Vegas-Sized Snack
“Join me for a whirlwind weekend tour of Vegas!”
Today’s Vegas-sized snack episode of Cheftimony hits the highlights from last weekend’s trip to Paradise, Nevada. The fun started even before our flight from YVR took off, as I perused the first two issues of a wonderful new, anonymously-published kitchen scene ‘zine called Choke (@chokethezine). For all the reasons I give on today’s show, I highly recommend you check out Choke as soon as you can.
After arriving at McCarran International, my wife and I quickly made our way to Sparrow and Wolf, a restaurant I’ve wanted to visit for ages. Chef Brian Howard and his team made sure we enjoyed a fantastic meal, the perfect start to our Vegas weekend. The next morning, we enjoyed a great brunch at Esther’s Kitchen before heading to The Mint to meet with our friend Chris Kim of the Faces and Aces Las Vegas podcast, where I was delighted to be interviewed for his show. Thank you so much, Chris, for flying out just for the day. It was such a treat to speak with you. We really should plan some sort of event so we can meet up in Las Vegas again…
After The Mint, it was on to Atomic Liquors to join our friend Laura Tucker at Sour Saturday. What a great afternoon! Sour beer and a whole lot of really fun people. Thank you, Laura, for including us in that session. Later Saturday, we arrived at Scotch 80 Prime where we marveled at the works of Basquiat, KAWS and Warhol before our friend Chef Daniel Ontiveros curated an absolutely unforgettable meal. At the end of it, Chef Brian Howard of Sparrow and Wolf met us all in the bar, treated us to a round of beautiful whisky and made sure our night finished on a high note.
On Sunday, we followed Chef Brian’s recommendation and had some slices at Good Pie (delicious!) before meeting Sonja Swanson of the Spicy Eyes Podcast at Vesta Coffee Roasters for a great interview. Sonja is a truly impressive food writer who also hosts an amazing podcast and (I can say from first-hand experience) makes a delicious granola! My talk with Sonja is coming up soon on Cheftimony.
Sunday was also our “show day” in Vegas, and we took in two great magic acts. First, we saw Xavier Mortimer’s Magical Dream at Bally’s before heading to the Rio for Penn & Teller. This was the second time I’ve seen Penn & Teller, and they don’t disappoint. Apart from putting on a great magic show, these guys write books, create movies and talk politics. I can’t say enough good things.
On Monday, we had a beautiful brunch at the place that feels like home to me in Las Vegas – Bouchon Bistro. Huge thanks to Chef Josh Crain and to GM Aaron Pannell for taking such great care of us. You make me feel like one of the family, and it matters a great deal. Plus (as is always the case) the food was incredible.
After Bouchon, we headed out to Boulder City for a fun catch-up with the Camper Chef himself, Bart Cops. I recorded a really fun interview in Bart’s back yard, looking out over Lake Mead, and that’s coming up soon on Cheftimony.
But for now, join me for a whirlwind weekend tour of Vegas!