{"id":899179,"date":"2025-12-02T15:32:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T23:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/?p=899179"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T00:13:28","slug":"durango-social-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/durango-social-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango Social Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In September we wrote that the new Durango Social Club would have a five-course-tasting-menu format, with dinners prepared by owner\/chef Dan Krohmer, an excellent chef who also owns Other Mama. As it turns out, that wasn\u2019t the plan. The concept now seems to be a changing line-up of chefs and events, ranging from a smashburger pop-up with $8 burgers to a chef residency called \u201cLilli by Chef Tyler Vorce\u201d for $125. We missed the smashburgers, which we were told were terrific, but got the whole seven-course treatment with Lilli in this experimental dining experience at 3655 S. Durango Drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chef<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you reserve online, you can choose to eat at a table or at the \u201cchef\u2019s counter\u201d if available. We opted for the counter, where we got to talk with Chef Vorce. He grew up in Maine and worked at several high-end restaurants, but his main feather is a five-year run at the vaunted French Laundry in Napa, where he worked under chefs Thomas Keller and David Breeden. Vorce chats with the customers while he prepares the dishes. He told us he\u2019s scouting a move to Las Vegas; hence, this test-run residency. Unless you want privacy, the counter is the way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s only one way to do this, and that\u2019s to walk you through it the way we did it. There\u2019s a wine pairing add-on for $75, which one in our party did, and part of that is a choice of cocktail to start. We had a martini.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First Course \u2014 Porcini Mushroom Bouillon<\/p>\n\n\n

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Second Course \u2014 Red Sea Bream, with radish, pear, and lemon verbena<\/p>\n\n\n

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Third Course \u2014 California Black Cod, with parsnips, tarragon, and grapefruit sabayon<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fourth Course \u2014 Violet Artichokes, with butter beans and smoked paprika<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fifth Course \u2014 Liberty Duck Breast, with quince, maitake mushrooms, and red walnut sauce<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sixth Course \u2014 Lamb Saddle, with stewed plums, sweet carrots, and preserved lemon sauce<\/p>\n\n\n

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Seventh Course \u2014 Fennel Pollen Pavlova, with satsumas and Nevada pine nuts<\/p>\n\n\n

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It\u2019s a tasting menu, so portions are small, but the cooks know what they\u2019re doing and you won\u2019t leave hungry. Keeping in mind that this is\u00a0LVA<\/em>\u00a0and we\u2019re pretty much powered by hot dogs, shrimp cocktail, and prime rib specials, we felt there was a bit too much fruit going on (count the grapefruit, satsumas, and quinces above). For example, the stewed plums and sweet carrots kinda got in the way of the lamb, but flavor pairing is what gourmet dining is often about. As would be expected, different dishes were preferred by different diners and that makes for an interesting dining experience. We also opted for an add-on caviar dollop that we split between two and it was added to the Black Cod. Caviar is costly ($45), but it made for one of the best pairings. It was the birthday of one in our party, which is the reason for the candle on the dessert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was a treat, albeit an expensive one. After the wine and caviar add-ons, a side cocktail, an 18% mandatory gratuity, and tax, the bill came in at $450. But along with a memorable meal, it was an unordinary experience, which is what Krohmer is aiming for with this effort. The meal described here will be offered on Saturdays and Sundays through December 28, then there will be new events at different price points. Monitor the schedule here <\/a>and pick one that you like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In September we wrote that the new Durango Social Club would have a five-course-tasting-menu format, with dinners prepared by owner\/chef Dan Krohmer, an excellent chef who also owns Other Mama. As it turns out, that wasn\u2019t the plan. The concept now seems to be a changing line-up of chefs and events, ranging from a smashburger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":899134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1446,1453],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-02-104221.png?fit=806%2C636&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":908397,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899179\/revisions\/908397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}