After two and a half years of countless pop-ups, fun food and drinks and lots of hard work helping develop local restaurant concepts and kitchen talent, Vegas Test Kitchen is closing its doors on June 3. Founder and operator Jolene Mannina will be throwing a party on that final day of service from noon until 4 p.m. The current concepts at VTK are Down 2 Earth Plant Based Cuisine, Jawgogi’s American Asian, Stay Tuned Burgers, Arepaheads, Solamente Pizza and PopNpies. It’s open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at 1020 E. Fremont St. #120, and more info is available at vegastestkitchen.com.
Michael Vakneen, chef and pizzaiolo at Pop Up Pizza at the Plaza, won first place in the southwest region and second place in the world in the nontraditional professional division at the International Pizza Challenge during Pizza Expo last month in Las Vegas. He took the honors with his Champ’s Pie, a pork belly and date jam pizza on a 72-hour fermented sourdough crust, and Vakneen also won the title of World Sandwich Champion at the International Italian Sandwich Championship also held during Pizza Expo. The winning Champ’s Pie will be available at Pop Up for one day only on May 5 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. or while supplies last.
Tacotarian recently won the award of Best Vegan Taqueria in the 23rd annual Veggie Awards, presented by VegNews. More than one million votes were cast in 75 categories for this year’s awards and the winners were announced in the magazine’s spring Best of Vegan issue. Tacotarian, founded in 2018 by Carlos and Kristen Corral and Dan and Regina Simmons, has locations in Las Vegas and San Diego.
Jaleo at the Cosmopolitan is celebrating spring with its Gin & Tonic Festival, four unique cocktails to pair with Spanish tapas available April 17-30. The drinks are priced at $20 and the creative dishes to go with them, including piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese and grilled sea bass with Basque dressing, range from $14 to $60.
If you love whisky, make plans to check out the 12th annual Nth Ultimate Whisky and Spirits Experience, with tasting and education sessions scheduled for April 21-22 at Wynn Las Vegas. The Main Tasting is set for 6:30 p.m. April 22, offering the opportunity to sample rare spirits you may never encounter outside of this event. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit universalwhiskyexperience.com.
Karved rotisserie and sandwich shop is planning to open its second location this spring at The Gramercy. The expanded second store will feature favorites like slow-roasted chicken, tri-tip and porchetta plates, barbecue chicken and French Dip sandwiches, and breakfast options like steak and egg sandwiches. The original Karved on Maryland Parkway opened in 2017.
Crust & Roux at Town Square has teamed with Big B’s Texas BBQ to launch new menu items incorporating smoked meats and traditional barbecue sides into gourmet pizzas and pot pies. The collaborative dishes—a brisket pizza with slow-smoked beef, barbecue sauce, and red and green onions, and a bean and brisket pot pie—are available exclusively at Crust & Roux through May 14.
Carversteak at Resorts World has launched an updated spring menu with new items include roasted bone marrow with salsa bacon onion jam, scallop crudo with pickled cucumber and coconut-lime vinaigrette, Hudson Valley duck breast with red wine jus, and roasted carrots with spring garlic pesto.
Mott 32 at Palazzo has launched a new spring and summer menu and new dishes include freshwater prawns with asparagus and prawn roe, garlic crab with deep-fried mantou, wok-fried Angus beef with tea tree mushrooms, and whole lobster with crispy potatoes.
