John Curtas knocks Gordon Ramsay, Tom Colicchio, Nobu in new ‘Eating Las Vegas’

Not content with that slam, John has the temerity to kick celebrity chefs Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy and Pierre Gagnaire out of the Top 10 listing. John’s praise and tirades are complemented by writers Greg Thilmont and Mitchell Wilburn after Al Mancini walked away from the project and first author Max Jacobson retired due to injuries after being hit by a driver while walking.

I asked Huntington Press publisher Anthony Curtas, no relation to John, to explain the changes:

“After a two-year hiatus after Max’s accident, we decided in late 2015 to bring the book back for the obvious reason: The Las Vegas dining scene is too good not to have a book like this. Books that are annuals should be brought out prior to the New Year, and there wasn’t enough time to do that for 2016.

“The choice was wait till the end of the year to put out the 2017 edition, or bring out 2016 in the first part of that year, then do 2017 properly. We opted for the latter, and 2016 came out in April. We went right to work on 2017, and it has just been released. That’s why they are relatively close together.

“The changes in this edition reflect all the new things that have taken place. The dedicated sections on Chinatown and steakhouses have been updated and a section on French cuisine added. Reflecting the continuing trend of former chefs from haute casino restaurants leaving to open their own local eateries, this edition features 19 non-casino selections in The Essential 50.

“Regarding the decision to put Robuchon, Savoy and Gagnaire on the out list specifically, I don’t interfere with the authors’ decisions, but of course I asked. The base rationale was that the name chefs are almost never in their kitchens, and the great chefs who did run these restaurants and upheld their reputations in recent years have left.

“Case in point, Robuchon lost Claude LeTohic, a master chef from France who led the kitchen for 11 years. Bottom line: Our critics didn’t feel that the cost-to-quality/experience ratio put them in the Top 10. I honestly don’t mind these ‘culinary locks’ being demoted, as it took some chutzpah to do so.

“John likes to stir it up. At first I was against it, but now I’m glad that we did, even though some of the restaurants on the list are considered classics by many. When we were debating it, John said, Joseph Wechsberg wrote (in 1953): ‘Any restaurant guide that purports to identify the best places to eat also has an obligation to its readers to point out the worst.’ Hard to argue.”

The new Top 10 are Bardot Brasserie (Aria) by Michael Mina, Bazaar Meat (SLS Las Vegas) by Jose Andres, Carbone (Aria) by Mario Carbone, Carnevino (The Palazzo) by Mario Batali, E (The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas) by Jose Andres, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon (MGM) by Steve Benjamin, Le Cirque (Bellagio) by Wilfried Bergerhausen, Raku (Spring Mountain Road) by Mitsuo Endo, Sage (Aria) by Shawn McClain and Yuiedomae Sushi (Arville Street) by Gen Mizoguchi.

You’ll have to buy the book for the Bottom 10. I disagree with the authors. John justifies their removal: “Overpriced tourist traps; tired food, dated decor and celebrity chefs who phone it in.”

“Eating Las Vegas” with a foreword to its 252 pages by former Bon Appetit Executive Editor Barbara Fairchild was published last Wednesday by Huntington Press of Las Vegas and is available at bookstores, Amazon.com and HuntingtonPress.com