January 2018 - The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional

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UNLV Unveils Its New Hospitality Hall and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy

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January 2018

CONTENTS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER MIKE FRYER

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THE LAS VEGAS FOOD & BEVERAGE PROFESSIONAL WELCOMES YOU TO A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018! As we wrap up the final fixings of 2017 and get ourselves ready for an exciting and NEW 2018 we would like to thank our great team of professional journalists, photographers, foodie news hounds and, of course, YOU, our Food & Beverage Professional Readers, without whom we would not exist. Again this year, we will push ourselves to even greater heights to bring YOU the latest F&B news to be better informed! Since 2018 is a NEW year, our theme this month is, of course, NEW! Our January cover feature is dedicated to the NEW Hospitality Hall building on the UNLV Campus and all the people and companies that helped complete this everso-worthwhile project. So fitting for this feature that we chose our UNLV Hospitality student journalist Kimberly Verdin to interview Harrah Hospitality College Dean Dr. Stowe Shoemaker, who has been instrumental in putting this project and personalities together. Congratulations to everyone involved with this NEW building and the lucky hospitality students who will be taught there.

PAGE 6 You’ll hear from our Editorial Director and beer specialist Bob Barnes, whose “What’s Brewing” column shows us the NEW brew happenings and where to find them coming up in the next few months locally.

PAGE 15 Here is an oldie but goodie chef who I first met when he was running the steakhouse at the Palms Casino and have watched him excel year after year. Chef Brian Massie, who now has several NEW restaurants that he and his Clique Hospitality Group run, has a story not unlike a lot of us here in Las Vegas. Came to Las Vegas to work for a year and ended up staying a lifetime! Good work, Chef…

PAGE 20 Chef Allen Asch gives us a NEW introduction to an old traditional food not often seen these days on the culinary or even the home scene, TURDUCKEN. TUR-for turkey, DUCK-for duck, and the EN-for chicken all in one, or as the dictionary explains it, a chicken in a duck in a turkey and all cooked at once. Thank you, Chef, for reminding us about traditional foods we don’t see often these days.

PAGE 22 Human Resources Insights by Linda Wescott-Bernstein introduces us to what she calls “A New Year! A Time for Renewal & Positivity.” Linda tells us: “in today’s topsy turvy world, I believe that there are three (3) key ingredients or values that we all need to have and hold onto…1-Compassion and love for others. 2-Integrity and honesty in all that we do. 3-A strong work ethic. Thank you, Linda, for all your thoughtful insights through the years!

CHEERS! MIKE FRYER SR. EDITOR/PUBLISHER

Page 4 Hot off the Grill!

Page 13 COOK•EAT: Asia Hawaii to Atlantic

Page 5 Wine Talk New Year, New Wine... News that is!

Page 6 What’s Brewing Page 7 Broads of Bourbon A Tale of Two Tastings Page 8 Best of the Best Page 9 Bob’s Beer Bits and Sips

15 www.lvfnbpro.com

Page 14 Twinkle Toast Prepare to Wine While You Dine at Hamptons Page 15 Chef Spotlight Chef Brian Massie Page 16 COVER FEATURE UNLV Unveils Its New Hospitality Hall and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy Page 18 What’s Cooking

Page 10 Cheese Boards: Serving Cheese with Style PART II

Page 20 Chef Talk Turducken

Page 12 Brett’s Vegas View

Page 21 UNLV Epicurean Society

Page 22 Human Resources Insights The New Year!

A Time for Renewal & Positivity Page 23 The Bottom Line The Most Important Menu Items That Customers Never Order Page 25 Dining out with the Harrises Lotus of Siam Opens Its Sprawling New Location in Las Vegas Page 26 Nevada Restaurant Association Announces 2017 Culinary Excellence Award Winners Page 27 USBG Las Vegas Page 30 Events Ad Index

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 3

The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 7442 Grizzly Giant Street Las Vegas, NV 89139 www.lvfnbpro.com

HOT OFF THE GRILL!

January 2018 Mike Fryer

Sr. Editor/Publisher

Bob Barnes

Chaine des Rotisseurs Las Vegas Chapter held its traditional Christmas Induction Ceremony and Champagne Dinner hosted by the Mandalay Bay and held at their Convention Center.

Celeb chefs included Rick Moonen and Charlie Palmer, pictured here with SGWS’ Larry Ruvo and his daughter Lauren.

Elaine & Scott Harris

December had us enjoying the 10th anniversary of CarneVino inside The Palazzo Las Vegas. We were able to get a shot with three of the movers & shakers for the evening, who were Owner-Partner Joe Bastianich, famed butcher Dario Cecchini from the Tuscan village of Panzano and SGWS’ Michael Severino.

Thank you for joining us in this issue of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional.

For any questions or comments please email mike@lvfnb.com

Editorial Director bob@lvfnb.com

Juanita Fryer

Assistant To Sr. Editor ACF Chefs Liasion/Journalist juanita.fryer@lvfnb.com

Editors at Large harris@lvfnb.com

Juanita Aiello

We attended the pre-opening of Black Tap Burger at The Venetian and were amazed at the shake menu containing eight creations which are works of art when presented. The Cotton Candy version is adorned with a blue and pink pearl chocolate rim, a pink lollipop, rock candy, whipped cream and cotton candy. The shakes taste as good as they look! Oh, and they also have a great selection of burgers and craft beer.

Adam Rains

Creative Director juanita@lvfnb.com

Beverage Editor adam.rains@lvfnb.com

Advertising sales@lvfnb.com

Article Submissions/Suggestions articles@lvfnb.com

Calendar Submissions calendar@lvfnb.com

Website webmaster@lvfnb.com

Press Relase Submissions news@lvfnb.com

General Information info@lvfnb.com

@lvfnb

The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional

CONTRIBUTING STAFF

Journalist Wine Talk Alice Swift

Journalist The Bottom Line Ben Brown

Accounting Manager Michelle San Juan

Journalist Brett’s Vegas View Jackie Brett

Journalist Best of the Best Shelley Stepanek

Journalist UNLV Epicurean Society Justin Leung

Journalist Made from Scratch John Rockwell

Journalist Chef Spotlight Leah Schmidt

Journalist Good for Spooning LeAnne Notabartolo

Journalist COOK•EAT: Asia K. Mike Masuyama Ph.D.

Photographer Audrey Dempsey

Journalist Chef Talk Allen Asch

Journalist Al Mancini

Journalist Samuel’s Beer Picks Samuel Merritt

Journalists Broads of Bourbon Mary Powers & Delilah Tennyson

Journalist UNLV Spoon University Vincent Kwan

Journalist Pat Evans

Photographer Joe Urcioli

Journalists Twinkle Toast Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover

Journalist Lisa Matney

Journalist HR Insights Linda Bernstein

4 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

www.lvfnbpro.com

Wine Talk

with Alice Swift

By Alice Swift Alice Swift has been writing Wine Talk since 2011, and has a passion for education and hospitality/ F&B. In 2016, she obtained her Ph.D. in Hospitality Administration from UNLV and moved from the “ninth island” to the island of Oʻahu. She now works for Kamehameha Schools as an instructional designer/project manager, and teaches part-time for UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.

See more at www.aliceswift.com.

New Year, New Wine... News that is!

Happy New Year! As we welcome the 2018 year in, I’ve spent some time reflecting upon 2017. So much has happened, both in the wine world, and in the greater hospitality, food & beverage world. As we move to 2018, let us focus on the positive and innovative things happening in wine and other beverage fields. This year, I will stay abreast of current research and events, paying particular attention to what’s new and upcoming in the beverage industry.

In case you missed it, I will recap three current events from the last quarter that are worthy of note. As I learn about new things in the “wine-iverse” in 2018, so will you…so let’s talk wine!

New Book to Add to Your Collection - Red Wine: The Comprehensive Guide to the 50 Essential Varieties & Styles Whether you are in the wine industry, or just a personal consumer who likes wine, chances are that you know Kevin Zraly, wine educator and author. He is probably most well known for having been the cellar master at Windows on the World restaurant at the One World Trade Center, as well as the creator of Windows on the World Wine School and book. The Wine Guys, made up of Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen, are another well-known set of F&B journalists, educators and more. It’s no wonder that these three would combine forces to author their new book! So what makes this book so unique? For one, the book is focused solely on red wine.

The organization of this book is also contrary to the common methods, as this book tells the story of 50 essential varieties/styles, ordered by grape.

Of course, with most wine education books nowadays, this book is chock full of gorgeous photos and endless tidbits of information from profiles to pairings, history to contributions from industry experts.

New Beverage Distributor Merger–Breakthru Beverage and Republic National Distribution Co. In 2016, I wrote an article about a couple large beverage distributor mergers that year, one of which was the merger between Wirtz Beverage Group and Charmer Sunbelt Group, which formed the new

partnership called Breakthru Beverage (https://lvfnb.com/articles/ Mergers-and-Acquisitions-The-Way-of-Beverage-Distributors-in-20164095d9f389e2). Less than two years later, Breakthru Beverage announced their latest venture with Republic National Distribution Company. On Monday, November 20th, the companies announced their signed letter of intent to merge the two. Sales strategy and expanded footprint seem to be some of the primary reasons why there have been so many mergers and acquisitions in recent years. The partnership is expected to formalize in the second calendar quarter of 2018 subject to approvals.

New Locations for Consumers to Pick Up Ordered Wine – Walgreens & Supermarkets With the slow and steady rise in beverage consumers, the demand for direct to consumer shipping has become more and more difficult for wine retailers and carriers. Rather than relying solely on making purchases physically in retail stores, consumers are choosing to also ship direct to their homes. There are several options for delivery, such as ordering from wineries, or even subscribing to a wine club. However, there are also many online wine retailers who sell wines from a large portfolio, one of the largest being Wine.com. Both Wine.com, and even FedEx shipping has recently begun utilizing wine drop-off points to make their wine deliveries in retail stores such as Walgreens, Albertsons, Safeway, etc. What a great idea, as this adds thousands more locations for consumers to pick up their wine deliveries, and oftentimes could potentially be closer than a FedEx or equivalent shipping pickup location. In addition, there is less restriction on pickup day/times, as opposed to missing delivery attempts through a shipping company. Convenience is key, and the wine industry is picking up on ways to do just that!

Be on the lookout for more news and happenings in the beverage world as we kick off 2018.

Until next month, cheers~!

Alice

www.lvfnbpro.com

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 5

what’s

BREWING

By Bob Barnes Bob Barnes is a native Las Vegan, editorial director of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional, regional correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and covers the LV restaurant scene for Gayot.com.

