Show 444, September 25, 2021: Chef Susan Feniger, BBQ Mexicana at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders

Susan Feniger of Socalo and Border Grill

BBQ Mexicana, a quick service concept from celebrity Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, is located across from Border Grill restaurant and adjacent to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and inside the new Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders (with two locations.)”

“Inspired by Mary Sue and Susan’s travels to Mexico, where they fell in love with delicious barbacoa and smoked meats, the menu offers a variety of bowls, salads, and burritos filled with mesquite smoked chicken, pulled pork, slow smoked brisket and tofu in addition to aguas frescas, beers and margaritas to go. BBQ Mexicana utilizes seasonal, locally grown ingredients, organic rice and beans, and meats and poultry raised without antibiotics or hormones.”

Also from Chefs Mary Sue and Susan at Allegiant Stadium is their Pacha Mamas cart located near the BBQ Mexicana stand on the 100 Level near the South Entrance. It’s a skewers a la plancha menu.

Chef Susan Feniger is our guest with tongs at the ready.

Show 401, November 28, 2020: Executive Chef & Partner Barry Dakake, Barry’s Downtown Prime, Circa Resort, Las Vegas Part Two

Barry Dakake of Barrys Downtown Prime“Vintage glamour and hospitality meet modern innovation and design at Barry’s Downtown Prime at Circa Resort in Downtown Las Vegas. The new steakhouse concept is from Chef Barry Dakake and his seasoned hospitality partners at Make It Happen Hospitality, LLC. Barry’s Downtown Prime delivers the city’s finest premium steaks and seafood, fresh tableside preparations, creative cocktails and outstanding service.”

“Evoking a throwback vibe worthy of Downtown Las Vegas’ legacy, Barry’s brings back guests to the classic cool of the 50s and 60s where great music and sounds of clinking martini glasses filled the air, the chef greeted you at the table, the polished bartender knew your favorite cocktail and everyone felt like a VIP.”

“After leaving New York in 1999, Chef Dakake was commissioned by Chef Charlie Palmer (Aureole) to open Aureole at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, followed by Charlie Palmer Steak, the first independently owned restaurant ever to be located in a Four Seasons Hotel. Chef Barry then brought his talents to be part of the opening team of N9NE Steakhouse at the highly anticipated Palms Resort Casino in 2001.”

“In 2017, N9NE Steakhouse closed it’s doors after 16 years to make way for a new concept, which Chef Dakake facilitated. As Executive Chef for Scotch 80 Prime he played an instrumental role in putting the restaurant on the Vegas dining map. Since then Chef Barry has joined with Yassine Lyoubi, Marco Cicione and Donnie Rihn to bring the ambitious Barry’s Downtown Prime to life at Circa Las Vegas.”

Chef Barry continues with us, fresh Maine lobster in hand.

Show 380, July 4, 2020: Celebrity Chef Susan Feniger, Socalo Santa Monica and Border Grill DTLA & Las Vegas Part Two

Susan Feniger wearing a mask at Socalo in Santa MonicaCelebrity chef and restaurateur Susan Feniger is best known for creating Border Grill (Los Angeles & Las Vegas) with her business partner Mary Sue Milliken. She was also one of the first stars on Food Network. The partners have made their return to Santa Monica with the launch of Socalo in the Gateway Hotel which has just reopened for expanded patio dining for lunch, dinner & Happy Hour on Tuesday through Saturday.

Chicken Poblano Enchiladas (a favorite from Border Grill) have been added to the menu. Also returning to dinner dine-in is Baja Seabass and Lamb Birria.

Curbside pickup is available, too. A range of Family Meals are available by Tock. Also Margarita Kits, Wines by the Bottle, and Craft Beers.

Complimentary on-site parking, a rarity in Santa Monica, is available.

Border Grill Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay is again welcoming guests for dine-in both inside and with expansive patio seating overlooking Mandalay Beach. Until Mary Sue’s and Susan’s adjacent BBQ Mexicana fast casual spot reopens its menu standouts are available on the Border Grill menu.

We continue our chat with Chef Susan highlighting what’s currently available for guests at Socalo Santa Monica.

