me vs. buzz; buzz kills.

We all love barbecue, no? It's very American. It's a reliable meal of equal parts tasty, nostalgic and fun, and it's relatively easy and fun to cook, too. In fact, even though most of us are merely grilling burgers or steaks over our backyard propoane robo-cookers, we all think we are barbecue masters.

I'm no different. For years I've been making the best baby back ribs I've ever tasted, tender pork awesomeness with a sweet-and-spicy hickory/hoisin sauce, even though I can accept the truth that since there is no smoke involved in my process, I'm pretty much faking it. More recently, I've experimented with a cute little smokebox in my propane grill, which has had some decent results. The first try was a pretty damn good brisket, cooked low and slow for about five hours, super tender and smoky tasting with a savory peppered crust, but maybe a bit dry. Weeks ago, I dropped the first cookout of '11 on my surprisingly growing group of friends and went to town on the ribs, some chopped pork for sandwiches, grilled chicken and a first attempt at pigstrami (pictured). It's kinda hard to fuck up pork, but this was definitely a success: a top loin with a good amount of fat, overnight dry-brined with black and Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, crushed red pepper, mustard seed, lots of cracked coriander seed, and other traditional pastrami seasonings. We smoked it with applewood chips for a long time, and it came out juicy and nice. Next time we'll use a liquid brine, or maybe just make some more time for those great flavors to set in.

But it only took a few days for that backyard pride to dissipate. You see, no matter what crazy rubs and sauces you like, no matter how much smoke and fire you keep burning, you're not a barbecue master unless you are. All it takes is a visit to a true master's domain to bring some humility. And so it was when I visited the new, second location of my favorite Vegas 'cue joint, Buzz BBQ, for some brisket (pictured). It's simply no contest. These guys serve it up serious - superthick slabs of meaty perfection, deeply imbedded with hickory smoke, fat melting between slices, ultimately juicy and soft. The sauce comes on the side at Buzz and they have a solid spicy version, but you don't need it with the brisket. Actually, you don't need it with the chicken or the ribs, either, but it's good with pulled pork or chicken and hey, why not dip the great fried catfish in it? Buzz has great sandwiches, too, like the Pig Twister, with pulled pork plus Andouille sausage, or the Texas Tornado, which adds some of this supreme brisket to that meaty mix.

Because barbecue is so regional and is rooted in historic areas (like the South and Texas) and not so much on the west coast (like Vegas), the restaurants that serve this wonderful cuisine in our city don't get much credit. Also, barbecue may be fun and easy at home, but it doesn't necessarily translate well into the restaurant biz due to time consuming preparation and a short window  for optimal service. But there are a small handful of stores that have been doing it right for years now here in the desert, and with its recent expansion, let's add Buzz to that bunch. They deserve it, for the brisket if nothing else.

pin kaow.

Stop for a moment and think about the wonderful comfort of the neighborhood restaurant. You know which one I mean: It doubles as a place you'll go for a special occasion and the place you can't wait to get to when your Friday shift is over. The service is either good or it's great, but it doesn't really matter because they know you here. It's your place. The stuff they cook at your neighborhood restaurant probably isn't your favorite type of cuisine, but there are a few dishes that are so good, it's as if they're cooking just for you, just to your palate's specifications. Or maybe they are cooking just for you, maybe the guys in the back know exactly how you want it and they're happy to reward your loyalty. Because you eat at your neighborhood restaurant at least once a week, and if it's only once a month, you'll feel like you haven't been in ages. The restaurant will miss you. And like an ex that may still have some sort of magic spell on your emotions, this restaurant will be your constant comparison, your frame of reference when you venture away from home and try things new and different. That was excellent, you'll tell your husband or wife after a great adventure of a meal, but I still like the Whatever at My Neighborhood Restaurant. You will think this, you will say this, and then you'll think of me, because I wrote that terrible ex metaphor you just read. And you might be a little uncomfortable because now you ARE thinking of your ex while discussing dinner with your spouse. Oops. Whatever.

The point is: your attachment to the good food in your immediate area is a strong connection. Great neighborhood dining can be a substantial block in the wall of community. And if you don't live here, there's a chance you don't realize that Las Vegas really is like any other place, and we have neighborhoods, and we have great neighborhood restaurants. Of course, we don't all choose the good ones to be our go-to spot. In fact, sometimes we don't choose at all. Perhaps it's a combination of circumstances that allows the restaurant to choose us. And I'm not gonna get all judgy; it's perfectly fine if your spot is PF Chang's or a sports bar with great chicken wings or a greasy little pizza joint. We work with what we have. Not all neighborhoods have as many tasty destinations as mine. I am lucky. And my neighborhood restaurant is called Pin Kaow.

There are three different Pin Kaow restaurants in the Vegas valley, which is great news, because that means I can share my favorite northwest neighborhood grub with people who live in the southwest and southeast. It can be ours. The original restaurant, which is just off U.S. Highway 95 at Lake Mead Boulevard, opened in 2001. I do not know the name of the family that runs these places, nor do I need to. I don't know who cooks, and it doesn't matter. There are really only two things you need to know about Pin Kaow:

1. The food is really fucking good.
2. It's Thai food.

First, let's explore why I love to eat here so much. The menu is pretty traditional, and it has been called authentic. (The atmosphere also is traditional and very pretty, with lots of lacquered wood and tables big enough for family dining.) It's open every day and serves pretty much every Thai dish you've heard of, with a bit of familiar Chinese mixed in for those folks who are, sadly, missing out on the spicy and sweet treasures of southeast Asian food. There are chef's specials that change with the seasons and focus on seafood, dishes like clams sauteed with chilis, bell peppers, onions and basil, or deep fried prawns in a deep tamarind sauce. Pin Kaow does the basics very well: creamy coconut and lemongrass soups, a way-above average Pad Thai, and spicy salads like larb and Crying Tiger Beef drenched in fresh lime juice and fish sauce. It's so steady here.