He welcomes your inquiries.

Email: bob@lvfnb.com

Now that we have entered into a new year and have our new 2018 calendars on our walls, I want to provide you with info on some beer events happening in this and the coming months.

Aces & Ales will begin the New Year in style with its 8th Annual Winter Beer Fest. Held at its Nellis location on Friday, January 12th and at the Tenaya location on Saturday, January 13th, more than 60 rare & specialty brews will be tapped. On both days the fest will begin at 3 p.m. Aces will follow up a month later with its 5th Annual Big Ass Barrel Aged Beer Blowout Bonanza on Saturday, Feb. 17. The event will begin at 3 p.m. at the Tenaya location and feature an impressive list of more than 30 rare barrel-aged brews from around the globe. Visit www.acesandales.com for more info.

Big Dog’s Brewing will host its 8th annual Winterfest, a celebration of hearty stew and beers, on Saturday, Jan. 27 from 3 to 9 p.m. in the outdoor area at the Draft House at Craig Rd. and Rancho Dr. As usual, there will be live music, more than 45 beers poured, including several from local breweries, and admission is free. Festival packages including tokens, commemorative pint glasses, raffle tickets and T-shirts can be purchased in advance. For the lineup of beers being served and to purchase a festival package, visit www.bigdogsbrews.com/festivals/ winterfest.

On February 3 CraftHaus will celebrate its 3rd annual Comrade Day, a celebration of camaraderie with The Las Vegas Distillery and owner George Racz. The event commemorates the annual release of its Comrade Russian Imperial Stout, which was oak aged on the Las Vegas Distillery’s wheat whiskey, and its first ever bottle release of Amigo (which previously was only available on tap), its version of Comrade with Mexican vanilla and roasted chilies. There will be eight different Comrade versions on tap: Comrade 2016, Comrade 2017, Comrade 2018, Amigo 2017, Amigo 2018, Comrade with Cacao Nibs, Comrade with Vesta Coffee and Comrade Wild Card. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit www.crafthausbrewery.com.

On February 24 Atomic Liquors on Fremont St. in Downtown Las Vegas will host the Beer Zombies Beer Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Ticket holders will have access to unlimited craft beer pours from dozens of breweries, including rare beers and some you normally can’t get in Las Vegas. GA (general admission) tickets are $45; GA+ are $55, which includes admission to the Next-Day Bottle Share on Feb. 19; and VIP is 6 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

$75, which includes admission at noon and access to the Next-Day Bottle Share. One draft is included in the price of Next-Day admission and attendees are asked to bring a hard-to-find bottle to share. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit www.atomiccitybrews.com/beer-zombies.

The Nevada Craft Brewers Association (NCBA) will host the 3rd annual Brews N ‘Ques Beer Festival on March 3 from 1-5 p.m. (VIP entry at noon) at the Henderson Events Plaza at 200 S Water St. in downtown Henderson. This fest promises to be one-stop shopping, as it will be an opportunity to try brews from nearly all of our local breweries, as well as some one-off collaboration brews that will only be available that day.

At press time details were still being worked out, so for more info and to purchase tickets, visit NVBeer.com.

On March 31 from 3-7 p.m. (VIP entry at 1) the 6th Annual Boulder City Beerfest will be held at Wilbur Square Park in the heart of the historic city. The park is located just two blocks from Boulder Dam Brewing, which is where you can buy tickets in advance (they are also being sold at Khoury’s). The only beerfest currently held in Boulder City, it will have more than 30 brewery tents pouring close to 100 beers, live music, food for purchase from eight food trucks, “beer centric” specialty vendors, homebrewing demonstrations and the brewers games hosted by the Nevada Beer Lovers. For more info, a list of breweries or to purchase tickets, visit bouldercitybeerfest.com.

Time to mark your calendar for the 8th annual Motley Brews Great Vegas Festival of Beer, which will return to the streets of Downtown Las Vegas on April 6 and 7. It is expected to draw 10,000 attendees over the two days and is Nevada’s largest craft beer festival in terms of amount of beers poured, offering tastings of more than 500 craft beers from more than 100 breweries. The Friday night event, the Mad Craft Experience from 7-10 p.m., will feature beer paired with culinary creations from some of the top establishments in the local culinary scene. The next day, The Great Vegas Grand Tasting will be held from 3-7 p.m. with early entry at 2 p.m. For more info and to purchase tickets visit greatvegasbeer. com. Buy your tickets early, as prices increase closer to the festival dates.

As always, great beer happens in Vegas! www.lvfnbpro.com

BOURBON

of the diverse whiskies that Beam Suntory own.

The evening was exclusively a cocktail-forward food pairing conspired primarily by Mixologist Jennifer Yim and Head Chef Steve Gotham, which heavily played the flavor notes of each cocktail with each of the five courses. One of the most interesting pairings was a Scotch-based cocktail topped with an Arbeg whipped cream and Fernet drizzle served with pan roasted fois gras on a cinnamon roll brioche. There was a lot going on here. We were a little reluctant with the sweetness of the cocktail at first, but it really complemented the richness of the fois gras and the cinnamon from the brioche. Several other eccentric pairings followed and by the end of the night we finished with a matcha crumble chocolate pudding and a nice high proof whiskey. Bobby G did an excellent job of sharing the history of each whiskey featured and even gave his own opinion on the origin of the word stemming from “uisce beatha.” The featured spirits of the evening included: Tyroconnel Irish Whiskey, Candian Club Rye, Suntory Toki, American Oak Scotch, Knob Creek Rye and Little Book—the newest edition to the Booker’s family and tied with Toki as our overall favorite for the evening. We even left with a gifted bottle of Knob Creek: whiskey, pudding, fabulous food, and did we mention whiskey and pudding?

Overall a wonderful event to polish off tastings with the Beam Suntory portfolio and delicious cuisine from Rose. Rabbit. Lie.

photos by Mary Powers

A Tale of Two Tastings

Mary Powers and Delilah Tennyson are a couple of whiskey enthusiasts from Las Vegas, NV known for their humoristic and unconventional whiskey reviews on YouTube. They are the ladies of Broads of Bourbon. thebroads@broadsofbourbon.com Instagram: @broadsofbourbon Youtube: @broadsofbourbon Facebook: @bourbonbroads

Delilah in her natural habitat.

Women and Whiskey – Bottiglia Enotecha at the Green Valley Ranch Being able to pair whiskey with a full course dining experience is a bit trickier than your normal whiskey flight. There ends up being a mixed crowd; some want pure spirits, others prefer cocktails and we just keep thinking about the charcuterie board. Beam Ambassador Megan Breier did a great job on creating a balance between Chef Brian Massie’s Italian fare and pairing Maker’s Mark cocktails and spirits. Guests got to sample three neat pours and two cocktails that embodied a light not too sweet taste that complemented each course. This was a great way for a lot of the first timers to ease out of their sweet drink comfort zone and into a more spirit-forward presentation. Flash forward about two hours later to Delilah and I at a high stakes black jack table wearing someone else’s sunglasses singing “Careless Whisper” with a group of foreigners while exchanging holiday cookie recipes and still managing to make it on time to work the next morning—thanks Megan.

Tangent aside, the spirit sampling included: Maker’s Mark, Maker’s 46, and Maker’s Mark Cask Strength. This particular whiskey www.lvfnbpro.com

photo by Ashley Flaig

Broads of

By Mary Powers & Delilah Tennyson

traditionally uses wheat instead of rye, which creates a lighter and milder taste. Maker’s Mark got its famous recipe by baking tons of bread to figure out what mixture of grains would yield a delicious smooth whiskey. Over time they released Maker’s 46 (only made during the winter months), and Cask Strength, which is unaltered and uncut. Maker’s 46 is definitely our favorite and love what the new aging process does to an already spectacular whiskey or whisky (Maker’s Mark spells it whisky to honor their Scottish heritage). In our opinion, you can’t go wrong with Maker’s Mark and delicious Italian food, so this night was a definite win for the Broads.

World of Whisk(e)y—The Study—Rose.

Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas First of all, the Study looks like the place Charles Darwin used to go to hide from his kids. A perfect spot with low lights and an aged atmosphere (plenty of old school relics on display) to blend in if you are looking for a place to hide away and enjoy a cocktail. Hosted by Luxury Specialist Jessica Zivkovitch and Beam Suntory Master Mixologist Bobby Gleason, the evening was full of storytelling with an intimate look into several

Maker’s Mark fist pump.

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 7

By Shelley Stepanek

Best of the Best

8 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

photo by Shelley Stepanek

Jeremy Coleman

Cafe Hollywood interior

photos courtesy Cafe Hollywood

Cafe Hollywood, a fun throwback color boutique from the 60s with a brand new design, has replaced Planet Dailies inside Planet Hollywood Casino. Dailies had a ceiling “flood” so voila, a new restaurant concept occurred. Some of the menu items are the same, but with many more added. From Florentine Benedict for breakfast, or the California pig or egg white omelet, fruit/yogurt and granola, or croissant French toast, to country fried steak or a breakfast burrito, Hollywood has it all. There are 15 appetizers on the lunch menu alone. The citrus kale salad is fresh and appealing along with a chicken and avocado sandwich. The burgers are cooked to perfection, or try Singapore noodles, black pepper tenderloin, or the kung pao trio if you are in the Asian mood. Lots of different pastas and specialties of black & bleu NY strip steak, to a mouth-watering ribeye. Plenty of grilled veggies, to include portobello mushrooms, tomatoes on the vine or sides of cilantro or jasmine rice, or asparagus or broccoli.

Up late at night? They start all over again with eggs and omelets and burgers. My favorite host in town, Jeremy Coleman, heads up this new venue along with all the Buca’s in town. Executive Chef Gary Mitner and General Manager Sebastian Buquoy are warm, experienced and happy to take care of any requests. Open twenty-four hours, right by the escalator heading upstairs inside the casino. They also have a private room that can host up to 75, where I am putting on a luncheon in January.

North Italia has opened at Rampart Commons at Ft. Apache and Rampart in Summerlin and is the first to open in Nevada. North Italia redefines scratch daily entrees, like pizzas, pastas and more. Signature dishes include prosciutto bruschetta with crescenza cheese grilled with asparagus and truffles; the pig pizza with spicy pepperoni, soppressata and Italian sausage; and seasonal vegetable salad in the winter months with butternut squash, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, radicchio, pecorino, farro, pistachio and vinaigrette. Seven thousand square feet with open and air atmosphere greets a diner. Along with the bar, North Italia can host up to 254 guests, including 95 on the patio. This is the 12th North Italia in the U.S. belonging to the Fox Restaurant Concept’s collection. Open seven days a week, weekday lunch is 11-4, brunch Sat. and Sun. 10-4, dinner Sunday to Thursday 4-10, and Friday and Sat 4-11. 702-507-0927.

