Wynn Hotel
3131 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
Las Vegas, Nevada
www.wynn.com
As it seems all the U.S.'s top chefs have a restaurant in Las Vegas, selecting one took a bit of thought. I wanted a restaurant where providing a vegetarian menu was not an afterthought, but something well planned and done on a nightly basis. Alex at the Wynn seemed to fit what I was looking for.The reviews for Alex can't seem to get any better. The restaurant has twice been awarded two stars from Michelin, and chef Alessandro Stratta has been recognized as the best chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation. People I know who've eaten there, including vegetarians, give it high praise.
Amid such high acclaim, I was expecting great things. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.
I had the seven-course vegetable tasting menu at $130. While some dishes were wonderful - the fava bean and spinach lasagne with sweet pea emulsion and wild mushrooms (below), in particular - some felt like a thrown together hodge-podge. The roasted purple cauliflower with black truffles, ginger-poached rhubarb and endive marmalade (above) simply didn't work. The flavors didn't coalesce and complement, they stood apart. And while there may have been a couple of flakes of black truffles, there certainly wasn't enough to impart any flavor.
The first course - a 1" square of thinly sliced watermelon with a few leaves of arugula and a drizzle of balsamic - had a decent flavor, but was so simplistic it belonged as an amuse bouche at a raw foods restaurant, but not on the tasting menu at Alex.
A bright spot were the wine pairings. The sommelier did a great a job delivering innovative vintages that worked well with each course. At $60, the pairings were a stunning bargain.
There is so much competition for top-level vegetarian dining experiences that Alex needs to raise their bar if they wish to remain a player.
