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.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/577402
Ace chefs A movement is afoot, changing the cultural landscape of Las Vegas. And it's being driven in the most delightful way—right to your stomach—by enterprising local chefs like Howard CHoi, david Clawson, daniel ontiveros, daniel KroHmer, and Bradley manCHester. by john curtas photography by shane mccauley 92 vegasmagazine.com There is a revolution going on in Las Vegas. As revolutions go, it's a quiet one. But unlike most social upheavals, there is nary a bitter pill to swallow. This revolution is chef-driven, but not by celebrity chefs. Its pioneers are fercely independent souls who have cut the cord and abandoned the safety net of the Strip to boldly go where precious few chefs have gone before: straight into the heart of the suburbs and Downtown Las Vegas. In the pro- cess, they're redrawing neighborhoods around the Las Vegas Valley. when you ask these trailblazers why they made the bold, almost unprecedented move of opening a small, personal, chef-driven restaurant in the neighborhoods, their reasons are remarkably similar. Howard Choi: I learned a lot from working seven years on the Strip, most notably with Rick Moonen at RM Seafood, and wanted people to enjoy good, Strip-quality dining and ingredients without having to drive down there for it. Until I worked [on the Strip], I had never really had the chance to work with really good chefs, but once I did, it really sparked my interest and gave me inspiration to open my own place. Daniel Ontiveros: I wanted to show people they didn't have to go to the hotels to experience good quality product. There was a huge change I saw coming when Glutton, Carson Kitchen, and Le Thai all opened Downtown. I just wanted to be part of the boom and become part of the food community and help change the way Las Vegas eats. Bradley Manchester: My whole background was running multiple concepts in huge, busy hotel operations with large staffs [most recently as executive chef at Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock Resort], so I was ready for a change. I have lived in larger cities like Chicago and Houston and fell in love with the whole dining concept where you could just walk down the street and get really good things to eat. I knew Vegas was on the cusp of that sort of revolution, and I really wanted to be a part of it. On the standing, from left: Daniel Krohmer, Daniel Ontiveros, and Howard Choi. seated, from left: David Clawson and Bradley Manchester.