A&E

All The Vegas Podcast: Graffiti Bao chef Marc Marrone

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Marc Marrone launched Graffiti Bao at T-Mobile Arena before taking it into the neighborhood.
Photo: Steve Marcus

The month-old Graffiti Bao restaurant at Warm Springs and Buffalo is one of the hottest eateries in the Las Vegas Valley, but it was originally meant to be a quick-serve concession at Vegas Golden Knights games and other events at T-Mobile Arena.

“I figured it’d be for this season but it was like, ‘Great, we’ll get you in next week,’” says chef Marc Marrone on getting the greenlight to start operating at the Fortress. “Then we did a couple really cool events and a lot of people were like, ‘Where are you guys located?’ So I just [answered], ‘We’re going to open one up soon.’ And my partner looked at me like, ‘We are?’”

That rapid-fire development sparked Marrone’s first restaurant and he’s got plans for more. Right now the former corporate executive chef for the Tao Group in Las Vegas is focusing on Graffiti Bao and he’s breaking down his greatest-hits Chinese menu on this episode of All The Vegas.

We also talk with Marc about ordering cheeseburgers instead of chicken fingers at Las Vegas dayclubs; serving up bao and nachos at two different concession kiosks to crazy hockey fans; how missing his family while working in Singapore helped him decide to break out and open his own restaurant; launching his career at age 22 at the original Tao in New York City; installing a by-the-slice, walk-up window pizzeria at his upcoming Italian restaurant at the Bend project; freezing up when bumping into Madonna at the Cosmopolitan; and creating the bao dog.

EPISODE 34: THE VEGAS YOU NEED

Marc recently cooked with chef Josh Smith at Life Is Beautiful and he remains enamored with Josh’s food at Bardot Brasserie at Aria.

Mark reminds us all that this is the right time of year to get outside and enjoy all the natural splendor that is Red Rock Canyon.

Brock wants you to eat everything at Graffiti Bao and then check in on the new Firefly for a nightcap. It’s in the same retail center and it’s lovely.

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