For a taste of Southern California in Vegas, check out ¡VIVA! by Ray Garcia. This vibrant, beautiful restaurant combines delicious cocktails with a flavorful Mexican menu designed by the award-winning chef Garcia, who also has restaurants B.S. Taqueria and Asterid in the L.A. area.
¡VIVA! offers brunch, lunch and dinner, plus happy hour, so you will be able to indulge at pretty much any hour. Brunch highlights include satisfying chilaquiles (sunny side-up eggs, ranchero salsa and queso fresco over chips); savory chorizo con huevos (scrambled eggs, pork chorizo, fingerling potatoes and flour tortillas); and the decadent ¡VIVA! Benedict (oxtail barbacoa with a sous vide egg and chipotle Hollandaise).
There are also plenty of salads, like the heirloom tomato (with hearts of palm and avocado with Meyer lemon vinaigrette) and the piña asada (wood-grilled pineapple, goat cheese arugula and spiced pecan). Add shrimp or chicken if you wish.
On all menus, tacos will tempt you, from roasted cauliflower to steak, which is made from prime filet mignon, plus entrées like the calabacitas vegan tamal; the costillas—ancho-rubbed lamb ribs; duck mole; skirt steak (which you can add shrimp or lobster to); and wood-fired quesadilla with chicken tinga. The camarones a la diabla come by the heat via the addition of puya chili peppers. And that’s only a taste (pun intended) of what you can order.
And you can’t forget about drinks and dessert! The house margarita, the ¡VIVA!-rita, combines blanco tequila, agave, lime and salt-air foam, but there’s much more to think about, like an extensive list of tequilas and mezcals, plus beer and sangria. A cocktail flight lets you try five specialty drinks, including the ¡VIVA!-rita. And for that sweetness, of course there’s flan, but tres leches cake and churros make the dessert decision hard.
Resorts World Las Vegas, 702.676.6020
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