red 8. cut. restaurant charlie.

Chinese oxtail soup is kinda strange because most Chinese soups aren't much like a stew; they typically contain chopped vegetables, meats and other ingredients rather than large chunks of floating goodness. Oxtail soup, which is made with beef tails but not necessarily a particular stock, also is made in various ways depending on the region, like most things. I haven't tasted a lot of oxtail soup, but damn, the stuff at Red 8 Asian Bistro at Steve Wynn's joint is very, very good.

As a matter of full disclosure, I will tell you I don't remember the specifics of the soup, i.e. what was in it besides the most salty, satisfying broth I've ever tasted and a huge chunk of fatty, flavorful beef. I think there was a vegetable or two in there. But I can't say for sure. I had some drinks before my meal. And perhaps my judgment was tainted by the cocktail hour(s), but the food at Red 8 was surprisingly great and the soup was the highlight. For a beef broth, it had so many other pointed, clean flavors. It was shockingly good. And I felt like I had superpowers the next day.

My visit to the Wynn restaurant capped an evening of Strip adventuring that included a fun spell at Palazzo. Made my debut at Barney's and just missed a visit from the one and only Pharrell by a couple of hours. Too bad. Guess he was drinking champagne and dropping off a few BBC/Ice Cream hoodies. I would like to do some shopping there. Also visited the fine bars of Wolfgang Puck's CUT steakhouse and Charlie Trotter's Restaurant Charlie seafood house, both wonderful places that I will fantasize about returning to for dinner until my own personal recession lets up. CUT poured us a fine martini with an even better bleu cheese stuffed olive attached, and served up a fun little tray of bar snacks including wasabi peas and tasty seasoned almonds. Charlie's bar, hosted by a former UNLV baseball player who really knows his shit, served a variety of vintage cocktails including a sazerac ("the original American cocktail") and my new favorite drink, the Bugs Bunny. All I can say about the bunny is it's orange, it tastes like a carrot only better, and it wouldn't take many to put me on my ass.

I think the fact that I can critique the quality of a bar's martini olives in the current economy really speaks to how ridiculous I have become and how adjusted I am to living far, far beyond my means. They were fucking good olives.

t-bones chophouse.

Station Casinos has proven it is dedicated to the steakhouse. Starting with Austin's at the Texas Station and continuing with the Charcoal Room at Santa Fe Station and Hank's at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, these guys have clearly made the decision to upgrade the typical dining offerings at your friendly neighborhood casino. And with the Red Rock Resort, they broke the mold in off-the-Strip niceness, an endeavor that translates into the property's restaurants as well. The crowning achievement is T-Bones Chophouse.

Though unfortunately named, the restaurant would not be out of place in a luxury Strip resort. But that's pretty much the deal at Red Rock, the coolest joint in Vegas not on the Strip. Ultra-sleek in red, silver and black, the space is set off by a large oval bar boasting a fine selection of boozes. The dining room, divided by a large, glass covered fireplace, is upscale without losing warmth. The plush booths are cushy enough that you'll have a hard time sliding out after a satisfying meal. Out back, on the patio, another bar serves up plenty of patrons gathered around a fire pit eyeballing the decadent pool area and neighboring Cherry nightclub space. And this steakhouse serves our favorite vegetarian meal, blue cheese stuffed olives in your martini.

The menu offers traditional steak options; fish dishes of salmon, swordfish, scallops, lobster, dover sole, ahi tuna, and whatever is special that night; rotisserie chicken; a pork chop; a veal chop; and for couples, rack of lamb and Chateaubriand. The beef, aged 48 days, is done very well if not perfectly, a nice char outside and of course your choice of temp inside. The Scottish salmon on a recent visit was incredible and large.

Salads, starters and side dishes are equally delicious. The Caesar is fine but the trademark Steakhouse salad is T-Bones' version of the chop, with bacon and a smooth white French dressing. Potato options, one of our favorite things about the classic steakhouse, run the complete gamut from horseradish mash to fries, tots with truffles to a baked sweet potato. Yes to all.

