ROSEMARY'S

8125 W. Sahara Ave.

Las Vegas, NV 89117

Phone: 869-2251

Fax: 869-2283

Restaurant critics get asked lots of questions such as: How many times a week do you eat out? Or how does one become a restaurant critic? And finally, there's always: How do you stay so thin? If you're truly interested, the answers are: six times a week, it's a long story and I have the metabolism of a hummingbird. But the most asked of all is: What's your favorite restaurant that's not on the Strip? For years I've had to hedge my bets on that one, but now the answer is easy, if you're looking for fine dining off the Strip, look no farther than Rosemary's on West Sahara Avenue.

Rosemary's gives westsiders something to finally cheer about when it comes to the finer things in life--we're talking serious gastronomy folks--the only sensual pleasure you can't live without, and when it comes to pleasing the senses, Michael and Wendy Jordan have created a top-shelf experience that gives every celebrity chef in town a run for their money. That run will save you some in the process because Rosemary's delivers the goods at prices that won't have you groaning when the bill arrives. For a hundred bucks, a couple can experience a complex array of tasty dishes that are big on both flavor and lots of ingredients. Jordan's grilled eggplant and roasted pepper sandwich on house-made olive bread is better than anything at Olives and is further proof that the best vegetarian food is never found in vegetarian restaurants. Everything from sweetbreads to roasted halibut is given the star treatment here and Jordan does his mentor Emeril Lagasse proud with plenty of homages to southern cooking.

If I have a criticism, it's only that the elaborate components in each of the recipes don't always highlight the flavors as they should, a minor flaw to be sure and one that is completely forgiven with one bite of Rosemary's crispy skin striped bass or grilled quail on risotto. Food this sophisticated has been a long time coming to the neighborhoods of Las Vegas. Lovers of fine food should be glad that Rosemary's is finally here.

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