Author: LVA

50 Top Pizza is an independent online ranking service that’s dear to our hearts; like us, they evaluate restaurants, in this case pizzerias, with anonymous inspections, then pay in full for their meals. In this year’s 50 Top Pizzas USA Guide, two pizzerias in Las Vegas made the list, one of which is Døuble Zerø (or ØØ) Pie & Pub. TastingTable.com, a popular site that covers all things in the food and restaurant world, also identified ØØ as one of the top 14 pizzerias in Las Vegas. And ØØ being located within a three-minute drive of our office doesn’t hurt.

First, about the name. “00” is the most finely sifted flour, common in Italian pizza, calzone, and focaccia making, perfect for airy crispy crusts. Second, the pizza chef, Michael Vakneen of Popup Pizza fame (at the Plaza downtown since 2012), lets the dough rise enough to stretch it out in such a way that the crust blisters, then he burns it slightly to perfection.

Third, Vakneen, a New York Italian, went to Tokyo to learn how to perfect his Neapolitan pizza technique. Yes, it sounds like the start of a joke (with the punchline something like, Do Tokyo chefs go to Rome to improve on their sushi?). Apparently, in Tokyo, Neapolitan pizza is made with the obsessive and perfectionist attention that’s invested in sushi and rice. Oh, and did we mention that the ØØ oven is wood-fired? Heating pizza ovens with wood is classic Naples style that dates back to the 1700s, adds special flavors and textures, and retains the freshness of the toppings.

It all adds up, as the experts attest, to some of the best pizza in the country.

The restaurant is on Spring Mountain Rd. on the western edge of Chinatown near the corner of Valley View. It’s a pub as well as pizzeria, with a long bar and brick walls giving it an industrial feel. The kitchen, complete with pizza oven, is right out in the open next to the bar, so you can see everything that goes into making these fantastic pies.

The food menu is limited to antipasti, starting with the house pickles ($8) and a couple of salads, including Caesars, and roasted red peppers ($10) and going up to wagyu carpaccio ($20). There are eight pizzas — marinara, mushroom, pepperoni, eggplant, short rib, etc. ($17-$26) — with a choice of three special sauces. They’re smallish, though big enough for two if you start with an appetizer or salad.

We tried the house pickles, seasonal vegetables naturally fermented, and a Caesar salad that were both as good as we’ve ever had.

Then we got a marinara pizza topped with speck, cured ham that’s like prosciutto, but with the added factor of a smokiness that can’t be beat. We took home one slice and the next day, the crust was as crisp and airy as when it came out of the oven; the sauce, cheese, and meat hadn’t caused any sogginess at all. (Note that ØØ doesn’t do takeout; they’ll give you a box for leftovers, but you have to eat in.)

It was an unforgettable meal — simple, striking, and scrumptious. The bill, with one glass of ale, came to $50 including tax, which was almost ridiculously modest for such an exquisite dining experience. We can’t wait to return.

Wow. How is it that we never even heard of this place until Yelp named it the number-one brunch restaurant in the entire country? Talk about under the radar.

In May, Yelp compiled its annual list of the 100 top brunch restaurants in the U.S. based on reviews on the site. Though California had the most brunches at 15, followed by Florida (11) and Texas (9), Las Vegas had the number-one-ranked restaurant. Toasted Gastrobrunch moved into the top spot after being ranked #22 last year.

It’s been in business in Las Vegas for five years and has two locations, both out in the western valley near the Beltway (9516 W. Flamingo right at the Beltway and 7345 Arroyo Crossing Parkway just south of the Beltway a bit west of Buffalo), plus three in San Diego.

With that kind of recommendation, we ran out to the one on Flamingo to see what all the fuss was about. We saw!

To start with, it’s an Interesting place, full of farm-animal decor.

The brander/decorator also has a distinct sense of humor.

It also has a seven-seat counter, outdoor patios on two sides, and plenty of tables inside, but the word is out. When we arrived at 11:30 on a Monday morning, Toasted was less than half full, but by the time we left at 12:15, every inside table was taken (the counter had availability).

The menu is extensive and creative to the point of innovative, no mean feat for breakfast/brunch.

