Latest / New Worlder / Episode #106: Sarah Thompson

Transcript

Episode #106: Sarah Thompson · New Worlder

• 0:00
  This is the New Worlder podcast,
• 0:02
  and I am one of your hosts,
• 0:03
  Nicholas Gill.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Co-host Juliana Duque will be joining shortly.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Today, we are speaking with Sarah Thompson.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: She is the chef of Casa Playa in the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Sarah was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 0:20
  She is a Culinary Institute of America graduate and spent many
• 0:24
  years working in New
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: York City at restaurants like Marea and Alder.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: But when taking a job with Enrique Olvera and Daniela Soto-Inez at Cosme,
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: she fell in love with Mexican cuisine.
• 0:39
  When that restaurant wanted a variation of it called Elio in
• 0:44
  Las Vegas to open,
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: she was tapped as the executive chef.
• 0:48
  They opened right at the same time the pandemic hit,
• 0:51
  like the same day almost.
• 0:53
  So after months of openings and closings and instability on the
• 0:57
  Las Vegas Strip,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: that restaurant closed.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: However,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: still in Vegas,
• 1:02
  she was able to convince the wind to let her take over the
• 1:04
  space and serve her form
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: of Mexican cooking.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Casa Playa serves coastal Mexican food,
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: but it's not attached to any specific region or anything like that.
• 1:15
  Sarah has no sentimental background with a grandmother and
• 1:18
  mutual con or anything.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: So she's not trying to insinuate that she does,
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: and she just lets the flavors work together as she sees fit.
• 1:26
  It's a very particular environment running a restaurant inside
• 1:29
  of a casino.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: The way people dine is different.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: They often come in large groups.
• 1:34
  She has a late night taco menu for those that just wants to
• 1:37
  stop in for a quick
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: bite before,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: during,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: or after going to a club or some kind of attraction.
• 1:43
  The lighting is beyond her control at times,
• 1:46
  which we found out during the interview.
• 1:48
  These unique attributes also give her an opportunity to do
• 1:52
  things a little differently.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really fascinating world in Las Vegas.
• 1:57
  I know it seems like a place I personally wouldn't like if you
• 2:00
  read my work,
• 2:01
  but...
• 2:01
  I've never really gone there for all of the money and excess
• 2:04
  and nightlife that it
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: kind of has this reputation for.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: But I used to go a lot as a kid with my family,
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: and I've always appreciated just the weirdness of Las Vegas,
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: which is kind of everywhere,
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: though sometimes you have to peel back what's on the surface.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: If you haven't subscribed to my newsletter,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: just go to newworlder.com or search for New Worlder on Substack.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's free to subscribe, though paid subscribers get access to
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: to all of the content and back archives.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Again, that's newworlder.com or newworlder on Substack.
• 2:37
  Also look for my books,
• 2:39
  like the Latin American Cookbook at small bookstores everywhere.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can also check out the New Worlder YouTube channel.
• 2:46
  We have full video episodes there as well as some clips and
• 2:48
  other video content.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Just go to youtube.com slash newworlder
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: And please subscribe, like us, and share us.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Every little bit helps get this podcast listened to.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Enjoy the show.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Hi, Sarah.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: How are you?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, I'm good.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_03: How about you?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: Good.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_03: Hi, Sarah.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_03: Hi.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_03: Where are you joining us from, Julia?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_03: I heard that you were different time difference?
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_03: Los Angeles.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: Gotcha.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: So we're in the same time zone.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Juliana.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: So the time, it still changes in both places.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but there are continents in which time change.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was confusing to me because I'm like teaching a class this week and I
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: I keep getting confused when I'm not supposed to actually show up.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe two or three continents in which I feel the same.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: So, Sarah, where are you?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Are you at the restaurant now?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_03: I'm at the restaurant, but they just turned all of the lights off.
• 4:30
  So I'm going to have to put my head out and ask them to turn
• 4:33
  them back on,
• 4:33
  if you don't mind.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Go ahead.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: But at least you made it, Juliana.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: No, I mean, silliness.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: This is a globalization.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: Some, you know, downsides.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of downsides, honestly.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, there's Sarah's lights are back on, it looks like.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, here she comes.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry about that.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: Can you hear me?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's all right.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's like, yeah.
• 5:03
  Suddenly it's like,
• 5:04
  as soon as we hit record,
• 5:05
  it just like,
• 5:06
  it goes black.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: I thought it was something.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: No, no.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: They're,
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_03: working in a casino,
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: they have,
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: they're working on the lights in the restaurant right now.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I just asked them to put it on pause.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: So Las Vegas, it's such a fascinating place.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't been in such a long time.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: Not since the pandemic, I don't think.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: But, like, I've always loved it there.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: And, like, my dad used to gamble a lot.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: He used to play, like, slot machines.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, growing up, we went as a family, like, a bunch of times.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: And probably, like, a half dozen times, I guess.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: And he never really, like, won a lot or lost a lot.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: But the casinos, like, always treated him, like, really nice.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: They would give him, like, sweets and plane tickets and sometimes –
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, usually like comp restaurant bills.
• 6:01
  So it's like I have like really nice memories of just living
• 6:07
  well in Las Vegas.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Not so much like the party vibe because it was like I was younger.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like I never really had that.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just being catered to in these nice hotels and in rooms.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just it's always been positive.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: But the one thing I remember the most about Las Vegas is
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: was this weird flea market that was off the strip.
• 6:31
  It was called like the world's fantastic swap meet or something
• 6:37
  like that.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like I have no idea if it's still there or not,
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: but like we would always go to it like every time.
• 6:43
  And like my dad would buy these like $3 plastic shower heads
• 6:48
  and like they didn't
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: have like water saving controls.
• 6:51
  So they were like super strong and he would like buy a half
• 6:54
  dozen of them and just
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: like give them to people.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: but it's, do you know what I'm talking about?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: I know exactly what you're talking about.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_03: I went like two weeks ago.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's still very alive, very well.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_03: It's probably bigger than when you were there last,
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: just because I feel like every time I go,
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: it's bigger and bigger and bigger.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's, you know, probably 20 minutes from the strip.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_03: And you can just, you can literally buy anything you want there.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_03: You can buy, you know,
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: t-shirts.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: You can buy a comal,
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: you can buy beer,
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_03: you can buy,
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: they have like a whole stall of just like different band t-shirts,
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: which is really funny,
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_03: but they have awesome food.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of like local vendors set up shop there now.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: And it's, it's just like a great way to spend your morning.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_03: Honestly, on the weekends, it's crazy.
• 7:40
  The lines to get in are,
• 7:42
  you know,
• 7:42
  sometimes up to an hour,
• 7:43
  which is crazy,
• 7:45
  but it's awesome.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 7:49
  The last time I was there was at least 10 years ago or
• 7:51
  something like that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_03: That's so fun.
• 7:52
  I can't believe that you...
