What type of construction is currently going on at the Tropicana?
They’re making room for TV chef Robert Irvine’s new restaurant, due to open this July.
The eatery will take the place of one of previous ownership’s pride and joys: the 11,134-square-foot race and sports book, which is being demolished to make room for Irvine. (A sacrifice that big makes one hope that Irvine sticks around longer than most of the Trop’s recent — but fleeting — additions in the food and entertainment departments. Irvine, as well, has had his share of fleeting eateries; two of his restaurants in Hilton Head, South Carolina, closed within three years of each other.)
According to VegasEater.com, “Current restaurant renderings indicate an open airy space, compatible with the resort’s South Beach-inspired design.” (A rumored second, non-Irvine restaurant appears to be on hold, judging from the remarks of Tropicana brass with whom we talked.)
Early renderings showed the restaurant branded as “Robert Irvine on the Strip.” However, fallback positions such as “Robert Irvine’s Nosh,” “Robert Irvine’s Eat,” and just plain “Robert Irvine” have already been steaked, er, staked out.
The super-buff Irvine, a former Royal Navy chef, has a list of TV credits as large as his biceps and currently hosts an eponymous daytime cooking show on the CW network, in which he displays his conflict-resolution skills. This isn’t his first foray into the casino world. He was for a time executive chef at now-defunct Trump Taj Mahal. He made the transition to the tube with the problem-solving show Dinner: Impossible. He lost a 2007 Iron Chef throwdown with Paula Deen, probably because the secret ingredient was sugar, Deen’s wheelhouse. Another Irvine TV venture bore the colorful name as "Worst Cooks in America."
Irvine, who likes to display his abs, made his Tropicana debut in spectacular fashion, rapelling down the 220-foot-tall hotel tower. When on the ground, he has lent his expertise to several White House administrations. Director of Presidential Food Service F.X. Fuller wrote an open letter to Irvine, saying, “Thank you very much for volunteering your valuable time for coming to the White House to train our chefs. Your culinary skills and current cooking techniques you shared with our staff have enabled us to take our service to an even higher level. The fact that you are giving back to your community clearly demonstrates that you are a great mentor, true professional and above all, loyal citizen of the United States.”
Let’s hope he can do for the Trop what he did for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In the meantime, we can all chow down with an Irvine-created Fit Crunch frozen pizza or maybe an Irvine-branded protein bar.