T-Bones success is not altogether surprising. This is a billion dollar resort. But for the residents of the affluent Summerlin community enveloping it, and other people who live out in these burbs, it is something dreamt of for years: a great steakhouse close to home, a consistently awesome meal off the Strip.

sensi.

The phrase "all over the place" usually does not apply to highly successful restaurants. Many
a restaurant has died a quick death due to a wildly experimental menu, or an attempt to blend too many styles and cuisines into one seamless experience.

The fact that Sensi pulls off that "all over the place" menu, incorporating Italian, Asian and
Indian tastes along with traditional American steak and seafood dishes, is one of two primary factors that make it so unique. The other is the striking decor, which combines carved stone, water, wood and metal into a peaceful and enjoyable setting (No wonder -- it's designed by acclaimed Japanese firm SuperPotato). Imagine if the Flintstones constructed an incredibly upscale day spa, and you're having lunch there. And the food is good.

Executive chef Martin Heierling, born in Germany, raised in New Zealand and educated all
over, gets the credit for the eccentric menu, which is squarely portioned off into categories.
You can stick to Asian, if you like, by starting with Thai chicken and cilantro soup and finishing with miso-glazed sea bass. Or if you're in the mood to sample from the Little Italy section, try a Pizza Margherita from the wood-fired oven with a roasted beet and arugula salad. There's also a strong raw bar from which to order oysters, clams, crab legs or live Santa Barbara prawns. And the beef selections are more than respectable, highlighted by an American Kobe beef tenderloin and a wonderfully tender braised short rib.

For what seems like a pretty fancy joint in Bellagio, still one of the fanciest joints on the Strip,
the service at Sensi is comfortable and friendly. On one of our trips here, we took a break from devouring the short rib to notice that our vegetarian companion was being supplied with an off-the-menu veggie curry dish that turned out to be one of the most delicately delicious things we've tried here. A little touch like that goes a long way in the competitive world of Strip dining.

There are newer restaurants in newer hotels, and there are plenty of more trendy eateries that blend cuisines. But Sensi should not be forgotten. Instead, it should be remembered as a
relaxing retreat from all the noisy hipness.

INTERVIEW: Mario Batali

Besides being one of the most recognized chefs in the world, Mario Batali has a stake B&B and Enoteca San Marco at the Venetian and CarneVino at the Palazzo.

Your newest Vegas restaurant is Carnevino at the recently opened Palazzo resort. Why did you decide to open your first steakhouse, and how did you settle on this approach?
Mario Batali: I love the simplicity of the steakhouse experience but always felt short of options eating at one. We combined perfect American beef with the magnificence of the Italian table and came up with Carnevino.


Your other Vegas eateries are B&B and the more casual Enoteca San Marco, both in the Venetian resort. How do those menus and dining experiences play off each other?
Each has its own feel, menu, chef and style. The most casual is Enoteca, which is open all day for anything from an elaborate four-course meal to a simple pizza and a gelato. B&B is the full magilla for dinner only and is a bit more formal and ambitious, along the lines of our flagship Babbo in New York City.


You chose to expand your empire into Las Vegas after the celebrity chef wave had been in full swing for several years. Was that intentional, or what influenced the timing of Mario Batali in Vegas?
It took us a long time to find the right place and deal ... Rob Goldstein and Lou Silvestri had a lot to do with it. We do not like the idea of a licensing agreement so we actually own the restaurants with the Venetian and really enjoy the collaboration.


Do you spend much time in Las Vegas? Do you get to try other restaurants?
I am there every six weeks and almost never leave the Venetian and Palazzo, except to play golf.


How would you describe the culinary reputation of Las Vegas versus a more established dining city like New York?
Vegas is in the top three gastrodestinations in the country due to the incredible variety of options and the serious nature of the competition.


