Butcher-Deli Southwest Invasion
Food News Leftovers
As it moves through a portfolio-wide revamp of its offerings, Station Casinos has leaned heavily on home-grown Las Vegas food-and-beverage brands — Vesta Coffee, Lindo Michoacan, Leticia's Cocina, China Mama. But even as Arts District perfect pizza purveyor Good Pie found its way to Red Rock's food court, an iconic Los Angeles staple — Randy’s Donuts — did too. Sure, Randy’s is known for its giant rooftop donut sign and classic, oversized treats. But honestly, Las Vegas has it's own classic donut purveyors (Carl's and Poppy's, anyone?) that are just as tasty.
So-Cal Chef Brad Wise is bringing his San Diego butcher-deli concept The Wise Ox to UnCommons — his second local project following the nearby Rare Society steakhouse. The spot will feature a full butcher case with chicken, pork, lamb, and beef, plus house-made sausages and in-house dry-aged steaks. A Wise Ox focus is sustainability, with a near zero-waste approach that turns trim and scraps into stocks, butters, tallow, and ground meats.
Not to be outdone, Las Vegas chef Marc Marrone is also opening a butcher-deli in the southwest (!!). Diamond Spur Provisions & Meats (whose first location was in Salt Lake City) is a “sustainable beef purveyor that helps restore wildlife habitats.” Are we sensing a pattern here? (Note: if you can't wait for these two to open, check out either location of Featherblade Craft Butchery — it's ETR Certified!)
Speaking of meats… SoCal kids love when their favorite spots come to town — so much so that overwhelming demand at The Hat has compelled them to implement a “last call” of sorts: Despite closing at 1am, The Hat now stops people from lining up after midnight. We suggest waiting for the hype to subside. It's Pastrami. And if your cravings need to be cured, eat local. Proper Sandwich is doing their very own (and likely 100x better) version of the Pastrami sando.
As you can see, there's a lot of action in southwest Las Vegas. Chef Nicole Brisson (of Brezza, Bar Zazu, and formerly Locale) recently returned to Amari, the Italian concept she helped create. Not even three years later, she's back, quietly revamping Amari's menu and direction. She’s partnered with former Sparrow + Wolf operations director Kyle Johnson to offer a “lighter, more seasonal” menu to attract the “evolving UnCommons community” — apparently made up of mostly health-conscious women. We're still planning an on-location ETR there soon, but getting attorney Ash and traveling retiree John together is harder than wrangling kittens in a Charmin factory. But tune in this week, as John had an advance peek at the new menu, tasting (gasp!) chicken parm…
And finally… two previously-mentioned smashburger spots are now slinging — NADC in the East Fremont area, and With Love, Always at Red Rock Station. We know, we know…
Spilling the Tea
Aroma Latin American Cocina (or as John & Ash say, “Cotheeeeeeeena”) recently closed its Green Valley spot to move to Chinatown, next to the venerable Sand Dollar Lounge. The new location (previously Tres Cazuelas — which itself moved to the former Viva Mercado’s on West Sahara…) is approved to open, but is tightening the menu and getting service dialed in. Watch their socials for an opening date…
We’re not sure if it’s the widespread availability of affordable semiglutides, or the influx of Temu yoga pants, but, apparently, “healthy eating” is a trend that not even a burg built on over-indulgence can ignore. Take, for instance, the demise of a Las Vegas institution that built its 15-year Fremont Street following based on a “high calorie mission” — one that began by naming itself after the number one health-related killer in the United States. Now that's Vegas, baby.
Admittedly, there weren’t very many fruit-and-tomato plates being sliced up at this cardiac-inducing cabaret, but to deny that unrestrained self-indulgence is one of the pillars that built Las Vegas is to bite the hand that fed us endless buffet plates of piled-high Prime Rib and mashed potatoes. So… so long, Heart Attack Grill. May you never, ever be replaced with an Erewhon…
Pet Peeve of the Week
When a server makes a mistake and doesn’t own up to it. We had our server clearly forget to fire our mains at ████ (one of our beloved Art's District restaurants where we want to always be able to score bar seat…) the other night. I could see there was nothing cooking in the kitchen and our server standing at the pass, talking to chef and watching every move the cooks made.
All of this would be fine if they’d just said they forgot to fire our mains and they’d be right out… it would be nice to see them trying to make it right instead of cover up a mistake. Just be honest!
–Evan T
Order of the Week
Barbacoa Quesadilla
@SoulBelly BBQ
This breathtaking Barbacoa Quesadilla is rich, smoky, and packed with tender, slow-cooked beef, melting into gooey cheese on a crisp, griddled flour tortilla. It’s a satisfying, comfort-BBQ mashup that hits all the right notes — savory, spicy, and perfect with a squeeze of lime or a heavy salsa dunk.
