“Chicagoan Delight,”

Park MGM, 702.730.6700

Chicagoan Delight Steakhouse serves a variety of classics

If you want the truly authentic, old-school restaurant experience, there’s a few different ways you could accomplish that: You could head to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or any of the other large cities that launched legendary restaurants; or you could head to Las Vegas, where several outposts of those famous restaurants have replicated, right down to the atmosphere and service you know and love.

One of the best examples of this has to be Bavette’s Steakhouse & Bar, an immediate hit when it opened, and still one of the top must-visit restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip. Originally opened in Chicago, this version has all the details you’ll look for in a high-end steakhouse—red leather booths, chandeliers, dark woods and even an antechamber where you’ll check in and wait for your table.

Once you settle into your booth or table, start your evening right with a classic cocktail like the Old Raj Classic, made with Old Raj gin, Dolin Dry vermouth and chartreuse, and Bavette’s Punch, a delicious blend of El Dorado three-year rum, maraschino liqueur and grapefruit.

The appetizers here are all equally tempting, but we recommend the tenderloin steak tartare, served with a slow-cooked egg and dijonnaise, the peppered duck and goat cheese terrine, which you can eat on toast, or the baked goat cheese, so flavorful and served with fine herbs and red sauce and a slice of garlic bread to scoop it all up.

At a restaurant like Bavette’s, odds are you want to try a steak, and whether it’s a 22-ounce, 42-day dry-aged ribeye or a 16-ounce bone-in filet mignon, you really can’t go wrong here (make sure to enhance whatever you order with roasted bone marrow or warm king crab Oscar). Plentiful side dishes include truffle mac and cheese, elote-style corn and maple-sweetened thick-cut bacon, practically a main course.

There’s also an amazing roasted chicken, served with an olive oil potato purée, and a short rib stroganoff, accompanied by button mushrooms and hand-cut fettucine. But there’s one other highlight here you might not expect—an 8-ounce griddled cheeseburger served with hand-cut fries. Add a farm-fresh egg and thickcut bacon to really put this over the top.

The desserts here, like Bavette’s itself, are true classics. I recommend ordering several and sharing, as all are equally excellent, from the lemon meringue pie with an epically high meringue, chocolate cream pie and carrot cake. –Ken Miller

Fun Time for All

It’s all-in-one-Vegas-fun at O’Sheas. The famed Irish-themed venue is a longtime favorite of visitors and locals and is part mini casino (with roulette and blackjack tables), part college-themed fun (there’s beer pong) and part bar and lounge (three bars, and one of them is great for people-watching , being outdoors right along the Linq Promenade). Take your pick from the eight beers on tap and specialty cocktails like the frozen Irish margarita and the frozen Bailey’s cocktail. Then get ready for a night of unadulterated enjoyment. –Kiko Miyasato

The Linq Hotel, 702.835.5723

Sahara Las Vegas, 702.761.7610

Creative Finds

There are many creative dishes at Bazaar Meat by José Andrés, but some of the most inventive ones from the chef have to be the cones—bite-sized morsels filled with seafood options, like the Bagels & Lox Cone, filled with salmon roe and dill cream cheese or the Caviar Cone, with crème fraîche, Carelian caviar and chives. For many people, no visit is complete without indulging in at least one.

But there are many other reasons to dine here— you’ll find salmon, beef and even tomato tartares, plus carpaccio, sausage and acorn-fed Iberian ham on the starters. And, yes, that ham conveys the taste of acorns. Main entrées lean toward meat (as the name says) in a huge array, with the fire pit items including bone-in strip loin, skirt steak (pictured) and rack of lamb. The origin of each item is noted on the menu. The sides are quite decadent as well: roasted leeks; Brussels sprouts petals with lemon purée and lemon air; buttered potato purée, earning its menu description of “butter, butter, more butter, some potatoes.” –Nina King

What a Doll!

Perhaps the most popular toy in history has her own homage in Barbie: A Cultural Icon. It features more than 150 vintage dolls, plus interviews from some of the designers responsible for the dolls.

“Barbie has an amazing and inspiring history,” said Tim Clothier, the CEO of Illusion Projects Inc., which partnered with toymaker Mattel to produce the exhibit. “There is a real sense of nostalgia when you see what was happening in the world, and in Barbie’s world, when you were a kid—and then follow the story to how she’s impacting our world today.”

For Barbie fans, the holy grail might be the display with the very first doll that Mattel produced in 1959. The first Barbie Dreamhouse is here as well. As someone who gave her Barbie a haircut and regretted it in all the years after, this glimpse back in time will be welcome indeed. –Nina King

The Shops at Crystals, barbieexpo.com

SCAN CODE FOR TICKETS

THE ONLY SURE BET IN VEGAS.

