For the first time, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants annual awards ceremony is coming to Las Vegas. Originally created in 2002 in conjunction with British magazine Restaurant’s list of the top restaurants in the world and now a recognized “barometer for global gastronomic trends” compiled by a panel of more than a thousand experts, the awards ceremony stepped outside of London and began touring the world in 2016. It lands at Wynn Las Vegas on June 5 and will be livestreamed from Encore Theater at 8:25 p.m. via YouTube (find more info at theworlds50best.com).
It’s a big deal for Vegas, and there’s more: the 50 Best Restaurants Signature Sessions bring a slate of showcase lunch and dinner events to Esther’s Kitchen, Casa Playa, Wakuda, Bazaar Meat and other venues June 2-6; Wynn is launching a new food festival Revelry (see page 26) June 5-8; and Resorts World Las Vegas is celebrating with a week-long party dubbed Indulge (June 3-7, rwlasvegas.com/experiences/indulge/), including the official opening and closing events for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, collaborative dinners featuring visiting chefs and the property’s own talent, private parties and more. It all feels a bit like the Super Bowl of food, appropriately positioned in the culinary wonderland of Las Vegas.
After decades of fine dining evolution in our community, does this arrival mean we’ve finally shed that old reputation for questionable casino buffets, fast-food prominence and cheap steak and eggs after midnight? The fancy restaurant and chef awards establishment has never fully recognized the steps that have been taken in Las Vegas, on and off the Strip. So we welcome a spotlight like this one, no matter when or how it shines, and happily amplify it with a colorful glimpse at some of the venues and artists who have elevated cuisine to new levels across the landscape. Some you know and some you may not, but these people and places are among the best examples of how Las Vegas is always pushing food toward art and sculpting the dining experience into an exhibition of talent and imagination.
Milkfish Bakeshop
Amazingness is constantly bubbling up under the surface in this food scene. For proof, look no further than this pandemic-born pop-up inspired by traditions of the Philippines. Pastry chef and mom Kimmie Mcintosh and husband Josh Mcintosh (general manager at Momofuku at the Cosmopolitan) began hosting virtual bake sales during COVID and donating proceeds to different nonprofits addressing racial injustice, garnering attention from local foodies and eventually the Vegas Test Kitchen, which began selling the goods Downtown: brown butter almond cake ube jam sandwiches, black sesame and coconut marble loaf, cashew and coco jam sticky buns.
Yeah, we know it sounds good, but would you believe these treats are so good that Milkfish Bakeshop notched a James Beard Award nomination this year, without a brick-and-mortar location or even a temporary storefront?
“It literally came out of nowhere,” Kimmie Mcintosh says. “A woman who used to work at Test Kitchen tagged us in something [with] the semifinalists, and to see my name on that list was so weird. I thought it was spam and I deleted it and carried on with my day. Then I got tagged again and thought, what if this is real? Then the texts started coming.”
Popular and expensive fine dining restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip have struggled to achieve this recognition, while the three-year-old Milkfish became a semifinalist for the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker award. “We are super-duper small and that’s why it’s so shocking to me, jaw-dropping to represent Vegas that way,” she says. “We’ve had the pleasure of meeting other semifinalists like Steve Kessler [of Aroma Latin Cocina] and his restaurant is just eight tables. It’s just a really awesome thing for us little guys to have a chance to represent our area, as well as these huge names.”
The Mcintoshes don’t run a restaurant and they don’t have plans right now to open an actual bakeshop, but Milkfish will pop up during The World’s Top 50 week, with the 303 in the Cut food truck at Play It Again Sam’s on Spring Mountain Road on June 4 from 6-8 p.m. And yet the soul and spirit of their concept, no matter what form it takes, is emblematic of the creativity and craftsmanship required to clear culinary boundaries.
“For me it’s about becoming closer to my Filipino culture,” Mcintosh says. “Being able to bake these things and coming up with these ideas, and doing research into that culture and history, it’s been great to get back into touch with that.” Milkfishbakeshop.com.
