This was easily the most hectic, out-of-control and wonderful year for restaurant openings in Vegas history. No less than a dozen major openings took place during the last three months alone, including Café Ba-ba-reeba, Fleur de Lys, the $15 million Mix atop TheHotel at Mandalay Bay, and many others.
But this space is devoted to the dishes I reviewed within it, and that leaves out many amazing things I ate in places I didn't get to here. Oh, well. Look for them in this space next year.
So here, in the chronological order they were reviewed, is my Top 20 for this year.
1. Protein double-double burger at In-N-Out, various locations all over town. Most people have heard about this exemplary chain's "secret menu," and the most popular item on it is this killer burger, eaten in the hollow of a fresh lettuce leaf by Atkins freaks.
2. Lobster bisque en croûte at Mount Charleston Lodge, on Mount Charleston, Highway 157. 872-5408. I was shocked when I experienced the delicacy of the puff pastry, and the silky bisque underneath, as part of an $85 Valentine's Day dinner created by Master Chef Yves Menes, who is a local treasure.
3. Lamb burger at Burger Bar, in Mandalay Place. 632-7777. All meats are fresh ground to order at Hubert Keller's terrific food stop, but my favorite thing to eat here is the lamb burger. Crowned with crumbled feta and juicy, it's as Balkan as In-N-Out is American.
4. Yogurt parfait at Bouchon, inside the Venetian. 414-6200. Bouchon whips 40 percent fresh cream and a touch of vanilla bean into its yogurt parfait, then swirls it with fresh, marinated strawberries and the restaurant's homemade granola. Sheer divinity.
5. Mofongos con camarones at El Coqui, 2210 Paradise Road. 737-1868. Mofongos are mashed plantains mixed with pork cracklings and garlic that is pan-fried and eaten with toppings, especially in Puerto Rico. Have them here topped with whole shrimp, bathing in spicy red gravy.
6. Rack of lamb at Todd's Unique Dining, 4350 E. Sunset Road. 259-8633. American chef Todd Clore prepares one of the best lamb racks in town in his comforting Green Valley digs: gamy, top-quality meat marinated in herbs, then brushed with a Middle Eastern-style pomegranate molasses.
7. Salo-salo family special at Salo-Salo, 3650 S. Jones Blvd. 878-7256. Picture an entire stuffed pompano on a silvery platter, flanked by 10-foot-long skewers of grilled chicken, pork and beef, and then alongside, an entire grilled squid. Whew!
8. Seafood tostadas at Isla, inside the TI. 894-7111. Creative Mexican foodmeister Richard Sandoval has created a nouvelle tostada (beans under the shells), and does them topped with a trio of seafoods—crab, snapper and shrimp—ringed by ancho chile mayo.
9. Buttermilk panna cotta at Viale, at Caesars Palace. 731-7110. This magnificent dessert consists of a mound of the jiggly, Piedmontese -style baked cream surrounded by a brace of sorbets and fresh berries—a wonderful refresher.
10. Meatloaf sandwich at 'Wichcraft, inside the MGM Grand. 891-1111. Tom Colicchio of Craftsteak likes to call his restaurant "craft between two pieces of bread," and indeed, this glorious hunk of meatloaf, topped with cheese on ciabatta bread, deserves a ribbon.
11. Disznotoros at Goulash Hungarian Restaurant, 6135 W. Sahara Ave. 220-6690. Chef Peter Kelemen makes his own sausages for this "farmer's plate," a combination of spicy kielbasa and two others made from liver and rice, one white, the other a deep red.
12. Uttapam at Swagat, 3553 S. Rainbow Blvd. 247-4030. This new Indian restaurant serves both the meat-rich dishes of North India and the vegetarian fare of the south, like this fat semolina griddlecake laced with onions and chili, symphonic with mint chutney.
13. Roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich at Fix, inside Bellagio. 693-7111. On cold nights, nothing is more soothing than a kid-food combination like this: delicious soup and a pint-sized, perfectly toasted grilled cheese sandwich on the side. 'Nuff said.
14. Weisswurst at Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas, 4510 Paradise Road. 853-BEER (2337). The wurst, or sausages, are the best thing to eat at this festive German beer hall. Weisswurst, a fresh veal and pork sausage that real Munchners, allegedly, never eat after noon (so as not to detract from their freshness), is sheer poetry here, served poached in a white crock.
15-16. Keftedakia and rizogalo at Opa!, 2550 S. Rainbow Blvd. 876-3737. Keftedakia are juicy meatballs with crunchy outsides, permeated with the flavors of mint and garlic; and rizogalo is a creamy rice pudding dusted with cinnamon. Both were so good that they are included here, the only two dishes from one restaurant on this list.
17. Ong choy with oyster sauce at Bangkok Café, 4553 W. Flamingo Road. 871-5282. Ong choy, a.k.a. hollow vegetable or water spinach, is herbal, complex and terrific, especially sautéed with Chinese oyster sauce at this Thai dive.
18. Smothered turkey wings at Sweet Georgia Brown, 2600 E. Flamingo Road. 369-0245. Call in advance to see if this dish, the restaurant's best, is available the day you are going to come. It's often one bionic wing, fork-tender and smothered with pan juices and a rich brown gravy.
19. Squash-blossom quesadillas at Quinta Belina, 8665 W. Flamingo Road. 227-9191. This mom-and-pop Mexican is full of surprises, and one is that squash blossoms geometrically increase the appeal of an ordinary quesadilla.
20. Hamachi pepa at Koto, 9400 S. Eastern Ave., Henderson. 221-1600. Chef Toshiaki Horiai is the best off-Strip Japanese chef in town, and this dish—delicate sliced yellowtail topped with a ponzu sauce and diced chilies—is one of his signatures.