

73

"In its final week, I returned to the bar for one last run at the tasting menu before the restaurant closes at the Sahara on Thursday, July 31, and reopens later this year at the Venetian Resort. Beneath a chandelier of deep red teardrops — like suspended drops of blood within a white dome ringed by glowing deer heads — the 12-course experience opens with a puff of cotton candy wrapped around a cube of foie gras dusted with crushed corn nuts, a playful, inventive bite that distills what chef José Andrés does best. Croquetas de pollo, a house staple, arrive warm and crisp, filled with chicken and silky béchamel, but the showstopper is the Washugyu bone-in rib-eye — a cross between Japanese Tajima wagyu and Black Angus — grilled over oak in the Spanish style until the meat is tender, its crust deeply savory and crackling with salt. I’m eager to see what the new space brings, but I savored one last lap around the original with its open-fire grills, haunches of Ibérico ham hanging above the back bar, and alligator busts mounted on the walls, Mardi Gras beads looped through their jaws." - Janna Karel