You've been popping up lately on a lot of episodes of "Iron Chef America." If you could battle one chef, who would it be?
Tetsuya (Wakuda, Japanese-born chef based in Australia).


What is your newest project, or what is keeping you busy right now?
Right now I am chilling for the bulk of the summer with my wife and kids. In the last 16 months we have opened five restaurants, I shot my new TV show for PBS in Spain with Gwyneth Paltrow and I wrote two books. I am gonna work on my short game for a month or two.

INTERVIEW: Todd Clore

Todd Clore is chef/owner of Todd's Unique Dining in Henderson.

You've worked all over and created a very eclectic career before settling in Vegas. Is there any one place that has impacted you most as a chef?
Todd Clore: Everywhere I've worked has affected me in some part or another. My whole career has been high-end fine dining, and I've tried to take what they gave me and really push the boundaries every place I've been. We've always tried to purchase the best products we can find, and that's something I've never changed. Now, with my own restaurant, I figure it's only up to me to screw it up. I buy absolutely the best. That's my whole philosophy. As long as I do my thing, respect the ingredient, cook it naturally and simply and present it beautifully, my job is done. I've always done it that way.


Why did you decide to open Todd's Unique Dining in Henderson?
I moved to Henderson in 1995 and just fell in love with the place. I have a family, I have two kids, and it was and is a great place for us. The problem was I like to eat, and there really wasn't any place in Henderson to eat. I still don't think there is very many. You don't want to take your kids and go to the Strip. So we have our restaurant and it's close by, and we've had a lot of friends and neighbors, even in the beginning, that have discovered us and kept coming.


So how do you think Henderson stacks up with other parts of town, off the Strip, when it comes to dining?
I guess it ends up depending on the people who are making the big decisions, the guys opening multi-billion dollar hotels and shopping centers. That has been the deciding factor on where the restaurants go around our neighborhoods. There are some great restaurants in a place like Summerlin, but if you look at the rest of the offerings, it's really become a mecca for corporate dining. Everything is chains. And Henderson is like that as well, when you look at what has developed in areas like Green Valley Ranch and Anthem. If you're looking for true, independent restaurants that have lasted, there are maybe 20 in town. But I really like our area. It's friendly. We have great clientele, and we get tourists, too. Most of our clientele is coming from within five minutes of here, but we get tourists, too, and that comes with building a destination restaurant. I guess the Green Valley Ranch area might be the center of dining in Henderson, but when I moved here, it was this area. This was where everything was happening.


Your restaurant certainly has received its share of acclaim. How do you describe its style and cuisine?
We call it unique not to be pompous, but honestly because we didn't know what else to call it. I get in modes where I just fall in love with an ingredient or a cuisine, and you'll see it all over the menu, whether it's something Thai or French. You'll see a lot of different expressions of that, and then I'll tire of it and go somewhere else. It is kind of a fusion. You're going to see a lot of the continental offerings you might see elsewhere, rack of lamb, fish, a filet. But we assure you it will be prepared uniquely and very well in that realm. By that I mean if it's a French dish, it's going to be really French. We like to give our clientele a lot of options, the food is going to be tasty and we're not afraid to use bold flavors.

Has the menu or the restaurant changed much over the years?
I'm rewriting the menu every day. I had some guests recently that came in eight days in a row, and I don't think they had the same thing for dinner twice. That's something that's not really possible at other restaurants. I'm taking them different places. And our changes are really based on the seasons. Heirloom tomatoes just came back in so we're going to do a couple different things with heirlooms. Same with soft shell crabs, but I'm blowing through those as fast as I can get them. And when the season ends, it's over. When halibut season is over, I won't serve halibut again until it comes back up to our standards. Nothing is frozen. We won't do anything that's not in season. I don't do that. The quality isn't where I want it to be so I'll take it off the menu until it is. And I think that gives our customers a lot of confidence that if we have it, it's going to be good. And it gives us the opportunity to showcase different things.