Another Shake Shack has opened in the North Premium Outlet mall.

Popping up all over town, Shake Shack locations are growing strong.

Known for their burgers, fries and malts, there is usually a long waiting line. The last new location at The District has been a great hit. They are known for their antibiotic-free Angus beef burgers, chicken burgers with no added hormones, flat-top dogs and fresh-made frozen custard, along with beer, wine and more.

Here’s a few of their custards to think about: Shack Attack (chocolate custard, fudge sauce, chocolate truffle cookie dough), Mast Brothers Shake Shack (dark chocolate chunks, topped with chocolate sprinkles), Coffee Toffee (vanilla custard, coffee marshmallow sauce, chocolate toffee and chocolate sprinkles) and Pie Oh My (vanilla custard and slice of four & twenty blackbirds seasonal pie).

Shake Shack’s has a commitment to green architecture and eco-friendly construction, so this location was constructed with recycled and sustainable materials. Booths are made from lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and table tops are made from reclaimed bowling alley lanes. There are now 90 locations in 19 states along with 50 international locations. shakeshack.com | facebook.com/shakeshack | @shakeshack RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay is a longtime staple in Las Vegas. With its long bar, plenty of seating and extensive menu, RM Seafood, owned by Chef Rick Moonen, hosted a few of us month. It was Rodeo Week, so the menu was quite a bit different. We had buckets of bread filling with hot clam chowder, a delicious mac’ n cheese, poor boy sandwiches right from New Orleans and buckets of beer. Our servers came around in short shorts and big cowboy hats. Located right at the escalator heading up to the mall, it’s easy to get to. Chef was personable to everyone and we were all happy to say hello to everyone.

Shelley Stepanek is President of DSA, the oldest non-profit tourist association in the state, along with being on the board of ticket brokers. Shelley has previously owned three restaurants.

Cafe Hollywood sweet samplings www.lvfnbpro.com

Bob’s Beer Bits and Sips

By Bob Barnes

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig As our weather turns frosty, the spotlight shines on Sam Adams Old Fezziwig Ale (5.9% ABV), a spiced brown ale made for winter. Packed with spices including cinnamon, ginger and orange peel, it will go well with any cookies and sweets left over from the holidays. The name is taken from the festive Dickens character in A Christmas Carol, and festive it is, with roasted caramel and chocolate malts giving it a full body. Brewed since 1995, its part of the brewery’s Winter Sampler Pack and also is available in six-packs.

Ninkasi Ground Control Style Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout The name alludes to the fact that this beer is out of this world. This rich, complex imperial stout is brewed with Oregon hazelnuts, star anise and cocoa nibs, and is fermented with an ale yeast that survived a trip in a rocket to space and back. This third-edition release was also aged in Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrels, and at 10% ABV it is ready to enjoy now or suitable to cellar for later.

Firestone Walker XXI Anniversary Ale Firestone Walker is celebrating its 21st anniversary with its XXI Anniversary Ale, a blend of five barrel-aged beers created with help from friendly local winemakers. The Anniversary Ale blending session has become an annual late-summer rite at the brewery, and the 2017 session took place on August 22 with 27 winemakers in attendance. This year’s version is an 8.5% ABV mix of five of the California Central Coast brewery’s beers aged in spirits barrels: 42% Velvet Merkin oatmeal stout, 18% Parabola Russian imperial oatmeal stout, 17% Stickee Monkee Central Coast quad, 14% Bravo imperial brown ale and 9% Helldorado blonde barleywine. This marks the first inclusion of Helldorado aged in premium Jamaican rum barrels, which imparts notes of island spice and molasses.

Garage Brewing Company Garage Brewing Company asserted itself as a brewery not afraid to experiment with flavors not normally found in beer, and past creations have included the use of marshmallow, mango, lemon, lime, ginger and chile peppers, just to name a few. Four of its latest releases are proof positive that the Temecula, California-based brewery has no intention of changing its reputation. Hitting the shelves are Peppermint Stout (5.9% ABV) aged with real vanilla beans and balanced by a minty finish; Belgian Style Strong Ale (9.4% ABV) with addition of nutmeg and cinnamon; Apple Pie Pale Ale (5.4% ABV) with apple juice and spice; and Chocolate Orange Milk Stout (7.1% ABV), a confectionary doppelganger merging sweetness with the roastiness of a stout.

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January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 9

Made from

SCRATCH Cheese Boards:

Serving Cheese with Style Part II

By John Rockwell John Rockwell is a native Southern Californian and career English teacher working in the Riverside area.

In his spare time, he rides his bicycle to breweries, restaurants, and cheese shops, and is always looking for culinary delights within riding distance of the vast network of SoCal bicycle trails.

He is an ardent fan of the waiver theater culture in Los Angeles. He is new to cheesemaking, but has been a homebrewer for over twenty years.

photos by John Rockwell

There is a difference between cheese platters and cheese boards. Cheese platters are stacked with cheese, meats, nuts and fruit, and are meant for large groups—they are made for feeding frenzies. Boards are about presentation and appreciation. A good cheese board is almost like a painter’s palette—actually that’s a good metaphor, because tasting is sometimes about seeing the “colors” separately, but also about blending, pairing and experimenting. A good cheese board features cheese as part of a panoply of textures and senses—sweet, salty, hard, soft, sour, acidic, savory or blue, just to name a few possibilities.

Cheese Cave Claremont 325 Yale Ave, Claremont, CA 91711 909-625-7560 The ever-popular Cheese Cave in Claremont Village may not have a lot of seating area for cheese sampling, but you can custom order just about anything and have it wrapped or pre-cut and placed in an attractive box for take-out. When they do create a cheese board, it is always an attractive and artful presentation. The cheese board demonstrated here features some interesting cheeses that can’t be found even in high-end grocery chains. In November, their sister shop, DTLA Cheese, offered a $25 cheese board where you could choose five samples—cheese, salumi or both.

Cheese Cave is the perfect stop for creating your cheese board because you can buy all of the accouterments—nuts, dried fruit and Cornichon—prepackaged and ready to create your perfect cheese board at home.

10 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

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Highland Park Brewing / Hermosillo Bar 5127 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042 323-739-6459 A couple miles down the street from Occidental College, Highland Park Brewing is unique in the world of California’s no-food production breweries—it shares space with the Hermosillo Bar, so it is able to serve food and host guest taps from mostly local-area breweries. Highland Park beer is awesome with its strong offerings of Saisons, Pale Ales and Stouts, but if you’re in the mood for Eagle Rock, Craftsman, Beachwood or Noble, you have some wonderfully tough decisions to make.

I love ordering cheese boards in bars because I know it’s not going to be some rare cheese that’s hard-to-find—it’s going to be crowd pleasers, and it’s probably going to give you a little more food for the money.

Case in point is the “Cheese & Charcuterie” board, with three cheeses and three meats, ringing in at $16. You can order a cheese-only or meat-only version for $10, but why not get the best of both worlds? The featured cheeses when I visited were St. Agur’s Blue, Spanish Cana de Cabra (a Spanish version of Bucheron) and Bianco Sardo, an Italian hard cheese similar to a Parmesan. The meats were Chorizo Navarre, Loukanika and a delightful Pork Pistachio Pate. As you can see, the nuts, butter-toasted crostini, fresh apples and honeycomb made this board a nice mixture of textures and sweet and savory flavors.

Congregation Ale House 619 N Azusa Ave, Azusa, CA 91702 626-334-2337 With three locations (or “chapters” as they like to call them) in the greater Los Angeles (Azuza, Pasadena, Long Beach), Congregation has always had a stable lineup of pub fare. Their cheese board appetizer, ringing in at $10, is a deal with its generous portions of a generic cheddar, blue cheese, and Chimay’s a la Premiere semisoft cheese. Served with pita bread and apricots, the board is a nice appetizer fit for sharing with a group.

Instead of making breakfast on Sunday mornings, I like to serve cheese to my family of four. Cheese is surprisingly filling, and except for the butter-seared crostini, preparation is fairly quick. On the board above, I selected Jasper Hill’s washed-rind Willoughby, Vermont Creamery’s St. Albans (a runny St. Marcellin style), and a colorful French Mimolette—a style where cheese mites help to form the rind. Prunes, dried apricots, and a fig jam round out the savory cheese with some sweetness.

On the board on the right, I went for a simple presentation of Vermont Creamery’s Bonne Bouche, an ash-ripened goat cheese, French Pontl’Évêque (bottom left), and Italy’s La Tur, a goat, cow, and sheep milk brie that is nothing short of amazing at just about any stage of ripeness. As you can see, I like sweet on Sunday mornings, and avoid nuts and meats. Like all food, that is entirely a matter of taste.

These places just scratch the surface of cheese boards to be found in the So Cal area. With breweries like Stone and Taps regularly carrying artisan cheese on their menu, the proliferation of gastropubs and wine-tasting shops offering cheese boards, and of course, the slow growth of cheese-centric shops in So Cal, I hope to see more cheese on menus in the region. It fits in well with the tasting ethos sweeping the food and beverage scene. www.lvfnbpro.com

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 11

Brett’s

By Jackie Brett

Jackie is a freelance public relations specialist and writer specializing in the Las Vegas entertainment and travel scene. Her writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers nationwide and on numerous websites.

Email: jackiebrett@cox.net

European/Asia hit fire show Inferno will open at Paris Jan. 24 featuring European illusionist Joe Labero and pyro aerial group, The Fuel Girls.

Spiegelworld, creators of Absinthe, will launch the world premiere of another show: Opium at The Cosmopolitan on March 13. Meanwhile, balancing trio Silicon Valley Girls joined the Absinthe cast at Caesars Palace.

The Voice: Neon Dreams is a brand new 360-degree live concert show coming to the Hard Rock Hotel in June 2018.

Tony Award winning actor Kiril Kulish has joined BAZ—A Musical Mash-Up at The Palazzo as Scott the Ballroom Dancer.

Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man at Paris has two new headlining stars: reality TV personality Scheana Shay and recording artist-MTV star Chester Lockhart.

Circus 1903 ends its engagement at Paris Jan. 7 and Vinnie Favorito closed his Westgate residency to move his family to Boston.

