You may have stayed home this holiday weekend, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have big travel plans on your mind. If you head to Las Vegas this fall and love to eat (and not everyone does), here are some new options to explore.
If you can’t wait to try something new, you can enjoy a new lake brunch at Spago by Wolfgang Puck at the Bellagio Resort & Casino.
Brunch was introduced last month and is only served on weekends, taking advantage of the proximity of the restaurant terrace to one of the city’s most famous landmarks.
“Spagos brunch at the famous Bellagio fountains is literally nowhere else in the world!” said Puck in a press release. “In view of our unique location, we wanted to create a special culinary experience that will leave guests with amazing memories for years to come.”
The restaurant has its own take on a brunch favorite with its poached golf prawn cocktail served with a salsa verde aioli, cocktail sauce, and horseradish. Another “newfangled” starter is the Big Eye Tuna Tartare, mixed with avocado, yuzu ponzu, marinated cucumber and nori rice crisp.
Pizzas made in Spago’s legendary wood-fired oven pizzas are also on the menu with a brunch-worthy bacon and egg pizza with fresh mozzarella, leek and Fresno chilies, as well as the characteristic salmon pie with dill cream, red onions and salmon pearl toppings.
The starters range from sweet to savory with brioche French toast, complemented by Puck’s specialty roasted almond sprinkles, mixed berry compote and vanilla Chantilly. Pasta is also available, including the coveted “fra diavolo” lobster, which is coated with handmade linguine, king crab, Thai basil, spicy pomodoro and Calabrian breadcrumbs.
And what would brunch be without mimosas? Spagos Brunch offers the bottomless kind with a selection of freshly squeezed juices like grapefruit, orange and pineapple.
The Spago in Via Bellagio serves brunch on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. To make reservations, visit Bellagio’s website at bellagio.mgmresorts.com or call Bellagio Concierge at 702-693-7111.
Let yourself be carried away to the Mexican coast later this month with Casa Playa, a new restaurant that opens September 16 at the Encore Resort in Wynn Las Vegas.
It opens in the former home of Elio, another Mexican restaurant that closed in November. The restaurant’s head chef, Sarah Thompson, presents her own menu at Casa Playa.
Casa Playa is intended to conjure up the ambience of a “lively Mexican Playacita on the Las Vegas Strip” and will spice up the authentic Mexican coastal cuisine in a very special way with a menu made from sustainable sources with ceviche, aguachile and seafood platters.
“My goal in designing the menu for Casa Playa was to balance creativity with tradition to ensure each item is a culinary adventure,” Thompson said in a press release about the menu. “Casa Playa will have a lively social atmosphere, so we wanted to complement this with food that is meant to be shared and enjoyed in great company and conversation.”
In addition to freshly grilled seafood, the restaurant serves classics such as pumpkin blossom quesadillas, Baja-fried fish tacos and queso fundido with homemade chorizo.
Guests can order platters of crudo, including Mexican blue shrimp ceviche with young coconut, tomatillo, and cucumber; Yellowfin tuna tartare served with pasilla chilli and avocado; and towering seafood platters with kusshi oysters, Hokkaido scallops, king crab legs, lobster tail and prawn cocktail. If they want to share, starters such as Tostada with black truffle with cabot cheddar and corn cream, duck confit tamal with mole de la casa and ricotta, or octopus with coloradito mole and potato in escabeche are options.
Even main courses can be shared with choices like whole cauliflower al pastor with pineapple butter and cashew salsa macha; Branzino a la Talla with guajillo adobo, herbs and salsa cruda; and Yucatan chicken pibil with orange annatto adobo and potatoes.
The menu options “para la mesa” are dishes served in a family style with homemade tortillas and salsas. Main dishes include whole toasted carnitas with crispy skin, smoked agave syrup, chipotle coleslaw, chilli toreado, and charred cucumber salsa; and Casa Playa Surf and Turf with Wagyu Carne Asada, Lobster and Chorizo, Short Rib Suadero, Green Chorizo and Serrano.
Of course, Casa Playa wouldn’t be a Vegas restaurant without a robust selection of adult drinks.
The Wynn Resort’s mixologist, Mariena Mercer Boarini, created a menu with daring cocktails like Temple of Doom with Mal Bien Espadin Mezcal, grilled pineapple, chipotle and lime and Forbidden Fruit, a frozen margarita with El Tesoro Blanco, mango, lime, chamoy Caramel and Mango Trinity Salt. Other unique offerings include the City of Dawn, made up of Gray Goose Essence Watermelon Basil Vodka and Cucumber and Mint Agua Fresca, and the Ojo De Tigre, made from Uncle Nearest Bourbon, Patrón Roca Añejo Tequila, salted peanut marzipan, and plantain.
Deputy General Manager and agave expert Noah Arenstein curated a sturdy mezcal and tequila collection for the eatery with a number of coveted barrel picks, including Neta Mezcal Tepextate, Cascahuin Extra Añejo Tequila, Fuenteseca 18 Year Tequila, and Vago Mezcal Tobala de Aquilino, which, with a limited 125 batch, is only available at Casa Playa.
Casa Playa is the newest venue to debut at the Wynn Las Vegas, which has more planned by the end of the year. Visit WynnLasVegas.com for more information on the restaurant and the resort’s plans.
Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter: @realstefanidias.
