Chef Rick Moonen - RM Seafood - Recommendations - Find. Eat. Drink.
Chef Rick Moonen, RM Seafood, Las Vegas, NV, Nevada, Mandalay Bay Place, Where to eat in Las Vegas, Where to eat in New York, NY, Manhattan, Recommendations, Chef Recommendations, Best off the beaten track in Las Vegas, Resources, Websites, Sustainable Fish, Kitchen Tools, Cookbook, Where to drink in Las Vegas, Cocktails, Beer
BACHI BURGER
470 East Windmill Lane, #100, Las Vegas, NV 89123 (view map)
T: 702.242.2244
They make burgers with an Asian influence.
South Las Vegas
Burgers / Asian
ATELIER DU ROBUCHON
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89109 (view map)
T: 702.891.7925
There is a lot of pomp and circumstance to the place and it’s delicious, but it’s not going to be cheap.
Las Vegas Strip
French
Restaurants - Las Vegas, NV
FIRST FOOD BAR
3327 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89109 (view map)
T: 702.607.3478 (make a reservation)
Chef Sam DeMarco is a buddy of mine from New York. It’s good food, there’s no rhyme or reason to it, it’s everything from a Cuban sandwich to something crazier. But it’s a good environment and you meet a lot of people in the industry.
Las Vegas Strip
Contemporary American / Comfort Food
CHINA MAMA
3420 South Jones Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89136 (view map)
T: 702.873.1977
It’s the real deal. It’s BYOB, they don’t have a liquor license. It’s not pomp and circumstance... let me tell you, it’s linoleum and cheap and ‘am I in the right place?’ Yeah, you are. Now sit down, shut up and order some food!
Chinatown
Chinese
HONEY PIG
4725 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89102 (view map)
T: 702.876.0711
You can have some real good Korean BBQ here.
Chinatown
Korean BBQ
GO RAW CAFE
I go here when I feel like getting something healthy, cleansing, they have delicious wheat grass and all of that.
Multiple Locations
Organic / Vegan
LOTUS OF SIAM
953 E. Sahara Avenue, Suite A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104 (view map)
T: 702.735.3033
Great Thai food and off the beaten path.
Downtown
Thai
HOT N JUICY CRAWFISH
www.hotnjuicycrawfish.com
4810 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89102 (view map)
T: 702.8918889
So good, it’s delicious. It’s plastic, red-checkered tablecloths and a bib. You get crawfish, you pick how much you want, how you want it cooked, how spicy, and they basically boil it in a bag and give it to you and you just go to town on it.
Chinatown
Seafood / Creole
ROMA DELI
It’s really good if you crave that like Philadelphia, New York, Italian deli taste. You want a meatball parmesan hero, you want eggplant parmesan, go here. It’s like a little grocery store with all of the authentic tomatoes from Italy.
Multiple Locations
Italian Deli
MONTA
5030 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas, NV 89146 (view map)
T: 702.367.4600
It’s my fast-food place. You go there, sit down, they only have 3 ramens. Put a dollop of pureed garlic, some sesame seeds, some togarashi, and order an Asahi. You pay the bill and you’re out of there in half an hour.
Chinatown
Japanese / Ramen
SAGE
I think chef Shawn McClain is doing a great job. He’s very innovative. It’s very flavorful. You can have veal cheeks, and he also makes a foie gras brulee served with a brioche.
Las Vegas Strip
Contemporary American
ANDRE’S
If you want a great Manhattan, they’ve got Blanton’s bourbon.
Las Vegas Strip
French
Drinks - Las Vegas, NV
NORA’S
The original Nora’s. The bartenders there know how to mix a delicious craft cocktail, like a Negroni. Even though a Negroni only has a few ingredients, you can screw it up 150 different ways, and most people do. But here, you are going to get it done right.
Westside
Italian
HERBS AND RYE
It’s is a local shrine to the cocktail.
Westside
Lounge / Italian
THE FREAKIN’ FROG / WHISKY ATTIC
For beer. Oh baby, you got to meet me at the Frog. It’s right across from UNLV and it’s got 200 beers on the list. Walk up the stairs and it’s the Whisky Attic, it’s got all the brown spirits in the world.
University
Bar
THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE
5000 South Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89118 (view map)
T: 702.889.2888
It’s got every country in the world represented and it’s like a warehouse. You become a member and you get a discount. I can’t spend less than an hour in there, even if I’m going in to just get lunch.
Spring Valley
International Marketplace
Markets
RANCH 99
It’s an Asian market that has live crabs, live everything. You are going to get all kinds of stuff that you don’t see too often. You know, like that fruit that smells like puke and death, durian.
Chinatown
Market
BARBUTO
775 Washington Street, New York, NY 10014 (view map)
T: 212.924.9700 (make a reservation)
It’s so good. I just think Jonathan Waxman is the greatest guy in the world.
West Village
Italian
Restaurants - New York, NY
COLICCHIO AND SONS
85 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 (view map)
T: 212.400.6699 (make a reservation)
I’ve had really great meals there.
Chelsea
American
DANIEL
60 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065 (view map)
T: 288.0033 (make a reservation)
Upper East
French
ELEVEN MADISON PARK
11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 (view map)
T: 212.889.0905 (make a reservation)
Flatiron
New American
MAREA
230 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019 (view map)
T: 212.582.5100 (make a reservation)
Very exciting cuisine.
Midtown
Italian / Seafood
MOMOFUKU NOODLE BAR
171 First Avenue, New York, NY 10003 (view map)
It’s great.
East Village
Korean / Global / Eclectic
KALUSTYANS
123 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016 (view map)
T: 212.685.3451
They have the craziest, delicious spices in bags.
Murray Hill
International Grocery
MARKETS - New York, NY
NINTH AVENUE INTERNATIONAL GROCERY
www.internationalgrocerynyc.com
543 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 (view map)
T: 212.279.1000
It’s an international marketplace right behind Port Authority. It’s where I learned to make taramasalata and Greek food. They have barrels of spices, real yogurt and halvah. It’s sick. It’s off the charts.
Midtown West / Hell’s Kitchen
Grocery
MICROPLANE
Purchase on Amazon.com.
I’m a big Microplane addict. I very rarely cook fish without a Microplane on the counter to zest some kind of citrus, lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime.
Kitchen Tools
Products
VITAPREP
Purchase on Amazon.com.
I love my little blender, my varied speed blender. It’s got buttons that determine the revolution of the blade.
Blender
MONTEREY BAY SEAFOOD WATCH
I believe in Seafood Watch as my primary source for giving simple direction to a very, very complicated concern. They do it better than anyone and they make it clear and they are always upgrading and updating.
Sustainable Seafood Guide
Sustainable Fish Resource
WHAT
Recipes for New England Steamed Dinner and Shrimp Fra Diavolo from chef Rick Moonen of RM Seafood restaurant in Las Vegas, NV.
Chef Rick Moonen
RM SEAFOOD - LAS VEGAS, NV
March 10, 2011
Photo courtesy of Rick Moonen
WHO
Chef and owner of RM Seafood in Las Vegas.
WHY
Chef Moonen is an important advocate for sustainable fishing and seafood, and a true practitioner of what he preaches.
COOKBOOKS
Fish Without A Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion (buy it)
RECOMMENDATIONS
Rick Moonen’s recommendations for restaurants, bars, and markets in Las Vegas and New York as well as resource and kitchen tools.