Photos Courtesy of Bread and Butter PR.
Las Vegas offers the best of the best in shopping, accommodations, nightlife and of course, the finest dining in the country, with new restaurants opening up each month. On a recent visit, two new establishments were discovered that encourage sharing…modern Japanese cuisine at ZUMA and Latin American-inspired CHICA.
ZUMA at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas features inventive sharable plates with bespoke cocktails. Founded by German-born chef Rainer Becker, ZUMA, which also has locations worldwide, including Hong Kong, Rome, London, Miami and NewYork, promotes an informal Izakaya dining style, serving contemporary, non-traditional, Japanese cuisine in an elegant, stylized ambiance. The bold, flavor-focused menu offers a wide variety of dishes from the main kitchen, sushi counter and robata grill.
Dishes of note include fried soft shell crab with wasabi mayonnaise, salmon and tuna tartare combination, jumbo tiger prawn, sliced sea bass with yuzu, truffle oil and salmon roe, wagyu beef tenderloin and an amazing miso marinated black cod. A must to try for inventive cocktail lovers is Burning History, a concoction of whiskey, honey, ginger, yuzu, egg whites and smoke, prepared tableside.
Recently opened at The Venetian Las Vegas is Latin American restaurant CHICA, the latest concept experience from John Kunkel’s 50 Eggs, featuring a modern, rustic decor. The restaurant’s menu was crafted by “Top Chef Masters” chef Lorena Garcia, who draws inspiration from classic renditions of Latin dishes.
Signature plates include braised short rib above house-made anise and piloncillo arepas, grilled corn lollipops, Peruvian octopus and Brazilian beef tenderloin. Specialty cocktails include Expat, a twist on the Manhattan, and Flor de la Piña, a floral mix of tequila, hibiscus-habanero syrup, sage and fruit juices, house made sangrias, as well as a great selection of wines.