The curries are impeccable, thick, rich and well balanced. We particularly dig on Masaman curry with potatoes and crushed peanuts, and red curry to which you can add, of course, your choice of tofu, chicken, beef, pork or shrimp. There's also a special duck curry with tomato, pineapple, basil and chili. Also, don't skip the fried rice dishes, which include standard stuff like combo meat or pineapple, and better stuff like chili fried rice with egg and broccoli or, again, duck fried rice with Chinese broccoli and tomato. For dessert, all you'll need is sweet rice with mango, if it's in season, or coconut ice cream if it isn't.

I am stuck on a few dishes at Pin Kaow, just as hard as I am stuck on the restaurant itself. I cannot seem to stop myself from ordering Chinese broccoli with crispy pork, a super-simple dish of stir-fried vegetables in a chili-laden, garlic brown sauce with mighty chunks of pork belly. Each bite of pig falls somewhere between sauce-absorbing meatiness and a full-blown cracklin, and even though I order the dish with medium heat, it always comes out with the perfect amount of forehead sweat inducing power. This is my food, one of my favorite dishes anywhere. In a close second is the soft shell crab salad, which I hope finds a home on the permanent menu. Just typing about this stuff right now has increased the odds of my dining here tonight by 50 to 60 percent.

Now let's discuss point number two. If you're going to claim any Thai restaurant in Las Vegas is a good one, it's going to be compared to the infamous Lotus of Siam. Years ago, L.A. writer Jonathan Gold wrote in Gourmet magazine that Lotus, a relatively small, family-run restaurant in the aging, eclectic Commercial Center on Sahara Avenue just east of the Strip, is the best Thai restaurant in North America. Vegas visitors picked up on the tip and have made Lotus one of the most popular off-Strip restaurants in the city. Locals love it too, including local critics, and so this unassuming spot has become regarded as the be all and the end all of Thai cuisine in Las Vegas. (Recently, chef/owner Saipin Chutima and her team did what once seemed impossible and expanded their Vegas brand to New York City. But within months, they pulled out of the new restaurant, and continue to operate in Vegas.)

So does Lotus live up this reputation, built on word of mouth and hype from a few critics? I've eaten there a handful of times, and the food is amazing. There are specialties from the chef's native Northern Thailand and other delicious, hard-to-find dishes that aren't on the menu at my beloved Pin Kaow. I'm probably the only active restaurant writer in Vegas that would choose Pin Kaow over Lotus. But it's an easy decision, and this is why: I know Lotus is tremendous. I love great Thai food, and there it is, and it's not inconvenient to go there. And yet I don't. It's been more than a year since I made the quick trip across Las Vegas Boulevard. And why would I? I've got my favorite Thai spot, it's completely delicious, and it's right down the street. It's Pin Kaow. Behold the power of the neighborhood restaurant.

there are things you need to eat at julian serrano.

When I recorded my first impressions of Julian Serrano, just days after the restaurant and its host resort, Aria, opened, I noted the "vast majority" of the menu's offerings consisted of "small plates we have seen before at local restaurants." That may not have been so true, and it certainly isn't the case now. The menu has adjusted considerably after a year, and the Serrano kitchen is flexing mightily.

What I'm saying is, the best Spanish restaurant in the city is getting better. Okay, fine, I have not yet dined at Jaleo next door in The Cosmpolitan. But I've heard mixed reviews from trusted associates, and bottom line is Serrano is the standard bearer. Anybody, even José Andrés, has some work to do to catch this pitch-perfect tapas factory.

With its ever-widening array of deliciousness -- soups, salads, modern and classic Spanish tapas, ceviches, tiraditos, more seafood, cheese, charcuterie, richly flavored vegetarian options, paella, and larger plates featuring lobster, Iberico pork, chicken, lamb and beef -- the Serrano menu provides endless opportunities for new experience within the same restaurant. On our most recent visit, we were wowed by a few relatively simple dishes that were new to us, but not to the menu. Among them, the luscious plate of Pata Negra ham, served with grilled bread and a garden-fresh garlic tomato jam, and the utterly lovable Huevos Estrellados, perfect crispy fries topped with fried eggs and Spanish pork chorizo. It's so good it's stupid. Wifey: "This is what you're making me for breakfast every Sunday starting now." I could try forever, and never make such sublime frites, and never fry eggs to this point of rich, yolky supremacy.

Julian Serrano is one of our best restaurants, and while everyone's all jazzed up about new baby Cosmo, let's not forget Aria and CityCenter have some terrific food. The combination of the two newest resorts is probably powerful enough, food-wise, to pull me away from my former favorite Strip crawl of Wynn/Encore/Palazzo/Venetian. I'll keep you posted.

attack of the asian burgers!

There are those who would say Las Vegas has no signature food item to call its own, nothing to compare to the Philly cheesesteak, the Chicago dog, the slice of New York pizza, etc. (Nevermind the fact that we have all of those.) To those doubters I offer this: the gourmet burger is all Vegas, baby. Sure, it may not have been invented here, but that doesn't matter. We've got the greatest burgers from across the country, from California's In-N-Out to Illinois' Steak 'n Shake, and that's just the beginning. Almost every hotel-casino on the Strip has its very own upscale burger joint, from Hubert Keller's Burger Bar to Kerry Simon's KGB at Harrah's. Americans never seem to get sick of eating burgers, and Vegas is the most American city you could ever hope to visit. So take that.

But ... I do get sick of eating burgers. I didn't even want to try all the new cowdisc emporiums popping up all over the place. In fact, I was completely burger'd out, until something magical happened ... something Asian happened ... something new was born. The first time I tried an Asian-flavored burger, it was disappointing. The attempt: combine a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich with a hamburger. The flavors were muddled and messy, and it didn't come close to working.

