Spanish Inquisition – Part One
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
1M ago
As a first time tourist in any country, I’m usually an easy lay. Buy me a drink of good, indigenous hooch and I’ll lift my skirt. Seduce me with the tastiest local vittles and I’m yours for the asking. Show me your historical sites and I’ll show you my…er…uh…you get the idea. With Spain though, I left my roll in the jamon not so much begging for more, but rather, wondering if what we ate was all it had to give. It did not sweep me off my feet as much as leave me feeling that our first date might be our last. Which is another way of saying I liked Spain but didn’t love it. Not the way I’ve fal ..read more
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The Best Restaurant in Town
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
1M ago
Quality is always inversely proportional to quantity. – Lionel Pôilane There are passion restaurants and there are money restaurants. Passion restaurants are imbued with a feeling — a personal connection between staff and client — which is palpable. The people behind them are to the kitchen born, and can’t imagine themselves doing anything else. Restaurants in it solely for the shekels betray themselves with a vibe (sometimes subtle, sometimes not so) which says, “you’re just a number to us.” Ferraro’s is a passion restaurant; Raku is a passion restaurant; Tao is a money restaurant. Esther’s ..read more
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EATING LAS VEGAS 2023 – The 52 Essential Restaurants
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
3M ago
(Grumpy gastronome grades great and egregious grub) Remember reading? When one had to digest actual words on a printed page (or screen) when researching restaurants? Nowadays, attention spans  are shorter than a housefly’s, and the written word is deader than Duncan Hines.  Sad but true, and a reality it is time to face. So rather than crying in our burgundy, we thought it better to go out in a blaze of glory….and by “blaze of glory” I mean a 7,300 word salad of salacious searching for serious sustenance to share with our fellow fressers. As an aging boomer who doesn’t have the time ..read more
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Peter Luger Steaks Its Claim
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
5M ago
“You’re not being rude enough,” was the first thing I said to our waiter (Tony) as he was cheerfully guiding us through the menu and drink order. He just smiled and shrugged, “That’s not the way we do things around here,” and then kept on being more solicitous than a billboard lawyer at a fender-bender. Which is another way of warning you that when  it comes to atmosphere and service, Peter Luger Las Vegas is as far from the actual Peter Luger (the one located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge in actual New York), as Caesars Palace is from actual Rome. Except for the food — which h ..read more
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Best New Restaurants 2023
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
7M ago
(Riayn’s 00 pies will get your attention) It’s been a banner year for new restaurants, but most of the growth has been confined to the ‘burbs. (Face it: the Strip is now more boring than an Elon Musk boondoggle.) Whether the engine is a booming economy, pent-up demand or big money finally stepping into the food game (Hello, The Sundry and Lev Group!), the greater Las Vegas area is teeming with worthy newcomers, some done on a shoestring, others well-financed, each seeking a slice of the hunger pie. In years past we might’ve had trouble coming up with half a dozen lip-smacking joints, this year ..read more
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Paris 2023 – Lunchtime in the City of Light
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
9M ago
(Ed. note: It seems half the people we know are heading to Paris this year (Can you say: “pent-up demand”?), so we thought we’d suggest a few places for them to eat, particularly for those looking for the classic over the au courant.) DEJEUNER ALL DAY  – Lunchtime in the City of Light Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half. – Charles de Montesquieu I like to break into my Parisian tours de degustation slowly, first as a tourist, then as a persnickety critic, and finally as a unapologetic sybarite — the kind of gourmet who likes to bathe in hedonism like asparagus in Hollandaise ..read more
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Steer and Loathing in Las Vegas
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
10M ago
Any freak…can walk into the Circus-Circus and suddenly appear in the sky over downtown Las Vegas twelve times the size of God, howling anything that comes into his head. No, this is not a good town for psychedelic drugs. There I was, standing at the entrance, of my own free will, and not on drugs. But they would’ve helped. Had I lost a bet? Gotten waylaid on my way to CUT? What possible confluence of forces could’ve driven me to such an etiolated place when I’m surrounded by properties  brimming with boffo beef? Was I suffering from sentimentality. In such a malaise that my eternal quest ..read more
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April in Paris
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
10M ago
The trouble with Paris is the human body is only designed to eat 4-to-5 meals a day. And early Spring is the perfect time to provoke your appetite for this moveable feast. The air is crisp but not cold. It may rain a little but there is revival in the air, and spring in everyone’s step. Sun worshipers flock to the public gardens and you can literally feel the city stirring itself from months of slumber. April is too late for somber bleakness to blanket the city in its wintry cloak, and too early for tourists to harsh your mellow. You can dress up (or down) without fear of ruining your clothes ..read more
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Late-Stage Las Vegas + The List
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
11M ago
(Changing the game at 1228 Main) Writers take their muses wherever they find them. The inspiration for this post came from James Reza — longtime Las Vegan, once my editor; now a thoughtful observer of all things Vegas — in a tweet about the possibility of the Oakland Athletics moving to town: Demolishing a historic Strip casino property and abandoning its gaming license to build a partially taxpayer funded baseball stadium is late-stage Las Vegas. — James P. Reza (@AuthenticVegas) May 10, 2023 Which got me to thinking about “late-stage” culinary Las Vegas. Just where are we now? And what do w ..read more
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How To Walk Into a Restaurant
Being John Curtas
by John Curtas
1y ago
(Man-purse optional) Entering a restaurant really is an art form in itself. The confidence, the charm, the way new arrivals move across the space — there’s a real elegance to someone who knows how to do it.  – Edward Chisholm, “A Waiter in Paris” Taking your table at a restaurant is probably something you take for granted. But by treating your entrance as just another trudge, you are losing a golden opportunity to advertise yourself as a customer who’s not to be trifled with. And in this era of non-stop narcissism, it is a way to show off in a manner that actually matters — the matter at ..read more
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