Accolades :: Awards
Since 1980, the most honored, awarded and respected restaurant in Las Vegas. With exquisite classic French cuisine, superior service and an award wining wine list, Andre's continues to be the premier French and gourmet restaurant in Las Vegas.
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06/19/2002 - Epicurean Awards 2002
Epicurean Awards 2002
Best French Restaurant
By Max Jacobson
Our dining scene took a couple of hits last year. The tragic events of 9/11 slowed tourist traffic and made residents wallet wary. And the death of the gifted Jean-Louis Palladin, who cooked at the Rio's Napa and in many other world-class establishments, left a hole that will never be filled.
Still, 2001 ended with a surge of new restaurants, giving our ambitious dining scene even more viability in the food world. One particularly bright spot was the opening of Nobhill, the superb MGM Grand offering, which proves that the idea of terroir--using regionally indigenous ingredients--is not a gimmick but an organic reality, a return to the earth. Or how about the new Border Grill at Green Valley Ranch Station Casino? A nationally renowned restaurant in an area targeting locals is an example bound to be followed.
The list stretches on. André Rochat, one of the pioneers of big-city dining in this town, is now the proud owner of Alizé at the Palms, great food paired with a world-class view. The decade-old Spago underwent a complete face-lift, giving it more light, more intimacy and a spate of new dishes putting a fresh spin on the original concept by Wolfgang Puck, whom we honor with our first Vanguard Award.
That Epicurean Award was decided upon by us alone. Choosing the rest of this year's Eppys was all you, and once again that proved no mean feat. The ballots reflected a city brimming with hidden dining treasures. There are so many impressive choices in Vegas that Bellagio's Shintaro, where chef Sean O'Connell prepared the best meal I ate in 2001, did not win an individual award in our balloting. So, in order to keep the process current, we added categories such as Best Seafood and Best Brunch, and deleted ones we felt no longer were relevant.
This is our third annual Eppys, and we anticipate that there will be more new and exciting changes next year as well. The Las Vegas restaurant boom is hardly "finished," as the prolific but often myopic wonk from Esquire magazine, John Mariani, recently asserted. Matter of fact, Mr. M, we are just starting to cook...
WINNERS LIST
- Best American: Aureole, inside Mandalay Bay
- Best Seafood: Aqua, inside Ballagio
- Best Steak House: Prime, inside Bellagio
- Best Mexican: Garduños, inside the Fiesta
- Best Japanese: Nobu, inside the Hard Rock Hotel
- Best French: André's
- Best Italian: Lupo, inside Mandalay Bay
- Best Wine List: Aureole, inside Mandalay Bay
- Best Chinese: Chinois, inside the Forum Shops at Caesars
- Best Cocktails: Red Square, inside Mandalay Bay
- Best Lounge: Jack's Velvet Lounge, at WB Stage 16, inside the Venetian
- Best Desserts: Circo, inside the Bellagio
- Best Brunch: Sterling Brunch, at the Steakhouse, inside Bally's
- Best Chef de Cuisine: Alessandro, Renoir, inside the Mirage
- Best Service: Commander's Palace, inside Desert Passage
- Best New Restaurant off Strip: Roy's, 8701 West Charleston
- Best New Restaurant on Strip: Nobhill, inside MGM Grand
- Best Restaurant off Strip: Rosemary's Restaurant, 8125 West Sahara Avenue
- Best Restaurant on Strip/Best Restaurant Overall: Commander's Palace, inside Desert Passage
- Vanguard Award: Wolfgang Puck, The man who changed the way Vegas eats
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