Las Vegas: from burgers to fine dining at The Strip

” We used to say ‘feed ’em, water ’em and get ’em back to the tables fast’,” says Oscar Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas, who is making his first visit to London this week to meet Boris Johnson and eat in Hix Oyster & Chop House in Smithfield Market. “But these days gastronomy is the hottest ticket in town.”…

The politician, who is famous for serving Martinis in meetings and hosting business dinners in the finest restaurants in Vegas, is not kidding…

On his watch, more Michelin-starred restaurants have opened on The Strip than in any other city in the world and Vegas now boasts more master sommeliers than any other US city…

It’s the best place to get a crash course in global fine dining — followed by a crash diet.

Las Vegas doesn’t do breakfast…
Too many visitors get up at the crack of lunch for brekkie to be more than limp blueberry muffins and stewed café americano. But there are a couple of places that are worth a wake-up call.

In a town of fakes, Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in Caesars Palace is genuinely — gloriously — French. It only serves unhealthy food — pastries, cakes, crêpes and chocolate — and the Gallic staff show visiting Los Angelenos the door when they ask for gluten-free granola with skimmed milk.

Most of the big-name restaurants are closed at lunchtime but Thomas Keller, the man behind the French Laundry in the Napa Valley and Per Se in New York, offers as many different types of North American oyster as you could want.

Sit long enough at the bar and you can segue straight into a dinner of mussels from Maine, lamb from Keller’s favourite farm in Pennsylvania and American artisan cheeses. The wine list offers the Bordeaux-beating Ridge Montebello cabernet sauvignon by the almost- affordable half bottle.

Sensi at Bellagio is the best Asian restaurant on The Strip and a lunch spot worth the detour. The stand-out snacks are crispy tempura Maine lobster, Thai chicken and coriander soup, and tuna served three ways.

It’s at night, of course, that Vegas really comes alive. “I can’t see the Eiffel Tower from my restaurant in Paris but I can see it here,” jokes Guy Savoy, the three Michelin star chef behind his eponymous restaurant in Caesars Palace, as he looks out at Vegas’s cartoonish Paris hotel.
Savoy offers two restaurants in one. His Bubble Bar serves rare Krug and Bollinger vintages by the glass, with mini tasting plates. Restaurant Guy Savoy is an 11-course tasting menu, with dishes so simple — but fresh — you wonder why no one thought of them earlier.” ( via timesonline.co.uk )

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