• Libation •

Cranberry Mojito

Fresco Italiano offers a nice selection of handcrafted cocktails created by their mixologist. A popular pick to pair with Fresco’s Italian dishes is the Cranberry Mojito mixed with Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit Rose vodka, fresh lime juice, cranberry juice, mint leaves, sweet and sour, and cranberries. If it’s a special occasion, Fresco offers a wide selection of bottled wines from Italy and California as well as champagne, prosecco and Moscato. And if you are celebrating, Baker just might serenade you. (Make sure to let the restaurant know). –KM

Benefit

Baker works Thursday to Monday. You can request seating in his section when you call for reservations.

Michael Nealy Baker

Lead server serenades from the heart

Michael Nealy Baker, senior server for Fresco Italiano at Westgate Las Vegas, will bring you out pasta, lasagna and chicken Parm, but he does more than just serve guests at the Italian restaurant. Baker puts on a show, serenading the tables he serves. (This writer got a little taste of Baker’s singing talents and ... wow!)

“I always want to excel beyond expectation, giving guests something they’ve never seen before,” he says. “An individual or family can come and sit at the table and order their food, enjoy the cocktails and pay their check and go about their business. But the one thing I’ve always believed in, is giving them an experience that they’ll talk about, bring their friends or family back and say, ‘Hey this is what happens!’ The key is to deliver something they didn’t anticipate at this restaurant.”

Baker has a long history of performing: He comes from a performing arts family. There was always music and dancing in his house growing up in cities including St. Louis, Ill., Flint, Mich., and the Bronx, N.Y. When he got into the food and beverage industry as a server 25 years ago, he also began to serenade his guests. When he transferred to Las Vegas in 2000, he continued using those niche talents at restaurants like Top of the World at The STRAT and Carmine’s at The Forum Shops at Caesars. “I was very blessed and very fortunate to gain a large clientele and was fortunate to get the highest award in Las Vegas for service in 2015,” he says. He began to gain a reputation in the industry—and on Tripadvisor—and Westgate got wind of his talents, hiring him in 2017.

“Now I have a crazy amount of requests,” Baker says. “I’ll sing at one table and then I’ve got five behind that. But I want to make it crystal clear—this isn’t about Michael Nealy Baker, no it is not. This is about the Fresco Italiano family. Giving something to all those who walk through our threshold.” –Kiko Miyasato

Ayu Dayclub Wet Republic

Azilo Ultra Pool

Water Works

Dayclubs open doors for another season of poolside partying

While it may still be cold in other areas of the country, the weather is already warming in Las Vegas … and we all know what that means! Dayclubs, baby! Here, pool season has already begun, which means a handful of dayclubs have opened their doors. So don that bathing suit, put on those shades and get to partying poolside.

The newest club on the Strip, Ayu Dayclub at Resorts World, welcomes partiers to its lush, rooftop oasis with a killer lineup of resident DJs and performers throughout the season. This week welcomes Jonas Blue (March 25), Zedd (March 26) and Louis The Child (March 27). Ayu guests can party under the stars beginning at 10 p.m. every Sunday for its Moonbeam parties— this week welcomes Jamie Jones with Marco Carola (March 20) and CamelPhat (March 27).

One of the most-popular rooftop dayclubs, Drai’s Beachclub at The Cromwell, also opened its doors for another season. With luxury cabanas, multiple pools and views of the Strip, this season welcomes performances by Maria Romano (March 25), Tory Lanez (March 26) and DJ Franzen (March 27). With more than a decade of parties, Wet Republic at MGM Grand is back for another season of poolside fun inside its luxury compound with impressive cabanas and bungalows. This week welcomes top DJ talent like Party Favor (March 20), Kaskade (March 26) and Loud Luxury (March 27).

Celebrate Élia Beach Club’s grand opening weekend with special guest performances and festivities March 25-27. The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas dayclub features both EDM and hip-hop artists throughout the pool season, with a special performance by Snoop Dogg on April 2. Don’t miss this one!

Also new this season is Sahara Las Vegas’ new dayclub, Azilo Ultra Pool. Guests at the Moroccan-themed paradise can book cabanas, daybeds and lily pads and enjoy live DJ sets and an eclectic menu of cocktails and light bites. Azilo also offers some great cocktail specials throughout the week. –Kiko Miyasato

All dayclubs are 21+

WITH SPECIAL GUEST COLIN CLOUD

LIMITLESS

Eggs Benedict

Bagels

From breakfast to brunch and lunch, you’re going to find a lot to appreciate at Sadelle’s, an import from New York City that has been a huge hit ever since arriving here in 2019.