ABC’s Dancing With The Stars Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy are back with an all new show adding Peta Murgatroyd. Their tour will visit The Smith Center May 16.

AJ Lambert will perform a monthly Fridayresidency at The Space beginning Jan. 12 at 10 p.m. featuring one of her grandfather Frank Sinatra’s 1950s albums.

Jennifer Lopez’s final performances of her headlining residency at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood will run June 13 through Sept. 29.

Pitbull will return for a fourth year there in 2018 for 13 performances of his show, Time of Our Lives.

Donny & Marie have extended their Flamingo residency through 2018 and Piff the Magic Dragon’s show in Bugsy’s Cabaret is also extended through 2018.

Legendary DJ Tiësto has extended his multiyear residency with Hakkasan Group headlining Vegas’ top nightlife and daylife destinations through 2020.

Country superstars Old Dominion will bring their Happy Endings World Tour, featuring special guest Michael Ray, to the Sandbar Poolside Stage at Red Rock Resort on Friday, April 13 as part of the 2018 ACM (American Country Music) Party For A Cause.

Rap superstar Jeezy will bring the Cold Summer Tour to House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Thursday, Feb. 8.

Portugal. The Man is part of The Chelsea lineup inside The Cosmopolitan on Friday, April 13.

Mel Brooks will return for two exclusive performances at Wynn April 27-28.

DINING DYNAMICS

Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace will have its grand opening Friday, Jan. 26 with public festivities at 4 p.m. The 300-seat culinary venture will have perimeter floor-toceiling windows.

The Palms opened A.Y.C.E. (All You Can Eat) buffet with worldly cuisine presented in an innovative, technique-focused fashion in an open food hall with communal tables and seven different food stations.

Eureka! will open in the Emergency Arts Building in Downtown’s Fremont East District in February. The 70-seat eatery with a patio will specialize in American classics with a modern twist.

Brooklyn Bowl at the The Linq Promenade has a seriously sustainable upgrade to its menu with the addition of The Impossi-bowl Burger, a carnivore-duping plant-based patty

by Impossible Foods.

New York City staple, The Halal Guys, opened its second Las Vegas-location inside the Forum Food Court at Caesars Palace offering gyros and falafel.

Local Lip Smacking Foodie Tours’ newest adventure is the Ultimate Steakhouse Experience highlighting three premier venues: Carnevino at The Palazzo; Bazaar Meat in SLS; and Jean Georges Steakhouse in Aria.

Shake Shack opened its fifth location in Southern Nevada at the open-air village-styled Las Vegas North Premium Outlets.

Pizza Forte opened its second location in the T-Mobile Arena.

12 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

NEWS ABOUT TOWN

China Lights lantern festival will debut at Craig Ranch Regional Park Jan. 19-Feb. 25 with 40 larger-than-life illuminated lantern displays, cultural-dining options and entertainment.

The Twilight Zone by Monster Mini Golf opened an indoor monster themed glow-in-thedark 18-hole miniature golf course at Bally’s with candlepin bowling and games.

The Auto Collections at The Linq displaying vintage cars since the early 1980s closed. From Jan. 2-Feb. 28 vehicles and everything will be on sale (call 702-794-3174).

Minus5 Ice Experience has unveiled a new experience with a lunar landing, ice castle and sea experience inside The Shoppes at Mandalay Place.

Wynn’s American steakhouse Country Club on the Wynn Golf Course will close after brunch on Jan. 14 for construction of the resort’s Paradise Park manmade lagoon.

The Golden Nugget’s new sleek nightlife venue, Troy Liquor Bar, replaced the secondstory Gold Diggers nightclub.

The multi-level Chandelier bar at The Cosmopolitan has received upgrades including new furniture, colors and spaces.

Harrah’s has a brand new lobby bar with charging stations located in the hotel lobby of the recently remodeled Valley Tower.

The Luxor unveiled its newly remodeled rooms as the hotel continues the redesign of more than 1,700 hotel rooms in its East and West Towers.

Planet Hollywood completed a $100 million, 2,496-room renovation as part of Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas portfolio 23,000room renovation program, now half done.

Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. at Treasure Island has new private event space overlooking the Strip.

Drybar focusing on hair blowouts opened at The Cosmopolitan.

Cesere Brothers Photography specializing in fine art underwater imagery opened at the Fashion Show mall.

The Neon Museum offers Photo Walks in the Neon Boneyard with sessions coinciding with sunset.

AAA is sponsoring the nation’s first self-driving shuttle pilot project for the public in Downtown Las Vegas. www.lvfnbpro.com

photo courtesy Sichuan Tianyu Culture Communication Co., Ltd

photo courtesy Anna Vinterall photography

ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE

By K. Mike Masuyama Ph.D.

COOK•EAT: Asia Hawaii to Atlantic

Mike Masuyama is a bi-cultural science-technologybusiness consultant. He earned a Ph.D. in Food Science at Cornell University, is involved in teaching, research and business in major-beer, micro-beer, soft drinks, sake, sea salt, rice, white soy sauce and other areas both in Japan and the US., and has published several books and dozens of articles.

“West Eats East” was his last series in this journal.

Hawaii: once called the Sandwich Islands, located in the center of the Pacific Ocean, like croutons floating in the vast ocean soup rather than sandwiches. Due to its specific location, Hawaii plays a key role in the transpacific oceangoing for trade, fishing, military and migration. As a result, all kinds of people come and go: The Polynesian, Portuguese, Spanish, Asian, European and American stopped for supplies or rest and some settled down. They keep their own food cultures, though with local resources, as much as possible, but eventually and inevitably blended with each other. Then pineapple and sugar plantations drew more people from Asia, further integrating people and food cultures. Today tourists flood all parts of the islands to enjoy its Pacific cultures, natural beauties and ethnic-fused foods. As a matter of course, you can enjoy all kinds of good surf and turf foods in the mainstream as well. Soy sauce is locally made for flavoring Asian foods or BBQ sauces and also poke—chunks of tuna marinated in soy sauce and other ingredients. You may see it in J-grocery stores in the southern California today. Poke sushi rice bowls are good.

West Coast: Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego are places where people disembarked from or embarked to the Pacific Ocean and beyond for migratory works, immigrations or military missions. Asian people went inland or settled down there, so as did their food cultures. As a matter of fact, chopsticks, two pieces of sticks to eat, appeared to Americans’ eyes giving a culture shock for the first time. Also another thing, soy sauce for anything to eat, was called by Americans as bug juice for the color when crushing a bug between fingers. Chinese food gradually went to Gold Rush people who hired Chinese as cooks.

Japanese food became visible after WWII, mostly sukiyaki, which is less seen nowadays. Korean food is emerging into the mainstream with Kimchee and electronics. The West Coast was an epicenter of spreading the Asian food culture.

Midwest & Central: Wherever I go for business or vacation, a Chinese restaurant is an option to eat moderately. In addition to Chinatowns in big cities, they are at college towns and tourist locations. Even in a remote, unthinkable place, there is always one like North Vernon, ID or Hot Springs, SD in my memory. Thus, Chinese restaurants are all over the country or even the world for cozy, not-much-expensive but exotic family eating places. Thai restaurants follow likely with more southern Asian flavors or less oily, clear appearance trying to upgrade Chinese foods with a white tablecloth, some say. Today new settlements of diverse Asian populations are visible in traditional locations of the central regions but unlikely much integrated into the mainstream eating yet like the one on the way from New Orleans, LA to Biloxi, MS. East Coast & Atlantic: Today sushi and other Asian foods are well

mingled at the eastern seaboard from New England to Florida. Despite its distant location from Asia, this area had a tie with Asia around the middle of the 19th century. Whale oil, though for a brief duration, was our energy source, particularly for lighting. Whale ships went to the Pacific from RI or southern MA like Fairhaven or New Bedford, and brought back something from Hawaii or Asia including Japanese shipwrecks. A rescued Japanese youth became the first naturalized US citizen and met three presidents. Today Boston, NYC and D.C. are blending places of politics, money and food. Particularly NYC appears to be the one to draw new rich or stable Asians from their home countries. It seems to be a new epicenter to spread an authentic Asian food culture and also it’s fusing versions throughout the country.

www.lvfnbpro.com

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 13

TRADITIONAL YET NEW Perfect Soy Sauce Flavor without the Color!

A golden color white soy sauce No burnt dark soy sauce flavor No darkening color in cooking Remarkable for sea foods, veggies, pasta, fusion and natural foods

www.whitesoysaucefood.com

HAMPTONS Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd.

702-916-1482 Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., or 11 p.m. on Friday. Hamptons also offers a weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a daily happy hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

14 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

photo by Erin Cooper

Hamptons, located in Tivoli Village, is a brandnew concept created for Las Vegas by Heinrich Stasiuk’s Wild Thyme Restaurant Group.

Although Hamptons might be new, it already earned a place in Eater Las Vegas’ 2017 Eater Awards. It was ranked among the top 5 prettiest restaurants in town, and was the only off-Strip restaurant to be recognized in the bunch.

Hamptons’ Operating Partner, Howard Klubeck, describes their concept as an “upscale watering hole.” Its industrial-chic décor and modern American cuisine offer a beautiful yet comfortable environment that is a perfect fit for a Sunday brunch or casual bite and cocktails as well as a romantic date night. Hamptons also boasts an outdoor patio and a stunning secondfloor dining room for private events.

When we spoke with Chef Jay Bogsinske, formerly of Saint Marc in Huntington Beach, he gave us a little insight into which dishes are proving to be most popular with their guests.

With little hesitation, he noted two stand-outs: The Green Chili Pork Stew with Oaxaca cheese, cornbread, whipped honey butter, charred jalapeño, cilantro leaf and shaved scallion; and the Wild Isles Salmon Mignon with roasted cauliflower, honey and garlic-braised carrots and rosemary cauliflower sauce with caper and raisin emulsion. For those who might be interested in a glass of wine to pair with these delectable dishes, we would recommend trying the Bex Riesling or Jovino Pinot Grigio with the Green Chili Pork Stew, and the Handcraft Pinot Noir or the Louis Latour ChassagneMontrachet rouge, if you are up to ordering a full bottle, for the Wild Isles Salmon Mignon.

Klubeck advised that they are brainstorming ideas for new promotions and events for the new year, and they are excited to offer three featured appetizer pairings with wines from Huneeus Vitners, founders of Quintessa estate, during the month of January. Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Faust Cabernet Sauvignon and Leviathan red blend will each be available with its own appetizer for just $30. Considering that a glass of these wines alone can warrant that $30 price tag, this is quite the steal!

