Food writers get a taste of LV’s new dining delights

Jace Radke

Monday, May 1, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

More than 80 food writers and editors are in Las Vegas through Tuesday as part of a conference put on by the National Chicken Council and the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association.

But what the culinary scribes are really clucking about is the emergence of fine dining in a city long known as the buffet capital of the world.

"We're all excited to try the food," Capper's magazine editor Ann Crahan said. "I can't believe there is a Lutece here. I love going to that restaurant in New York."

Crahan, whose magazine is published in Kansas, says that the gourmet restaurants and superstar chefs that have come to Las Vegas in the last five years are really changing the perception of Las Vegas.

William Roenigk, senior vice president of the National Chicken Council, says the culinary boom in Las Vegas is one of the reasons the annual chicken conference was scheduled here.

"We want to go somewhere that is on the leading edge of food for our conference, and Las Vegas is it," Roenigk said. "Many of these writers may not have been here in 10 years, and I think they'll be blown away by the restaurants they'll find.

"I think that they'll go home not only writing about the conference and chicken but also about Las Vegas and the dining experiences that can be found here."

In January the Bellagio's Picasso and the Mirage's Renoir became the first restaurants in Las Vegas to be named Mobile Travel Guide five-star restaurants.

Since Wolfgang Puck opened Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesars five years ago, a long list of chefs have followed suit, Deseret News food writer Jean Williams said.

Emeril Lagasse, Jean-Louis Palladin, Julian Serrano, Alex Stratta, Mark Miller and Kevin Wu are just some of the names that have put their stamp on Las Vegas dining in recent years.

"All the great chefs are here, and the food is every bit as good as their restaurants in New York or San Francisco," said Williams, whose newspaper is published in Salt Lake City. "It's something that Westerners should be proud of."

The conventioneers got to try out some of the fare the Bellagio had to offer Sunday, with dinners served to them at Aqua, Le Cirque and Picasso. Tonight they will move to the Venetian and sample the cuisine at Star Canyon, Royal Star, Valentino and Lutece. On the final day of the conference the writers will head to Puck's four Las Vegas eateries: Chinois, Spago, Lupo and Postrio.

In between bites the writers will be attending seminars with poultry industry representatives, taking surveys and taking part in question-and-answer sessions.

Williams said many in the rest of the country and the world already know about Las Vegas' restaurants and adds that dining has become a tourist draw to the city even without gambling.

"I was in the airport, and there were eight couples sitting there talking about the restaurants they had been to in Las Vegas and the ones they wanted to try next time," Williams said. "It has come a long way from the 99-cent shrimp cup.

"Going to Las Vegas is now like going to San Francisco, except without the weirdness."

Jace Radke is a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-2318 or by e-mail at jace@lasvegassun.com.