How does running your own restaurant compare to cooking on the Strip?
A little slice of heaven, whatever that may be, that's what owning your own restaurant is like. I did 10 years hard time and that was enough for me. I say that as a joke, but working for a big corporation like that is kind of like being on a big boat in the middle of the ocean. There are 300 people driving that thing but no one is making their own decisions. In a hotel environment on the Strip, it's hard to change anything. By the time you get all the VP's signatures and all that junk, the year is up and you might as well be running the same menu. I ran the Sterling Brunch at Bally's for nine and a half years, and that was my saving grace because I changed that menu every week. We seldom repeated anything, and that was the only thing that kept me going. I kind of got to be the independent guy in the corporate environment, and without that I wouldn't have lasted. It's just not my style.


Where do you take people to impress when you get visitors from out of town?
I take people to the Strip. I take them for the architecture and for the grandeur. Most of my friends are in the restaurant business and at a certain point you just go to look, see what's going on and have fun. There are some good places on the Strip and very few cities that have the type of dining we have there. We're very blessed with that. All it does is take everyone else's game up that much higher. What's phenomenal today will be passe' tomorrow. You've got the stars ... Picasso, Guy Savoy, Robuchon, Alex, all the big names like that. The next hotel to open will be Encore and you wonder what they'll do there. It's always a step up. It's a great place to be. But I just get to be this guy in Henderson. I love to get national attention. I get to feed all the GMs and chefs. I'm just doing my own thing and having fun, and I don't have to deal with all that crazy.

INTERVIEW: Tom Colicchio

Tom Colicchio's Vegas presence can be felt at MGM Grand's Craftsteak and 'Wichcraft restaurants.

Your presence on "Top Chef" has brought an amazing amount of exposure for you and your restaurants. What has that experience been like? And what can the audience expect from the upcoming season?
Tom Colicchio: It's definitely, clearly brought our restaurants to a new customer base outside of those that knew about me or the restaurants before, and you can see how TV has done that for everybody, Emeril, Mario, Bobby Flay. It's just such a wide exposure, and that's probably the only argument I could make for doing it. I wasn't so keen on it from the start, but I knew at the time that I was expanding out of New York City and it would be important to figure out a way to get the name out there. As for the new season, all I can say is it was shot in Chicago. That's really all I can tell you.


Do you feel like the experience portrayed on the show is indicative of just being in the industry, being a chef, or is it too glamorized?
Well, it is entertainment. It is a show. But any person who has been on the show who has lasted a few weeks will tell you it's one of the hardest things they've ever done. Some of the challenges are very much like what you'll find in a kitchen and some aren't meant to be. Not everything on the show has a bearing on real life but it is a competition, everyone has the same limitations, and it really does test one's skills.


You were certainly known before "Top Chef." How do you feel about the label of celebrity chef?
I hate it. I hate that label. You don't say "celebrity actor," or "celebrity rock star." I mean, yes, I had some experience with that before the show. I had been going on the Today Show a couple times a year. But I really don't know what the qualifications are for that title. I got into this business probably 30 years ago because I love food and I love to cook. I tell young chefs -- in fact I said this at a commencement speech I gave well before "Top Chef" -- I said if you are getting into this because you want to be the next Emeril, then apologize to your parents right now for wasting their money because it's not going to happen. It has to be for the love of food. I think a really good question we need to ask is what is a chef, because it doesn't mean you're on TV and it doesn't mean you're a cook. Chef means boss. If you're running a kitchen, you're a chef. If you're a TV cook or you're a cooking instructor on TV, that is completely different. There are a lot of great chefs that want to be guest judges on the show, and they are great chefs, but for one reason or another they're not right for TV. I don't really know why. I don't know why I'm on the show, I just know they picked me because they thought I was telegenic for some reason. I don't know why. So that's why I'm always kind of cynical about it. But that being said, I love what we do on the show, I think we choose the best contestant every year, and there is no pressure from the producers or anyone else to pick a certain someone despite what everybody believes. The day they tell us we have to pick someone for any reason other than our judgement is the day I do my last show. But I think it's fun and entertaining, and I think it does illuminate what happens in a kitchen to people who otherwise wouldn't get to see. I've had a lot of people come up to me and say they never looked at food that way before seeing the show. But I also have people come up to me with other comments. When we opened in L.A. I had a woman come up to me and say "You're really a chef?" Yeah! Or when you send a person off the show, eliminate someone people really like, they say, "Who is this guy? Who is this guy we've never heard of before?" What can you say, you know? Go home and google me. But I get a kick out of it most of the time.