• 7:53
  I'm sure it still retains this weirdness to it.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's quite odd.
• 8:00
  I love that place so much because it had this real character
• 8:03
  and the people working
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: there and the types of stalls just selling the weirdest shit.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: All very different things you would never find anywhere.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And it was like
• 8:16
  It was like this other side of Las Vegas that just felt so different,
• 8:19
  but also so wonderful.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And like, it was fascinating.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: What did you buy there?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: I got a concho that had Homer Simpson on it.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_03: It was really fun.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I've gotten a hat or two.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_03: I typically go honestly just for the experience and to enjoy some food.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they have great tacos.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry about the lights.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: They are working on them.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_03: It'll get better or worse and then they'll be done.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_03: But honestly, I just go with like a few of my chefs.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_03: We go and we have a great time just eating around.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just there's a little bit of something for everyone, you know.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just a really cool place.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's so cool.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: when I was there,
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: 10-plus years ago,
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: there definitely wasn't much of a food part to it.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like,
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: there were some,
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: packaged products of,
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: just all selling,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: that one item that the person made and was trying to,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: market or whatever.
• 9:19
  But I don't remember maybe,
• 9:20
  like,
• 9:21
  one,
• 9:21
  like,
• 9:22
  restaurant still,
• 9:23
  but I don't remember –
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: tacos or much else.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but that's cool.
• 9:30
  They now have a little amusement park for kids as well and a
• 9:34
  huge stage for people to perform.
• 9:37
  There's always like live music going on and there's like a huge
• 9:40
  like dance area.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: So there's like a bunch of bands playing,
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_03: a bunch of people dancing and it's,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_03: it's really expanded.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: It's even in the five years that I've been here.
• 9:51
  Cause it was just this weird freakish shopping center,
• 9:55
  like way off strip when I was there.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's, that's amazing to hear that it's,
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: transformed and grown.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: I was almost certain it just died during the pandemic.
• 10:11
  They definitely closed for a little bit of time,
• 10:13
  but then they came back stronger than ever.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_03: I love that that's your memory of Las Vegas.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like no one's ever asked me about the swap meet before.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_03: But I think that if I ask anyone in my kitchen, they have all been.
• 10:29
  One of my tortilla cooks actually at one point had a stall
• 10:32
  there and would make
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: birria and sell birria at the swap meet.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Is it only open on the weekends or is it every day?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: It might be open other days, but it's the weekends is where it's at.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_03: So like the family, all the families go out.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: It's really fun.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like people forget that Vegas is more than just the strip.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: I mean,
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: it's such a hospitality driven city and so many people work here and,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: live here to work here.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_03: But everyone who works here is not going to the strip on their days off.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like we're going to do different experiences.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: And like that's that's how a lot of people spend their weekend.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's like in New York.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Most New Yorkers don't go to Times Square.
• 11:15
  Not that the strip is essentially Times Square,
• 11:20
  but just where the tourists are or whatever.
• 11:28
  I was for the first time in a casino three days ago on my way
• 11:34
  back from Joshua Tree
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: in the Casino of Aguas Calientes here in California.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: So I noticed that everything is very controlled,
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: even the air,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_02: the temperature,
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: everything seems to be the lighting.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I wonder...
• 12:00
  Because we were basically looking for a place to eat in a rush,
• 12:05
  very hungry.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: So we realized that the restaurant was inside the casino.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: So we had to go through the whole thing.
• 12:14
  But I was thinking,
• 12:16
  obviously,
• 12:17
  the experience of dining in a casino is different.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I wonder...
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: how much of that impacts the restaurant in terms of,
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know,
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: norms,
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: regulations,
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_02: the lighting has to be the same,
• 12:34
  like how much is it restrict what the restaurant can do or
• 12:39
  restaurants in general
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: or not?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_02: Because it seems to me that in this case,
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_02: everything had to be under the same kind of,
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: energy,
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: vibe,
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: obviously music.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I don't know how much your work is affected or influenced,
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: not necessarily negatively,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: but I am curious about that.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_03: Working for a casino is definitely a really unique experience.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: I would say that a lot of the trends,
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_03: like a lot of the people who come in and out,
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_03: like are dictated by what's going on in the city.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: So,
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_03: when we have big sporting events,
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: big like concerts,
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_03: big conferences,
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: like we see a huge influxes of people,
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_03: which is great.
• 13:20
  And I've noticed year after year,
• 13:22
  like last January,
• 13:23
  we were particularly slow.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_03: So this year,
• 13:25
  the city of Las Vegas brought in a lot of conventions in
• 13:28
  January so we could have a
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_03: really busy month this year,
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: which is great.
• 13:32
  It's like really interesting how the city drives a lot of
• 13:35
  revenue to the casinos
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_03: because we are,
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: a huge tourist attraction here.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then working within the casino,
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_03: like as you saw,
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_03: like the lighting,
• 13:45
  like I have someone in the casino in my restaurant right now
• 13:49
  playing with the lighting.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: it is really intentional and it is there's a lot of moving parts,
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_03: which is something that I've never seen before.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_03: And there's a lot of support.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, one thing that I never have to worry about is, you know,
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: If my oven breaks, there's an engineer, just call the engineer.
• 14:08
  It comes as like,
• 14:09
  I'm not the one that's going to be pulling it apart,
• 14:11
  fixing it.
• 14:12
  So there's a lot of resources at your fingertips here that
• 14:15
  people don't necessarily realize.
• 14:17
  But then in return,
• 14:19
  you know,
• 14:19
  the expectation as you as a chef is very high.
• 14:23
  One thing that's a little bit different that I'm sure you guys
• 14:26
  probably know is,
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_03: there has to be something for everyone in these restaurants.
• 14:31
  Our demographic isn't the same as the markets like New York or
• 14:34
  LA or really food
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: driven cities like Lima or,
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_03: a lot of places across Latin America,
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_03: Mexico City.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: You know, our clientele is coming from all over the world.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_03: We have people from China, people from
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: Canada,
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: people from Kansas,
• 14:47
  like how do you make a restaurant that every single one of
• 14:50
  those groups want to go to?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: And that has been one of the most interesting challenges.
• 14:56
  You know,
• 14:56
  coming here,
• 14:57
  I worked for,
• 14:58
  you know,
• 14:58
  some of the best Mexican chefs in the world.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_03: you think that coming to Vegas,
• 15:03
  you're going to give them something that is so unique and
• 15:06
  you've never seen this before,
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_03: but you can do that.
• 15:09
  But you also need to make sure you're bringing people in the
• 15:11
  door as well.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_03: So putting together the menu and
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_03: creating the experience here is really cool because like,
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: you have your enchiladas and those like quesadillas,
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: the things that people will look at and be like,
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_03: oh,
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_03: I'm going to eat this.
