Columnist Muriel Stevens: Diego hot addition to MGM Studio Walk

Friday, July 2, 2004 | 8:39 a.m.

Diego, the new casual Mexican restaurant on Studio Walk at MGM Grand, has vibrant decor, bold colors and food that is reasonably priced and innovative. When was the last time you dined at a Mexican restaurant that offered organic vegetable starters, three artful combinations that may be ordered separately ($4.50), or a sample tasting of all three plus jicama a la diabla ($15.50)?

A menu note advises, "We support the efforts of immigrant farmers and their ability to produce organic vegetables that are free of pesticides and herbicides enabling us to use products in their most natural and true state."

Bowls of cut limes adorn the gorgeous tequila bar. The shelves are filled with rare tequilas. A bar menu featuring light fare is offered all day ($5-$12). Among the offerings are guacamole, chili, honey chipotle-glazed chicken drumettes, tostados, tacos and empanadas de jaiba -- which are crispy empanadas filled with crab, roasted poblano chile, roasted corn, Chihuahua cheese, guacamole and and watercress salad and chile salsa.

Lunch is offered from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and features tapas-like small plates and salads ($5-$9). Highlights include organic vegetable samplings and such entrees as chiles relleno, "roll 'em yourself" soft tacos of garlic-lime marinated skirt steak, and chicken breast or lobster served with warm tacos, frijoles, guacamole and three salsas ($8-$14).

Dinner, served from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday features a larger selection of small plates ($5-$9.50) and entrees ($8-$19.50). There is nothing complicated about the food at Diego. The flavors are well balanced and simply wonderful. So is the presentation.

A dessert carte shows the versatility of the pastry chef ($5.50), although I pucker just thinking about sweet-and-sour cotton candy with ancho chile powder and salt. Who could resist Diego's flan de canela (cinnamon flan with a splash of rum and candied pumpkin seeds served in a cinnamon cookie cup), a lime tartaleta, Mexican chocolate ice cream, crepes filled with goat milk caramel, sweet plantains and bittersweet chocolate bits, or the luscious tropical fruit sorbets?

Diego's tequila menu has separate listings for Lowland tequilas and Highland tequilas. Ask questions -- your tequila server will gladly share the story of the tequilas. Diego showcases rare tequilas. Flights of tequila can cost as much as $600 for the Whale Flight, "the rarest tequilas on earth," or as little as $18.

Cocktails, of course, include a $100 margarita for two made with Patron Platinum. Most cocktails are $8 or $9. Mexican beers are $5 to $6. Tequila served neat with a choice of one of three flavored sorbets and frozen margaritas served on a stick add a bit of tequila-flavored whimsy.

Reservations are not required, but I suggest making dinner reservations. Call 891-3200.

Mixing with Massie at FIX: FIX restaurant and Bar at Bellagio opened with a bang. The plastic painters' cloths were barely down when in came the crowds. Executive Chef Brian Massie (formerly with Charlie Palmer's Aureole and N9NE at the Palms) has created a menu that's light and bright and hip.

Massie hopes to turn FIX, open for dinner only, into a local version of the venerable late-night Greenwich Village eatery Blue Ribbon, a night owl's hangout for many years.

"We want to be the Blue Ribbon of Las Vegas," Chef Massie said. "We're passion driven and believe FIX can deliver the kind of food people respond to."

The menu, filled with familiar and original food choices, reflects Brian's passion. I think Massie is onto something. Listed are soups and small plates, $9-$16, including a roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese starter and a jumbo lump crab cake, Thermidor-style.

For sharing, Brian offers a dish called Forks -- smoked salmon and caviar poppers -- in an unusual serving piece. Menu copy is cool and descriptive. Bobby Baldwin sliders ($19) is a trio of Kobe beef sliders with aged cheddar, grilled onions and spiced fries.

From the wood-burning grill comes a 14-ounce Kurabota pork chop ($26) with a story. Everything has a story. It's part of the charm of FIX. Very Adult Fried Mac & Cheese is not for carbomaniacs, but just try to resist it. The ubiquitous surf & turf at FIX is defined as miso-glazed short ribs and lobster croquettes. A late-night FIX menu includes the Baldwin Kobe sliders, a sliced prime rib French dip, tuna poke, shrimp Louis, filet mignon, yellowtail sashimi and a Freaky Fix -- Buffalo-style wings and a bottle of Dom Perignon, $297; wings only, $12.

And, oh, those sweet FIXes: shake and cake, an espresso malt shake and warm chocolate brownie cake; warm banana doughnuts served from another original gizmo. If you're a grown-up kid who still likes bubble gum or bubble gum ice cream, have a bubble gum float. I'm the warm sticky toffee pudding or peach cobbler type, but I wouldn't pass on the doughnuts or the shake and cake.

General Manager Oliver J.C. Wharton's dad supplied the recipe for the sticky toffee pudding.

FIX offers dinner from 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday and from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For reservations, call 693-8300.

Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at MGM Grand: Emeril's New Orleans Fish House will debut its new look in early July. The smashing decor was created in tandem with the Rockwell Group of New York City. In keeping with the Fish House theme, the new design includes a 14-foot, wrought-iron fish sculpture at the entrance. Guests walk through a "water arch" that flows from the mouth of the fish to its tail.

Terrazzo fish swim in a custom floor embedded with bits of mother-of-pearl and shells. Design changes have been made throughout the restaurant and the ever-popular Main Bar/Seafood Bar, where a variety of crustaceans and mollusks are expertly prepared as diners watch.

Among the many new design features are a wine tower in the main dining room that showcases more than 2,200 bottles, and a chef's table, which seats up to 10 guests -- the table is enclosed by a glowing onyx wall that can be made opaque or transparent or private with the flip of the switch, and there are private dining rooms as well.

Emeril's menu features what Lagasse calls "New" New Orleans seafood along with a bit of history and cultural flavor. Jean Paul Labadie is the chef de cuisine; Ed Tuohy is the general manager; Richard Fletcher is the sommelier. Lunch and dinner are offered daily. Lunch hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner hours are 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. For reservations, call 891-7374.

New menus at Aqua: Michael Mina will open his Michael Mina restaurant at the historic St. Francis Westin hotel in San Francisco July 9. Reservations are already at a premium.

Mina's seasonal menus at Aqua at Bellagio include a number of delicious new additions, as well as a delightful vegetarian tasting menu.

Polonia Polish restaurant opens: At last, an authentic Polish restaurant, Polonia, has opened at Eastern and Flamingo avenues, across from St. Viator's. The deli counter alone is worth a visit. Such plump sausages and interesting groceries. Owners Mario and Annette Zieba handcrafted most of the decor and woodwork. Mario was 23 when Catholic Relief brought him to America and settled him in Las Vegas. He arrived with "one small suitcase and no money," said his friend Stanley Bobrowski, a native Nevadan who was kind enough to interpret for me. The Ziebas speak understandable, but limited, English. The restaurant speaks for itself.

Polonia is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information or reservations call 733-6662.

The beach beckons: Beaches and crab cakes and weather chilly enough to need a sweater. A bag of books and writing paper that may never feel the touch of my pen because the sea is the greatest soother and mesmerizer I've ever known. It's vacation time. I'm off to build sand castles and eat sand dabs.

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