INTERVIEW: Robin Leach

Robin Leach is, well, he's Robin Leach.

How long have you been a full-time resident of Vegas?

Robin Leach: I have lived in Vegas full-time for seven years now. I love the city. I love its excitement, its pulse and the fact that away from the sins of the Strip it is a vibrant growing and extraordinarily generous community in its care for those less fortunate. It was never my intention to live full-time here but to cut down on commuting from NYC on Food Network TV business and with the executives of The Venetian before it was

planned out. I bought a small townhouse to cut down on the exhausting travel schedule, but then I fell in love with Vegas so I bought Gavin Maloof's home and made the switch from Manhattan.

You'll always be linked to the celebrity lifestyle. What are today's celebrity hot spots in Vegas? Is there a particular restaurant that really attracts the stars right now?
A battle rages between the Tao and Pure nightclubs as each week they seesaw in the No. 1 spot for claiming the top Vegas celebrity hot spot. Best celebrity spotting hotel is The Palms with its N9NE steakhouse restaurant and the new Nove, which attracts young Hollywood stars and sports VIPs alike. Tao's restaurant in The Venetian attracts numerous celebrities, as does Pure's Social House restaurant directly across the street at the Treasure Island and Pure's Pussycat Dolls lounge at Caesars. They are the best for night-time stars, and check out Spago in the Forum Shops of Caesars for daytime celebrity spotting.

You've sampled the best cuisine around the globe. Did you ever think that Vegas would become a great dining city?
I've said publicly for a long time now that Vegas is the top dining destination in the world and exceeds New York, Los Angeles, Paris and London. We simply have more superstar chefs here than any other city on earth: Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy, Alain Ducasse, Wolfgang Puck,Thomas Keller, Michael Mina, Emeril Lagasse, Bradley Ogden, Daniel Boulud, Charlie Palmer, Bobby Flay, Todd English, Kerry Simon, Nobu Matsuhisa, Pierro Selvaggio, Alex Stratta, Julian Serrano, Jeans-Georges Vochterin and Hubert Keller, just to name a few. Back in 1998 when I first began assisting The Venetian with its plan to have the world's best chefs and their restaurants as part of the resort's masterplan I never guessed that everybody else would copy that formula. Now it's growing bigger and better everywhere else on the Strip -- but at The Venetian we still have Mario Batali and David Burke to join this winter!

Besides the obvious growth, how have you seen Vegas culture change over the years?
I'm thrilled about the development ongoing downtown. The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute for Alzheimers Research near the World Market Center speaks volumes for what Las Vegas will eventually stand for. We have flourishing support for the downtown performing arts center and that will benefit classical music, opera and ballet -- Vegas just ain't about slots and gaming tables anymore. It's the food, the entertainment, the spas that have made Vegas what it is today and that culture now expands outwards, too. Vegas will one day be proudly known as a resort city with its own distinct culture and not just as gaming central.

Do you have a single favorite restaurant in Vegas?
It's impossible to name just one favorite restaurant -- we are blessed to have so many. I'll give you a couple of my favorites: I love the comforts of Spago in Caesars and Postrio in The Venetian; I love the gastronomic experiences of Joel Robuchon at MGM and Guy Savoy at Caesars. I love the Japanese delights at Shibuya at MGM, Japonais at The Mirage and Little Buddha at the Palms. For superb steaks and sensational seafood, I recommend N9NE in the Palms, Delmonico at The Venetian and Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay. I love my Italian suppers at Valentino's and Zefferino in The Venetian and Nove at the Palms. I love the fun noisy casual mood at Simon Kitchen & Bar in the Hard Rock and I love the elegance and romance of Andre Rochat's Alize at the Palms and Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay. Offstrip, my two favorites are the two Nora's restaurants for Italian food and the wondrous waterside delights of the Marche Bacchus French restaurant and wine bar.

Which hotel/resort do you believe has created the finest dining experience with its collection of restaurants?
Admittedly I'm biased in favor of The Venetian for the most extraordinary collection of superb restaurants and fine dining choices. But MGM along with its Bellagio and Mirage properties are playing catch-up fast and furious! I love to see the war being fought and who knows what's next as the Luxor and Planet Hollywood unveil their new restaurants.

What is the most decadent dish you've ever been served in Vegas?
I'm all for delicious dining decadence. I'd have to tip my toque to two meals I ate from the master, Joel Robuchon. He's not called the Pope of the food world for nothing. In his Mansion I went through an 18-course meal with my friends Michael Boychuck and his wife, Karen Rader, that we'll never forget. And then the superstar chef topped that with his very own custom-made chef's tasting menu next door at his "workshop," L'Atelier. Michael Mina dazzled the night before he opened Stripsteak and Guy Savoy created art wth his offerings at Caesars. Forget the prices, though. Just sell the car, take a loan and definitely do one of them before you die! And yes, with the highest prices in town it's not only justified but worth the extravagance. To have one particular dish stand out above all others is an actual impossibility because it's the entire meal that become memorable. But I'll never forget the truffle pasta Luciano Pellegrini made for me at Valentino and the truffle ice cream David Robins at Spago conjured up. In fact, Spago has a "Rich and Famous" pizza even though it's not on the menu. Order it and you'll get smoked salmon and cream cheese on the pizza -- and you can enter the world of extravagance and decadence simultaneously by saying, "Top it with all the caviar you have!" Perfect with very expensive fine champagne ... and now you all know where "champagne wishes and caviar dreams" came from.