Beginning in January, Hamptons is also planning on offering wine dinners for its patrons. Details are still being confirmed but JUSTIN Vineyards should be the first on the docket. For more information, or to make a reservation, visit www.hamptonslv.com. Space for these wine dinners will be limited.

photo by Tyler Hagan

Prepare to Wine While You Dine at Hamptons

photo by Erin Cooper

Twinkle Toast

By Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover

Erin Cooper and Christine Vanover have been residents of Las Vegas since 2007. Vanover is also a UNLV Alumnus.

Both women are Territory Managers for the Resort Wine Team at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, members of Women Gone Wine and the founders of Twinkle Toast. info@twinkletoast.com • www.twinkletoast.com Facebook: @TwinkleToast Twitter: TwinkleToastLV Instagram: TwinkleToastLV

www.lvfnbpro.com

By Pat Evans

Chef Spotlight Chef Brian Massie

Pat Evans is a writer based in Las Vegas and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a regular contributor to Grand Rapids Magazine, October and The Manual often writing about food, beer and spirits. He has written one book, Grand Rapids Beer, and has more on the way.

Twitter: @patevans Instagram: @patrickmevans.

photo courtesy Clique Hospitality

Brian Massie originally thought he’d live in Las Vegas for a year.

That year has turned into nearly two decades in the restaurant scene here, and the native New Yorker has no immediate intentions of going anywhere. As the executive chef of Clique Hospitality, Massie oversees a variety of restaurants, including Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar at Red Rock Resort. Clique Hospitality restaurants also include Libre Mexican Cantina at Red Rock Resort, and Bottiglia and Borracha at Green Valley Ranch.

What influence does your New York New York. I thought I’d be here a year; that What are the benefits of being off the Strip? upbringing have on your cuisine? was 1998. One year turned into 19.

It’s the complete opposite. It really is. You I’m not necessarily doing the food I did when You mentioned Italy, what did you learn don’t have a built-in audience as much as I was younger; eating around Thanksgiving there? you’d think. We’re a neighborhood restaurant. or Christmas, those are the most memorable All sorts of stuff. I learned a lot about Italian On the Strip your built-in audience is almost things from New York. Or best pizza in food and ingredients and I was definitely out entirely tourism. Then how many covers a Manhattan or New York Italian food. That of my league when I was working there. I came stuff does rub off in a concept it applies to, day times 365 times a year. Really, you might from culinary school and a few restaurants but doesn’t necessarily break in every day. and was working for Lidia Bastianich and told remember the 30, 40, 50 people a year; maybe her I wanted to go to Italy. She was a pioneer of if they make a big impact. In the local scene, Where do you get most of your influence Italian cuisine in New York and had one of the then? you have people coming in three days a week. best restaurants in New York for a long time, You definitely recognize them and they know Everywhere. There’s no one outlet. If you only and she wrote a bunch of recommendations. have one, you’re already behind the times and First one to hit was a three-star Michelin you. That’s your core clientele, that’s a great stuck in a rut. In this business, I always tell restaurant in Erbusco, Guiltier Marchesia. I thing. You build a relationship with them and the cooks, chefs, they’re in a never-ending was so underprepared to work in that caliber, nurture and take care of them and you’re learning process. The more you’re exposed but it was perfect because I was exposed to a creating for them. It’s a great network and to, the more sharp knives in the case. Spend ton, a lot of discipline and consistency and I grassroots style restaurants: you know them, money to go out to eat. We eat different things brought it back here to distill. your kids go to school with their kids, you see and travel and eat in ethnic restaurants.

You have to be exposed to things. You can How is the Strip different than, say, New them at the movies. On the Strip, you never learn so much from TV now, watching the York’s dining scene? saw anyone, unless a local came in. documentaries. I have like 10 magazines that I don’t manage any restaurants on The Strip come to my house and I’m out to eat, five, six, currently, but I had managed on the Strip for With so many restaurants how do you make years. It’s intense. You’re constantly busy, sure you stay involved? maybe 10 times a month. A lot of different and the front door is just revolving with a outlets. built-in audience, whether it rains or snows. I don’t think you can ever spend too much Why move from New York to Las Vegas?

Park Avenue in New York, no one goes out time in a place, and that’s the challenging I was working in New York for Charlie Palmer when it’s raining, and your business suffers. part. You spread yourself and touch base and and he was opening a restaurant in Mandalay No one from the casino leaves. You also have make sure things aren’t changing or they’re Bay. I was part of the opening management really experimental diners from all over the changing for the better. I can’t be everywhere team. I was up for a change, came back from country. Some are better educated or more all the time, so you have to hire and train Italy and working at Charlie’s and I was experienced opposed to being from a small properly and have open communication, and already used to traveling and used to seeing town where people don’t travel or are glued new things and wasn’t set to be glued down to to one cuisine. listen to those people. www.lvfnbpro.com

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 15

UNLV Unveils Its New Hospitality Hall and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy

Cover and feature photos by Audrey Dempsey @infinity photo

By Kimberly Verdin Kimberly Verdin, a Hospitality Management student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, represents the Epicurean Society, a collective of food and restaurant enthusiastic students, where she is on the leadership staff. She’s a Vegas local who believes that there is no end to learning about the hospitality industry.

As the spring semester commences, UNLV hospitality students will be experiencing a number of big changes. These changes may be in the form of job and internship opportunities as well as new coursework. Of course, there is one major change that hospitality students and faculty have been especially looking forward to: the opening of the recently-constructed Hospitality Hall, which is the new home of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. Formerly called the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration, the college changed the name in September 2017 to reflect the fact that the hospitality school does so much more than just teach people how to be hotel managers.

Until last year, the Hospitality College shared the Frank and Estella Beam Hall with the Lee Business School, and space was tight. One of

16 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

the most common complaints among students was that classrooms were so full there was little room to pass through each row. In addition to cramped quarters, students faced long lines to the restrooms between classes. Students also complained about finding places to study, which was never easy in Beam Hall. Basically, the two colleges were just too big for Beam.

The new Hospitality Hall building, located across from UNLV’s Lied Library, was designed to solve many of these problems. The $60 million dollar structure provides 93,500-square-feet of new office, event and learning space and is equipped with spacious restrooms and plenty of common spaces for students and faculty. Other special features include: convertible and interactive classrooms; a PGA Golf Management learning center, with a retail store, simulation lab and an outdoor putting green; a state-of-the-art executive kitchen; a 120-seat auditorium; a student-run café; and a full-service beverage lab (the Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy).

Rather than being named after a single donor like many buildings on the UNLV campus, Hospitality Hall was designed to feature the names of numerous donors, or building “Founders.” The Founders names are highlighted at the entrance of the building as well as throughout the interior spaces, allowing students to be introduced to these companies and the huge impact they will have on their future careers. Without the help of donors like Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands, Konami Gaming, MGM Resorts, Boyd Gaming, Red Rock Resorts, the Marriott Foundation and the Engelstad Family Foundation, Hospitality Hall would not have been possible.

Hospitality Hall will be opening to everyone at the start of spring semester classes on January 16, 2018. A building open house, welcoming in both the campus and the Las Vegas communities, will take place on January 25, 2018 from 4 to 7 p.m., featuring building tours and refreshments. www.lvfnbpro.com

Harrah Hospitality College Dean Dr. Stowe Shoemaker was instrumental in the process of getting Hospitality Hall up and running. Prior to serving as dean, Shoemaker worked in sales and marketing for the hotel industry as well as consumer research, specifically looking at product development for food and beverage companies. Dean Shoemaker kindly offered his time to answer a few questions about Hospitality Hall:

Why do you believe it took UNLV more than 30 years to finally build a home for hospitality majors?

There’s been talk about a new hospitality building for a long time, and the idea for the building has been around since 2006; but for years, economic indicators suggested that it wouldn’t be feasible. Now the economy is at the right stage for having our own building.

Were the needs of hospitality students taken into consideration when designing the blueprints for the building?

We spent a lot of time looking at what makes a great hospitality space and thinking about how we make sure our building mimics that, because if you’re a student and you’re working on the Strip, where you go to school should mirror where you work.

Hospitality Hall is a space where everybody wants to come and hang out, with lots of spaces where you can sit and study. At Beam Hall, there are not a lot of opportunities to gather because it’s mainly classrooms. So in our new building, we made sure there are numerous different little nooks and crannies and a coffee shop that has space where you can get together with your group to study.

How is the hospitality college ensuring that the college’s curriculum reflects what is happening in the industry?

We are actually getting ready to redo our whole curriculum. We brought industry folks in to talk about what the curriculum should really look like to make sure that what we’re teaching is what students need to learn. In terms of technology, one of my advisory board members is a leading expert in technological www.lvfnbpro.com

solutions for hospitality enterprises and is working with a couple of our faculty and with the industry to really say, “What are the tools the industry is using and how do we make sure we’re having those tools available for our students?”

How different is the state-of-the-art kitchen in the Hospitality Hall different from that of the kitchens in Beam Hall?

Welbilt, which is one of the leading foodservice manufacturers in the world of food service equipment, donated all the latest equipment for the kitchen. Every cooking station has combination ovens, or combi ovens, with three functions: convection, steam and combination cooking. In the convection mode, the oven circulates dry heat; the steam mode injects water into the oven to poach fish or steam rice and vegetables; or you can do both together. We have monitors spread throughout the kitchen, so you’ll be at your cooking station and you’ll be able to see the chef while you’re doing what you need to do.

Will the new building better accommodate capstone events and will they no longer be held in the Stan Fulton Building?

Our capstone classes will still be held in Stan Fulton Building and in Beam Hall because of the space needed to serve that many students in the restaurant format. Hospitality Hall will be used mostly for catered events, which works well considering that we have this beautiful balcony that overlooks the Las Vegas Strip.

What exactly is the Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy?

The Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Beverage Academy is where we will be teaching our beverage classes. There will be a working bar so that students [can] really learn everything they need to learn about beverage. What’s exciting is that the Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits team is really helping decide what features should go into the bar to really make this a teachable lab. It will be state-of-the art, and we’re really going to be able to focus on beverages. This means not only learning how to make beverages but

understanding the components of beverage.

[Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits] putting in the Beverage Academy in Hospitality Hall really makes a statement to the industry that we really want our kids [students] to be leaders in the beverage field when they graduate.

Why did the Hotel College decide to have a student-run café in the Hospitality Hall rather than allow Aramark to add another location to the building?