Then I tried Bachi Burger, and despite the previous banh mi letdown, I took a risk and ordered this version from a very interesting menu. Despite a lot of positive buzz about this small-but-hip neighborhood restaurant, I wasn't expecting much. But I was blown away by the flavor explosion of Bachi's banh mi burger, a super-meaty patty of beef, pork and shrimp with a sweet-and-sour tang. The bun is slightly sweet, those necessary pickled veggies and fresh jalapenos are served on the side so you can add as much as you need, and there's even a slice of porky pate to bring some extra authenticity. It's beyond juicy, and really represents the flavors of this Vietnamese standby without sacrificing beefy goodness. And Bachi's menu is full of other Asian-inspired burgers, like the Ronin, which has a fried egg, Japanese coleslaw and miso sauce.

With these awesome new options, I was back to loving burgers, as long as they were Asian. So it was okay, again, to go to some new, fancy, Strip casino's burger place, like Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan, as long as I could order something awesome like the Rising Sun: teriyaki-glazed Kobe beef with threads of fried yam, furikake, spicy mayo and tempura avocado. Holsteins also appears to have mastered the subtle art of infusing Asian flavors into our iconic American sandwich without fucking up what we love most in a burger -- big beef in every bite.

But this blog entry is a PUNCH OFF! and you know what that means ... there was to be a winner. There has to be a king crowned in this Vegas Asian burger battle, and I don't think it gets any better than Fukuburger. Now, keep in mind that when you're eating from a food truck, you can't let hipness be a factor. It's fun to order from a truck, hang with the homies in the parking lot and eat outside, but none of that stuff changes the fact that Fukuburgers are delicious. The number one, standard Fuku is a good starting spot for this menu, with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickled ginger, American cheese and special sauce. The ginger, contrasting nicely with the miso and other flavors in the beef, throws everything into another world of flavor. I also deeply love Fuku's version of loco moco, that Hawaiian gutbuster of a burger over rice with a savory brown gravy. But definitely do not miss the Tamago burger (pictured), with a perfect, oozy fried egg, crispy onions, a little teriyaki and a little furikake with the special sauce. The egg brings a potent richness, and the combination really brings out the fact that Fuku cooks their meat perfectly. It's juicy with a great burn on the outside and pink on the inside, exactly the way a burger is meant to be. That's why these guys are one of the top food trucks in the burgeoning Vegas scene. But wheels or no, Fukuburgers can go head-to-head with the best in the city.

in case you haven't heard, the cosmopolitan is cool.

On Level 3 of The Cosmopolitan, just past the unbelievable presence of a go-ahead-and-play billiards table, hanging on the wall near the Blue Ribbon restaurant, there are some nifty Rat Pack portraits, flashbacks of Frank, Dean and Sammy hanging with pretty girls and being cool. I was looking at them and I wondered: Is The Cosmopolitan the kinda place these guys would hang at? I'm sure these pictures are here to make me think the answer is "yes," to make me believe the last, latest Strip casino-hotel truly does contain the right amount of wrong, to make me imagine the Chairman would be happy to meet for a cocktail in the Vesper Bar just off the lobby. A lot of money has been spent to construct a thick layer of cool around this place, and I don't know how I feel about that, and I don't know if the Rat Pack would have kicked it here. I've never been very cool, but it doesn't take a cool person to recognize when someone or something is trying too hard. The people who assemble and tweak the concept of The Cosmopolitan, under unimaginable, unrealistic pressure to succeed, are trying very hard to make it cool.

And that's why it's so impressive that they seem to be succeeding.

Cool is in the details. It's in the crazy, mind-altering video columns in the lobby, ever-changing installations that make you feel like you stepped into a futuristic movie. It's in the subterranean parking garage, where murals by rebel artists like Shinique Smith, Shepard Fairey and Kenny Scharf confuse regular people who don't use valet. It's in those pool tables and ping pong tables and foosball tables and flatscreens up on Level 4, which is the most laidback casino swimming pool I've ever seen and the only spot with Strip-front cabanas. And cool is definitely in that not-so-secret pizza joint on glorious Level 3, squished between Blue Ribbon and Jaleo, with no signs pointing you in and no signs telling you where or how to order a slice. And damn, it is a tasty slice. From where do these guys order their pepperoni? It's spicy and garlicky and wonderful, and I was trying so hard not to buy into the hype of a hidden New York-style pizza den in a fancy casino. But it tastes so good.

I already wrote about it, but allow me to distill the message here: The Cosmopolitan had to go out on a limb, had to be different in order to survive. It is aiming for a specific audience, one other Vegas venues are targeting, and a big, big part of capturing this audience is crazy good food. The restaurant experience is the new Vegas entertainment, and that means making food and service and atmosphere something visitors are going to rave about on the plane or car ride home. While I have only sampled the most accessible, most casual Cosmo eateries (so far), it's safe to say this place is doing just that: providing delicious in a very cool way.

Among the munchies on Level 2 are Holsteins, a burger joint created by the company behind LBS in the Red Rock Resort, and China Poblano, an eclectic Chinese-Mexican concept from the famed José Andrés. At Holsteins I ate duck fat fries and blue cheese kettle potato chips, an outstanding Japanese-themed burger, and sampled a housemade mini-sausage -- longanisa on white bread with borracho beans, cheese and fried pork skin sprinklings. The flavors were impressive, and it is difficult for a burger joint to stand out among its brethren on the Strip. Holsteins seems like it will. At China Poblano ... I ate everything. I couldn't stop eating everything. Tacos of freshly made tortillas stuffed with carnitas, then spicier barbecued pork, then perfectly sweet lobster, then beef tendon with oyster. A deep, rich, red posole with chunks of fatty, tender pork and avocado and chicharrones to drop on top. Another great soup, called Ten Treasure, with shrimp, bok choy, tofu and more in a clean, light broth. A tiny braised pork gordita, rich and corny and properly greasy. Savory, crispy lamb potstickers. I know this is making you hungry for Chinese and Mexican food at the same time, and now you can get it, on the Las Vegas Strip.

Of course, more exploration will come. We must try Andrés' tapas and paella haven, Jaleo. We must try both of Scott Conant's spots, Scarpetta and DOCG. We must eat French at Comme Ça and sushi at Blue Ribbon, and eventually we will make it to the priciest and probably least accessible restaurant here, Estiatorio Milos. And in between, there likely will be many more slices of secret pizza. When it comes to food, cool shouldn't be much of a factor. But it is. It's tough not to get caught up in the cool of The Cosmopolitan, but it's easy to appreciate how tasty it is.