• 15:23
  And then they come in and they see the menu and we have like a
• 15:26
  very expansive agua
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: chile selection.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: How we use our masa is super unique.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_03: And you might not know that necessarily looking at the menu,
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: but once you get in and you realize what the experience is,
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: you can fill in with all of these really cool and unique little things.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: Does that make sense?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: How many restaurants are in the Wynn?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_03: There are 12 or 13 restaurants in the Wynn.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe a few more.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_03: There's a few that the Wynn doesn't own and operate.
• 15:57
  They typically have restaurants that like a lot of restaurants
• 15:59
  on the strip are,
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: chefs that have contracts.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_03: So like if you go to casinos,
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: you'll see like the Joel Robichon or like,
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: Guy Fieri or whoever those chefs are.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_03: Most of the restaurants at the Wynn are Wynn owned and operated.
• 16:12
  So they're all unique concepts to this hotel,
• 16:15
  which is really cool to be a part of.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 16:18
  being able to create a unique experience in the Vegas market is
• 16:20
  something that you
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_03: definitely don't see as often.
• 16:23
  So does that give you more freedom,
• 16:25
  I guess,
• 16:25
  if they're windowed and operated or?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_03: It does.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: It took about like Casa Playa is about three years old.
• 16:33
  And when we first opened,
• 16:34
  the menu was definitely,
• 16:35
  I think,
• 16:38
  more approachable.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_03: I wouldn't say more approachable, still very approachable now, but
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: reading it is very like mass market.
• 16:44
  And as we've like defined ourselves and as we've developed as a restaurant,
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_03: as you know,
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_03: we had the 50 best awards last year and we're like just a little more,
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: more things are trickling into the city that are food oriented.
• 16:55
  And we've been allowed to shift to a little bit more of a
• 16:58
  creative and like
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: ingredient focused restaurant,
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: which has been really fun to be a part of.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: I noticed a lot of large format dishes on your menu.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Is that something that kind of came later?
• 17:12
  We've always had a few large format,
• 17:14
  but we host a lot of large groups here.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_03: Lots of, you know, bachelor, bachelorette parties.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_03: Most of our dining room is, you know, four tops, six tops, eight tops.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: And we encourage people to experience the restaurant that way.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_03: So typically people come in and, you know, enjoy the meals family style.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's a great way to do it.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I guess dining in Vegas is very group oriented.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: Oriented, yeah.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_03: There are very few restaurants that are tasting menu focused.
• 17:47
  And we've played around with that too,
• 17:49
  like seeing what that experience looks like.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_03: And people don't like being told what to eat.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_03: We found people like,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_03: we would come in and like we have our tasting menu and people were like,
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: oh,
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: I want the tasting menu,
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_03: but I want this dish and this dish and this dish.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, so you just want an a la carte menu.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_03: So we quickly shifted.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: But, you know, it's the growing pains.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_03: It's how we learn what the market is.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: Like my experience in Vegas is pretty limited to this restaurant.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_03: So I've been growing with this restaurant as we learn these trends.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: So you're from Boston, right?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_03: Boston, yeah.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Boston had like a long career in New York.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: Then were hired to open Elio with Enrique Alvera.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: But basically that just got like screwed by the pandemic, right?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: Did it open before the pandemic or like?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: We were slated to open the day the casino shut down.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_03: So it was such a,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_03: like,
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_03: as you guys know,
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_03: like if you're in FMV at all,
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_03: like that was such a unique time for restaurants.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: It was so sad.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_03: uh,
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_03: so we had all of this momentum going,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_03: like we were doing friends and families,
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_03: like we were supposed to be open for lunch and dinner.
• 19:04
  So we had like 500 people supposed to be coming in like two
• 19:09
  days before we opened
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: to do this,
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: like big friends and family.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_03: And then all of a sudden it's just like, we're not opening.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: The casino is completely shutting down.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: And Vegas was a ghost town.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: You could walk down the Las Vegas Strip and not see a soul.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_03: And it was weird,
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: but because all of the casinos still had all of their lights on,
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: all of the shows,
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_03: like outside Treasure Island,
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_03: there's a pirate show.
• 19:30
  And it would still happen without people every day at their
• 19:34
  scheduled time because
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: they needed to keep that water flowing.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_03: So it was like so surreal.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_03: But Elio did eventually open, but in that like kind of weird...
• 19:46
  time in restaurants where there are still so many restrictions
• 19:49
  and so many sops and
• 19:51
  then especially working for a casino they're very rule oriented
• 19:55
  so there's just a
• 19:56
  we open and then they closed again then we opened and it's not
• 20:00
  the time to promote
• 20:01
  a restaurant either when so many people in this industry are
• 20:04
  just like struggling
• 20:05
  to make it buy and it just it really fizzled out it was really
• 20:09
  sad i was really
• 20:10
  excited about that restaurant it was going to be the first fine
• 20:13
  dining restaurant
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_03: on the strip
• 20:16
  But I was really fortunate that the Wynn asked me to stay on
• 20:18
  and open a different
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_03: Mexican concept with them.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_03: So here comes Casa Playa.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: When that closed, how did you feel?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 20:28
  you totally uprooted your life in New York and came and you
• 20:33
  were suddenly in Las
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Vegas of all places.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: Was it weird?
• 20:39
  Were you thinking do I have to go somewhere else or was it a
• 20:44
  very quick transition
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: of Elio closing and starting to plan Casa Playa?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_03: I was devastated.
• 20:54
  It was a really weird time and it was at the end of the year
• 21:01
  and there was so much
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_03: unknown and uncertainty.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't know that the wind was going to
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: asked me to stay and open another restaurant,
• 21:09
  I just assumed that I would have to move back to New York and
• 21:12
  find another job.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't even look into it.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: I just assumed that that would happen.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I was giving myself time to process.
• 21:19
  And a few weeks later,
• 21:20
  the Wynn asked me if I was interested in staying and doing it.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, yes.
• 21:25
  And not even knowing the full concept,
• 21:28
  it just was like a different Mexican restaurant.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, sure, let's do this.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: So it was a pretty quick transition.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_03: in the moment and for like the following few weeks,
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_03: I was,
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_03: I was so excited about,
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: that opportunity to showcase,
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: all of those unique things to the city and it never happened.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_03: So being able to do it in my own terms,
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_03: through Casa Playa was really like,
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: a relief.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_03: It was really, it was really magical.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_03: I'm really happy that I was able to stay on.
• 22:02
  It's weird the way things work out sometimes,
• 22:05
  you know,
• 22:06
  like it's super cool.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: Will you say Las Vegas,
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: because of all,
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 22:11
  many chefs being interested in moving there or doing opening
• 22:16
  some sort of a version
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: of the restaurants there of a new concept.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: Will you say Las Vegas is developing and it sound like
• 22:29
  version of fine dining or people are adapting to what fine
• 22:33
  dining is or something
• 22:35
  in between how would you define that in case of vegas or las
• 22:40
  vegas i think that
• 22:42
  people forget how much of a food city las vegas is uh it might
• 22:47
  not have the same
• 22:48
  like i like i said before it's not it's not the same market as
• 22:51
  new york in la but
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: it is a very culinary driven city in its own way um and the more
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_03: momentum that we have,
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_03: the more chefs that we have coming here to showcase their talents and,
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_03: bring these different concepts to the city only expands our horizons.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_03: the more unique concepts that we have,
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: the more fine dining concepts that we have,
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_03: it opens up more doors for all of the chefs that are here.
