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.

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.

bartolotta, one of a kind.

Paul Bartolotta is a very celebrated chef, and his seafood-centric Italian restaurant at Wynn on the Strip is, likewise, a very celebrated destination. But no matter the richness of the resort or the dining room or the Midwest legend’s reputation, it all comes down to the food. At Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, the food is delivered with simple elegance, in a manner reflecting the chef’s reverent respect of the region he’s trying to present to his fortunate diners.

Sure, it was named one of Esquire’s best new restaurants in 2005 and snagged the AAA Four
Diamond Award in 2006. And it earned Bartolotta another James Beard Award nomination,
even though he already won one in 1994. As grand as these accolades might be, and as
spectacular as the restaurant strikes you as you are lead through gold and rich red decor,
past columns and huge urns and down a dramatic spiral staircase to a light, plush dining room
overlooking serene waters, remember that this is a house built by a guy who loves what the
Italian seas have to offer. Yes, the place is a bank-buster, but it’s worth it with the consolation
that Bartolotta offers one of the most unique dining experiences in the city and an authentic
and creative twist on Italian food that the non-traveling American might never know.

Fish is the thing here, and it's sold whole by the gram. Seafood is delivered fresh daily, and
you don’t have to believe it because your server is going to bring you those whole, fresh fish
and shellfish on a giant silver tray and describe each of them in detail. The offerings change
frequently but sometimes include black striped bream, sea bass, turbot, spiny lobster, purple
snapper or John Dory. The preferred preparation is to roast the fish whole with a select few
seasonings, such as a white wine and clam broth, in order to bring out the subtle flavors, and
then serve them with a duo of simple but tasty sauces.

The menu is divided up in the traditional Italian manner, so you can run through your antipasti and pasta courses or mix and match. Antipasti selections are incredible and inventive, such as grilled cuttlefish with langoustines in a slightly minty tomato broth, or parmesan custard with basil, leeks and asparagus. Pasta dishes can be with or without seafood, including a creamy potato gnocci or a shellfish-laden risotto.

The presence of a restaurant like Bartolotta, and its success among the other fine options at
Wynn Las Vegas, only proves the evolution of the Vegas dining scene. A world-class, one-of-a-kind meal like this could only make sense in a one-of-a-kind place like ours.

INTERVIEW: Rick Moonen

Rick Moonen is chef/owner at RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay.

You opened at Mandalay Bay in February 2005. How was your first year in Vegas? What's the difference between operating here and in New York?

Rick Moonen: Well we've been through a lot of changes already. When we first started to make plans to come to Vegas we were partnering with Mandalay Bay, and now, of course, we're working with MGM (the parent company). MGM has been a terrific partner in the first year, but it's been a learning process and
we've had a lot of changes. I think we've stabilized now and we're doing a pretty formidable job. As for differences, well, Las Vegas is a lot more transient, obviously. It's been a bit of a challenge to learn a new market. You know, I'm an East Coast guy. I've been in New York for 30 years. But I'm not disappointed at all. Learning is an ongoing process. The market is just different. Plus, we're still learning about the locals here, and how to take care of their needs. We're all about hospitality.

You didn't originally plan to close rm seafood in New York to come to Vegas, right? You were going to maintain both?
When they first approached me, that's what I thought. Sure, I'd do it. But then I came out and I'm staring at this beautiful 16,000-square-foot space that's established, and I knew I needed to focus on Las Vegas 100 percent. There's a lot more opportunity here in Vegas.

Has your reputation and notoriety helped build your restaurants' following here, or has it been like starting over?
I knew that would be a contributing factor to my success here, but I didn't come out here to be a cocky New York chef. I came to learn. I love what I do. And Las Vegas has really become a competitive city. I mean, this is as good or better than most cities in the world. You have all the factors here. And as far as that celebrity stuff, I don't think of myself as a celebrity. I'm running a business serving extremely perishable items.