With all you have going on, how much time do you get to visit Vegas and check in on things at Craftsteak at MGM Grand?
Actually I was there for four days last week. But I spend all my time at the restaurant. In the six years I've had a restaurant in Vegas, I've been to maybe 10 restaurants there. This time we spent some time at (Wynn Las Vegas) so I got to try a couple there, Bartolotta and another one.


What did you think of Bartolotta?
I loved it. Paul (Bartolotta) is just a fabulous cook. I've known him for a while, and I love what he's doing there because it's a true Italian experience. He's bringing in all his fish from the Mediterranean. It's amazing.


What is your general impression of the Vegas dining scene and its development?
Well, again, I travel so much and when I do, it's all about spending time in the restaurant so I don't really get out much. But Las Vegas is amazing. I say it's the second best city for eating because I'm still kind of partial to New York since I'm from there. But Vegas is absolutely deserving of that reputation. When I first was going about opening a restaurant at MGM Grand, I told Gamal Aziz (then MGM president) -- and he's about the best person to work with because he came up in food and beverage -- that I can't open a restaurant somewhere unless there's a real community. I want to cook for regulars. And the idea was that you can't have that in Vegas, because of the tourists, it doesn't exist. And he said that's not the case. That's why from day one things have worked there and we've been able to move forward and it's still doing well. You can build that in Vegas. You know, I want the guys who come in for conventions for a week to eat on Monday and then say "I want to come back to Craftsteak" a day later. That's why it's still busy, because we treat it like a real market. And there are so many professionals in that town, going out, checking things out. I wish I could spend more time there. It's all there, and it's real.

INTERVIEW: Michael Jordan

Update: Rosemary's has closed.


Michael Jordan and his wife Wendy are chef/owners of the acclaimed Rosemary's Restaurant.

What's new at Rosemary's?

Michael Jordan: Well, we just got new ratings from Zagat, a 28 in food and a 26 in service, so we're pretty proud of that. Also, we recently opened up our catering division. We used to do all catering in house, but it got bigger and bigger and so we had to get another kitchen. We had always done private parties and special event dining in our private room at the restaurant, which we call the West Wing. But our outside catering jobs just kept growing and growing and so we had to bite the bullet, and now we have a brand new facility to handle those needs.


There are many fine dining restaurants off the Strip these days, but that wasn't necessarily true when you opened Rosemary's. What do you think about the growth and competition among restaurants like that?
I think fine dining in our neighborhood, Summerlin, and other Las Vegas neighborhoods away from the Strip is moving along at a snail's pace. Casual dining is doing much better, and there is certainly the clientele that seeks that. I think there's really just a lot of room for everybody right now. New places open all the time but they haven't made much of an impact on us. We continue to grow each year, year after year. We want to see growth but we really just try to focus on what we do.