• 23:17
  If there's something that we're starting to see a lot more like
• 23:20
  fine dining Korean restaurants,
• 23:22
  we're starting to see different types of restaurants aren't
• 23:25
  just the Italian or the
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_03: sushi restaurants or the steakhouses.
• 23:30
  the more restaurants like that that are coming in the more
• 23:33
  opportunity there is for
• 23:34
  all of the other chefs to you know work with these cool
• 23:37
  ingredients and you know
• 23:38
  experience these really cool dining experiences so i'm really
• 23:42
  excited that you know
• 23:44
  we're getting a lot more relevant i mean i wouldn't say
• 23:46
  relevant there's always a
• 23:47
  lot of relevant chefs here a lot more you know up and coming
• 23:50
  talent in the city um
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: because it just makes us you know more and more exciting uh as a culinary
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_03: destination
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Is it hard to stand out like with,
• 24:02
  with just so many restaurants in a small area and especially
• 24:06
  with so many,
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: as you said,
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: like you're,
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: you're trying to please a wide range of people.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Is it,
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: is it hard to kind of,
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: do your own thing and,
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: and get people to like pay attention,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: but also like maintain that attention.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_03: I think is a really interesting because a lot of people come to Vegas and
• 24:27
  And they want to eat at the Thomas Keller restaurant or the,
• 24:31
  the Hell's Kitchen restaurant.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_03: Cause they saw it on TV and we, we will never be that.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like, as long as I'm at Castle Faya, like I am not a celebrity chef.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_03: I am not on TV.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: I don't want to be on TV.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_03: Uh,
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_03: I have one restaurant and like,
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not trying to like have a Bouchon everywhere we go and that's fine.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_03: Like that's, that's what the restaurant is.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm really excited to be in this restaurant focusing on the food.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um,
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_03: and there is,
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 25:05
  we are missing out on some clientele because we're not that
• 25:08
  type of restaurant.
• 25:08
  Like there are always going to be those people who just want to
• 25:11
  be in that
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_03: restaurant with Gordon Ramsey and
• 25:13
  And maybe that's not the clientele that we want to have in the restaurant.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: We want to have people who want to have unique experiences in a more
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_03: culinary-focused restaurant.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what we're going to continue to do.
• 25:26
  I've been lucky to work for the Wynn,
• 25:29
  and the Wynn has a lot of momentum behind it.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_03: The Wynn and Encore is
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: two casinos,
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: but they're combined where there's a lot of other casinos that,
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: there's what,
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_03: like 11 or 12 MGM casinos.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: There's,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_03: so many of the same,
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: they're not the same,
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: but like a lot of the casinos own multiple properties.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_03: The wind just has this property here.
• 25:52
  And,
• 25:52
  you know,
• 25:52
  they spend all of their energy focusing on the restaurants in here.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_03: And there's a lot of momentum behind it because of that.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Is there any talk of Michelin coming back?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_03: I've heard rumors.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_03: I've heard rumors.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_03: I've heard nothing official.
• 26:07
  I think that having the 50 best awards here this past year
• 26:11
  really put a spotlight
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: on the city in a way that there wasn't before.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_03: We had all of the people,
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_03: all of the voters,
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: all of the chefs,
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_03: all of that media here in the city,
• 26:22
  and we could really showcase what we're doing and like showcase
• 26:24
  that there's more
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: to the city than a lot of people think.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: I know even myself, like when I first moved out here, I was,
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like I had been to Vegas when I was like 22 and I hated it.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, this isn't for me.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't really want to come back.
• 26:38
  And,
• 26:38
  you know,
• 26:38
  now I've been here for about five years and like the city has
• 26:42
  surprised me a lot.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_03: You know,
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_03: the pandemic was such a unique time,
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_03: but I feel like after the pandemic happened,
• 26:49
  the city is so hospitality driven and there's so many people
• 26:53
  here were able to
• 26:54
  really bounce back and give people great experiences without
• 26:58
  having to sacrifice
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_03: any quality really quickly.
• 27:01
  where a lot of other markets had a really hard time bouncing
• 27:04
  back as quickly
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_03: because so many people,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_03: left these huge cities because the world has shut down.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_03: Restaurants have shut down.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_03: They weren't working.
• 27:12
  They needed they couldn't afford to live in these cities where
• 27:15
  Las Vegas bounced
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_03: back quite quickly.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_03: And because of that,
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_03: we have a lot of momentum,
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_03: a lot of really cool food happening here.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that it was recognized.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm fingers crossed hoping that Michelin comes back.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_03: but I'm not in those meetings.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very critical of Michelin a lot of times,
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: but I feel like Las Vegas is one place where it would make so much sense.
• 27:43
  It would make so much sense to just have some kind of
• 27:46
  restaurant ranking criteria
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: because there are so many restaurants in a small area.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's so many that are just attached to a big name or
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: they're just kind of like crap places that are really expensive.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: And like, it would be good.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: It would be good for,
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 28:10
  maybe that person from Kansas that doesn't read the New York
• 28:12
  times all the time,
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: or,
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: like family friends in Ohio that,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: they're outside of this like food media bubble,
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: but they're still wanting to go to Vegas and eat out a lot.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the only thing that's rammed in their head is that TV name that they,
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: that Gordon Ramsey or something,
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: or,
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: But they would understand what a Michelin star is.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: They would kind of understand that there's a criteria there.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: And Las Vegas just seems to exist outside of that bubble.
• 28:46
  It just has its own weird media bubble that's not even really
• 28:53
  critical media.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's just marketing, I think.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you understand this better than I do.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's the best way of putting it.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_03: One of the,
• 29:03
  what's actually one of my biggest frustrations in the city is
• 29:07
  how restaurants are marketed.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_03: It's all the same, right?
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_03: Uh,
• 29:12
  and there's no criticism behind restaurants and criticism is
• 29:17
  whether it's,
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_03: it's how we grow,
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: it's how we develop and how we get better.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's all like,
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_03: this is a really cool experience,
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: blah,
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: blah,
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: blah,
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: blah,
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_03: blah,
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_03: where something like Michelin is going to be a lot more,
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_03: more like objective.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, it is one star because of X, Y, and Z reasons.