 

Show 322, May 4, 2019: Socalo’s & Border Grill’s Chef / Partner Susan Feniger

The 13th Annual Vegas Uncork’d is back on The Strip in Vegas on May 10th, 11th & 12th. A standout event for Uncork’d the night of May 11th is A Smokin’ Good Time with Susan Feniger” at Border Grill at Mandalay Bay.

“Border Grill’s Co-Founder Susan Feniger and Executive Chef Mike Minor are bringing the heat at an epic BBQ party with a Mexican twist. Join the Border Grill chefs, Andy Baraghani of Bon Appetit, and host Whembley Sewell, Executive Editor of them, for a smokin’ good time on the outdoor patio of Border Grill at Mandalay Bay as variety of meats, plant-based proteins, and veggies get smoked, grilled, and slow-cooked to perfection at interactive stations.”

“Guests will experience a mouthwatering feast of mesquite pulled pork tortas, fried chicken tacos, slow-smoked Texas-style brisket, spare ribs, house-smoked tofu with habanero BBQ sauce, Impossible sliders, all the fixins’ and much more. Also, the famous burnt ends burrito from BBQ Mexicana, a new quick service eatery from Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger at Mandalay Bay Resort.”

“Top it all off with local craft beer pairings from CraftHaus brewery, barrel-aged cocktails, smoked spirits, fire pits, and live music by The All-Togethers.”

Chef Susan and Border Grill are also part of Friday evening’s Grand Tasting at the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesars Palace and Saturday afternoon’s Picnic at the Park at Park MGM.

Chef Susan joins us with a tempting preview.

Show 284, August 4, 2018: Executive Chef Mike Minor, Border Grill Las Vegas, BBQ Mexicana

Mike Minor of Truck U Barbecue in Las VegasWhen we last spoke with Chef Mike Minor last December, the Executive Chef for Mary Sue Milliken’s and Susan Feniger’s Border Grill in Las Vegas, he teased us with news that a BBQ concept was in the works. That has now launched as BBQ Mexicana, a quick service eatery located across the corridor from Border Grill at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The menu was created by Mary Sue and Susan in collaboration with Chef Mike, a passionate BBQ master.

Inspired by Mary Sue and Susan’s travels to Mexico, where they fell in love with delicious barbacoa and smoked meats, the menu at BBQ Mexicana offers a variety of burritos, bowls, and salads filled with mesquite smoked chicken, pulled pork, slow smoked Texas-style brisket, and smoked tofu in addition to aguas frescas, beers and margaritas to go. BBQ Mexicana is ideal for convention attendees and those seeking a good meal on the go before continuing on to the casino, pool, convention center, or exploring Las Vegas.

Not to be missed is the Slow Smoked Brisket Burnt Ends Burrito with chipotle coleslaw, crispy potatoes, Manchego cheese and BBQ mole sauce.

Current hours are Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with select mornings and weekends.

We pull Chef Mike away from the smoker for a meaty chat.

 

Show 251, December 9, 2017: “Las Vegas Strong” Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris

Now a VIP high roller’s preview of this Saturday’s intriguing, all-Las Vegas show special. We’re going behind-the-scenes with some of Fabulous Las Vegas’ most fascinating food-related personalities. We’re with you live every Saturday morning throughout The Holidays. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon careful reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing…

Rick Moonen is one of the very few celebrity chefs with high profile restaurants in Las Vegas who actually lives in Fabulous Las Vegas. His two restaurants in The Shoppes at Mandalay Place are RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room. Chef Rick is our guest.

Mike Minor is back as the Executive Chef of Mary Sue Milliken’s and Susan Feniger’s original Border Grill Las Vegas (launched in 1999) located by the lazy river adjacent to Mandalay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Resort on The Strip. Chef Mike is a long-time Las Vegas veteran and has a huge locals’ following. We’ll meet him.

Chef Brian Howard developed a loyal following during his tenure at Comme Ca located in The Cosmopolitan (“just the right amount of wrong.”) He’s now branched out on his own with Sparrow + Wolf located in Las Vegas’s bustling Chinatown just off The Strip on Spring Mountain Road. Chef Brian refers to his establishment as “Neighborhood Cookery & Libations.” Chef Brian joins us to talk about his first seven months of operations.

