On the Strip: International Smoke
A deliciously unique collaboration between restaurateur and TV personality Ayesha Curry and Bay Area-based superchef Michael Mina, International Smoke (MGM Grand, 702.891.3922) made its Las Vegas debut just before New Year's Eve with its fifth location. You may have heard it described as a barbecue restaurant, but it's more accurately imagined as global cuisine with an emphasis on wood-fired cooking, and the flavors are unlike anything you've experienced.
Start with smoky oysters dabbed with chili breadcrumbs, fresh-baked cornbread slathered with Thai red curry butter or Tokyo-style fried chicken marinated in ginger and soy. Braised Jamaican oxtail is a decadent and spicy dish laden with scotch bonnet peppers, and rib devotees will have to choose between Korean-style bone-in beef shortribs with kimchi and toasted sesame or St. Louis-cut pork ribs finished with Vietnamese, Korean or classic American barbecue sauces. Share your selections with friends along with the Whiskey and Weather punch bowl, combining bourbon, rum, apples and cinnamon. International Smoke is the tastiest way to start a new year in Vegas. –Brock Radke
Every Grain
Off the Strip: Every Grain
Chef Sheridan Su is responsible for putting specific dishes on the mainstream radar in Las Vegas, starting with bao at his first restaurant, Great Bao, and later at Fat Choy inside Eureka Casino. Hainanese chicken became his signature dish at Flock & Fowl, and now he's opened another spot, Every Grain (1430 E. Charleston Blvd., eateverygrain.com), where lu rou fan, a Taiwanese dish of rice and minced pork, takes center stage. A four-rice blend is topped with braised, minced pork, maitake mushrooms, scallions, shallots, pickled cucumber and soft-boiled soy egg. –Genevie Durano
Edge Steakhouse
#trending: Edge Steakhouse
There are countless classic steakhouse experiences throughout Las Vegas, but Edge Steakhouse (Westgate Las Vegas, 702.732.5277) transcends expectations by delivering a mix of tradition and innovation. Executive chef Steve Young offers a six-course tasting menu that includes 15 different dishes, truly showcasing the best the restaurant has to offer. Among the standouts are Spanish octopus carpaccio and a sublime wagyu beef tartare with quail egg, truffle aioli and beef fat toast. –Brock Radke
