Nov. 15, 2007

Vegas isn't San Francisco: The foodie stars shine brighter on us

By STEVE FRIESS

It's a bit hard to believe now, but a scant two years ago I got into a bit more than a tussle with my editors at Conde Nast Traveler over the Vegas food world. Simply put, I knew it was becoming something extraordinary, and they didn't quite get it.

As their man on the cuisine scene for the annual Hot Issue, the edition that names the best in new restaurants, hotels and nightclubs from the year that was, I was in a quandary. We were looking at 2005, the year the Wynn Las Vegas opened, and the new joint had at least four restaurants-Alex, Bartolotta di Mare, Wing Lei and Tableau-that deserved recognition. In any other year and in any other city, all would make CNT's Hot Issue.

But beyond that, it was also the year that Joel Robuchon at the MGM Grand opened, as did Sensi at Bellagio and a few others the names of which I can't recall at the moment. But my editors insisted that I select just two.

"Two?" I cried. "Are you crazy? This is Las Vegas! How many is San Francisco getting?" Four, I was told. But San Francisco is San Francisco. Las Vegas isn't San Francisco. In the end, since I had to count Robuchon in, I ended up throwing my bouquets at Alex at Wynn.

I tell the story because this week, as if I needed any more backup to my view, the vaunted Michelin Guide's much-awaited assessment of Las Vegas came out and, lo and behold, it seems that Las Vegas is San Francisco after all.

The Vegas results in the food world's most respected critical publication were astounding. For this first-ever examination, they awarded 16 of the 127 restaurants they wrote about with their sought-after stars. In Michelin world, just one star denotes an exceptional experience; the three-star honorees are out of this world. Not getting a star does not mean they don't like it; it just doesn't hit the exacting threshold.

Compare that to the San Francisco edition. Michelin awarded stars to 34 restaurants out of the more than 400 they included. And that's not just the city by the Bay, but also the entire region and the Napa-Sonoma area as well. In other words, Vegas' batting average is .125 and San Francisco's is less than .085.

What's even more telling is that Michelin also published this week its first dining guide for Los Angeles. Of the 263 restaurants reviewed, just 18 got stars. That's a .068 batting average! What's more, LA didn't have a single three-star honoree. Vegas did-Robuchon's place at MGM Grand. And it was entirely deserved.

As with any such list, there are bound to be heated debates, and some may suggest that Michelin was a bit too generous. Vegas had three two-star honorees, Alex at Wynn, Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace and Picasso at Bellagio, all great picks.

In the one-star realm, though, Michelin had some puzzlers amongst the 12 they chose. I'm cool with Aureole and Mix at Mandalay Bay, Nobu at the Hard Rock, Wing Lei and Daniel Boulud Brasserie at Wynn, Mesa Grill at Caesars and Michael Mina and Le Cirque at Bellagio. And I've heard only great things about Andre's in downtown Vegas. But Alize at the Palms has consistently disappointed me-the wonderful N9ne Steakhouse or Nove at the Palms are both far superior-and I've never quite gotten all the buzz surrounding Bradley Ogden at Caesars. And while Robuchon at the Mansion deserves every star it got, Robuchon's other spot, the less formal L'Atelier, was a shockingly pedestrian waste of a lot of money with décor my partner likens to an upscale Chili's.

It is also a bit stunning that Bartolotta di Mare at Wynn didn't make it, considering that Paul Bartolotta and not Alex's Alessandro Stratta landed a James Beard nomination the year they both opened. And Nobhill and Craftsteak at MGM Grand were glaring omissions, as were Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons, Tableau at Wynn and Hugo's Cellar at the Four Queens.

Beyond the big news of Vegas standing strong next to San Francisco and LA, though, is that the Venetian was shut out altogether. I predicted this on my blog, but I really assumed that I'd be wrong.

And that's got to hurt for Sheldon Adelson, especially with Wynn nailing three star-ratings at his own place and probably deserving to also take credit for Picasso, which was also his brainchild. Adelson gets Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck and Mario Batali and still can't buy a star. Knowing Wynn, he's clucking now.

The Conde Nast Traveler folks are starting to come along, too. For this year's Hot List, recognizing the new stuff in 2006, they let me recognize three restaurants, Nove, Guy Savoy and Rao's at Caesars. Oddly, San Francisco got four entries and LA got five entries in the same issue. But maybe from now on it'll be the LA writers begging for more selections. It's about time some editor in New York sniffed, "Sorry, but San Francisco isn't Vegas."

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