INTERVIEW: Scott Conant

Scott Conant is executive chef at Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

So you are days away from opening in Las Vegas...
I can't believe it. It's crazy. I've had my team on the ground and I've been in L.A. lately, because we just opened in Beverly Hills. But I can't believe it is here.

We know Scarpetta was originally slated to be in Fontainebleau, and now of course, it's at the Cosmopolitan. How long have you been looking at Las Vegas?
Yes, I had a deal with Fontainebleau, and when that fell by the wayside we had the opportunity to talk to Cosmopolitan. When I was talking with the CEO (John Unwin) it became clear that I would be crazy not to do business with this guy. He's a great partner and he's very passionate about his product and the brands he aligns himself with. He seemed really enthusiastic about having Scarpetta, and when we saw the size and space, we thought it was too big and we were worried about losing the soulful aspect of what Scarpetta is all about for me. This will be the fifth restaurant. We have a product we know works, and we really like to focus on the positive aspects of it moving into any new location. So we decided to cut it in half, and put the D.O.C.G. wine bar in there. Now we've got 150 seats, which is manageable, and we will have two brands there. And opening in Vegas, yeah, it's something we've been working with for a while now.

How do you feel about the buzz that's been building for this resort? Cosmopolitan talk is becoming something of a phenomenon since it's another big, new place on the Strip opening in these rough times for Vegas.
It feels like there has been a little buzz. Developing things has been a very exciting experience, getting ready for Vegas. Maybe the best part has been spending time with (the other Cosmopolitan) chefs and restaurateurs, picking each other's brains. It feels like a fluid concept. I think the customer experience will be a great one here. And among the different restaurants, there is a real sense of camaraderie and community. With everything that's been going on in Vegas, it is a little scary to open a new resort. There is a little fear attached. But we all feel like we're in this together, we want this resort to win.

What is the concept behind D.O.C.G.?
The name D.O.C.G. (Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) in Italian stands for the highest quality in wine, so that's the reason for the name. It's guaranteed quality. What will you eat there? Pizza, baked pastas, fun stuff. It's not meant to take itself too seriously. It is there to make people happy, and not everyone wants to go to a high-end restaurant every night. It's about creating something that has value for the customer, something that may be lacking in Vegas. I saw what Todd English did with his pub (at CityCenter) and that excited me.

Will Vegas' Scarpetta be different from New York's?
I always say there's really something that works about it, and I'd be crazy to change it. There will be plenty of things that will add some Vegas style, like the view of the Bellagio fountains, which is very cool. There will be a chef's table and two private dining rooms. It looks exciting, it looks Vegas, the colors are a little different, but the overall feel and soul of the space is the same. Each location of the restaurant has that, and it's all about the quality of the staff I surround myself with. It's not me, it's we. We have a great team, and the soul comes from the knowledge of the people around us. It works. So far we've been able to really capture it in different locations. A lot of the feel comes from the rustic elements in the design, woods and leathers. It's kind of urban Milan meets rustic.

Italian cuisine on the Strip is a very crowded field. How will these restaurants set themselves apart?
There's a lot of great Italian restaurants in Vegas. Our product is a little more unique. What we do is offer those modern components without sacrificing full flavor and approachability, and that balance kind of sets us apart. There's also a benevolence between Italian restaurateurs, which helps. But yes, there are dishes we are known for that set us apart, definitely the spaghetti with tomato and basil, which seems to follow me around quite a bit. Also the polenta. These sound like simple dishes. But that's what it means, what Scarpetta means is to grab a piece of bread and sop up what's on the plate. That's the kind of satisfying experience we want customers to have.

Is there a focus among the restaurants at Cosmopolitan to attract locals down to the Strip?
Our goal is to be inclusive. We don't want people to feel like this is a place you go to only once in a while. We have very approachable dishes on both menus. Scarpetta is fluid enough that it could be a special occasion dinner, but the food is not excessively rich, so you could go there once a week. I want to make the prices sensitive to the market, too, not just to tourists but also to people who are here and want to go out and enjoy themselves. I feel like that is another goal of the resort.

You are all over the place, on TV, doing cookbooks, opening restaurants left and right. What else is coming up?
Knock on wood, Bevery Hills is going great. Really our main goal is to always make these restaurants the best they can possibly be, to surround myself with the best team members and make sure everyone has the same goals in mind: to make people happy, make great food, and keep the ambience in line with the experience and the menu. That always requires effort, and to stay relevant on top of all that is pretty tough. I have had a good share of success but that doesn't mean we can't get better all the time. I do give a lot of effort and I love what I do, and I have so much fun teaching younger cooks and chefs as well as learning from all the people we work with, and implementing their experiences into what we do on a daily basis. Ultimately, a better customer experience is the goal.

shh. nittaya's secret kitchen.

Nittaya's Secret Kitchen is, I believe, poised to become the next great neighborhood restaurant in Vegas. I believe this because the food is really good, but here are some other reasons:

1. Thai food is still pretty hot right now. We all agree there is very good Thai food to be found in Las Vegas. And this chef is cooking her native cuisine, and she's already been operating two more straight-ahead Thai-Chinese restaurants, so we know she knows what she's doing.

2. Nittaya's is on the corner of Lake Mead and Rampart. This neighborhood and the people in it are getting a little older, but there are still plenty of folks nearby that will get behind a restaurant with great, unique food.

3. The owners of Nittaya's have very wisely placed the word "tapas" on their menu and signage. It doesn't really matter if these tasty small plates are tapas or if they're not. It only matters if they're tasty. They are.

The "world famous" spinach salad (pictured) already has been written and talked about, partly because they push it so hard at Nittaya's and partly because it's delicious. Individual spinach leaves are fried tempura-style until crispy and piled on a plate with what is basically a larb salad, ground chicken, veggies and cashews in a spicy lime dressing. Stack some of this tangy goodness on these crazy, crunchy greens and you've got yourself a signature dish. But the truth is, of the many dishes I've sampled at Nittaya's, this is one of the least inspiring. And it's really good.