• 29:33
  It doesn't have a star or like it's in Bib Gourmand for X,
• 29:36
  Y,
• 29:36
  and Z reasons.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_03: And it's the same in every, every state, every,
• 29:42
  country continent city whatever they're they're doing and i
• 29:45
  like there's nothing
• 29:46
  like that here we don't have a food clinic we don't have you
• 29:50
  know any of that stuff
• 29:52
  so it's really hard to figure out what is good is what is bad
• 29:55
  because you're just
• 29:55
  being marketed restaurants but even if you did have like a
• 29:59
  major like i don't know
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: what's the major newspaper in in las vegas it's uh the las vegas
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_03: Journal?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: I don't even know.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds right.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Even if there was a critic there,
• 30:14
  it probably wouldn't get read by all the people eating at the
• 30:18
  restaurants unless
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: they really change the distribution model of who reads the local paper.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: I could see Michelin being enormously useful there.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: I criticize Michelin all the time.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: in for many different reasons,
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: but like it makes sense in some places to have that,
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: to have something like that with so many options and there's just no,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: no critical look at any of them.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's an, it can be really intimidating.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I wonder if also,
• 30:56
  I'm just thinking of this now as intentional or like it had
• 30:59
  been intentional for a
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_03: long time because
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_03: If you were going to a casino,
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_03: you're staying in a casino,
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: like they don't want you to leave that casino.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_03: So you're staying at the cosmopolitan.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_03: They're going to do everything in their power to,
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 31:13
  bombard you with the restaurants that they have and like the
• 31:16
  experiences they have.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_03: So you don't leave.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: And like, you know, it's the same for literally every single casino.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_03: It's like,
• 31:22
  why would you want to get marketed other restaurants when we
• 31:26
  have so many restaurants?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, yeah.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it could be go both ways too, though.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you could be wanting to pull people from the other casinos.
• 31:37
  Like,
• 31:37
  if you do have a Michelin-level restaurant in your casino,
• 31:42
  I don't know.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, they are kind of self-contained worlds.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was just thinking, it's such a self-contained world that
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_02: How hard has it been for you to, I guess, not losing perspective of
• 31:59
  things that matter in terms of food and you know what food
• 32:05
  really is supposed to be
• 32:07
  and and you know i mean from hunger to healthy eating conscious
• 32:12
  eating in an
• 32:13
  environment in which gaming party you know noise all these are
• 32:21
  the markers of the
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_02: place
• 32:24
  I wonder if you sometimes find yourself forgetting about that
• 32:28
  or how do you,
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: how is that experience for you?
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's a self-contained world.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_03: It is.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_03: But for me,
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_03: like growing up in,
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_03: or like coming up in restaurants and fine dining where,
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 32:42
  the ingredients are so important and the people who are working
• 32:46
  with the ingredients,
• 32:47
  whether it's the farmers or like the cooks that are processing
• 32:51
  the product and the
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_03: training and all of that,
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: like
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: For me, that's the most important thing.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_03: And yes, I walk through the casino every day, but then I'm in my kitchen.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: I'm in my restaurant.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_03: The kitchen is my home.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: It's where I feel comfortable and where I feel like I do my best work.
• 33:07
  And as soon as I'm in that restaurant,
• 33:10
  none of that other,
• 33:11
  all of that noise is gone.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_03: You forget where you are because you're in a kitchen.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_03: You have your stove.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_03: You have all of your stuff in front of you.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_03: The scene is the same for customers, though.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_03: I think it depends.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_03: I think it depends on what you come to the restaurant for.
• 33:30
  I think that there are so many people who are just coming here
• 33:32
  for the party and
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_03: none of the stuff that we're doing back there matters to them.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I've accepted that.
• 33:39
  And the other half of the people that come in are really
• 33:42
  excited for a unique experience.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_03: And we're here to make sure that both of those parties have a good time.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that's how we are successful.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like you, I feel like
• 33:54
  working in Las Vegas is humbling because you have your ego and
• 34:00
  you have your things
• 34:01
  that you want to do and the things that you've learned and you
• 34:03
  want to showcase and
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: you experience.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_03: And then Vegas can just humble you, it can shut you down.
• 34:09
  And if you don't find ways to market and be comfortable
• 34:12
  marketing yourself and
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_03: marketing the restaurant to both of those groups,
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_03: then you wouldn't be as successful.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_03: But without one group, I wouldn't have the other group.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_03: So it's important that you recognize that and then you build and develop
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_03: a restaurant that is for all of those people.
• 34:28
  Like,
• 34:28
  you know,
• 34:28
  we have like our more casual things and then we have our really
• 34:31
  elegant things.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_03: whether you recognize it or not,
• 34:35
  you're still going to be eating elegant ingredients that are
• 34:37
  sourced intentionally.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we get our masa.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_03: We have like a huge heirloom masa program here.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_03: So whether you care or not,
• 34:44
  you're going to be getting beautiful heirloom tortillas that
• 34:47
  are hand pressed to order.
• 34:49
  And there's a lot of labor that goes into it from harvesting
• 34:52
  that corn to getting
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_03: it here to milling it.
• 34:55
  to making sure that everything is perfect and the masa is
• 34:58
  hydrated properly.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: All of that matters.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_03: And whether you recognize it or not, you're experiencing it here.
• 35:04
  So there's small battles,
• 35:07
  but at the end of the day,
• 35:09
  we're putting our best product out there.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: What was Mexican food for you growing up?
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_03: Non-existent.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Non-existent at all?
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: Was there anything?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 35:23
  in the suburbs of boston it was definitely not and i also i got
• 35:28
  into mexican food
• 35:29
  all by chance to be honest um i wasn't necessarily seeking it
• 35:33
  out but once i
• 35:35
  started working at cosme when i was like 25 i uh like
• 35:39
  everything shifted it was a
• 35:40
  type of cuisine like you know you go in and i felt like i knew
• 35:44
  a lot like i had
• 35:45
  gone to culinary school i worked for really fine dining
• 35:48
  restaurants and it was it
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_03: was
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_03: I just went in and I knew nothing.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_03: I knew nothing about chilies.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_03: I knew nothing about masa.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_03: I knew nothing about mole and those flavor developments.
• 35:58
  And I was really fortunate to work with some really talented
• 36:01
  people who spent a lot
• 36:03
  of time teaching me and guiding me and giving me really unique experiences.
• 36:08
  and building those blocks to be able to create all of these
• 36:12
  really cool flavors and
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_03: how to work with them.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_03: How to make masa is not as easy as people think.
• 36:20
  How to make mole and those balances of the flavors and the
• 36:23
  intention behind the
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_03: chilies and how you use different types of sweetness to balance it out.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just sugar and chocolate.
• 36:31
  It's like raisins and plantains and toasting your nuts to a
• 36:34
  certain point to
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_03: extract the perfect amount of oil.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_03: And it's
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's fascinating.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_03: And once I started, I just never really looked back.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_03: And it just has always fascinated me.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_03: being able to experience different types of Mexican food,
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_03: like Enrique and Daniela,
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: like there's a lot of like,
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like Mexico City style in their food.
• 36:55
  And then as I've like grown and traveled to different regions
• 36:58
  and experienced new things,
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_03: it's like you just build on that base.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_03: And it's such an, it's beautiful.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have a favorite region where you like to eat?