The delightfully opinionated Al Mancini took on the dream assignment for any food journalist of becoming the food reporter for The Las Vegas Review-Journal just about a year ago. He’s an unabashed fan of Fabulous Las Vegas. Al is celebrating a B-I-G Birthday this weekend and we pull him away from the festivities for a chat.

Stowe Shoemaker is the dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV.) Prior to being named dean, Shoemaker served as a Lincy Professor at UNLV and the Donald Hubbs Distinguished Professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel Administration at the University of Houston. For many years he was a member of the executive education faculty at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and for a time he maintained an appointment in the Division of Diagnostic Imagery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. We’re in with The Dean.

As Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Tom Kaplan has worked alongside Wolfgang Puck for nearly 36 years with his world-renowned restaurants. Tom started his lengthy association with Chef Wolfgang as Office Manager two months after the original Spago West Hollywood opened in 1982. His responsibilities include overall business management, strategic development, design, and construction supervision, and philanthropy for the company’s 28 domestic and international locations. Tom Kaplan is our guest.

The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the Mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on America and the world. With tales so intriguing they need no embellishment, The Mob Museum reveals an insider’s look at the events and people on both sides of this continuing battle between organized crime and law enforcement. The Mob Museum’s Brenda Hengel>, Public Relations and Marketing Brand Manager, joins us.

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s show!

Show 251, December 9, 2017: Chef Mike Minor, Border Grill Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

Mike Minor of Border Grill in Las VegasMike Minor is back as the Executive Chef of Mary Sue Milliken’s and Susan Feniger’s original Border Grill Las Vegas (launched in 1999) located by the lazy river adjacent to Mandalay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Resort on The Strip. Chef Mike grew up in Las Vegas and has a huge locals’ following. We’ll meet him.

This Border Grill is known for their incredible Weekend, all-you-can-enjoy brunch with everything cooked to order. There is also bottomless sparkling wine. Talk about indulgent…It’s Vegas, baby !

Ironically, it was a French restaurant where Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger first tasted authentic Latin flavors. While guests were dining on escargot out front, in the back of the house Mary Sue and Susan were discovering the home cooking of Oaxaca and the Yucatan at staff meals prepared by their fellow cooks from Mexico. Unlike anything they had ever tasted in Mexican restaurants in the United States, the dishes were as varied and complex as the French fare the chefs were serving out front.

In 1985, Mary Sue and Susan packed a VW bug and took a road trip far south of the Mexican border. Never setting foot in a “fine restaurant,” they learned the recipes and techniques of market vendors and home cooks, from street corners in downtown Mexico City to back road family barbecues and taco stands along the beach. When they returned they opened Border Grill and “applied the same intelligence,” noted Los Angeles Magazine, “to green corn tamales and cactus-paddle tacos that other chefs might to a lobe of foie gras.” Border Grill quickly established a new standard for gourmet Mexican fare.

Show 251, December 9, 2017: Celebrity Chef Rick Moonen, RM Seafood & Rx Boiler Room, Las Vegas

Rick Moonen of rm seafood in Las VegasRick Moonen is one of the very few celebrity chefs with high profile restaurants in Las Vegas who actually lives in Fabulous Las Vegas. His two restaurants in The Shoppes at Mandalay Place are RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room.

Since opening RM Seafood at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place in 2005, Master Chef Rick Moonen brings his expertise to The Strip by offering a unique dining experience with a thoughtful selection of seafood through his delectable dishes. Renowned for his passionate views on sustainable seafood, Chef Moonen creates an experience that features a vast array of flavor combinations designed to exemplify the natural qualities of fresh ingredients. Along with abundant offerings from the sea, the menu includes Wagyu beef, lamb, salads and other unique items such as seared foie gras and chicken san daniele.

Combining the alchemy of food and drink, Chef Rick Moonen’s Rx Boiler Room showcases his spin on classic comfort food, offering guests a variety of playful creations in small and large plate portions, ideal for a shared dining experience. Paired to elevate and complement the overall experience, the drink menu features an emporium of the finest spirits and innovative libations. Rx Boiler Room offers a modern reflection of the Victorian era, celebrating the steampunk sub-genre often associated with science-fiction and inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century.

Chef Rick is our guest.