It’s [called] the MGM Café and the director will be Chef Mark Sandoval. He’s created a team of managers who have been interviewing employees [students] to work in the coffee shop. It’s a great opportunity for students to get real applied experience. What we don’t want to happen is to have a student take a bunch of classes, earn a degree, start working in hospitality and go “oh, wow, I didn’t realize that it was like this. I don’t think I’m suited for the hospitality industry.” When you are doing an interview, you can say “when I went to UNLV, I started working in the coffee shop, became manager, was responsible for profit and loss and also worked in hospitality catering. So I have all this great experience and you should look at me as an investment and not just as an employee.”

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 17

By Bob Barnes

What’s Cooking

Bob Barnes is a native Las Vegan, editorial director of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional, regional correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and covers the LV restaurant scene for Gayot.com.

He welcomes your inquiries.

Email: bob@lvfnb.com

Bandito Latin Kitchen & Cantina Offering Daily Happy Hour and Specials for Nearly Every Day of the Week

Bandito is located at 325 Hughes Center Dr. off of Flamingo and just west of Paradise.

18 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

photos by Joe Urcioli

Since opening last fall, Bandito Latin Kitchen & Cantina has become quite the crowd pleasing hangout, serving high quality offerings at reasonable price points. You can save even more during its daily happy hour from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. featuring half-off starters, $5 Bandito Margaritas and $5 draft beer. In addition, Bandito is now offering all-daylong daily specials for nearly every day of the week.

Specials are: Monday: $5 Bandito and Sandia Margaritas Tuesday: two-for-one taco platters Wednesday: half-off bottles of wine Thursday: half-off drinks for industry pros Saturday and Sunday: extended happy hour pricing from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

www.lvfnbpro.com

Since Kitchen Table opened in 2015, there have been throngs of loyal patrons making their way to its location in Henderson from all ends of the Vegas Valley to enjoy breakfast and lunch creations. Now many can save some money on gas and also come for dinner at the newlyopened Kitchen Table Squared, located on Russell just west of the 215 at The Gramercy.

The chef behind the cuisine is Chef/Owner Javier Chavez, an El Paso, Texas native who studied Culinary Arts at the Art Institute in San Antonio. After graduating he relocated to Paris to broaden his skills and while there graduated from Le Cordon Bleu with The Grande Diplôme for cooking and baking classical French cuisine. After coming to Las Vegas he attained positions at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio at The Venetian, Tremezzo at the former Aladdin, Vic and Anthony’s at the Golden Nugget, Mi Casa at The Silverton, Mercadito at Red Rock Resort, Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq and Whist Stove at The District at Green Valley Ranch. Chef Javier designed his first restaurant as “A Social Eatery,” where customers come together, converse and enjoy his blend of European cooking style with Latin American flavors, a style not typically found in the burbs.

The new rendition offers a relaxed and rustic feel in the 3,000-square-foot space that seats 100 diners, with decorative tile, three-toned repurposed wood, polished cement floor, high industrial ceiling and hanging Edison lights. A bright and airy feel is accomplished via large windows.

The breakfast and lunch items that fans of Kitchen Table have been enjoying can still be found here, with favorites such as crab avocado dip with roasted poblano and Oaxacan cheese; duck hash with duck pastrami and sweet www.lvfnbpro.com

potatoes; Shorty Benedict with braised short rib and red wine reduction; Egyptian Benedict with house-made Dukkah seasoning; kale salad with pear vinaigrette, candied nuts, blue cheese and dates; and cure burger with house beef blend, sunny side up egg, Irish cheddar and jalapeno bacon.

In the new dinner menu Chef is exercising his creativity and offering some items not found elsewhere, like ostrich burger, buffalo burger, duck and rabbit paella, veal schnitzel and roasted suckling pig. The variety continues with chicharron tostada (chipotle chicken tinga), foie gras Belgium waffle, baked gnocchi, mushroom risotto, sesame seed-crusted ahi tuna and baked Chilean sea bass. An array of fine meats are served, including herb-crusted rack of lamb, marinated flank steak and osso bucco.

While there are traditional desserts such as apple pie, carrot cake, tiramisu and crème brulee, the milkshakes certainly qualify as a full dessert. The strawberry cheesecake version I enjoyed came with a slice of the classic dessert perched at the top of the glass along with fresh strawberries.

Accompanying the varied fare are some equally unique cocktails, including the Rise & Shine with La Hechicera Rum, coffee, caramel sauce and Xocalatl Mole Bitters; and Maui Wowie with RumHaven Coconut Rum, Tattersall Orange Crema, rock candy syrup and Tattersall Fernet.

This new opening adds to the collection of interesting and fun eateries helmed by accomplished chefs, providing Las Vegans with options of heightened cuisine without having to venture to the Vegas Strip. Kitchen Table Squared is open Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. & 5 p.m.-9 p.m. and till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and happy hour is daily from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Gramercy, 9205 W. Russell Road 702-478-4782 www.kitchentablesquared.com

photos by Bill Bokelmann

Kitchen Table Squared Now Open at The Gramercy

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 19

By Chef Allen Asch

Chef Talk

Feel free to contact Chef Allen with ideas for comments or future articles at allena@unlv.nevada.edu Chef Allen Asch M. Ed., CCE is a culinary arts instructor that has earned degrees from Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University and Northern Arizona University. He is currently teaching at UNLV. He earned his Certified Culinary Educator Endorsement from the American Culinary Federation in 2003.

www.merriam-webster.com

Turducken

This past Thanksgiving I went to Utah to be with family and one of the courses we had was a Turducken. For those of you that do not know what that is, it is a boneless turkey stuffed with a boneless duck and then a boneless chicken. In between each bird is a layer of sausage. The term for this is engastration. Its current form was first created in 1985 at

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Hebert’s Specialty Meats in Maurice, Louisiana, so you can imagine that the sausage was pretty spicy. It was popularized with the nation by Paul Prudhomme on his television show.

In 2014 the word Turducken was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, but stuffing one animal inside another has been around since Roman times. The Romans had a dish that was cow, stuffed with a pig, stuffed with a goose, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. Other old recipes included one with 16 birds; another contained three geese, three turkeys, seven hares, twelve partridges, a ham and a leg of veal; and another older recipe included turkey, goose, fowl, partridge and pigeon.

The most bizarre recipe I found is from Greenland called Kiviak, in which a seal is stuffed with as many as 500 auks (a sort of penguin-like bird) and hidden under a pile of rocks for several months before consumption. I am not trying this one.

As a chef I tried making it once but the problem is that you need to completely debone each bird, especially the inside ones. The most successful Turduckens were made by a New Orleans surgeon who used his scalpel to debone; maybe I’ll try it this way if I ever make one again.

This is time consuming and not as easy as it sounds. To make a true Turducken you need to debone them in one piece without cutting through the skin. This is most important for the last layer so it holds everything in. Another problem with it is since it is solid, with no cavity, it takes a long time to cook—up to 8 hours—and due to that it is usually pretty dry.

Another problem is the number of ingredients. I looked up Paul Prudhomme’s recipe, which had 32 ingredients. To buy a Turducken, they weigh in at around 15 pounds and cost $5-8 per pound. Many of the premade ones come from Louisiana.

20 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

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UNLV

By Justin Leung

photos by Hanna Min

Epicurean Society

Justin Leung, a Hospitality Management student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, represents the Epicurean Society, a collective of food and restaurant enthusiastic students. As the journalist on their leadership team, Justin desires to share the club’s experiences with the public. He is from Georgia and decided to pursue his passion for hospitality in Las Vegas.

Event ideas, marketing campaigns, and meetings develop from momentum of previous semesters; staying consistent with our organization’s agenda is important for future members. The leadership team, including myself, anticipate a large inflow of connection possibilities in the coming academic years based on Epicurean Society’s growing community involvement.

Our club members actively seek out professionals, utilizing social media, review sites and search engines to find new, inviting or well-remarked locations. Throughout our fall semester, the organization has encountered numerous immersive food and drink places. Traveling to different locations of the city has changed some perceptions about food diversity and appreciation.

The club’s direction with our monthly visits to the fresh52 Farmers’ Market was an insightful and educative approach to redesigning our appreciation mission. Revamping the agenda provided flexibility with the planning process.

For food diversity exposure, we supplemented restaurant outings with school-made tastings and table marketing like our hot cocoa event from November 15th. Even though the semester was nearing an end, there was much left to experience.

Following the sale, students spent Thanksgiving week with their families. We had some two weeks of viable time left to meet as an organization. Despite the end of semester assignments, Epicurean Society was steady and had prepared in advance.

The club’s calendar was marked with the final two events of the semester: a restaurant outing and a winter social. Kimberly Verdin, our former journalist and current treasurer, www.lvfnbpro.com

was able to reserve eight seats with Sparrow + Wolf for a tasting.

Trying eateries new to the club exposes individuals to different cooking styles and aesthetics, which is not limited to the presentation of their food, or the layout of their restaurant. Their website design at first glance told me that they were artistic and unique in style.

Located on Spring Mountain Road, Sparrow + Wolf is a modern-style, American restaurant that serves craft beer, cocktails and culturally innovative dishes. Upon walking into the business, we were able to see the kitchen behind the host desk and the bar to the left.

Our tasting menu consisted of different choices selected by the chef. First, they served us a five-spice, chicken liver pâté topped with apple daikon and a bean sprout salad, a perfect first starter that led many of us to ask for more. Immediately following that, we were brought grilled bread with mustard and seasoned pickles which is also known as the charcuterie platter.

New visitors to the restaurant, like myself, were in for a surprise. The servers introduced us to hearth bread with a side of cultured butter. “It’s not the crunchy top layer that I like most, but I think the inside fluffiness really adds to the experience,” one member said. “The butter’s creaminess makes the whole bread even better.”

Members were feeling overwhelmed, in a good way, by the end of the appetizers. As a part of our first course, the chef prepared the roasted maitake mushrooms and sunchoke chips accompanied with a side of spiced, house flatbread. After the mushrooms, we

tried the beef heart tartare. For the final dish of the first course, we had the milk-braised pork shank with capers and teardrop peppers.

To start our second course, we had the lemongrass chicken special. “Next, you all will be trying the wood grilled, Spanish octopus. It also comes with baby butter-braised potatoes and is topped with XO sauce,” our server said.

The butterball potatoes hit our taste buds in all the good ways. Then, our final dish of the second course was roasted beef marrow.