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I love Oaxacan food.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_03: There's not a lot of Oaxacan food here in Vegas.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_03: It's a very birria-driven city, which is interesting.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: There's not even a lot of moriscos or anything.
• 37:22
  But when you find a really nice Oaxacan restaurant,
• 37:25
  that's usually what I try to seek out.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot in LA, right?
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_01: LA has a giant Oaxacan population.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: There is, there's also like some really good Sinaloa food in LA.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: And you know,
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_03: obviously there's a lot of coastal things as well,
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_03: but I don't get to LA as much as I would like.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:46
  Is,
• 37:46
  is there like in Las Vegas,
• 37:47
  is there like where the Mexican residents are from?
• 37:52
  Is there like a specific region where the majority is from,
• 37:56
  or is it just kind of scattered?
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's really scattered to be honest.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_03: And like even within my restaurant,
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_03: like I have quite a few people from Michoacán,
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_03: but also I have a lot of people from like literally all over.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_03: I have people from Cuebla, people from, you know, Tijuana.
• 38:12
  And it's really fun actually having them all come together
• 38:15
  because they all have
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_03: different inputs on ingredients and how things are coming together.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just, it's fascinating.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_03: It's a really good dialogue.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_01: And Casa Playa isn't like, it's really, it's not,
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: focused on this particular region, right?
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's just coastal Mexican, which is pretty broad.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like, it gives you a lot of freedom, I think.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's very open-ended.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_03: It does.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I like that, honestly.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_03: Because there is so much diversity within the coast.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_03: And when we first started,
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_03: I think that the idea was a lot more like Ensenada,
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_03: like Baja California,
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_03: and like even Cabo,
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_03: because so many people here just go to Cabo,
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: even though it's,
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_03: you know...
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_03: But...
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_03: it's expanded.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like, you know, when we first opened, like that was the focus.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: They're like,
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_03: because there's so many people from LA who experience Mexican food,
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_03: from Ensenada or like that region,
• 39:09
  like let's bring that to Vegas because there really isn't
• 39:12
  anything like that here.
• 39:13
  And as we've developed and as I've like traveled more and as we've,
• 39:17
  you know,
• 39:17
  become more
• 39:18
  like comfortable in what we're producing we've expanded and we
• 39:22
  like we'll work with
• 39:23
  ingredients from the yucatan or oaxaca and like you know do
• 39:26
  different things with
• 39:26
  our masa because like we're learning about different like how
• 39:29
  people do different
• 39:30
  things in different regions and it's it's developed it's been
• 39:33
  great so the masa
• 39:36
  program it's it goes well beyond tortillas right like yeah what
• 39:43
  what else are you
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_01: making
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: from this masa?
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_03: One of my favorite things on our menu is our tamal.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_03: Instead of using lard, we use coconut oil.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_03: I found that it has the same whipping.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_03: At room temperature,
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_03: it's still a solid,
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_03: and it has the same whipping,
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_03: so you can whip it really nicely.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_03: And we have our masa,
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_03: we fold in our squash filling,
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_03: and we wrap it in banana leaf and steam it,
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_03: and it's the lightest,
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_03: fluffiest dumpling of masa.
• 40:10
  that i've ever had and then we top it with our mole verde which
• 40:14
  the base of is also
• 40:15
  coconut milk so there's like a little bit of thai influence in
• 40:17
  it but then we use
• 40:18
  like epizote and oesanta serrano cilantro and like all of those
• 40:22
  mexican herbs to
• 40:23
  balance it out and it's just so vibrant and clean and light and
• 40:28
  it's one of my
• 40:29
  favorite things on the menu yeah i mean it sounds delicious was
• 40:32
  the choice to use
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: coconut oil
• 40:36
  Because you just wanted to make it vegetarian,
• 40:40
  just like it makes it easier for the menu?
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_03: It wasn't even the intention.
• 40:44
  It just was,
• 40:46
  you know,
• 40:46
  we were playing,
• 40:47
  we were doing some menu development and experimenting.
• 40:50
  um and i eat i eat really light in general like i like eating
• 40:54
  seafood i like eating
• 40:54
  vegetables like i don't really like eating like rich heavy
• 40:57
  meats so i wanted to
• 40:58
  just find a way to like lighten it up and it it worked and
• 41:03
  we've used this
• 41:04
  technique with like a dessert tamal as well with like sweet
• 41:06
  potatoes but then we
• 41:08
  add like a lot of brown butter to it so it you know gets a lot
• 41:11
  richer but um it
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_03: just produces like the lightest dumpling it's like it's not even like
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_03: It is a tamal, but like it's much different from the traditional tamals.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_03: And then, you know, we have our tostadas.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_03: We have a big machete, which is always fun.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_03: People love that here.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_03: We've worked on like different huaraches and taicoyos.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_03: And then as we have like brunch, we'll do like tattas.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, we just have we have fun with it.
• 41:38
  Do you feel that you have a community of chefs there with
• 41:43
  things changing and more
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_02: restaurants and probably more colleagues from New York,
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_02: Boston,
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_02: anywhere else?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_03: The community of chefs has definitely expanded.
• 41:53
  When I moved out here,
• 41:55
  it was such,
• 41:55
  I don't know,
• 41:56
  it was such a weird time.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: Like I moved out here and then three months later, the pandemic happened.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I felt like for the first year,
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_03: three years I was here, I knew no one.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_03: I just knew the people I worked with.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_03: And it was a small world.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't like it.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't feel like Vegas was going to be the place for me.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't have a community.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't meet people.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_03: And part of that was just the situation.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_03: You were told, don't go out.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_03: Don't go to restaurants.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_03: And then by the time you could go to restaurants,
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_03: I was opening my own restaurant and I had no time to go out.
• 42:29
  and you know the chef world here is also like there's a lot of
• 42:32
  like it's very male
• 42:34
  dominated uh i'm one of 10 female executive chefs on the strip
• 42:38
  which is crazy out
• 42:39
  of how many restaurants like hundreds i don't even know
• 42:43
  hundreds yeah and like
• 42:44
  there's a huge female chef community outside of the the strip
• 42:47
  but there's only
• 42:48
  three soon to be four female-owned restaurants on the strip
• 42:52
  which is crazy can you
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_03: imagine and uh
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_03: Since in like about two years ago,
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like things just shifted and there's this thing called the Women's
• 43:03
  Hospitality Initiative and they put together a lot of events
• 43:06
  and bring like a lot
• 43:07
  of the female chefs in the community together and we do like
• 43:10
  big charity events
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_03: that like the proceeds will go to,
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_03: like.