Eggs start with the Plain Jane — two eggs, bacon or Portuguese sausage, truffle potatoes, and a roasted half-tomato ($17) — then go off on flights of fancy all the way to Eggs in Purgatory, a sunnyside egg in a sourdough bowl with shakshuka sauce, scallions, and mint ($18). They also come with smoked brisket, veggie, or ABC (avocado, pork belly, and cheddar) hash, steak ($28), just the whites, omelet, and scrambles. Benedict fans (like us) choose from short ribs, fried chicken, regular bacon, and veggie with nut-free pesto hollandaise ($17-$19.50). Then there are four French toasts ($12-$18), four south-of-the-border breakfasts, three toasts including salmon and lobster ($17-$18), plus sandwiches, burgers, and desserts.

The drink menu features eight mimosas, including a four-drink flight ($22), three Bellinis ($11), cocktails, wine, beer, flaming coffees, and all the lattes, capuccinos, and espressos you’d expect.

We went for the regular bacon Benny. The bacon was thick (good), the asparagus was thin (better), the eggs runny (perfect), the English muffins crisp (they barely got soggy throughout the meal), the hollandaise creamy (beautiful), and the roasted half-tomato with parmesan juicy (excellent). It also came with a big bowl of truffle potatos, similar to tater tots, but round, with a stainless-steel cup of ketchup. Trust us when we tell you that it was an astounding meal, both in quality and quantity, and we had to consciously stop ourselves from moaning in culinary rapture from start to finish.

Speaking of finish, we couldn’t. It was a ridiculous amount of food, especially for the price ($18). All the dishes we spied at tables around us were the same. It seems that it doesn’t matter what you order or how big an appetite you have, you probably won’t be able to eat your entire meal.

We can easily see how Yelpers rated Toasted Gastrobrunch the nation’s number one.

When you think about Las Vegas’ most acclaimed restaurants, Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas probably doesn’t come to mind, but it should. It’s received 5 Diamonds from AAA, 5 Stars from Forbes, and was the first Chinese restaurant in North America to earn a Michelin Star. In 2016, John Curtas named it one of Las Vegas’ “Essential 50” restaurants in Eating Las Vegas. So what took us so long to try it? Well, mostly because it took this long to get a comp. Just kidding. The real reason is we plain overlooked it. We had occasion to try Wing Lei last month and it was fantastic.

5 Stars

A lot goes into becoming a 5-Star restaurant — food quality and service, obviously, but ambience is a big part of it, too. This place has a great feel. For example, since plates are usually shared, every seat has two sets of chopsticks, one for grabbing food from the communal plates and the other for eating it off of yours. That makes so much sense, but the over/under on how many attempts before you forget, or get them mixed up and serve yourself incorrectly, is 2.5. You get the amuse-bouche (free appetizer) to start, mini-pastries you didn’t order for dessert, and a box with cookies to take with you. First-class all the way. You a foodie baller, bro.

Order the Duck

We asked an F&B director we know what to order and he said, “You gotta go with the duck,” as in the Imperial Peking Duck. Same advice from John Curtas in Eating Las Vegas. And before we ordered, our dining partner announced that he’d already ordered it ahead. Yep, the word’s out on the duck. We’ve had Peking duck before, but this one was better. The glistening cooked duck is wheeled out, presented, then carved tableside in a little show of its own. Then the server prepares a few Mandarin crepes (so you get a clue about how you’re supposed to eat them) and leaves the rest to you. This dish is $131.88 and, with some appetizers, it was the only entrée needed for our party of three. Those appetizers included a sampler for $53.88, a mushroom combo for $29.88, and potstickers for $28.88 (8s are lucky in Chinese culture). Beers — Lucky Budha and Yanging China — were $10 each. 

The Verdict

Chalk up Wing Lei as another primo dining experience at the Wynn. This is a first-rate splurge and not an overly expensive one at that. Appetizers are mostly in the $20s, so an app or two and that $130 duck will get you out at around $100 per person. And it can be less: soy sea bass is $53.88, General Tao’s chicken is $41.88, and Cantonese chow mein is $27.88. We didn’t try them, but it’s -300 that they’re excellent. Check it out, and good luck with that chopstick challenge.