The dessert course was truly the cherry on top of the cake: a caramel chocolate miso tart and the blood orange honey brioche toast. For those who like a chocolatey taste, the miso tart is the perfect choice. On the other hand, the brioche toast offers a slightly crunchy texture with the smoothness of ice cream, making you savor each bite.

The visit to Sparrow + Wolf made us desire more bread. We implemented that into our last meeting of the semester: a winter social inside of Boyd Dining Hall. This meeting was to provide students with a space to relax before final exams. Kevin Ng, our president, had prepared sourdough for members to cut their own designs into. We all drank potato chowder soup from our sourdough bread bowls as we watched a screening of Home Alone.

The conclusion of fall semester for Epicurean Society members felt nearly abrupt; however, Sparrow + Wolf, in conjunction with our winter social, were the perfect additions to the end of our calendar. Even though the journey in fall semester ended, Epicurean Society continues because of our former president, Kevin Ng, and its well-established momentum.

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 21

By Linda Westcott-Bernstein

Human Resources Insights

Linda Westcott-Bernstein has provided sound human resources advice and guidance to Fortune 500 companies and others for over 25 years. Linda has recently re-published her self-help book entitled It All Comes Down to WE! This book offers guidelines for building a solid and enduring personal work ethic. You can find her book on Amazon or Google Books.

Phone: 702-326-4040 Email: Vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com

The New Year!

A Time for Renewal & Positivity

I truly believe in the value of making and striving for goals in my life and I hope that you do too! If we don’t try to better ourselves periodically, then what is the purpose in life? Like the old adage…“we keep doing the same thing, but expecting a different outcome.” That strikes me as funny. How can I repeat the same behaviors—maybe even mistakes—and expect that things or people will change? No…change has to start with me!

So, once again, at the end of the year I am outlining my 2018 goals.

However, it is important to know that I don’t actually do this just one time per year. My faith is very strong and with that faith comes the need and desire to improve myself, be a better parent and make better decisions.

I feel strongly that each of us should periodically take an honest look at ourselves and strive to do better and be better. This process is what I consider my opportunity for renewal. It is also a way for me to let go of the negative things in my world and focus more on the positive and the blessings that I have.

First, I start with my family. The single most important focus in my life is the wellbeing, health and happiness of my husband and my children. In these challenging and frequently negative times, I want my family to know that I am there for them, both emotionally and physically. I will be there to counsel, enlighten, listen and just support them. I believe strongly, due to the influences of my mother, that that is the role of a wife and mother! We are truly the glue that brings and holds the family together.

Then I focus on my career and work. I want to always be improving my leadership style and career by making sure that I never lose sight of what my role is, as well as where I came from. Those concepts mean to me that I need to always have compassion and caring for others, and to not spend time judging them. In reality, you never know what someone is

going through, dealing with, or if they’ve reached their limit. I also want to objectively evaluate—how do I come across to my peers and co-workers?

Do I offer advice without judgment and pitch in when/if needed? Do I try to look at things from their perspective? Do I show compassion?

In today’s topsy turvy world, I believe that there are three (3) key ingredients or values that we all need to have and hold onto. Those three characteristics are…

1. Compassion and love for others.

2. Integrity and honesty in all that we do.

3. A strong work ethic.

It truly can be difficult at times when all around you, especially these days, you see and hear situations or stories about anger, hatred, low/no values, and unethical & immoral behaviors. It can be very disheartening.

But…have faith! We are truly being guided and aided by a higher power and help is on the way. In the meantime, we need to focus on family and keep them close in our hearts and minds. It wouldn’t hurt to also write down a few goals for next year and refer to them from time to time when things seem bleak. I will never falter from my belief in the good of mankind and our ability to persevere over adversity. It is my goal for 2018 to have renewed faith, focus on the positive, and strive to be a better person every day!

Won’t you join me?! And by the way…have a Happy and Healthy and Prosperous New Year! My wishes to you and yours!

HR Question of the month:

Please send your HR questions and concerns, or share your thoughts on your human resources challenges via email to the following address. Send input to vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com. Your comments, questions or concerns will help determine the direction for my next month’s column and earn you a copy of my book. Include your mailing address when sending your responses.

22 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

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The Bottom Line The Most Important Menu Items That Customers Never Order Not every menu item is going to be a bestseller. It’s reasonable to expect your signatures to outpace your lesser-known dishes, and for newer items to take a while to catch on. But the dynamic between hot plates and their not-sopopular counterparts goes much deeper. Some restaurants add items to their menu without expecting a sales lift at all, using them as a marketing ploy instead. Nefarious? No, there’s nothing wrong with putting an item on the menu that you can prepare but don’t expect to sell all that often. Strategic, on the other hand? Yes, absolutely.

So what’s the point of adding an item to your menu that you don’t expect to catch on? Check out several applications for this approach.

Branding Your menu says a lot about your restaurant.

In the same way that chic, modern décor defines a hip, urban feel, so too does an exotic ingredient list and fusion of worldly flavors.

On the surface, these trends reflect the masses’ yearning to try new and different creations, and thus the establishments that serve salt-crusted bone marrow and grilled octopus will bring new faces through their doors.

In reality, however, many restaurant owners attest that while these intriguing items create the initial draw, most customers will revert to more traditional items when actually placing their order. So bone marrow may be a great crowdpleaser on paper, but servers will mostly relay requests for burgers and mac ‘n’ cheese. Sure, they may be short rib burgers with a kimchi and fried jalapeno, and truffle mac ‘n’ cheese, but the items with more familiar bases will often prevail in the end.

So why add an item like bone marrow in the first place? Because if you limit your menu to the basic items, however exotic their additives may be, guests will limit their perception of your menu to be much less adventurous. In the same way that a Ferrari owner may not often take the car up to 220 mph, just knowing that the car can go that fast creates the appeal that justifies the price. Bone marrow essentially becomes an accessory, a kind of menu eye candy that lifts up everything around it, elevating the brand to demonstrate exotic appeal.

Should everyone add something like bone marrow to their menu? Definitely not—if you own a casual restaurant that thrives on good food at low prices, exotic menu additions can lead people to assume that you’re more expensive, driving down volume. On the other hand, if you’re trying to become more ‘hip and trendy,’ then maybe a novel touch to your menu can help. Just be sure that any additions align with your restaurant’s central theme, fits into your margins and that you account for sourcing, storage and staff training. www.lvfnbpro.com

By Ben Brown Benjamin Brown, MBA is Restaurant Editor of The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional. A seasoned

writer and consultant, Ben works with Fortune 500

companies and mom & pop shops alike in Marketing, Analytics, Consumer Insights, PR and Business

Development. Contact Ben at Ben@lvfnb.com or follow him @Foodie_Biz.

Pricing A much more typical case of menu additions comes in pricing. Adding an item that is well below, or above the average menu price [or both] is known as anchoring, and can have a positive effect when it comes to the psychology behind your customers’ ordering process.

When a customer sees entrees for $18, $17, $18, $19, $16, $29 and $17, the $29 item clearly stands out and poses little chance of being ordered. This can be a steak option amidst a lineup of burgers and sandwiches, but in any case makes every other item seem that much cheaper by comparison.

On the other hand, when the entrée list reads $38, $46, $29, $41, $42 and $39, all of a sudden that $29 item seems like a bargain. In this case, most guests may not get the $29 chicken, but

because there’s a sub-$30 item on the menu, it makes the restaurant as a whole appear to be in closer reach of a more price-conscious consumer.

Both methods used simultaneously can work, just be sure not to go too extreme in either direction. An item priced too low can lower your restaurant’s brand perception [“If they make a sandwich for $8, then their $38 steak can’t be that good.”]. An item priced too high will just be taken out of the consideration set entirely [“A $95 porterhouse for two…well that just sounds silly.].

Make these additions one small step at a time and test frequently to see if they’re making an impact on your volume or sales. It’s always easier to scale back on a small change than a huge rollout.

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 23

By Elaine & Scott Harris

Dining out with the Harrises

Sommeliers and Editor-In-Chief of Nationally Recognized Cuisineist.com and Vino Las Vegas LLC. They are the Las Vegas City Editors for TheDailyMeal in New York City.

Cuisinist@Gmail.com • www.Cuisineist.com www.VinoLasVegas.Blogspot.com www.LasVegasDiningTours.com Facebook:ElaineScottHarris Twitter:TheCuisineist.com Twitter: VinoLasVegas • Instagram : Cuisineist

It’s been three months and it’s been hard, very hard, to be without the beloved, renowned Lotus of Siam. Their original location after 19 years was forced to close Sept 8, 2017 due to roof damage. As bad as that news was, there is good news. Very good news. The original location will reopen later in 2018 and their new location on East Flaming has opened with great fanfare. James Beard Award-winner Chef Saipin Chutima and her family have a 17,000-squarefoot new baby that is double the size of the much loved original location.

Lotus of Siam has always been about true Thai home-cooked authenticity and we don’t expect anything to change in their new location. The award-winning wine list will keep oenophiles satisfied with German Rieslings that pair perfectly with Chef’s northern Thai cuisine in both locations.

The new location is very different when it comes to décor. Penny Chutima has done an exemplary job in the buildout. The contemporary spot features authentic Thai art throughout the restaurant. The bar and lounge area is comfortable and makes you feel like you are in “the land of smiles” with blinds featuring scenes from the countryside.

Chef Saipin will be working out of the current location until the original location is ready to go, but don’t worry, Saipin will be making those complicated sauces with layers of flavors for both locations. This family is a true American success story. Siapin and Bill Chutima opened Lotus of Siam in 1999 featuring Northern Thai cuisine passed down for generations. Northern Thai cuisine is punctuated with aromatic herbs and spices along with savory stews and soulful curries. In 2011 all of Chef Saipin’s work paid off when she won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest. We can breathe easier knowing we can once again enjoy her Khao Soi (Crispy Duck), very tasty Garlic Prawns and of course indulge in a wine list that features many of the best Rieslings in world. www.lvfnbpro.com

photos by Scott Harris

Lotus of Siam Opens Its Sprawling New Location in Las Vegas

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 25

Nevada Restaurant Association Announces 2017 Culinary Excellence Award Winners

photos courtesy Nevada Restaurant Association

NvRA Board

NvRA’s newest board members: L to R- Bhushan Arolkar – Urban Turban, Anton Novak – Rounds Bakery, Stewart Patchefsky – Aria Resort and Casino and Linda Brookins – Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation.