• 43:15
  female like scholarship funds for like females who want to you
• 43:18
  know become chefs
• 43:20
  and develop and might not have the resources or tools to to do
• 43:23
  it um because unlv
• 43:25
  has like a really big uh culinary and hospitality uh you know
• 43:30
  program here so that
• 43:32
  has really opened up a lot of doors and i've met a lot of
• 43:34
  people and then of course
• 43:35
  like now though we're hired like a lot more people are coming
• 43:38
  like you said there's
• 43:39
  a lot more chefs opening up restaurants here from new york and
• 43:42
  from markets that
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_03: you know, that I came from.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_03: And it's great because then I can show all of these people like,
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_03: there's there's a lot more here than me.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_03: See, I like, you know, there's a lot of hiking.
• 43:52
  There's a lot of like a really cool Chinatown,
• 43:54
  like our Chinatown in Vegas.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm not sure if you remember if you went to Chinatown.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's awesome.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think so.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: No, I remember like a few cool like restaurants like off the strip, but
• 44:07
  And I remember there's always like an article in one of the big
• 44:09
  magazines every
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_01: like three years about this is the best restaurant in Las Vegas.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like always this like hole in the wall,
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: Korean or Thai or something or,
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: sushi place that's like in the middle of like nowhere.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: And when you go out to eat,
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: do you mostly,
• 44:26
  do you go on the strip or do you go like these like out of the
• 44:31
  way places?
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_03: I like going to the out-of-the-way places.
• 44:35
  Working on the strip,
• 44:37
  you never want to come to the strip if you're not working.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's a lot.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_03: The casinos, they suck you in.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_03: Even if you're used to navigating them, it's a lot.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_03: They want you to get lost in the casino.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's intentional.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: You can't find the exit for a reason.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_03: I like being able to experience restaurants in my own way.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: But it's also like intense of like stimulation everywhere all the time.
• 45:06
  Like sensory ceilings and lights and like blinky lights and
• 45:10
  like sounds and like everywhere.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like stimulation.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: It has to be intense.
• 45:15
  Like you can't,
• 45:16
  kitchens are already so intense that it's like,
• 45:19
  you want to just run away.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure sometimes.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_03: But I love the intensity of the kitchen like that.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_03: I'm used to,
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_03: but like,
• 45:26
  then you throw in all of those other factors and then the
• 45:28
  people and then,
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_03: yeah.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_03: One of the funny things is,
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if you remember,
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_03: even if you saw in your casino,
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_03: the Wheel of Fortune slot machines.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they say, like, Wheel of Fortune.
• 45:40
  So we started getting fresh Wheat La Coche,
• 45:43
  and it's beautiful,
• 45:44
  and no one could say it.
• 45:46
  So I used the Wheel of Fortune slot machine,
• 45:49
  so I taught everyone how to say it.
• 45:50
  It's like,
• 45:50
  Wheat La Coche,
• 45:52
  instead of Wheel of Fortune,
• 45:54
  and now everyone can say it.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_03: So sometimes those slot machines benefit you.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: You could brand that, I'm sure, like,
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Just put like two slot machines,
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: like have the wind,
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: like create two or three huido de coche slot machines,
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: like input them outside the restaurant or something like that.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like that would totally be a thing.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: I'll pitch it.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_03: See how that goes down.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: So what are your favorite places?
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you go out to eat?
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_02: And if there is a local dish you have identified and like,
• 46:28
  I wouldn't say that there's necessarily a local dish to Vegas
• 46:31
  because Vegas is such
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_03: a diverse city.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_03: And there's a huge Latin population, there's a huge Asian population.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_03: Las Vegas has the third biggest Filipino population in the world.
• 46:44
  It's the Philippines,
• 46:45
  Hawaii,
• 46:46
  and then Las Vegas,
• 46:47
  which is so interesting.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_03: So there's so many different cultures, so many different cuisines.
• 46:54
  So I wouldn't say that there's a single dish that like stands
• 46:57
  out as like this is
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_03: the Las Vegas dish.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_03: But there's a few really cool places.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_03: One of my favorite taquerias is called Birria El Campa.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_03: There's two locations.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_03: There's one on the east side and then one right off the strip.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_03: And I live really close to the one off the strip.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_03: So it's great.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_03: Amazing birria.
• 47:14
  They do they do goat and beef and you can get like big platters
• 47:17
  or just a taco.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_03: And it's phenomenal.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_03: And it's only open from eight to four.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_03: So it's just breakfast lunch.
• 47:23
  um there's also this amazing tempura restaurant called chaman
• 47:27
  and they do onigiri
• 47:29
  it opens at noon and there's always a huge line and the onigiri
• 47:33
  is really cute you
• 47:34
  go in the restaurant and they just you they give you a basket
• 47:36
  and you don't eat the
• 47:37
  onigiri there you just take it to go and you like walk through
• 47:39
  their little like
• 47:40
  stall and you pick out what you want and then they have like
• 47:43
  snow like in the
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_03: restaurant themselves they have their own like
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_03: tempura, like it's a unique blend of flour that they brought from Japan.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just phenomenal tempura.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_03: It blows me away.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_03: And then for dinner,
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_03: if you really wanted to have like a baller experience,
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_03: there's some really nice izakayas outside of the strip.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_03: Like one of my favorites is Kabuto anime.
• 48:05
  But just like for like local spots,
• 48:07
  there's a steakhouse called Herbs and Rye and Cleaver.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_03: And like they are known for their bar program.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_03: They have phenomenal cocktails.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's like an industry hangout.
• 48:16
  And they do like this late night happy hour for industry people
• 48:19
  where you can get
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_03: half off steak after like 11 or 12 o'clock.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_03: So you can get off your shift and go get a steak dinner.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like that might be the quintessential Vegas dish.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like midnight steak dinner.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_03: But like some other great spots out in the Strip are like Black Sheep.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_03: Jamie Tran is like really good Vietnamese kind of fusion food.
• 48:40
  And like Sparrow and Wolf,
• 48:41
  which is in Chinatown,
• 48:42
  but it's kind of an eclectic restaurant.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_03: I would say it's American,
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_03: but they do a lot of,
• 48:48
  they bring and incorporate a lot of different cuisines into
• 48:50
  their food is also
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_03: really nice.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_03: And the chef there is just so kind and has like a really,
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_03: brought a lot of people in the community together,
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_03: which I really appreciate.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: You guys have a late night menu, right?
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_03: We do.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_03: So on Friday and Saturday,
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_03: we turn the restaurant into a taqueria after it starts at 10,
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_03: but it really starts at 1030.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_03: And it's for people who because
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we close at 1030 on the weekends.
• 49:18
  So there's still so many people like going out to the clubs and
• 49:24
  doing all of this.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_03: But you don't want to go to the club at 1030.
• 49:27
  And you also don't want to go to the club with an empty stomach
• 49:30
  like some people do.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_03: But, you know, not my poison.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a totally separate menu.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's just a separate menu.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's tacos.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_03: We have like one agua chile, chips and guac.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then we have,
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_03: we offer our like large format carnitas to people want something bigger.