 

 

December 9: #VegasStrong: A Tribute to Las Vegas Culinary Excellence

Podcasts

Segment One: “Las Vegas Strong” Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Celebrity Chef Rick Moonen, RM Seafood & Rx Boiler Room, Las Vegas
Segment Three: Chef Mike Minor, Border Grill Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Chef / Owner Brian Howard, Sparrow + Wolf, Chinatown, Las Vegas
Segment Five: Food Journalist Al Mancini, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Segment Six: Dean Stowe Shoemaker, William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, UNLV
Segment Seven: Tom Kaplan, Senior Managing Partner, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group
Segment Eight: Brenda Hengel, Public Relations and Marketing Brand Manager, The Mob Museum, Las Vegas

Now an intriguing preview of this Saturday’s overflowing show. It’s our very special Las Vegas Strong! show. Keep in mind we’re with you live every Saturday morning throughout The Holidays. It’s not, with profuse apologies, for dieters. If we’re successful we will always leave you incredibly hungry and thirsty. In our case, upon careful reflection, that’s probably a pretty good thing…

Rick Moonen is one of the very few celebrity chefs with high profile restaurants in Las Vegas who actually lives in Fabulous Las Vegas. His two restaurants in The Shoppes at Mandalay Place are RM Seafood and RX Boiler Room. Chef Rick is our guest.

Mike Minor is the Executive Chef of Mary Sue Milliken’s and Susan Feniger’s original Border Grill Las Vegas (launched in 1999) located by the lazy river adjacent to Mandalay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Resort on The Strip. Chef Mike grew up in Las Vegas and has a huge locals’ following. We’ll meet him.

Chef Brian Howard developed a loyal following during his tenure at Comme Ca located in The Cosmopolitan. He’s now branched out on his own with Sparrow + Wolf located in Las Vegas’s bustling Chinatown just Off The Strip on Spring Mountain Road. Chef Brian refers to his establishment as “Neighborhood Cookery & Libations.” Chef Brian joins us to talk about his first seven months of operations.

The delightfully opinionated Al Mancini took on the dream assignment for any food journalist of becoming the food reporter for The Las Vegas Review-Journal just about a year ago. He’s an unabashed fan of Fabulous Las Vegas. Al is celebrating a B-I-G Birthday this weekend and we pull him away from the festivities for a chat.

Stowe Shoemaker is the dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV.) Prior to being named dean, Shoemaker served as a Lincy Professor at UNLV and the Donald Hubbs Distinguished Professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel Administration at the University of Houston. For many years he was a member of the executive education faculty at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and for a time he maintained an appointment in the Division of Diagnostic Imagery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. We’re in with The Dean.

As Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Tom Kaplan has worked alongside Wolfgang Puck for nearly 36 years with his world-renowned restaurants. Tom started his lengthy association with Chef Wolfgang as Office Manager two months after the original Spago West Hollywood opened in 1982. His responsibilities include overall business management, strategic development, design, and construction supervision, and philanthropy for the company’s 28 domestic and international locations. Tom Kaplan is our guest.

The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the Mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on America and the world. With tales so intriguing they need no embellishment, The Mob Museum reveals an insider’s look at the events and people on both sides of this continuing battle between organized crime and law enforcement. The Mob Museum’s Brenda Hengel, Public Relations and Marketing Brand Manager, joins us.

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s show!

Rick Moonen of rm seafood in Las VegasRick Moonen is one of the very few celebrity chefs with high profile restaurants in Las Vegas who actually lives in Fabulous Las Vegas. His two restaurants in The Shoppes at Mandalay Place are RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room.

Since opening RM Seafood at The Shoppes at Mandalay Place in 2005, Master Chef Rick Moonen brings his expertise to The Strip by offering a unique dining experience with a thoughtful selection of seafood through his delectable dishes. Renowned for his passionate views on sustainable seafood, Chef Moonen creates an experience that features a vast array of flavor combinations designed to exemplify the natural qualities of fresh ingredients. Along with abundant offerings from the sea, the menu includes Wagyu beef, lamb, salads and other unique items such as seared foie gras and chicken san daniele.

