The 20 Most Important Restaurants in Las Vegas

Originally published on lasvegasweekly.com

What makes a restaurant important? Is great food enough, or does it need to be revolutionary? Does an important restaurant reflect the food culture of its city, or does it strive to elevate local cuisine?

These are all tricky questions, made trickier when applied to Las Vegas, where the dining scene is especially strange. But I was inspired after reading Bon Appétit Restaurant Editor Andrew Knowlton’s “20 Most Important Restaurants in America” in the magazine’s March issue. It was time to make a Vegas list of our own. It seemed inappropriate to use Knowlton’s criteria, which focused on what’s hot in the restaurant landscape right now. Vegas is not right now. Vegas is forever. And dining in my city is all about making memories that will last, at least long enough to draw you back to town again soon.

Of course, everything’s subjective, but this list feels even more personal than most. It’s a tough task, but here goes: my best swing at the 20 most important restaurants in Las Vegas:

17. eat

Can a comfy breakfast-and-lunchery bring Las Vegans to a neighborhood they’ve ignored for decades? Will the Downtown Project business plan produce success? Can a veteran casino chef find satisfaction doing her own thing in her own place? Eat is in the process of answering all these questions. Pretty important stuff. 707 Carson St., 534-1515.