You started out in Vegas working at Emeril's restaurant at the MGM Grand on the Strip, so you've had plenty of experience catering to both tourists and the local diners.
We walk such a fine line at Rosemary's. People are surprised to find out just how much tourist business we do. But the meat and potatoes for us is locals. They're not on vacation, they're just out to get something to eat or maybe they're celebrating a birthday or anniversary with us. We're most proud of what we do because we don't have to charge Strip prices, because we have more control of our overhead. We certainly see those tourists who want to go crazy, have a great meal and order wine and do it all, but it's a nice mix with our local customers who just want to have a quiet dinner, a little salad and a nice piece of
halibut. The tricky part is that we have to gauge what each table wants. We have to be aware of our guests and the kind of experience they're seeking, and I think being used to seeing different guests has heightened our ability to get to know them and give them what they're looking for.



Rosemary's is known for having a very friendly, versatile menu, stocked with plenty of favorites like the great Hugo's BBQ Shrimp dish. That's one of our favorite dishes in Vegas. How do you go about making additions or changes to the menu?
I'm not the type that says we have to change things every so often just to do something new. I'm really just watching the market, talking to our purveyors, seeing what's new and what's missing and what's coming up and then making adjustments based on those factors. Our products are driving our menu. I try to take a pretty flexible approach. The BBQ shrimp, that's not going anywhere. Same with the halibut because that's another of the dishes people love, but we only buy wild Alaskan so we have to make adjustments based on what's available and what's in season. We have daily specials and we try to do a lot with those, really check on what's getting people excited. We've had to add some things to the menu that started out as specials. Honestly, it's not really about me or my ego or what can I do. We're just trying to make them happy. If there's something our regulars want to see back on the menu, we're bringing it back. A perfect example of that would be the parmesan soufflé. This is just something I was playing around with. We baked it twice to get it real crispy and crunchy, and every time that thing comes out into the dining room people are just blown out of the water. There's another dish we're doing now that will probably make its way to the menu. We take a brioche roll and hollow it out, fill it up with grilled wild mushrooms, crack a fresh egg over it and then bake it. It's unbelievable. That's probably going to come out soon.


It sounds like you're very easily influenced by your regular customers, which I'm sure has become a large group.
We have quite a few regulars. We call them family. Actually, we have a lot of regulars from here and from out of town. We try to stay in contact with as many of them as possible, send e-mails and stuff like that so they know what we're doing. We just had a group come in from California just to come to a wine dinner. I'm still blown away by things like that, that people would do that, go out of their way to be with us.


What's coming up for Rosemary's? Any plans for further growth, expansion or anything like that?
There's always talk about potential future projects but talk is cheap. We're always listening. We're consistently hosting special events and we have a beer pairing dinner coming up, but as far as bigger plans, we'll see. It would be great to be able to make an announcement before the year is out. We'll let you know.

INTERVIEW: Mimmo Ferraro

Mimmo Ferraro is executive chef at the long-popular Ferraro's Italian restaurant.

You're a young chef but you've already logged quite a bit of experience. What was it like growing up in a Vegas restaurant like Ferraro's?
Mimmo Ferraro: I've always enjoyed this business, and it's always been a big part of my life and my family. But Ferraro's didn't start out as a high-end Italian restaurant. The first business was a deli and pizzeria, so it was a lot different. And I've been working since I was just a little boy. Back then it was like, "Go price those tomatoes!" And running around playing cops and robbers in the deli. But I've always loved cooking and I started cooking at a very young age, too. I think I started making pasta when I was six or seven years old.

Did you always know you'd be following in the family business and becoming a chef and restaurateur?
There was a time when I wanted to be an architect for a while, but ultimately I knew I'd always be in this business. It's not an easy business to be in, but I really enjoy it and it's just the thing for me. Some people say you are born with a gift. I really enjoy what I do, and my food is good.