Nittaya's lettuce wraps are the best version I've tasted, and curry puffs are another great appetizer, a flavorful explosion wrapped inside a delicate pastry. While you're eating fried green things, try the panko-breaded avocado. The two other salad options I've enjoyed both blow the fun spinach dish away: beef flank steak salad, which also incorporates that spicy lime dressing over seared beef and fresh garden veggies, and the must-have ginger chicken salad, tender meat, red onions, cilantro and peanuts absolutely drenched in ginger. It's a mouth shocker, and very addictive.

Next time I dine here, I need to get at the entrees section. The wonderful curries and rice dishes have prevented me from sampling these main plates. (I did enjoy a simple plate of grilled chicken thighs with a sweet chili sauce, and some decent spicy catfish.) The green curry, full of basil, was impressive, until we got to the red stuff, spicy and coconut creamy. The pineapple fried rice here is served in a half-pineapple, only adding to the sweetness. It's great, but I also like the spicy basil and green curry fried rice, the latter of which is stacked with Chinese broccoli, onions and egg and takes on a new texture thanks to the coconut in the curry.

Nittaya's is a small place, and it will need to grow. A chef who is doing these things is cooking for herself, to have fun, and to building something. The neighborhood will appreciate that, and they will keep coming back. Different is good, and we could use some more of that around here.

our spanish dynasty.

(Update: Firefly has closed its downtown location.)

Is it completely unnecessary to write about one of the most popular restaurants in Las Vegas? Yes, probably. But perhaps the continuing development of Firefly, which opened its third location in the Summerlin area in October, is more significant than it seems.

Actually, it seems like a pretty big deal. The new restaurant, on West Sahara Avenue in a building formerly occupied by the Tex-Mex chain Z-Tejas, has been packed from the moment the doors were unlocked. Why? Because those of us that live out in the westside suburbs have been making the trip to the original Firefly on Paradise (pic top) for years. Until now, there have been no Spanish tapas restaurants in the well-populated and hungry Summerlin neighborhoods. When chef/owner John Simmons and his crew opened a second location in the Plaza downtown last year, it could have been a risky move. But it wasn't, because Vegas' small but loyal population of downtown hipsters was already in love with the original Paradise location for its tasty and cheap small bites and refreshing sangria. Consider the fact that the struggling Plaza temporarily shuttered its hotel operations earlier this year, and yet Firefly continues to draw patrons to the west end of Fremont Street, and you can see the powerful pull this food has on Vegas.

What's most impressive about Firefly's success is its humble origins. Today, this cuisine is one of the major trends in American eating. There are maybe a dozen Spanish tapas joints around town, and many, many more that use the shared small plate concept as the foundation for experimentation. Julian Serrano in Aria is easily one of the most popular restaurants in CityCenter and even earned a shout-out in Esquire's annual best new restaurant piece, and it's a matter of weeks before superfamous chef Jose Andres opens the Vegas version of his award-winning Jaleo tapas bar in the new Cosmopolitan. And while those two probably will be the best in town, Firefly's three spots will be tied for third. I have eaten at all three Fireflys and from restaurant to restaurant, the consistency is uncanny. Those perfect, crispy chicken croquetas and addictive bacon-wrapped dates are as good as you want them to be, whether you're gazing through the glass bubble downtown or laughing at the drunken cougars in Summerlin.

There are only a handful of Vegas restaurants -- ones actually born in this city and not imported -- as universally beloved as Firefly. One of them is Lotus of Siam, the much-hyped Thai eatery which also expanded recently -- to New York City. If you never thought you'd see the day Las Vegas -- transient, cultureless, dying Las Vegas, they say -- would send some culinary representation to the greatest restaurant city in the world, you're not alone. But it has happened, even if it seemed like a longshot. When Simmons opened his original Firefly in 2003 near the Hard Rock Hotel, nobody in Vegas had ever heard of tapas. Now we can't get enough. That seemed like a longshot, too, but turns out Firefly was ahead of its time. Aren't you glad we caught up?

INTERVIEW: Alex Stratta

Alex Stratta is was executive chef at Alex and Stratta in Wynn Las Vegas. He previously operated the former Renoir in the Mirage.

 What is new at Alex?

Alex Stratta: About two months ago we changed the menu format a little, bringing in the new market menus. So that makes our format into three different categories: the tasting menu, the prix fixe and then market menus, which are limited offerings. We made it so that instead of swinging between a whole bunch of stuff, we're really focusing specifically on the market, that's what's driving everything. And the cherry on top is that we change it every day or so depending on the markets in L.A. I met a lady who’s a forager. She's been working for 20 years hooking up small growers and farmer's markets up and down the California coast, really finding the best of the best. It's stuff you've never seen before. It's stuff I’ve never seen before, like fingerling limes, which are black on the outside, and the inside is like little pearls of caviar. It's a special citrus, and we're finding stuff like this, so exclusive it's basically grown in someone's backyard. So we're finding ways to feature things like those. We get a couple days advance to plan when we get the list of what's coming. It's really motivating my chefs and helping the development of this program, which is all about creating an exceptional and unique experience.

Working with farmer's markets is not necessarily new to Vegas restaurants, although it seems to be catching on quickly on the Strip. It sounds like these market menus are a little more exclusive.

It's definitely ultra-specific. We are one of her few accounts. It gives us the flexibility of doing whatever we want and changing whatever we want to. We can take ingredients like these and either keep it simple or put them in an unusual combination, maybe with a rare type of seafood. We can find incredible cherries from one farm, endive from another, and maybe you'll have them with grouse from Scotland. Whatever we are working with, we are keeping it within the scope of the cuisine. We don’t veer too much from basic French and Italian tradition. I will introduce Asian product but it's always executed with classical technique and the same thought process. Every chef says "I put my own spin on it," but really what we're talking about is getting back to basics, getting the best ingredients in their season done as simply as possible.

