We stepped out into what is normally the Palazzo’s porte cochere to discover a glowing dining-room wonderland, and then bartending legend Tony Abou-Ganim mixed us a scratch margarita. We kicked off our memorable meal with two perfect dishes from two of the world’s iconic chefs: chilled Alaskan king crab with Meyer lemon gremolata from Emeril Lagasse and an obscenely delicious charcuterie platter from Daniel Boulud (including a duck, fig and foie gras paté that will haunt our dreams). Supermodel Tyra Banks must have liked the appetizers, too, as she showered affection upon the culinarians.
Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim prepares his scratch margaritas at Palazzo's Dinner on the Strip, part of Bon Appétit's Vegas Uncork'd.
It was just another Dinner on the Strip, standard operating procedure for a Vegas Uncork’d event—especially during last weekend’s 10th anniversary of the Bon Appétit-driven food fest. But the best part was what most attendees didn’t even realize: Stormy weather prevented the dinner from being held in front of the Venetian’s canals on a specially designed apparatus that would have literally suspended us over the Strip while we feasted on chef Olivier Dubreuil’s cumin chicken tagine and chef Kim Canteenwalla’s peerless porchetta. And yet no member of the Venetian’s crew missed a beat, and no one left unsatisfied. The show must go on, and it must be fabulous. It’s just the Vegas way.
