Corey Nyman Has Some Great Late-Night Picks
Sin City is home to a lot of restaurants and bars, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Las Vegans aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's food players to share their recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential. Know a chef who wants to share some top dining spots? The tipline is open.
Corey Nyman [Photo: Chelsea McManus]
Corey Nyman's job as the director of operations for the food and beverage company The Nyman Group has helped him work with the likes of Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Piero Selvaggio, Hilton Worldwide and Caesars Entertainment. He's also a partner and founder of Labor Wines, a boutique wine project from Oregon's Willamette Valley. The vineyard produced its first wines in 2009 and is now in its third year of production. Here he shares his favorite places to dine in Vegas, especially late at night.
Where do you enjoy eating when you're not working? Chada Thai Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill Tacos El Gordo
What dishes are most memorable? Chada Thai's beef jerky. Served warm with just enough saltiness to complement the meat, it's the perfect dish to start the meal and go with any wine at that restaurant.
Two dishes at Blue Ribbon. Their mahi mahi with tomatillo ponzu salsa and coconut rice is a great combination of Asian flavors with tomatillos, which are obviously traditionally found in Mexican cuisine, with the cooling sensation of the coconut. My favorite snack and go-to item is their smoked pork belly skewer with pickled onions and baby watercress is so simple, but absolutely delicious with its smokiness and complement of the sharp pickled onions. It doesn't hurt that this is one of the most reasonably priced items on their menu and is consistently delicious.
At Tacos El Gordo, I like the Al Pastor Tacos. First of all, you have to tip the guy slicing the meat so you get the best cut and less fat, along with some pineapple to top the tacos. The cilantro and onions topping the sizzling meat on the just pliable corn tacos makes the flavor. To finish the experience, you MUST get the green onions that have been cooking in the fat from the meat and the roasted peppers. Top it off with an iced Horchata and you have a perfect late-night snack or comfort food meal whenever.
Why do you enjoy going there? Blue Ribbon is seriously my clubhouse. I always feel instantaneously comfortable when I'm there, get excellent service regardless of who/what time of night and happily bring plenty of people from out of town there to show it off. Between great variety of choices on the menu, overall true hospitality and serving until 1 or 2 a.m. most nights, it's a great spot. This definitely goes back to my love of Blue Ribbon from New York and the many nights I spent at the original Blue Ribbon and Blue Ribbon Sushi, both on Sullivan Street in Soho. The Bromberg brothers have always catered to the F&B crowd while becoming a go-to restaurant overall. I can't tell you how many amazing meals and experiences I've had there over the years. I must go to at least one of their restaurants every trip back to New York City.
Chada Thai has fast become my go-to Thai restaurant in Vegas (along with Le Thai), but since it's closer to my house and has an extremely affordable and well thought out wine list, along with serving until 3 a.m., it is perfect for me. The dishes served there are like my comfort food.
Tacos El Gordo is for whenever you need a taco fix or some real grub at 4 p.m. in the afternoon or 4 a.m. Simple and direct, but it works.
I rarely say I have a favorite restaurant or spot, and I know I'm leaving out places like Kyara with their skewers and small plates, Herbs & Rye with their cocktails and killer steak happy hour, Bachi Burger for their great take on burgers with Asian flavors and Khoury's Mediterranean for their salads and being a casual lunch spot.