The Critics live to get off the beaten path — to find the real stuff that only the locals know about. And when it comes to "Critics Finds" in Las Vegas, a journey to the edge of the Strip and beyond will take you to a tasty world of regional cooking and the best Cajun cuisine this side of the Big Easy.
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Commander's Palace —"I grew up in the South," says critic
Alexander Smalls. "And in the South, where good eats are everywhere, folks
spoke of New Orleans as if it were Vatican City, and Commander's Palace was
St. Peter's. It was the culinary church of Cajun cuisine. It seemed impossible
to replicate it anywhere else. But I swear, they nailed it here in Las Vegas,
in the Desert Passage at the Aladdin."
Rosemary's Restaurant — There are the restaurants that visitors get
to know about, and then, there are the restaurants that the Locals know —
and love. One of them is Rosemary's, a New American with a Cajun touch that
was opened in the Sahara Promenade by a chef named Michael Jordan. No relationship
to the famed basketball superstar, this Jordan cooked with Emeril Lagasse, before
going off on his own, with his chef-wife Wendy Jordan. Las Vegas residents love
the place, partly because the setting is sweet and the food superb, and also
because tourists rarely show up there.
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