When you finished your education, you spent some time in Italy, mostly Tuscany, before returning to Las Vegas to take over the kitchen at Ferraro's. Was it difficult to step into your father's footsteps? Did you want to make a lot of immediate changes at Ferraro's?
It wasn't easy. Even though we're an off-the-Strip restaurant, still about 90 percent of our business is from tourists and convention business. We have regular tourists. They come into town from wherever and no matter what they're in Vegas to do, they're going to visit us. It's the same faces. And they're used to coming to Ferraro's and getting what they've been getting for the last 20 years. My style of cooking is very different from my father's. He's from the south. My father was born in Calabria, and they cook a certain way there. It's heavier. It's those deep red sauces, the eggplant, the great sausages. Mine is a little bit lighter. We've always thrived on using the best products available, but when I came in we started making everything in-house, not just all our sauces which we make every day, but even the sausage, the pasta, the ravioli. Everything is made fresh daily. We'll come in and make the pasta fresh for that day, and we might run out if we're very busy. But that's how we make sure we giving the best product we can serve. That's something that's never going to change.

Was it hard to bring your own style to the kitchen without alienating people who expect certain things?
Well the biggest fight was with my father. "It's my way because it's my restaurant." Really, we always saw eye-to-eye about things, we just had different opinions sometimes. He's very much an Old World Italian. But to me, we have the best combination possible. It's the Old World with the new.

Besides all the growth, how have you seen the world of dining in Las Vegas change over the years?
Las Vegas wasn't always considered the way it is now. What, are we the number two or number three culinary city? I think Vegas has become more sophisticated. People understand quality, and they're not scared to pay for what they're getting. Every year it gets busier and the prices have to adapt. You know, we're a $20 cab ride both ways from the Strip. So that means we have to offer something as good or better just to get them to come back. We have to adapt to that environment as well.

What is your approach to pleasing locals?
We do a lot of different things for locals. We have a great happy hour all week with half-price appetizers and buy-one-get-one drinks. We have an extensive wine list with over 1,200 wines, and we do half-off the wine list for locals on the last Sunday. We're a different kind of restaurant here. People come here because we're one of the last true family establishments left, and I think that's something locals and out-of-town people appreciate. You know, my mother is here, my father is here, my nephew is running around in the kitchen. We get to know our customers, and I think they appreciate and recognize that difference. People
don't feel like they're in Vegas when they come to Ferraro's for dinner.

What's next for you and Ferraro's? Any expansion plans or new projects in the works?
We're making changes every day, even if it's something small. My father's going to Italy a few times a year and coming back with great additions to our wine list, stuff you can't get anywhere else. And as far as something new, I'm getting into the tavern business. I have a partner and we're going to open a new place called Wiseguys, which is going to be a tavern that serves classic Italian food, and it's going to be in the North Las Vegas area of town. Maybe we'll be expanding it later, but that's a new venture for me and it's exciting. Of course, you won't be able to come into the tavern and get the osso bucco like at Ferraro's.

m & m, the soulfoodiest.

Las Vegans love to lament the ways their city has been altered by the hordes of Southern
Californians that have relocated to our desert oasis. Too much traffic. Too many SUVs. Too
many Hollywood types. Too many well-tanned women looking for a hot nightclub. Well, not so much that last one.

We choose to appreciate many of the wonderful things Los Angeles has contributed to Las
Vegas, namely terrific ethnic restaurants, and one of our favorite imports is M&M Soul Food, a small cafe just west of the downtown area on Charleston Boulevard. M&M serves up Mississippi-style comfort food favorites every day and night, including incredible fried chicken (try it smothered in gravy), meatloaf, oxtails, catfish, pork chops and spicy gumbo. The crew gets it right on the side dishes, too, plating some tasty, home-style macaroni and cheese, collard greens, yams, black-eyed peas and red beans and rice. It's not light, and it may not be healthy, but it hits you in the right spot like good soul food should.

M&M also offers great breakfast options to warm up your morning, including normal fare like omelets or a great big ham steak, and other stuff you can't find at other places open in the morning, like pork chops or catfish with eggs, salmon crochet and a crispy waffle served with chicken wings. Where else can you get no-frills chicken and waffles outside of L.A., or a plate of liver and onions with potatoes, eggs, grits and biscuits on the side? And don't forget to try some great banana pudding to top it all off.