Has that thought process or mission changed over the years, or did you change your mission when you came from Renoir to create Alex at Wynn Las Vegas?

That's an interesting question. I think the mission has become even more solidified. When I first came to Vegas to work with Mr. Wynn at the Mirage, what I wanted to do was the finest, high-end, European-style fine dining. I was talking about five stars, and he wasn’t very aware of that stuff. He was introduced quickly when his hotel got five stars. But I told him that’s what I wanted to do, and through the years we went through everything and really accomplished the goals we wanted to achieve. When I heard he was opening this hotel, I made a phone call and said, "If you are doing fine dining there, I’m your guy, I want to take this to the next level." And of course, we were speaking the same language. We both wanted to outdo ourselves. We needed a bigger, grander stage than Renoir. Alex provided that. We were off and running as soon as we opened in May, We got our five stars in September or October, just knocked it out of the park. I give the credit to the staff but also to Mr. Wynn’s commitment to what we were doing. It's just getting better and more refined now. Business is starting to pick up again. Everybody took a beating last year, especially in high end. It was a challenge. But luckily, we have the Wynn brand and that gives us opportunities. And I have a tremendous crew. Devin (Hashimoto, chef de cuisine at Alex) has been working with me for many years now, and he has developed his own style within what we do. The repertoire has grown to full, we work on ideas together, and the process unfolds naturally. It's great. It's so important to have other ideas, and when you have guys like this working with you, you can’t say no. The enthusiasm we have is just getting better. 

Is it difficult to maintain a balance between fine dining at Alex and the more casual Italian restaurant Stratta when both are on the same property? 

At first I tried the balance but I soon realized they are two different animals and have to be approached in completely different ways. My involvement, the basics of quality food and service, genuine hospitality and efficiency, all that is the exact same language. But as far as what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, what Alex means to the hotel and what Stratta means, there are two different dynamics. For me as restaurateur, as chef, it teaches me a lot. I'm still sticking to my basic fundamentals, focusing on ingredients and consistency. But as an entrepreneur, you're talking about a restaurant that does 12 million a year and 600 covers a day versus one that does 5 million at 70 or 80 covers a day. We have had times when we've done 70 covers at Alex and made as much as doing 500 at Stratta. But it's always about hospitality. For me, it’s the same passion.

Were you concerned with the transition from fine dining to the lower price point and different dynamic at the Italian restaurant?

I’ve worked in fine dining my whole career, and that’s what people are expecting when they come to my restaurants. For me, it was just showing flexibility, maybe a lighter side, and not taking myself too seriously as a chef. Not everything has to be this whole process of "let’s see what I can do to push myself to the fullest." What is it that people want to eat? What if I could create that place that would be the place go to with family if you just want a pizza? I think a chef has to have room for that in his repertoire. A lot of chefs are doing casual now, but I didn’t do it because of everybody else. It was an opportunity to show it's not all about foie gras and truffles all the time. Whether it's a coffee shop or fine dining, you have to have the basics in order to diversify and grow. I was executive chef at a hotel that ran nine restaurants, so I had that diversity in my background. I kinda wanted an Italian version of Alex at a little more casual level, but as we understand the guest, people like stuff they are familiar with, so let's do the best representation of that familiar food we can do. We came to a happy medium, and the place is incredibly successful.

Some Vegas chefs have a hard time finding that happy medium, being able to do what they need to do while still addressing the taste level of the guests. 

I certainly didn't think I'd ever be doing chicken alfredo pasta, but you know, I have no problem giving people what they want. Just do it well. I think it comes with maturity as a chef. And I get to have it both ways. I can get my kicks at Alex. They are two different worlds, and I'm proud of what we accomplish at both. I'm very proud of the service at Alex.

You've been in Las Vegas for 12 years now. What do you think is coming next?

On a micro level, I’d say more late night dining availability. A lot of places can look to the success and formula at the hotels that have that energy between nightclub and restaurant, like we have here at Wynn and Encore. Stratta is open late and does very well with the late-night crowd.

You probably have not had the time to explore restaurants at CityCenter, and now we've got the Cosmopolitan opening soon.

Citycenter, I have not been focused on at all. But I have twin 3-year-olds, so anything outside of work is, you know, headed that way. But I do know the food and beverage director at Cosmopolitan, who came up through ranks with me. I know what they’re trying to do over there, and I think that team is going to be very strong. They have a very organic approach to the whole thing. They're bringing in Jose Andres and Scott Conant. They are both the real deal and they will put out great restaurants. They’ll do well. I don’t know about the hotel, traffic, flow, all those things I couldn’t predict. I'm sure they’re on pins and needles. It's a good time to open and a bad time to open. Without a lot of people coming through, you can really get your wheels going, but you're not going to hit your numbers. The short term thinking would freak you out, but long term, it’s a good thing. You can pace yourself, and you can change things quickly. But I think Cosmopolitan will be a nice addition, a complement.

So where's the dining hot spot for twin 3-year-olds?

You would think we wouldn't be able to go eat at a lot of places, but they’re very adventurous. They eat sushi, and we go to Mexican restaurants.

You're kinda the Mexican food guru now. Since Las Vegas Weekly did a feature on your love for Los Antojos, you've got every foodie and critic loving that place.

Isn't that funny? I went to talk to that lady shortly after that happened, and I told her, "I wish I got that much press for my restaurant!" I feel like the pope when I go in there. I’m so happy for them, though. I suppose it is still a hole in the wall, but their food is just done really well. Actually it was introduced to me by a busser. I haven’t gone in a while.

So now you are in charge of finding the next great Vegas hole in the wall. Give me a good pick.

There are so many great ones in Chinatown, Raku, Monta. I'll tell you, I think I might have been to Pho So 1 five times in a week. It's great, very consistent. It's always good, and the service is great. And you know, you can’t even cook a meal for yourself for six bucks. It's amazing how low the prices are. I get the number 14. Just go and tell them you want the one Chef Alex likes. It's got the tripe and the tendon and all the good stuff chefs like to eat.

the red rock resort belongs to me.