Combining the alchemy of food and drink, Chef Rick Moonen’s Rx Boiler Room showcases his spin on classic comfort food, offering guests a variety of playful creations in small and large plate portions, ideal for a shared dining experience. Paired to elevate and complement the overall experience, the drink menu features an emporium of the finest spirits and innovative libations. Rx Boiler Room offers a modern reflection of the Victorian era, celebrating the steampunk sub-genre often associated with science-fiction and inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century.

Chef Rick is our guest.

Mike Minor of Border Grill in Las VegasMike Minor is the Executive Chef of Mary Sue Milliken’s and Susan Feniger’s original Border Grill Las Vegas (launched in 1999) located by the lazy river adjacent to Mandalay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Resort on The Strip. Chef Mike grew up in Las Vegas and has a huge locals’ following. We’ll meet him.

Ironically, it was a French restaurant where Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger first tasted authentic Latin flavors. While guests were dining on escargot out front, in the back of the house Mary Sue and Susan were discovering the home cooking of Oaxaca and the Yucatan at staff meals prepared by their fellow cooks from Mexico. Unlike anything they had ever tasted in Mexican restaurants in the United States, the dishes were as varied and complex as the French fare the chefs were serving out front.

In 1985, Mary Sue and Susan packed a VW bug and took a road trip far south of the Mexican border. Never setting foot in a “fine restaurant,” they learned the recipes and techniques of market vendors and home cooks, from street corners in downtown Mexico City to back road family barbecues and taco stands along the beach. When they returned they opened Border Grill and “applied the same intelligence,” noted Los Angeles Magazine, “to green corn tamales and cactus-paddle tacos that other chefs might to a lobe of foie gras.” Border Grill quickly established a new standard for gourmet Mexican fare.

Brian Howard of Comme Ca in Las VegasChef Brian Howard developed a loyal following during his tenure at Comme Ca located in The Cosmopolitan. He’s now branched out on his own with Sparrow + Wolf located in Las Vegas’s bustling Chinatown just Off The Strip on Spring Mountain Road. Chef Brian refers to his establishment as “Neighborhood Cookery & Libations.”

Chef Brian Howard’ Sparrow + Wolf boasts cuisine from the heart using a modern hand. It features American cookery influenced by the culturally diverse neighborhoods of Chef Brian’s travels, classic training and Midwestern roots.

Throughout his 17-year culinary career in Las Vegas, star Chef Brian Howard earned his stripes working with some of the most popular restaurants on The Strip. He has gained the utmost respect from his colleagues and the city’s most prestigious food writers, including one who referred to Howard as “The Most Ambitious Chef in Las Vegas.” The culinary field is known as a profession of passion, and Howard is a bold example of that premise, having believed since he was 10 years old that cooking is in his blood.

Chef Brian attributes his varied influences to being surrounded by talented people, childhood memories, and his continuous hunger for learning new things every day. “I’ve always had a fight and desire in me to never give up, no matter how rocky the road,” says Howard.  “Perseverance has gotten me to where I am today and now I just want to create something for the people of Las Vegas, a city that has been good to me. I want to create food that I’d like to eat.”

Chef Brian joins us to talk about his first seven months of operations.

Al ManciniThe delightfully opinionated Al Mancini took on the dream assignment for any food journalist of becoming the food reporter for The Las Vegas Review-Journal just about a year ago. He’s an unabashed fan of Fabulous Las Vegas. He also faithfully covers the happenings in the revived Downtown Las Vegas including the vibrant restaurant scene there.

Al discovered his passion for food while living in New York City, where he attended law school by day, tended bar and made pizza at the infamous punk club CBGB by night, and explored the Big Apple’s dynamic dining scene during every spare moment in between.

Previously Al has written extensively about food and dining for numerous local, Las Vegas lifestyle publications. He is the co-creator of Eating Las Vegas – The 50 Essential Restaurants guidebook which launched with the 2011 Edition.

Al is celebrating a B-I-G Birthday this weekend and we pull him away from the festivities for a chat.

Stowe Shoemaker is the Dean of the William F Harrah College of Hotel Administration at University of Nevada Las VegasStowe Shoemaker is the dean of the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV.) Prior to being named dean, Shoemaker served as a Lincy Professor at UNLV and the Donald Hubbs Distinguished Professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel Administration at the University of Houston. For many years he was a member of the executive education faculty at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, and for a time he maintained an appointment in the Division of Diagnostic Imagery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Located in the heart of the hotel, gaming and tourism industries, UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality is uniquely positioned to offer students the real-world skills they need to succeed in the dynamic field of hospitality.