• 49:47
  But it's just like meant to be really quick and in and out
• 49:50
  because typically the
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_03: dining experience here,
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_03: you'll get three courses.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you're here for an hour and a half.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_03: And like it's, you know, a restaurant experience.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_03: And then for late night, you're in and out.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_03: You could be here for 15 minutes.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_03: You could be here for an hour if you want, just drinking and eating.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_03: But it's just meant to be fast and fun and enjoy.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_03: We always have live music.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_03: So there's always a DJ just popping out beats.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_03: And our restaurant is right next to Encore Beach Club.
• 50:21
  they're always open in the summer and a lot of people are just
• 50:24
  like walking by.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_03: And,
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_03: it's a really fun way to either start or end your night,
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_03: depending on what you're in the mood for.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_02: Have you noticed any presence of Native Americans?
• 50:35
  Because I know some Native Americans own casinos and they have
• 50:39
  special regulation.
• 50:41
  The one that we ended going up to by unexpectedly is owned by a
• 50:47
  Native American community.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but that's not Vegas, though, I don't think.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_01: Is it?
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_03: Not as much here in the Strip, necessarily.
• 50:58
  In Las Vegas,
• 50:59
  I think there could be,
• 51:01
  but there's not a huge presence on the Strip.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you don't interact with it.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've never been to a native casino.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure they're fascinating in some ways.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_02: This one was, and I mean, I was not enough time to notice anything.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_02: I just,
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_02: I mean,
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_02: people were very kind and I saw some diversity,
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_02: but that doesn't necessarily mean because,
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_02: yeah,
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just curious if there is a difference or not.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_02: And
• 51:33
  anything in vegas there is a presence julie you've never been
• 51:36
  to vegas like you
• 51:38
  live so close i know but i mean i don't you're gonna need to
• 51:43
  make it here one of
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_02: these days yeah maybe now because of sarah can be a priority i i haven't
• 51:50
  prioritized vegas honestly well if you come let me know but
• 51:54
  it's put together an
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_02: itinerary for you yes i'd love to
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_02: I'd love to.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_02: Now I'm very curious.
• 52:00
  No,
• 52:01
  but what I love,
• 52:01
  it's like you can go there and get like the cheapest room ever.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 52:07
  Like there's so many hotels that are like not doing great
• 52:09
  business and they're totally fine.
• 52:12
  Like I'm used to staying in jungles and things where it's like
• 52:15
  if there's hot water,
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_01: it's luxury.
• 52:17
  But like you can get like normal hotels that are like $20 a
• 52:21
  night sometimes.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, not on the weekend.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_03: I should do it.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_03: I wouldn't recommend going the cheapest possible.
• 52:28
  There's a good balance of not spending $1,000 a night and not
• 52:32
  spending $20 a night,
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_03: but finding that good,
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_03: happy medium.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_03: Right, right, right.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_03: But you might not ever come back if you go to that $20 a night.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't go without your recommendations.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of weird seedy parts of Vegas that...
• 52:53
  I didn't have that much experience in those,
• 52:55
  but they always seemed great in a weird way.
• 52:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure there's lots of danger in some places.
• 53:04
  I mean,
• 53:04
  honestly,
• 53:05
  right by the SWAT meet,
• 53:06
  there's some really like divey casinos.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm sure.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_03: They're real fun.
• 53:11
  And you walk in and you're like,
• 53:13
  you know,
• 53:14
  finding those like $1 tables or those $5 tables.
• 53:17
  Because you go to the strip,
• 53:18
  you look around,
• 53:18
  you're like $50 for a round of craps.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_03: You're like, no, gracias.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I can't do this.
• 53:24
  And then you find something like just kind of like a little bit,
• 53:28
  like you said,
• 53:29
  seedier,
• 53:30
  divier.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_03: And you're like, this is great.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I could learn how to gamble here.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad the swap meet's still going.
• 53:36
  Like that's like my most cherished memory of Las Vegas,
• 53:40
  the swap meet for some reason.
• 53:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's, it's fun.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely, if I ever go back, I'm sure I will sometime.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's like on my bucket list of things to do.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_01: The swap meet.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, there's, there's a lot of stuff coming to the city.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm, I'm really excited about it.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_03: It's like been a huge shift.
• 53:59
  Like in the five years I've been here,
• 54:00
  it's been like a roller coaster of highs and lows and,
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_03: different emotions and different feelings towards the city.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I'm finally at a point of just like, this is really cool.
• 54:12
  Like we're doing something different and the city is different
• 54:16
  from what I expected for
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_03: like the city and it's different from what I expected for myself.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_03: But there's a lot of opportunity here that is different,
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_03: is not what I expected,
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_03: but is really unique.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_03: Operating a restaurant in a casino is unlike anything else,
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_03: like working for a small independent restaurant and then coming here and,
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_03: dealing with like
• 54:42
  a company that's traded on like,
• 54:43
  you know,
• 54:44
  the stock market and like the S&P 500.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_03: And you're like, whoa, these expectations have shifted so much.
• 54:50
  SPEAKER_03: And it's just really fascinating to be a part of.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: So you feel like staying for now?
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_03: For now,
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_03: like the restaurants,
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_03: it took until now,
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_03: but the restaurant has like hit a point where I'm just,
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_03: I'm really proud of it.
• 55:05
  and uh you know there's only you can only go up from here and
• 55:09
  it's it would be it
• 55:10
  feels silly to like walk away from it when we're in such a good
• 55:12
  place you know what
• 55:13
  i mean yeah um julie any any last questions no i mean all the
• 55:21
  questions i have are
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_02: kind of when i am there yeah
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_03: I would love to have you to Vegas.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_03: I feel like you're very hesitant about it.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_03: And trust me, I understand the hesitancy.
• 55:37
  I know Julie well enough to where I know in her mind she hears
• 55:42
  Las Vegas and she
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_01: thinks that's absolutely not the place for me.
• 55:46
  But I guarantee you there's another side of it which you would
• 55:50
  find fascinating.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_02: I believe you.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_02: I trust Nick.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_02: And now, I mean, I trust Sarah.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_02: So now I have to go.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, you do.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thanks, Sarah.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_01: It was really nice speaking with you, and I hope to get there one day.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah,
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_02: thanks so much,
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_02: and congratulations for all the hard work and being patient and,
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_02: just waiting for better times as well.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, everyone, for listening.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_01: Check out Sarah Thompson at Casa Playa in the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
• 56:28
  Sounds like a pretty amazing restaurant in the middle of all of
• 56:33
  that chaos of Las Vegas.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, thanks, everyone, for listening.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_01: And please subscribe to our newsletter if you haven't already,
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_01: newworlder.com,
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_01: or search for New Worlder on Substack.
• 56:49
  and please share these episodes if you enjoy them it really
• 56:54
  helps all right share
• 56:56
  and like them hit the little heart or star or whatever it is
• 57:01
  and thanks to my
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_01: friend pat buzzard for the music to the show thanks everyone