The Nevada Restaurant Association presented the Culinary Excellence Awards on December 14, 2017 during the 35th Annual Meeting of the Members. The annual event honors the best and brightest in the industry, who were selected based on merit in such areas as reliability, teamwork, leadership, contributions of knowledge and time to the community and dedication to the restaurant industry. This year’s ceremony was held at Wynn Las Vegas. The elegant room was filled with the who’s who from the restaurant industry that contribute to making Nevada the premier culinary destination.

The Honorable Lorraine Hunt-Bono, former 32nd Lieutenant Governor of the State of Nevada, and the founding mother of the Restaurant Association, served as emcee for the evening. Awards were presented by NvRA chairman Jeff Trent in five categories: Drink Specialist of the Year, Culinarian of the Year, Vendor/Supplier of the Year, Restaurateur of the Year and Outstanding New Restaurant. In each category, winners are chosen based on set criteria, including exemplary dedication and skill to the craft, excellent teamwork and leadership and community service involvement.

Candidates were nominated by a group of noted industry professionals in six award

categories, and the winners were voted on by the Association’s Board of Directors.

“The nominees and winners exemplify the Nevada Restaurant Association’s mission to promote, protect and educate our state’s growing restaurant industry,” said Katherine Jacobi, president and CEO of the Association.

“It is an honor to recognize these individuals for everything they do and their culinary and community achievements,” added Jeff Trent, Chairman of the Board.

Drew Levinson of Breakthru Beverage Group was awarded Drink Specialist of the Year, Chris Johns of South Point Hotel & Casino was named Culinarian of the Year, Mike Orlovich of Get Fresh was awarded Vendor/ Supplier of the Year, SUGARCANE Raw Bar Grill was awarded Outstanding New Restaurant and Richard Femenella of the Charlie Palmer Group was named Restaurateur of the Year.

Gold sponsors of the event were Lipsmacking Foodie Tours and FRSCO Corporation. The event was also sponsored by Wegener Insurance, Badger Insurance, Herringbone Las Vegas and Better My POS.

26 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

Following is a list of nominees by category: Drink Specialist of the Year Drew Levinson, Breakthru Beverage Group* Francesco Lafranconi, Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of America Tori Bender, The Golden Tiki Culinarian of the Year Geno Bernardo, Herringbone Chris Johns, South Point Hotel & Casino* Brian Howard, Sparrow + Wolf Vendor/Supplier of the Year Supreme Lobster & Seafood Company Pacific Produce Get Fresh* Restaurateur of the Year Jeff and Rhonda Wyatt, Marche Bacchus John Simmons, Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar Richard Femenella, Charlie Palmer Group* Outstanding New Restaurant Sparrow + Wolf Americana SUGARCANE Raw Bar Grill* * Category winner

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USBG

By Adam Rains Adam has a true passion for food, wine, beer & spirits. He is a barman at CarneVino, a brand ambassador for Brooklyn Brewery, long-time cocktailian, and the Social Media Chair for the United States Bartenders’ Guild in Las Vegas. Adam strives to learn every day and during his career he’s studied at SDSU, USBG, BarSmarts, International Sommeliers Guild and the Certified Cicerone Program. His mantra with both food & cocktails is, “fresh is best.”

Las Vegas

photos courtesy Katie Cruz

KATIE CRUZ AND THE SUNSET SWIZZLE

Most people know that Katie Cruz is a Las Vegas OG, born and bred, but they may not be aware that she got her start behind the bar in Reno, Nevada, where at Rise Nightclub she learned both about the profession and about the USBG. “The awesome bartenders there took me under their wings and encouraged me to join the Guild.

I became really invested in the USBG and my future as a bartender. Although small, the Reno Guild was very close and connected. We were a family; we still are.” After moving back to Vegas, Katie was astounded by the sense of community in our Las Vegas chapter. “There are a lot of things that I love about the Guild, but the community

itself has to be my favorite. I feel that we are always trying to better each other,” Katie said.

Katie has worked for several industry favorites like Taco’s & Beer and Oak & Ivy, but has now joined forces with Atomic Liquors Downtown.

“It has always been my favorite place to drink.

It’s still my favorite watering hole, even though I work there.” If Katie isn’t at Atomic, she can be seen at Starboard Tack, Corduroy and Downtown Cocktail Room where she loves sipping on a multitude of Gin Martinis and Hennessy Sazeracs. Since joining the Bartenders’ Guild, she’s had the chance to travel to places like Camp Runamuk, Juniper Harvest and others. About this she revealed, “I’m incredibly grateful for how these experiences have changed me as a person.”

Go see her soon! It’s always a good time to enjoy one of her famous beer cocktails served “off the cuff” and get a bite from their new kitchen!

“We’re here to serve guests; sometimes they happen to want a beverage, but the main focus is on the guest. We’re in the hospitality business.

Yeah, I can also whip you up a cocktail, sure, but I’m here to cheer you up if you’ve had a crappy day, listen to your relationship problems, celebrate your accomplishments and make this experience at my bar your favorite of the day.”

-Katie Cruz

Sunset Swizzle By Katie Cruz 1.5 oz Woodford Reserve .5 oz lemon juice .25 oz Campari .5 oz Grand Marnier 2 dashes of Angostura Orange Combine ingredients in mixing tin with ice, shake, and strain over crushed ice in a Collins glass. Top with Joseph James Citra Rye. Swizzle and garnish with a thyme sprig.

photos courtesy Emily Carson

NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: EMILY CARSON

Meet Emily Carson! She is a recent member of the Guild but has lived in our community for over 9 years. After making the move from Boston, Emily landed her first gig at Palms Place pool. From there, she has worked in various lounges and restaurant bars, the pinnacle being at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago where upper level

service & continuous learning are staunchly upheld. After hearing that Buddy V’s was to open in The Venetian, she decided to make the move there and has had some great success. You can still find Emily there and now she has worked her way up to Beverage Manager. When not working, she loves to visit her bartender friends at Sugarcane in The Venetian. Emily has found that even at a rum-heavy bar like Sugarcane, they can also mix up excellent tequila cocktails. Emily feels at home here in Las Vegas and part of the reason is because of our chapter of the USBG. One of the main reasons that she moved to Vegas was, “to work with talented bartenders.” She continued, “Being so far from home the Guild made me feel like I have family here.”

If you are in The Venetian, stop by and try one of her “Brown Sugar” cocktails!

BROWN SUGAR 1.5 oz Woodford Double Oaked Bourbon .5 oz Amaretto spiced syrup .5 oz lemon juice Combine ingredients in a mixing tin with ice and shake vigorously.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an apple ring.

About the USBG The United States Bartenders’ Guild is comprised of spirit professionals dedicated to the art of the craft of Bartending.

What was founded in 1948 has now spread all over the US with Las Vegas being the largest chapter in the country.

Through events, charity, and education they support and enhance the great American living-art that is Bartending.

For information on how to join, please go to www.usbg.org. www.lvfnbpro.com

January 2018 I The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional 27

Everything’s better with

C H AR D ON NAY Butter Chardonnay by JaM Cellars is one of three, easy-to-love California wines including JaM Cabernet and Toast Sparkling.

“We made these wines in the style that we and our friends love to enjoy. We hope you do too!”

John and Michele, Napa Vintners – the “J” and “M” in JaM.

1460 First Street, Napa, CA 94559 | 707.265.7577 Sip, smile and share! @JaMCellars #JaMCellars Get The Scoop! to stay in the know at JaMCellars.com

IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO READ THIS AD, WE’VE MADE LITTLE TO NO PROGRESS. We slow-roast the finest 100% Weber Blue Agave for more than three days and then slowly crush it with a two-ton tahona stone wheel. The result is an earthy, complex taste that’s more than worth the wait.

The perfect way to enjoy Patrón is responsibly. Handcrafted and imported exclusively from Mexico by The Patrón Spirits Company, Las Vegas, NV. 42-45% abv.

EVENTS

AD INDEX

There are several major food & beverage events coming up in the next few months. Here is a sampling of some of the events we highly recommend, so if planning to attend you can start booking now.

Audrey Dempsey Infinity Photo www.invinity-photo.com 702-837-1128

January 21-23 the 43rd Annual Winter Fancy Food Show at the Moscone Center in San Francisco will offer more than 80,000 specialty foods and beverages, thousands of new products and more than 1,400 exhibitors from around the globe and sessions featuring innovative thinkers in specialty food, sustainability, commerce, and food technology. www.specialtyfood.com January 27 Big Dog’s Brewing Company’s Winterfest beer and music festival will be held in the front parking lot of the Draft House in northwest Las Vegas, and will feature 45 regional beers, heart-warming winter stews and live music throughout the night. www.bigdogswinterfest.com February 18-21 Catersource Show will be held earlier this year at the Las Vegas Convention Center and feature everything to do with the business of catering. If you or your company is involved in catering, or even if it isn’t, you’ll want to attend this show, even if it means just to visit the show floor and the exhibitors. https://conference.catersource.com March 19-22 the International Pizza Expo returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center with the world’s largest pizza, ingredients, products, and service expo, including demos and contests plus samplings all day long! www.pizzaexpo.com March 26-28 the Nightclub & Bar Show comes to the Las Vegas Convention Center for the largest beverage and bar show in the world, with unlimited tastes and treats! Don’t miss it. www.ncbshow.com April 4-7 the 8th Annual Universal Whisky Experience will take place at Encore Las Vegas. Founded by our friend, whisky enthusiast Mahesh Patel, it will feature exclusive tastings of the world’s finest whiskies, classes and other whisky experiences. This event is one not to be missed by any serious whisky aficionado! www.universalwhiskyexperience.com

30 The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional I January 2018

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Al Dentes’ Provisions sales@aldentes.com 702-642-1100

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Big Dog’s Brewing Company www.bigdogsbrews.com 702-368-3715

page 30

Deep Eddy Vodka www.deepeddyvodka.com

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Designated Drivers www.designateddriversinc.com 877-456-7433

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Jam Cellars jamcellars.com 707-265-7577

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Jay’s Sharpening Service www.jayssharpening.com 702-645-0049

page 20

Keep Memory Alive Event Center kmaeventcenterlasvegas.com 702-263-9797

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Roca Patron rocapatron.com

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Uncle Steve’s www.unclestevesny.com 718-605-0416

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White Soy Sauce www.whitesoysaucefood.com

page 13

www.lvfnbpro.com

•Wholesale distributor of exceptional quality dried spices and specialty foods to the finest hotels and restaurants •Owned and operated by a former chef with over 20 years of experience •Custom packed Herbs and Spices •Custom Spice Bends •Private labeling •Now Certified Kosher