Food is important to most everyone, but we all create our own connections to the experience of eating. Few of the most memorable meals of my life have been break-the-bank, once-in-a-lifetime gourmet adventures. Those are usually enjoyable. But the combination of the right environment, the right food and the right company makes for a powerful memory, and in my experience it’s been near impossible to engineer such a situation.

But I’ve done it, at least once. It was a Friday night in December. After a day of drinking and grazing on snacks at home, it was time for a late supper at T-bones Chophouse, a swanky if unfortunately named steakhouse at the Red Rock Resort. We began at the bar, slurping martinis and chewing on pretzel bread as friends began to arrive. I ordered dinner: the signature chopped salad, a shrimp cocktail, a petite filet mignon and garlic mashed potatoes. More friends arrived, and we slid from the shiny bar top to a group of high tables in the restaurant’s lounge area, setting up between the long double-sided bar and tall glass doors that lead to a beautiful patio overlooking the resort’s pool.

More arrived, soon we were all drunk, and our group had officially taken over T-bones. This was a gathering of our closest people, siblings, friends from out of town, friends stretching beyond a decade. It was the night before we got married. Drinks were flowing freely and there was an easy happiness floating around, and I seemed to be the only one eating. Somehow that made everything taste better. I took down the chopped salad after my almost-wife munched a couple bites before deciding to focus on liquid nourishment. The shrimp cocktail was quite fine and delivered in a block of oddly shaped ice; my brother examined it after stealing a shrimp and ended up breaking the thing. I continued to share, forking a tender bite of beef into the mouth of almost-wife’s best friend from back home in Colorado. She requested another, this time with a little more of the peppery red wine reduction sauce. I was happy to help. I was happy to be surrounded by my favorite people in one of my favorite places, and enjoy a simple, classic steakhouse meal. That doesn’t mean this restaurant is average, and definitely not mediocre. T-bones is one of the better steak joints in Vegas, which may be hard to believe considering there are so many, and so many expensive ones on the Strip. But know the food is almost always the same at these places, and a little extra luxury, creativity and convenience goes a long way. I’ve also had a terrific Scottish salmon at T-bones, and we returned for an anniversary dinner and feasted on a supreme foie gras appetizer, another steak with a gorgonzola crust, au gratin potatoes and some of the best short ribs I’ve ever had.

The Red Rock Resort is my favorite hotel-casino in Las Vegas, and I’m not alone on this one. A great steakhouse is just the beginning of a solid, occasionally spectacular restaurant lineup. The hotel rooms, casino design, bars, pools and lounge spaces are equal to or greater than what we see at the big properties on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the whole place has a casual, easy-access feel that creates exactly the kind of comfort I desire. It feels like it’s too nice, yet welcoming. When I check in at the Red Rock for a completely unnecessary fake vacation weekend, when I waddle into the fancy, central, rose-red Lucky Bar in tacky green-and-white swimming shorts and order a gin-and-soda, when I cap off the night before my wedding with a 3 a.m. stroll to the food court for a Fatburger with my almost-wife and two best friends from high school, I feel like I’m a bum who hit Megabucks. I feel like some bozo who lucked into some really sweet surroundings. And really, feeling like that is my objective. I don’t know if that’s the exact vibe the guys at Station Casinos were going for when they spent a billion dollars building this place, but that’s what they got. And I’m happy about it, and grateful.

Red Rock opened in the spring of 2006. It cost around $925 million. It resides in the heart of Summerlin, one of the country’s biggest master-planned communities and, up until this whole shitty economy stuff, the fastest growing suburban neighborhood anywhere. Red Rock marked Station Casinos’ next step up from the Green Valley Ranch Resort, another upscale neighborhood casino in another suburban community on the east side, in the city of Henderson. GVR opened with much excitement at the end of 2001, considered as the evolution of the neighborhood or off-Strip casino. (George Maloof’s Palms, famous for attracting celebrities, also opened that year and also was considered part of this new wave of hip joints beyond our most famous street.) Before the Green Valley resort, Station Casinos had upgraded and expanded its brand with the Texas Station (1995 in North Las Vegas), Sunset Station (1997 in Henderson) and Santa Fe Station (acquired in 2000 in northwest Vegas), all shiny, fancy casino-hotels with family-friendly amenities such as bowling lanes, food courts and movie theaters. These places became one-stop entertainment destinations for the thousands of families who had flooded the valley since the mid-1980s, places where the younger set could have fun while the adults would gamble. Their huge success built Station into a dynasty, a gaming company that would spar with and eventually overtake the other locals, Boyd and Coast, and join the conversation with the heavy hitters on the Strip. And when things were going great, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, leaders of the Station family, decided to do something kinda crazy and build a new flagship, something that would rival those big dogs, only it would be way out west, in the shadows of the brilliant Red Rock Canyon. It would have a much more modern design, with rich colors borrowed from those vaulted desert mountains, chandeliers with millions of crystals, miles of onyx lining the walls, gold-leafed ceilings, and a shitload of other fancy stuff. It would have a giant casino with plenty of machines and tables, a massive sportsbook, and an intimidatingly cool high limit room. It would have awesome accommodations, unique penthouse suites, convention spaces, swimming pools, nightclubs, a movie theater and the nicest bowling lanes in Vegas. It would be the kind of place the Fertittas themselves would hang at, and so it was.

I’d like to write there will never be another place like the Red Rock Resort, that because of the recession that will forever change the way Las Vegas works, no one will ever spend many millions of dollars to build a supercasino in our neighborhoods. But it has happened. The $600 million Aliante Station opened in 2008 in an even more distant community, and at the southernmost tip of town, the billion-dollar M Resort came to life in 2009. In my world, those places don’t matter, because the Red Rock is mine. I grew up on the west side of the valley, I ran around the suburbs of Summerlin, and when I made my post-college return to Vegas in 1999, my ‘hood was still without a truly great place to play tourist, eat, drink and party. There were casinos: the Suncoast, and what is now the JW Marriott resort, living uneasily next to each other just off Summerlin Parkway. Both are an ill fit, a little low-rent. Then Red Rock came along and blew everything else away.