Hospitality Hall, The College’s new $59 million, 93,500 square-foot building, will welcome students next year. Hospitality Hall will provide the setting and the resources students need to learn the fast-paced, ever changing world of hospitality. With faculty guidance and industry partnerships, Hospitality Hall will help set a new standard of excellence in hospitality education.

We’re in with The Dean.

Tom KaplanAs Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Tom Kaplan has worked alongside Wolfgang Puck for nearly 36 years with his world-renowned restaurants. Tom started his lengthy association with Chef Wolfgang as Office Manager two months after the original Spago West Hollywood opened in 1982. His responsibilities include overall business management, strategic development, design, and construction supervision, and philanthropy for the company’s 28 domestic and international locations.

Since 1982, Puck and Kaplan have grown the company from several individual restaurants into a collection of restaurants known as the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. Primary brands include Spago, CUT, re/Asian Cuisine, and the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. Over the years Kaplan has nurtured key strategic partnerships with luxury hotel brands and major casinos such as the Four Seasons, Dorchester Collection, MGM Resorts International and Las Vegas Sands.

The big Wolfgang Puck Las Vegas news is that after 25 years Spago Las Vegas, in 2018, will move to the former Olives location at The Bellagio, regarded as one of the best restaurant locations in Las Vegas.

Tom Kaplan is our guest.

Brenda HengelThe Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is a world-class destination in downtown Las Vegas. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the Mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on America and the world. With tales so intriguing they need no embellishment, The Mob Museum reveals an insider’s look at the events and people on both sides of this continuing battle between organized crime and law enforcement.

True stories of Mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits and multi-sensory experiences. The Mob Museum puts the visitor in the middle of the action through high-tech theater presentations, iconic one-of-a-kind artifacts and interactive, themed environments. The Mob Museum was ranked #20 out of 25 Top U.S. Museums in 2017 by TripAdvisor.

The Mob Museum features a variety of interactive exhibits, films and high-tech audio-visual displays that are periodically updated to reflect new information and acquisitions. Exhibits examine in great depth such topics as how organized crime persists today; how the Mob is perceived and portrayed in pop culture; how the battle against the Mob was fought with focus on important historic and law enforcement victories; an examination of Mob violence, corruption, conspiracy and murder; notable mobsters and Mob busters; an in-depth look at Las Vegas as the ultimate “open city” that attracted mobsters and how organized crime operated “the skim” inside casinos; and a historic timeline on the birth and evolution of organized crime with a look at its geographic “families” from around the globe.

The centerpiece exhibit of the Museum is the courtroom where the proceedings of the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce occurred in Las Vegas in 1950. Led by U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver, the hearings sought to expose organized crime.

The Mob Museum’s Brenda Hengel, Public Relations and Marketing Brand Manager, joins us.

Podcasts

Segment One: “Las Vegas Strong” Show Preview with Co-Host Andy Harris
Segment Two: Celebrity Chef Rick Moonen, RM Seafood & Rx Boiler Room, Las Vegas
Segment Three: Chef Mike Minor, Border Grill Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
Segment Four: Chef / Owner Brian Howard, Sparrow + Wolf, Chinatown, Las Vegas
Segment Five: Food Journalist Al Mancini, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Segment Six: Dean Stowe Shoemaker, William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, UNLV
Segment Seven: Tom Kaplan, Senior Managing Partner, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group
Segment Eight: Brenda Hengel, Public Relations and Marketing Brand Manager, The Mob Museum, Las Vegas

Show 67, March 29, 2014: Executive Chef Mike Minor, Truck U Barbeque Truck, Las Vegas

Mike Minor of Truck U Barbecue in Las VegasWell-known Executive Chef Mike Minor, a resident of Las Vegas since the age of 5, was the face of Border Grill Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay for almost 10 years.

Late last year he departed to work on a very personal project. That’s the just-about-to launch (April 5th.) Truck U Barbecue. (truck.) ‘Cue, with some tasty accents from Mexico, is his thing.