The restaurant itself is inviting—lots of Tiffany blue highlights, warm, inviting booths and impeccably appointed tables. The waitstaff is attentive and friendly, and always willing to help you out with any questions. You’ll feel instantly welcome here, especially when you start to sip on classic cocktails like Bellinis, mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Breakfast options all stress highest-quality ingredients and fresh flavors. You’ll definitely want to start your experience here with a bagel (your choice between plain, sesame, everything and cinnamon raisin), as Sadelle’s is famous for them—they are produced in-house under the direction of executive sous chef Minesh Mehta. They’re incredibly light and fluffy, a result of the amount of time spent proofing the dough. In addition to cream cheese, be sure to get all the accoutrements, from salmon and cucumbers to tomatoes and capers. Soooo good!

One of Sadelle’s biggest sellers is the avocado toast, and for good reason: Avocado is mixed with salt, pepper and lemon juice, on top of which pickled red onions and freshly sliced Fresno peppers and avocado are piled. When you add in sea salt, lemon zest, cilantro and poppy seeds, you have a flavor bomb that you’ll be reluctant to share.

No matter how many times you’ve had French toast, you have never tried anything like Sadelle’s version. Whole loaves of brioche are cut and dried for 24 hours. After that, the pieces are soaked in Sadelle’s signature French toast batter for another 24 hours. After being fried at a low temperature and sliced, each half is caramelized on top. If this doesn’t fit the definition of “comfort food,” we’re not sure what will.

Even something as simple as a grapefruit half gets taken up a notch. This version, called grapefruit cocktail, is given a brûlée top with Sugar in the Raw, caramelized with a blowtorch. For those who love sugar on grapefruit, this is a unique treat.

Caviar is used liberally on the menu; enjoy it on any dish (for an additional price). I personally recommend the Bellagio Benedict, topped with Royal Baika caviar from Petrossian.

Make sure to plan a return trip for brunch or lunch. The real signature here is the fried chicken, so delicious with its accompaniment of truffle honey, coleslaw and French fries. But as with breakfast, everything on Sadelle’s menu is worth your time.

Sparrow + Wolf

Inventive Experiences These venues will leave your tastebuds singing

The Las Vegas dining landscape is stacked with familiar flavors that will hit the sweet spot every time, but sometimes you don’t know what you want. Sometimes you want an experimental experience, creative cuisine that pushes the boundaries and introduces something new.

One of the newest edgy eateries in town is Anima (702.202.4291) at the Gramercy center in southwest Las Vegas. Coming from the minds of the team behind the popular EDO Tapas restaurant, this energetic new dining destination blends Spanish and Italian dishes without sacrificing the integrity of either style. Crispy croquetas, one of the most popular tapas dishes, have flavors of cacio e pepe, while cured tuna sashimi swims in aji amarillo escabeche. You’ll want to explore the charcuterie boards with imported ingredients from both regions, but don’t skip the indulgent pasta dishes like truffle cavatelli with bone marrow or leek ravioli in foie gras sauce. Anima is cutting-edge—and unlike any other food experience in Las Vegas.

For fun fusion on the Strip, look no further than the seminal SushiSamba (702.607.0700) at The Venetian and Palazzo, which has satisfied guests for years with its unique combination of Japanese, Peruvian and Brazilian dishes. Start with the crispy Hokkaido scallops served wrapped in butter lettuce and graduate to vegetable tempura and rich wagyu beef gyoza.

Large-format dishes such as the over-the-top Moqueca Mista, an assortment of seafood with coconut milk and chimichurri rice, and the Churrasco Rio Grande, Brazilian-style grilled meats with sides and dipping sauces, are a great way to experience exotic flavors with your entire table.

Chef Todd English has restaurants at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and at the new English Hotel in downtown Las Vegas, but he has reconceptualized the idea of the food hall with The Beast (725.210.5365) at AREA15. The casual concept in the heart of the immersive entertainment district offers a variety of foods, from Buffalo wings to Korean-style corn dogs and beer-battered fish and chips. The Kraken burger boasts five beefy patties in a shareable monument to the all-American meal, and the Beast Breath Smokehouse menu serves up pepper brisket, St. Louis-style pork ribs, hot links and more. There’s a flavor for every preference at The Beast.

