VEGAS DINING ROUNDUP: Meet Cosmo’s Holstein Replacement, La (Not So) Popular Closes at Palms

Posted on: September 18, 2024, 02:23h. 

Last updated on: October 1, 2024, 08:18h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

In January, the Cosmopolitan will open its first real Mexican eatery, Amaya Modern Mexican Restaurant, in the space formerly occupied by Holsteins Shakes and Buns, which the MGM-owned casino resort shuttered in July.

Amaya will be owned and operated by Gen3 Hospitality, which also owns Haute Doggery and Flour & Barley pizza at the Linq. It will serve a selection of coastal Mexican dishes created by chef Jason McLeod, the culinary director of Clique Hospitality, which is creating the restaurant for Gen3.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which broke the story, the eatery’s name “pays homage to an inspiring woman the team met in Mexico while tasting for the restaurant.” However, there is already an Amaya Restaurant in Mexico City. It is not known whether the two are related or even know about one another.

Since opening in 2010, the closest Cosmopolitan has come to serving Mexican food is China Poblano by Jose Andres, which fuses it with Chinese.

For more information, follow @amayamexican on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.

Food Network Loves Off-Menu Spago Item

The blog at the Food Network recently included General Tso’s Wings at the new Spago, now fountainside at the Bellagio, among its 14 picks for “The Best Chicken Wings in America.” What’s unusual about the choice is that those wings aren’t on the menu.

“Everyone loves a secret, off-menu dish,” read the blog, which praised the wings, which are tossed in a sweet and spicy garlic sauce after being smothered in cilantro and scallions.

Dining Ins & Outs

It looks like La Popular CDMX wasn’t as popular as its name suggested. The much-ballyhooed Mexican restaurant at the Palms, whose menu was created by executive chef Cesar de la Parra, has closed after just over a year in the space formerly occupied by Bobby Flay’s Shark. It was owned and operated by Grupo Carolo of Mexico City — CDMX are the initials for Ciudad de México — and Eureka Restaurant Group of California.

Marché Bacchus, the popular French restaurant overlooking Lake Jacqueline in Desert Shores, has new owners. Rhonda and Jeff Wyatt. who have owned the eatery since 2007, have sold to HUKL Hospitality. The Wyatts purchased it from Gregoire and Agathe Verge, the couple from Burgundy who founded Marché Bacchus as a wine store in 2000.

Dave’s Hot Chicken will join the offerings at Harry Reid International Airport early next year. Airport concessionaire JV Ventures will run this outpost of the Nashville-style hot chicken, which also has locations at the Grand Bazaar Shops on the Strip, and at 9040 W. Sahara Ave.