Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

APPETIZERS: Chef offers two restaurants with different comfort zones

Employees work at the raw bar at r.bar.cafe at Mandalay Place, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Photo by John Locher. The new r.bar.cafe serves the "Plateau," featuring oysters, littleneck clams, mussels, gulf shrimp and Maine lobster.

Chef Rick Moonen brings his New York seafood restaurant concept, rm seafood, to Mandalay Place, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Moonen actually has opened two restaurants in one 1,600-square-foot space, with the downstairs casual dining r.bar.cafe and the fine dining rm seafood restaurant upstairs.

Designed by San Francisco architect Cass Calder Smith of CCS-Architecture, r.bar.cafe features an outdoor dining area, a bar and lounge area, Raw Bar and dining room with mahogany wood tables. There's also a separate private dining area blocked off from the rest of the cafe by large curtains.

At the junction between the Mandalay Bay casino and Mandalay Place shopping area, the cafe serves the same menu throughout the day.

Moonen, executive chef of New York City's restaurant rm, received three stars from the New York Times and four stars from the 2005 Mobil Travel Guide. He has moved to Las Vegas to oversee the new restaurants at Mandalay Place.

Two separate kitchens and staffs prepare food for the restaurants, both featuring separate menus. "The cafe menu is good old American seafood," says Moonen, who personally selected the beers to pair with the seafood dishes. "It's more comfort food."

The 250-seat r.bar.cafe is open for lunch and dinner starting at 11 a.m. until 11 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, and until midnight Fridays and Saturdays. The bar-lounge area is open until 2 a.m. daily.

The upstairs fine dining restaurant rm, which seats 85 and contains a lounge and two private dining rooms, is open daily from 5:30 to 11 p.m., for tasting menus and á la carte dining (632-9300).

Following are items from the r.bar.cafe menu.

• Starters: Raw Bar featuring oysters on the half shell ($15 for a choice of six from such varieties as Hood Canal, Kumamoto, Hama Hama, Blue Points, Moonstone and Beau Soleil); oyster shooters ($5 each); Pacific white shrimp ($15); littleneck clams ($12); one-pound Maine lobster ($39); Dungeness crab ($18); and seafood antipasto ($12).

From the Biscuit Bar, warm seafood veloutes on cream biscuits with a choice of toppings including blue crab ($16); rock shrimp ($14) and Maine lobster ($18).

• Soups and salads: Rick's clam chowder, red or white ($9); spicy Bermuda shrimp soup ($10); old-fashioned chicken soup ($8); RM seafood salad ($15); hearts of romaine Caesars salad ($8; $16 with shrimp); chopped salad with cucumbers, red onion, olives and feta ($11); roasted Bosc pears, microgreens, toasted walnuts and Maytag blue cheese ($11); and sugar beet, Belgian endive and watercress salad with hazelnuts ($12).

• Entrees: Small plates: Fried oysters with spicy remoulade ($12); Cajun popcorn, aka fried rock shrimp ($12); salt and pepper calamari with sweet chili dipping sauce ($12); jumbo lump crabcake with chipotle mayonnaise ($15); house-cured wild salmon, shaved fennel and creme fraiche ($13); fruitwood smoked trout with horseradish cream and tart apple salad ($10).

From the wood grill, prepared with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and lemon: Yellowfin tuna steak ($27); organic chicken ($19); filet mignon ($29); garlic prawns ($23); pork chops ($22); Pacific white bass ($22); mahi mahi ($22); Hawaiian ono ($24); and lamb chop ($29).

Big plates: Crusted tuna with red pepper sauce and ratatouille ($28); Rick's seafood gumbo ($24); shellfish fra diavolo, lobster, shrimp, scallops and mussels ($24); Asian-style whole fried fish and fingerling potato salad and tomato ginger vinaigrette ($26); Pacific white bass with chive mash potatoes and truffle vinaigrette ($24); one-pound Maine lobster, steamed, grilled or broiled, with mashed potatoes and herb butter ($49); grilled branzino with artichoke and fennel ragout ($26); linguine with white clam sauce ($20); and baked tortellini mushrooms, tomatoes and olives ($19).

• Extras: Macaroni and cheese casserole ($8); cucumber salad ($5); tartar mashed potatoes ($6); salt-roasted fingerlings ($6); garlic bok choy ($6); and rice pilaf ($5).

• Desserts: Homemade pies, including apple, Key lime and chocolate pudding ($8 by the slice, $11 a la mode).

Appetizers is a weekly informational column about new developments on the Las Vegas dining scene. Items should not be considered reviews or recommendations and none is a paid advertisement.