Sparrow + Wolf (702.790.2147) in Chinatown has evolved from a neighborhood restaurant into a favorite destination for locals and Vegas visitors. That’s because the menu is always changing in exciting new ways. Currently coming off Sparrow’s wood-fired grill and hearth oven are coal-fired Spanish octopus with chickpea stew, black pepper, and honey Iberico pork with foie gras and roasted plantain, Koji-marinated top sirloin with banchan-style cucumbers, and braised lamb neck with brown butter beans and Parker House rolls. Try the tasting menu if you’re ready to put yourself in the kitchen’s capable hands, or keep it simple and light with cocktails, charcuterie and cheese and the restaurant’s beloved sourdough bread with butter and salt.

Back on the Strip, another new experience is blossoming at Resorts World. Caviar Bar (702.676.7936) is definitely dedicated to its titular delicacy, but at its core, this refined eatat-the-bar experience is an elevation of American seafood with incredible ingredients and craftsmanship. You can opt for a traditional caviar service with some of the best product available anywhere, or enjoy it with imaginative small bites like waffles with smoked salmon or shrimp toast. Chilled shellfish, tartares and crudos await, and main selections include Alaskan black cod, handmade gnocchi with Parmesan cream, and Australian wagyu beef grilled to perfection in miso butter with Japanese mushrooms. This Las Vegas bar will make you feel like you’re dining in the lap of luxury. –Brock Radke

The Beast

Caviar Bar Anima

BY MATT KELEMEN

Keith Urban brings decades of hits to Caesars Palace

Keith Urban makes no secret of his fondness for The Colosseum. The four-time Grammy winner had to discontinue his Keith Urban Live—Las Vegas shows due to the pandemic, but was back at the Caesars Palace theater, which has the option of converting the area in front of the stage into a standing-room pit he prefers, for five concerts in September. Urban was happy to make up for lost time by adding March and April dates to his long-scheduled May performances.

He followed up announcing his revised schedule with the debut of a video for his latest single, “Wild Hearts,” and a date with wife Nicole Kidman at the Feb. 27 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where Kidman was nominated for her role as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. She lost to Jessica Chastain, but the black-clad couple was arguably the most popular subject for the paparazzi.

Urban’s profile is as high as ever in a career that began in earnest when he released his debut album in Australia in 1990. Born in New Zealand, he began playing guitar at an early age and found formative influences in his father’s record collection. Glen Campbell, Charley Pride, Merle Haggard and Don Williams were in heavy rotation at home, and Urban learned from the liner notes of their albums that the recordings were made in Nashville, Tenn. He got his first taste of how audiences react to a performer when drummer Dad took him to a Johnny Cash concert.

A move to Nashville in 1992 led to songwriting for the likes of Tim McGraw, playing guitar with Garth Brooks and forming shortlived band The Ranch. Urban released his self-titled U.S. debut in 1999, and his career quickly took off on the strength of No. 1 single “But for the Grace of God” and follow-up “Where the Blacktop Ends.” His sandy, blondestreaked hair and sandblasted jeans made him a heartthrob, but he had the confidence of knowing he had already paid his dues.

Urban made regular appearances in Las Vegas at Academy of Country Music Awards ceremonies, picking up a slew of awards and expanding his following beyond the country scene when he became a judge on American Idol. He also strove to blend country music with other contemporary music styles and drum programming. His 2020 album, The Speed of Now Part 1, features Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Pink as well as “Better Than I Am,” a collaboration with Adele producer Eg White that features guitar licks that would make Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler proud.

That song was part of his 20song September setlists, which skewed toward newer material. He fingerpicked some scorching lead on a blonde Telecaster during “You Gonna Fly” at his March 1 gig at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, singing a few lines from Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” during the interlude. Expect Urban to dig deeper into his song catalog for The Colosseum, and maybe an appearance in the VIP section by his better half.

Caesars Palace

8 p.m. March 25-26, 30 & April 1-2 starting at $99 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com

By Brock Radke

Jaida Essence Hall brings her talents to ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!’

702.777.2782

Jaida Essence

Hall is the winner of season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and one of four queens who recently joined the rotating cast of the live-in-Las-Vegas version of the popular TV competition program. Since she first hit the stage at the Flamingo Showroom at the heart of the Strip, she’s been dedicated to taking it all in, “opening up to whatever experiences I can have that Vegas can offer me and what I can take from Vegas.” All the performers in this vibrant celebration of a show bring their own unique style and personality, and Hall’s creative spirit is an electric addition to RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!

Have you been enjoying your Las Vegas experience?

It’s been amazing. It’s a lot of work, and this is the first time I’ve done something so big as far as a production show, but it’s been really fun, especially being with all the girls in Drag Race. We’re having so much fun every night, not just onstage but backstage too, and living in Vegas is such a blast. It’s great to be able to see the city off the Strip.

