's kitchen at Lakeside, that means the wood- fired oven that once baked flatbreads when Daniel Boulud's Brasserie occupied the space. "Any number of the restaurants could order from these," says Walzog as we peer into the giant saltwater tanks housing the clawed crustaceans. "But this is where they arrive and reside until we do our thing with them." Lobster occupancy has been up since Walzog revamped Lakeside's menu in September, emphasizing seafood like few other Wynn dining establishments. It was in part a reaction to guests' response to Lakeside's original menu, which featured wood-fired pizza more so than lobster tails. "When we first opened at Lakeside, we really wanted to have a thread of familiarity throughout the menu, and with that comes a pizza or two," explains Walzog. By the time Lakeside had been open six months, it was clear lobsters were resonating with diners, who were offered seafood from around the world on the menu. "Fish from all over, from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic, Northwest, Pacific Ocean, and Hawaii waters," describes Walzog. "Lobsters came naturally. People really enjoy them. We ran them as specials sometimes, and people really wanted that, and wanted variety and different preparations and approaches to lobster. Vegas is all about luxury and indulgence, so lobsters are very fitting." Walzog wanted to both make better use of the oven and increase revenue for Lakeside, making roasted lobster a natural progression for the menu. The chef wanted a "program," though. Guests should be able to order a sweet and tender Maine lobster side by side with an exotic South African or Australian tail so the nuances of crustacean cuisine could be experi- enced in full, perhaps even with the house tour de force entrée, Dover sole. "Tides are different, and water temperatures are different," explains Walzog. "Sweetness and toughness; some are more tender, and some have a little bit more of a tooth to them when they're cooked. It's pretty interesting." Quality control is of utmost importance when catching, transporting, preparing, and serving lobster. To that end, Walzog is excited about the Trace and Trust system of which Lakeside is now a part. "We started David Walzog in Wynn's lobster room Guests should be able to order a Maine lobster side by side with an exotic South African or Australian tail so the nuances of crustacean cuisine could be experienced in full. working with these vendors, these fishermen, and they run the state fish- eries for Massachusetts and Rhode Island," he says. "These guys put their heads together, started working with some boat captains, and created this thing called Trace and Trust, which ensures guests have provenance as to where the seafood is from." Walzog read about Trace and Trust in The New York Times in August, and was hooked. A trawler operator such as Trace and Trust principal Steve Arnold can take a photo of a bountiful catch of fluke and send it to Walzog, who can immediately place an order. "Out of the water, onto a dock, into a box, and on a plane to Vegas," says the chef. "That tag is in the form of a black- and-white QR code, which can be scanned by a guest. Data such as catch time, coordinates, and names of boats and their captains are instantly made available to health- and safety-conscious customers. Lakeside's servers are capable of walking the curious through the process, further enhancing an already intriguing seafood experience. With a dessert extravaganza such as the Sweet Cart Named Desire waiting at the end of a Lakeside dinner, the seafood presentation has to be special. "I want these to be the blank canvas," says Walzog of his lobsters. "I want them to stand alone just like a filet or a strip or rib eye. [Steaks] have their own qualities, but we cook them all the same. They're seasoned the same, they're cooked in the same method. I want to do the same thing with lobsters." n PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF GREEN