The year 2022 is right around the corner. Surely you are looking back at your own personal retrospective of this last very interesting year, and hopefully looking forward to the potential of the future. It seems like the right time to also consider a Las Vegas dining retrospective of 2021, revisiting some of the biggest restaurant openings of the year and perhaps digging deeper to find some fantastic food options you may have missed in recent months. And what better way to ring in 2022 than with a great meal?
Let’s begin downtown at Circa Resort & Casino, which opened in the fall of 2020, but, because of the obvious challenges of the times, not everyone has been able to partake in the full experience at this bold new Las Vegas resort. 8 East (702.726.5508) is a great example of a great new restaurant that has been flying under the radar. The sister eatery to downtown’s wildly popular Le Thai, this Asian powerhouse offers a range of small plates and snacks, noodles, rice and dumpling dishes with memorable flavors. Dig into chicken yakitori, rich beef short rib dumplings with horseradish cream, salt and Szechuan pepper chicken wings or cumin lamb lollipops to get a first taste of this exciting new destination on Circa’s second floor.
It’s all about Mexican food out in the suburbs of Summerlin with the energetic new La Neta (702.476.5484), a stylish restaurant and lounge attracting the see-and-be-seen crowd for group dinners and fabulous weekend brunches. This recently opened, versatile venue at the northern end of Downtown Summerlin seems to do it all, from craft cocktails to authentic favorites such as queso fundido, ceviche and cochinita pibil, and large-format dishes perfect for sharing with your party-ready friends, like pan-fried whole branzino and a butter-poached lobster, ready to pick apart for DIY tacos.
An even newer arrival is taking the neighborhood of Henderson by storm. Boom Bang Fine Food & Cocktails (702.478.6200) is serving up a tasty and cozy mashup of French and American fare, including a savory mushroom tart with goat cheese mousse, charcuterie boards stocked with artisanal meats and cheeses, duck confit with poached pears and chive-scallion oil, and fish and chips made with wild Alaskan cod. That’s the spot you need to hit in the southeast; in the southwest, the casual Gabi’s Gorditas (702.268.7466) is winning over its neighborhood with its signature mini masa sandwiches filled with slow-cooked beef and ancho chile demi-glace, tuna poke and avocado salsa, or longaniza sausage and potatoes with melted Oaxaca cheese.
Of course, the Las Vegas Strip was replete with exciting new dining choices in 2021, but there was at least one landmark Strip restaurant that made its debut in 2020 and definitely hasn’t received due attention for its quality cuisine and stunning atmosphere. Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse (702.733.3111) is the signature culinary experience at the iconic Flamingo, which is celebrating an incredible 75 years this month at the center of the Strip, and the vintage experience here is an appropriate summation of this resort’s legacy with bold flavors to boot. Transport yourself to a different era of Las Vegas while enjoying a modern spin on traditional steakhouse fare. Go all out with a striking seafood tower, decadent lobster bisque, an old-school Caesar salad laced with aged Parmesan, and your favorite cut from the B&M Private Reserve collection of dry- and wet-aged premium steaks. Just be sure to save room for an incredible dessert that layers banana bread, devil’s food cake and milk chocolate mousse. You can think about New Year’s resolutions later.
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