You won on the last season of television’s RuPaul’s Drag Race to be filmed before the pandemic broke out. How did that affect you?

When our season started (being broadcast), we went out for a couple weeks of bookings, but just weekend shows. It did seem like life was really about to take off because I was out in L.A. and San Francisco and Hawaii, and then slowly everything started to get canceled. I was stuck in L.A. for a week, then I had to come home (to Milwaukee). It was difficult to have expectations from the (TV show) and then, for us, it was obviously not going to be like that, and figuring out what it was going to be after making this show that you dream about and having the dream altered. But obviously the pandemic was something no one has experienced before.

I’m sure that makes the Vegas show that much more meaningful for you.

We got really lucky because the fans love the (TV) show so much, and our season was a really good season and the fans have not forgotten us. We were nervous that we might miss out on that connection because of the pandemic, but thankfully, the fans have not forgotten us and they can still show so much support and love here in Las Vegas.

You have created many of your looks and costumes throughout your career. Is that common for a drag performer?

It is common, but also at the same time kind of not. A lot of queens don’t know how to sew, but there are a lot that do. Sewing has been so instrumental in my drag career, because being able to sit down at a machine and create my own garments, or even just sketching them, that has allowed me to create my own unique identity. Our clothes are like a fingerprint to us and what we do in drag.

What are some of your style inspirations?

Inspiration can come from a million different places, especially in drag, because your image can always change, from something extreme and wild to something subtle. I’ve definitely pulled from fashion magazines and runway shows, but there are also a lot of women that are super inspirational to me, and I pull strength and confidence from them to be confident in the looks I choose. Even when I don’t feel that way I’ve learned to play it up, and that’s part of drag but also part of getting by in the world in general.

Scorpions are charging into their residency in Las Vegas

By Matt Kelemen

Unlike many of their peers, the well-traveled members of Scorpions had no qualms about being on tour when they were booked for their first Las Vegas residency in 2016. Germany’s finest hard rock ambassadors had just added former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee and had been supporting their 18th studio album, Return to Forever, when they checked into the Hard Rock Hotel. “You can understand why so many artists, they love playing Vegas because fans come from all over the world to see their favorite artists, and you have your place for band and crew, and you don’t have to move every other day of the year,” singer

Klaus Meine told interviewer Eddie Trunk in 2017. “We like to move around, but all of us, we really enjoyed that residency. It was cool and they treated us really like Elvis. We had the biggest billboard on the Strip.” Six years later, Meine is preparing to check into Planet Hollywood Resort with Dee, guitarists Rudolf Schenker and The Scorpions story dates back much further than that. In 1965, Schenker recruited Meine and 11-year-old brother Michael Schenker for a group influenced by both Merseybeat and British blues. They evolved a hard rock sound throughout the ’70s with Hendrix-influenced Uli Jon Roth after the younger Schenker departed to join the band UFO. Roth left to go solo and was replaced by Jabs, whose fiery playing served Scorpions songs well and helped define the lead guitar sound of ’80s hard rock.The next milestone came when “No One Like You” from 1982’s Blackout became one of the first hard rock hits to be made popular on MTV, with its video shot in Alcatraz and its iconic scene of escaped prisoner Rudolf Schenker, wearing forks as wraparound eyeglasses, smashing a guitar. Two years later, Love at First Sting secured Scorpions’ position in the pantheon of ’80s rock gods. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” became their biggest anthem and the success of “Still Loving You” made rock ballads as standard as spandex stage wear. In 1991, they scored a No. 4 hit with “Wind of Change,” a song inspired by the Soviet Union’s rapidly changing society. The song became an anthem that Scorpions played at the former site of the Berlin Wall in 1999, and at their last concert in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2019. Meine and Schenker both turn 74 this year. Meine’s trademark vibrato is on point and Schenker is irrepressible as ever, adding expressive lead work to standout Rock Believer track “When You Know (Where You Come From).” With each musician exuding health, there’s no reason for Scorpions to hold out on delivering what was best about ’80s rock to original fans and their children, and their children’s children.

Matthias Jabs, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda for Scorpions’ nine-concert Sin City Nights stand at Zappos Theater, with Skid Row opening. Scorpions’ latest album, Rock Believer, finds the band sounding invigorated and enthusiastic, much as they did when Scorpions broke big in America 40 years ago.

Planet Hollywood Resort March 26, 30, April 1, 3, 7, 9, 12, 14 & 16, starting at $100 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com