Edo Tapas & Wine
Ask a true Vegas food expert where innovation is happening and you’ll be directed to EDO Tapas & Wine in Chinatown, Anima by EDO at the Gramercy, and soon, a new Spanish-French brasserie concept from Oscar Amador Edo and his partners and collaborators. The newer Anima remains one of the buzziest spots in the Valley, but EDO “is my baby,” says the chef. “The size of the restaurant is right so we can be more creative, change the options more, use a bunch of different techniques.”
EDO’s tasting menu is 15 courses, including an opener with several canapes that are as tasty as they are beautiful. You might come across a bluefin tuna tart with rhubarb, mascarpone and passion fruit. You might taste mussels escabeche with white asparagus, salsify and a gel made with coconut water and yuzu. The flavors and textures can be mind-bending, unlike anything you’ve imagined.
“I think [Las Vegas] is a unique dining destination, but at the same time, restaurants like us are always in the shadow of the hotels, right? I think right now that’s changing,” he says. “More and more people want to see the food off the Strip.” 3400 S. Jones Blvd. #11A, 702-641-1345, edotapas.com.
Safta 1964
Satfa 1964’s blue crab hummus
Introducing different cuisines is always a big part of expanding our dining horizons, and Mediterranean food has been having a moment in the past couple of years. Award-winning celebrity chef Alon Shaya and wife Emily Shaya are the newest contributors, bringing an updated version of their Michelin-recognized Denver restaurant to the Jardin space at Wynn for a “limited-run residency” through the end of the year. From Ora King salmon with red beets and tahini to lamb ragu hummus or Dover Sole schnitzel with tzatziki and pickled shallots, these plates are as exquisite as the Mediterranean flavors we’ve come to appreciate in a greater way in Las Vegas. Wynn, 702-770-5316, wynnlasvegas.com.
Kaiseki Yuzu
Chef Kaoru Azeuchi joined the society of elite Japanese cuisiniers in Las Vegas when he transformed the stellar Yuzu restaurant into a full-on kaiseki experience, honoring the traditional style of progressive, creative courses and complete hospitality. Last year Azeuchi was acknowledged with a James Beard Award nomination and Yuzu expanded its brilliant offerings with an omakase sushi room. No matter which versatile, ingredient-driven experience you choose to explore, this acclaimed destination will provide one of the most memorable meals available anywhere in Las Vegas. 3900 Spring Mountain Road #A5 Las Vegas, 702-778-8889, kaisekiyuzu.com.
Sparrow & Wolf
Sparrow + Wolf’s bánh cuõn with Hudson Valley duck and habanero
Everybody loves the food and drinks at eight-year-old gem Sparrow & Wolf but it’s always been difficult to describe. Let’s just call it inspired cuisine, because it’s always growing and changing, and chef and owner Brian Howard is constantly allowing others to inform that growth and present their inspiration and influence on the plate. “We’re very fluid and free-flowing in the way we work and we want new things moving in and out all the time,” he says. “It’s a tough task for a busy restaurant, but we’re really proud of what the team has done over the years and we’re pushing to be better. The goal is nothing less than one Michelin star level, and I think that’s reasonable and doable.” 4480 Spring Mountain Road #100, 702-790-2147, sparrowandwolflv.com.
Caramá
Caramá’s porchetta
Wolfgang Puck began transforming the local restaurant landscape when he brought Spago to the Strip in 1992; no one has seen dining trends change more—and steadily adapted his business empire for continued sustainability in Las Vegas—in the way Puck has demonstrated. His crystal ball predicts “it’s gonna come back more to the ingredients,” says the legendary chef. “Younger chefs sometimes like to complicate things. I always tell them, I don’t want a chef standing there with tweezers putting little flowers or herbs on a dish. I want a chef cooking the food and tasting the food, that’s the most important part. Flowers are not going to add flavor and to me, it has to be delicious, and if it’s the best quality ingredients, it’s going to look good.” At his newest Vegas restaurant on the Strip, a classic porchetta—pork belly slow-roasted with lots of garlic and rosemary, served with bright salsa verde—is one of Puck’s absolute favorites, because why go cutting-edge if you can’t have comfort? “Everything inside is so rich and tender, and on the outside it’s really crispy, really a delicious dish. Our chef who came up with it, I told him I wish I thought to do it that way.” Mandalay Bay, 702-740-5522, wolfgangpuck.com.
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