Four years ago Las Vegas welcomed the chef Lorena Garcia and her new restaurant Chica, which presented the visitors to Las Vegas with dishes not only from Garcia’s home country Venezuela, but from countries all over Latin America. Garcia has authored two cookbooks, participated in Top Chef Masters and founded a number of restaurants in addition to Chica. And since that opening in 2017, Garcia and her Chica partner 50 Eggs have expanded to Miami with a second incarnation of the restaurant.
At The Venetian, Chica sits at the entrance to the casino on Restaurant Row and entices you with a look into the large, rustic bar inside. The subdued lighting is perfect for a slow rising breakfast or brunch and also for long dinners.
Start brunch with a cocktail – Bloody Marys come in a variety of shapes, with Chica’s signature mix of tomato juice, fresh citrus, Worcestershire, an unusual horseradish chipotle puree, and ancho chilli. Add flavorful spirits made with serrano peppers, Fresno, and jalapeno peppers to spice it up even more. Mimosas are standard at brunch for good reason; They’re light but give you a nice kick, and you can often find fruity flavors that go well beyond the typical orange, like Chica’s strawberry mimosa. If you’re keeping it clean, try the freshly squeezed Nothing Rhymes With orange juice; it combines carrot, orange, ginger and melon.
What to order at brunch, there are so many good things that it is almost impossible to decide. A basket with the typical hearty arepas, of course small cakes made from beets, nata butter, black beans, cheese and coriander. Avocado toast gets a significant upgrade here with pomegranate, pumpkin seeds and home-pickled Fresno chilies.
The corn cachapas are a must for brunch; they have much more depth than the typical fluffy standard buttermilk. But you can’t go wrong with a coconut chia cereal bowl or a bowl of hand-cut tropical fruit. French toast drizzled with dulce de leche and topped with fruit is a nice twist. The menu features several egg dishes, from an egg Benedict Cazuela with chorizo and hollandaise sauce, the Latin American breakfast with two eggs, meat of your choice and Peruvian purple hash. An egg white frittata with queso fresco features spinach, vegetables, and roasted tomatoes. And the sunny side up eggs are accompanied by yucca hash, a side you may not have experienced before.
For less breakfast and more main meal, try shrimp tacos with a habanero aioli or the chica burger, a stack of sandwiches with pepperjack and prime beef. The marbled potatoes with braised onions and chillies go well with both.
Chica’s historic churro tower has been replaced by a churro bouquet, with stems of the red velvet biscuits being delivered in a vase along with sauces for dipping. They’re so good, but don’t think that you can dust off the entire vase on your own – you will definitely need all of your eaters to finish up, too.
The Venetian, 866.659.9643
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