**** (4 stars)
Jean Georges is a favorite restaurant in New York, but I was dubious about yet another top name chef doing a Vegas steakhouse. But everything was great, and as it turned out no one had steak. The highlight was the teriyaki short ribs, which were like candy on the outside. The wine list is expensive, but there are a few hidden gems.
Jean Georges Steakhouse
3734 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(877) 230-2742
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jean-georges-steakhouse-las-vegas
**** (4 stars)
Tom Collicchio of Top Chef fame has a chain of Craft steakhouses. This is his fast food sandwich place, hence the clever name. Excellent chicken salad and roast turkey sandwiches.
Wichcraft
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-1111
http://www.yelp.com/biz/wichcraft-las-vegas-2
*** (3 stars)
Well, it isn’t really a bistro, but more of a burger and salad joint right off the lobby. Delicious Chinese chicken salad, forgettable chicken burger, forgettable tuna burger.
CENTRAL BY MICHEL RICHARD
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 650-5921
http://www.yelp.com/biz/central-by-michel-richard-las-vegas
***** (5 stars)
This is the greatest wine list in Las Vegas, and the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to by a wide margin. Located in a dumpy strip mall off of Sahara Boulevard, it serve astonishingly good Thai food; in fact, the chef won the James Beard award last year! Best of all is an award winning wine list where many of the wines are priced below retail. We put our group in the waiter’s hands, and he delivered eight or ten terrific appetizers and shared entrees, each better than the last. I took the opportunity to pillage the wine list, and although some of my selections couldn’t be found, we ended up with some stunners. Where else can you find an affordable Clos de Tart from a great year? That bottle alone was over $1000 on the list at Picasso, a fifth that here.
Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702) 735-3033
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lotus-of-siam-las-vegas