INTERVIEW: Luciano Pellegrini

Luciano Pellegrini is chef and partner at Valentino in the Venetian and Giorgio at Mandalay Bay.

What's new at Valentino? How has the restaurant changed over the years?
Luciano Pellegrini: It was a very good year for us at Valentino. We first opened in 1999, right with the opening of The Venetian, and we've changed our look a couple of times over. The restaurant definitely looks different now. That's just something you have to do in Vegas to keep things fresh. And I believe the food has improved as well. You know, we're not a cookie cutter restaurant. We're still very much about first class service and food, and we've managed to stay that way.

How would you describe your vision for the restaurant when you first came to Vegas in 1999?
Well we came to town not as pioneers in Vegas but really in that second wave of big resorts opening up shop at the time. There was not a lot of fine dining Italian restaurant experiences on the Strip at that time. In fact there was nothing like what we wanted to do. That was our vision, to be the restaurant in that category. And really the work comes in maintaining that high reputation.

As a young man and burgeoning chef in Italy, you served as a parachutist in the military. What made you want to volunteer for that duty? And are there any similarities between jumping out of planes and running a couple of restaurants on the Strip?
Yes that's true. I remember being with all my friends, who also all volunteered for military service because really, everyone did at that time, it was expected, and on the first day of orientation this guy came in and started asking who wanted to be a parachutist. I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I raised my hand, and that was that, I was one of about four guys out of 100 to do that. It was pretty intense. Obviously jumping out of a plane gives you quite a rush. After a while, I had done what I needed to, and I said that's enough for me, and I returned to doing what was my destiny to do for the rest of my life. But I did learn a lot of valuable lessons from being in the military, besides working at one time to serve three or four thousand meals, lunch and dinner, in the service. The kitchen can be very militaristic. The chef is the supreme being; the sous chef is like the lieutenant. Things need to go in a certain way with no questions asked, and being in the service definitely taught me to keep that order when in the kitchen. But you also need to know when to give someone else the room and space to operate on their own.

A lot of big time chefs have come to Vegas in recent years, but you are one of a very small group to be honored with the prestigious James Beard award. How important is that type of recognition?
I mean, what can you say? It's kind of huge. It took about a year for it to really sink in, that I could win something like that and what it meant, considering how many talented chefs there are out there. It was really a combination of things, a combination of timing, talent, luck, a little bit of everything. That's not to say that I rest on an accomplishment the day after. It was never my ultimate goal to win something like that, but it was a very pleasant surprise, very rewarding.

Awards are one thing, but the real competition among restaurateurs in Vegas seems to be where the hottest restaurant is, and how you can maintain that edge.
The hardest thing you can do is to maintain a spot as one of the top restaurants in town. Las Vegas is growing in so many ways, and the restaurant market is not to be underestimated. This is a place to shine, a place with opportunity for the underling to move up and the chance to gain recognition for the star chef. A lot of people come in ready to find success, and some have, and most have not. It's very difficult.

Giorgio at Mandalay Bay has become a popular, more casual restaurant. How do you compare it to the Valentino experience, and do you enjoy the differences between the two?
Well after the first year at Giorgio we really kind of stepped aside and let chef de cuisine Nico Chessa take over and do his thing, and he's doing a great job over there. We decided to really let him express himself to the highest degree, and it has been to the ultimate benefit of the entire company. It's vital for a restaurant to establish its identity, and Giorgio is a place to go for a good meal, to enjoy a pizza, and not get hurt too much in the wallet. It was fun to start a new project like that. New projects always bring a lot of excitement, and it was a great experience. Slowly but surely, it has come along, maybe a little slower than we thought. But it's doing very well.

What does the future hold for you and the Valentino group? Any expansion plans?
We are keeping our eyes open. We've had a lot of talented people leave our company to go find other opportunities. Las Vegas has turned out to be not such a great bet after all for many restaurateurs. But we're always considering our next move.