Speaking of perishable items, you're known not only for serving the freshest fish possible but also serving sustainable seafood. Can you explain the philosophy behind that?
Everything I put on my menus I've done research into in order to make sure it comes from an abundant stock, and one that is managed in an environmentally sound way. I don't serve Chilean sea bass, and I haven't for years. It's important to help educate our staff and customers to be able to make choices like this. You know, I've been going to the Fulton Fish Market for ages to get my stuff, and using these methods. I don't do it for publicity. And we're hoping to make a difference in Las Vegas, too, because so many visitors from so many different places are here, so maybe we have a better chance. You really can't order poorly from my menu as far as the environment is concerned. Did you know there's more shrimp served on a daily basis in Las Vegas than in the rest of the U.S. combined?

Has being in Las Vegas made a difference in your use of certain purveyors or having the availability of fish you're used to serving?
No. Not really. You're right next to California, and we know they have great produce and you can get a lot of great stuff from them.

What kind of unique experience do you try to offer at your two restaurants in Mandalay Bay, and what is the relationship between the downstairs r bar and the upstairs restaurant rm?
The r bar is unique because it's casual. We don't take reservations down there. You can come in straight from the pool in your shorts and flip flops and get crab cakes or clam chowder or exactly what you're looking for. It's a great place to try a bunch of side dishes and share with a group. And restaurant rm, that's our flagship. That's where we really get to shine, especially putting together the tasting menus. You know, it only seats 85 up there, so it's a small, intimate environment, a real fine dining experience. We have two separate kitchens, but there's a lot of crossover and we set it up that way on purpose. In the future, we'll be doing some sushi and some other things, but really it's all about the customer. If you want some r bar items when you're in the fine dining room, they're coming up.

INTERVIEW: Oscar Goodman

MenuVegas' very first interview is with the Happiest Mayor in the Universe, Oscar Goodman.

You've been in Las Vegas for a long time. How have you seen the dining landscape change over the years?

Oscar Goodman: I've been here forever. I came here in 1964, and back in the old days the only place to get a steak was Bob Taylor's Ranch House. And you had to psyche yourself up for the 20-minute drive to get out there. It was the only game in town.

And now you can get anything, anywhere, anytime.

Absolutely. When you look at statistics from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, it shows empirically that as for why people come to Las Vegas, number one, they come to shop, and the second reason is for food.

You grew up in Philadelphia. Ever get cravings for a great cheesesteak?

You know what I miss most is my Philadelphia pizza. I miss it every day.

What's Philly pizza like?

I can't figure it out. It just tastes better. I do miss my cheesesteaks from Pat's and other places I used to go to.

You can't find any pizza in Vegas like back home?

Well one thing I can do is call my friends over at Metro Pizza, and if I tell them about a place in Philadelphia, they'll call that place and ask how they make their pizza, and then they'll try to do it that way.

If instead of being mayor of Las Vegas today you were still a defense lawyer representing certain clients...

Reputedly.

Right, those guys. Where would those guys eat and hang out today?

That's a good question. That wasn't that long ago. But where they would go to have their business meetings, so to speak, would be the back room at Piero's, which is still around today.

Where's the downtown Vegas power lunch spot?

The Triple George Grill is very strong. Another place that's picking up is Hennessey's, on the corner of Fremont Street at the old Race Rock. Those are the two spots. But then you also have Chicago Joe's, still going strong. They have such a presence downtown. You want to know a real sleeper, one of my favorites? The Philly cheesesteak place on Fremont Street. It's an old greasy spoon, frequented only by myself and the homeless.

Do you eat out often? Do you like to try new restaurants?

I'm a man of habits. I have my places I go to. I love my wife's cooking the best. She's the best short order cook I've ever seen. She can come home dead tired and whip up a meal in a half-hour better than any place on the Strip. But we usually eat at ethnic places. We'll go to Fellini's for Italian, Hedary's for Mediterranean, Diamond China for Chinese and Lotus of Siam for Thai food. I recently had to give a speech at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay and I walked through the shopping area there (Mandalay Place), and they had some restaurants in there that looked phenomenal.

I don't want to ask you this but I have to: who mixes the best martini in town?

I do.