When the Station guys started thinking this over, design came first and food came second, and that’s right on the money. All those little (expensive) touches add up to create that too-nice vibe, and the details are everywhere. These are nicest movie theaters around. This is the nicest spa. These are the nicest bathrooms. This is the nicest hotel lobby around, especially because they don’t build hotel lobbies like this anymore, with grand circling staircases and a 30-foot-tall crystal chandelier hanging above the tiny lobby bar.

I’ve seen every type of hotel room and suite in the building, and I’m perfectly fine with the standard. It’s pretty badass: 42-inch plasma, Bose soundsystem with iPod dock, 15-inch LCD screens in the bathroom, one of the greatest beds of all time, and of course, robes and slippers. The colors are chocolate with some greens, oranges and reds, and your view is either the breathtaking canyon or the distant, shimmering Strip. But the suites get ridiculous, easily setting a new standard away from that Strip. Take a step up and you’ve got a couple 65-inch plasmas, big party-ready bars, private bedrooms, marble bathrooms with huge soaking tubs, all spread over about 2,500 square feet. If you manage to score one of the seven penthouse suites, you are a special person. Private elevator. The black, brown and blue one is called the One 80, because the view affords both the canyon and the Strip. The TV is only 103 inches. The sofa rotates. The green one is called the Canyon. It’s a bit smaller at 4,000 square feet. It has a private massage room. The white one has a pool table and two bedrooms, one of which has its own balcony and jacuzzi. The red one is Cherry, and it has survived the vomiting heathens of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, season one. The shower is in the middle of the master bedroom, which seems about right. The TVs are not that big, but there is a 20-foot projection screen. The purple one is Lucky. There are more. Why are they here? So the Station guys can throw awesome parties up on the top floor? Unnecessary awesomeness is how you set new standards in Vegas. The centerpiece of it all is the “backyard” area. There is a large round swimming pool with a playful fountain in the middle, several smaller, rectangular pools branching away and a large shaded bar with blackjack tables and sexy cocktail servers. How can I describe a day at the Red Rock pool? It’s like you went to one of the hip hotels on the Strip and they didn’t let any assholes in. Even though marketing has tried to make money and douche it up out here, things have stayed relatively peaceful. Evidence: the Cherry nightclub closed down to make way for the more easygoing cabana club. Good move.

Food may have been ranked second in the grand scheme of things, but Red Rock’s restaurant offerings are definitely first among neighborhood casinos. Besides the exemplary T-bones, you have other standards that are quite serviceable (the Grand Cafe coffee shop, Cabo Mexican restaurant, Terra Rossa Italian restaurant, LBS burger joint, Yard House beer and food depot, and the Feast buffet), you have a miniaturized version of one of Vegas’ best deli-style restaurants right next to the sportsbook (the Bagel Cafe), and you have quite possibly the best casino food court of all time. Here’s the lineup: Fatburger, one of the best hamburger chains of all time; Capriotti’s, Vegas’ favorite sandwich shop gone global; the respectable fish tacos of Rubio’s; and then, you can’t win them all, so Villa Pizza, Panda Express, Ben & Jerry’s, Tropical Smoothie and Starbucks. Very formidable, all next door to the movies, bowling and bingo.

The best restaurant here is Hachi, billed as modern Japanese. It is criminally under looked in the local dining scene, reliably pitch-perfect and therefore more than deserving of my constant affectionate raves. The chef, who was recruited from New York specifically to open an off-Strip pan-Asian concept in Vegas (this is something that has never happened before) is Linda Rodriguez, a very nice lady from the Philippines who just happens to be the first woman to train under Nobu Matsuhisa. She has cooked in Brooklyn, Mexico City, London and Louisiana, and we are lucky to have her, and her partner/husband, Martin Swift. Their restaurant is edgy and awesome. Its main dining room is walled by a Murakami eyeball piece opposite a wispy, peaceful image of cherry blossom trees, and it feels good to eat sushi here. But the menu boasts so much more. Most people know Hachi for its LSD roll, with spicy shrimp and crab, tempura flakes and avocado, or its incredible 38 for Under $8 menu, which offers great small plates like veggie fried rice, spicy kabocha coconut soup, barbecued ribs and kushiyaki meat skewers for low prices. I love the four varieties in the sashimi sampler, especially the fluke tiradito, the perfect little square of braised short ribs on top of roasted apple puree, the kobe beef potstickers, the light, sweet crab salad with cilantro vinaigrette, and the tempura’d pumpkin. Everything is good here, creative, refreshing and delicious.

Hachi is my favorite place to eat at Red Rock, and my favorite place to drink is … still up for grabs. It might be that quiet, throwback lobby bar. Just upstairs, the amber Onyx Bar is a nice little nook, too. It’s exactly the kind of casino bar that is lacking in the other spots in our neighborhood, a comfortable place to sit and pay a few dollars too many for a good stiff drink while trying to talk your way into something you probably shouldn’t do. Maybe the best spot is back at T-bones, out on that nifty patio, sitting on a big circular couch swigging Hendricks muddled with cucumber and lime and making fun of the Summerlin cougars and their shiny-shirted husbands/male mistresses. It’s very nice out here, when things cool down at night and they’ve closed the pool for the day, and you could drink a little too much and start thinking about how nice it’d be to have a room tonight. It’s happened. When I visit the Red Rock now, and do stuff like this, I start thinking about living here. Permanent room service in my Presidential Suite … yeah, I don’t need the penthouse, I’ll stick to the one with his-and-hers bathrooms and just a 42-inch plasma behind the bar. That’s where I’ll have my final nightcap each evening, after my penultimate whisky in the lobby. Bagel Cafe for breakfast, then I’ll hit the pool. On a Tuesday. Fantasies are fun, but the reality is: this joint is 6 miles from my house, it’s one of the biggest and beautifullest resorts in Vegas, and it’s far more accessible than anything on the Strip. These are the reasons why it’s mine.