The Folks Behind the Iconic Sand Dollar Lounge Are Cooking up a Mexican Restaraunt in Las Vegas | Eater Vegas

"Opening next month at 7585 Norman Rockwell Lane in Centennial Hills, this new restaurant channels a Tulum-inspired, airy coastal vibe with rattan lighting, lots of plants, an “ungodly” number of colored lightbulbs, terra cotta walls adorned with local art, and 15-foot-tall windows that shift the dining room from beachy by day to dark and sexy at night. Co-owner Anthony Jamison, who grew up on his grandmother Julie Castillo’s Mexican cooking and is French-trained, and chef Eduardo “Lalo” Saavedra, who worked with Charlie Palmer for about 20 years, are aiming for bold yet unpretentious Mexican food and an imaginative cocktail program. Dishes include enchiladas made the way Grandma Julie used to — layered meat and tortillas in a sheet pan to feed six to ten — and a French-influenced street corn that combines bone marrow with salsa macha crunchy chili oil. The cocktail bar will lean heavily on fresh-squeezed juice (the team is gutting and rebuilding the bar to make room for roughly $10,000 worth of juicing machines) and will expand beyond sour mix and batched margaritas to offerings like Mexican espresso martinis, margaritas infused with seasonal fruit juice, and alcoholic aguas frescas prepared tableside; the space previously housed three Mexican restaurants and is scheduled to open in mid-July, with plans for an over-the-top Christmas celebration." - Janna Karel