Scotch 80 chef Barry Dakake leaves the Palms

It’s the end of an era at the Palms. After 18 years at the helm of the resort’s steakhouses, Scotch 80 Prime’s executive chef Barry S. Dakake resigned over the weekend, along with restaurant general manager/resort director of fine dining Yassine Lyoubi. Dakake says they’ll be consulting for some of the many celebrity fans and friends he’s made over the years on projects overseas and on the East Coast. He went on to express his gratitude toward the “two great families” who provided him with opportunities at N9NE and Scotch 80, the Maloofs and the Fertittas, saying both were “really great to work for.” As for N9NE’s famous kitchen door, which has been autographed by countless celebrities over the years, Dakake said he’s in negotiations to secure it as a reminder of his years in the building.

Goodwich closes a spot

After less than nine months in business, The Goodwich Southwest closed this week. Owner Josh Clark announced the move on the restaurant’s Facebook page, saying, “We have been presented the opportunity to sell the space and have decided it is the right decision.” In addition to thanking their customers and team members, the post went on to say they would be concentrating on The Goodwich’s downtown location and “other opportunities on the table.” That includes the extension of the downtown location’s hours to 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

Chefs battle in Henderson

Scott Pajak of Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo and Robert Lomeli of Hecho en Vegas at MGM Grand will square off in a cooking competition at 7 p.m. Friday at the Henderson Events Plaza near City Hall on Water Street, with season 12 “Hell’s Kitchen” winner Scott Commings, executive chef of Freedom Beat at the Downtown Grand, as host. The event, which is free, is part of Last Friday, Just Add Water Street, which kicks off at 6 p.m.

Tale of a different battle

Bardot Brasserie’s Josh Smith and former Kitchen at Atomic chef Hall emerged victorious Saturday night/Sunday morning at the first Back of the House Brawl of the season, defeating Emily Brubaker of Michael’s Gourmet Pantry and Hell’s Kitchen’s Jennifer Murphy. Smith used his secret ingredients of pork, cannoli shells, fava beans and anchovy extract to create pork loin a la plancha with mushroom duxelles, caramelized fava beans, crispy cannoli shells and colatura vinaigrette, while Hall turned his egg and anchovies into a dashi-seasoned sunny-side egg with caramelized zucchini, charred onion and anchovy vinaigrette.

Unstripped details emerge

Preliminary details have been confirmed for the second edition of Vegas Unstripped, the off-Strip food festival that debuted last year as a more affordable, locally focused alternative to the star-studded Vegas Uncork’d. This year’s event will be May 11 in the common space behind The Arts District’s Esther’s Kitchen. The list of participating restaurants includes Sparrow + Wolf, Metro Pizza, The Summit Club, La Strega, EDO Gastro Tapas & Wine, Esther’s Kitchen, The Black Sheep, Paid In Full, District One, Le Pho, Mordeo, Flock & Fowl, Fat Choy, bBd’s, Lotus of Siam, Partage and the upcoming projects of chefs Shaun King, Johnny Church and Justin Kingsley Hall. Tickets, at $75, will go on sale April 2 at vegasunstripped.com.

And the name is …

Hall also used his appearance at the Brawl to reveal the name of the Arts District restaurant he’s developing with Kim Owens. Observant attendees probably noticed that he was wearing a hat emblazoned with the name Main St. Provisions, as was Owens. The restaurant, expected to open in September, will be at 1214 Main St., next to the new Good Pie. Hall described the cuisine as “an upscale version of things I’ve always done: that kind of Americana mix of Southern, West Coast, (from) my travels through the states.”

Cocktail flap

The Cosmopolitan’s property mixologist Mariena Mercer noticed a similarity between the signature Verbena cocktail she created for Chandelier Bar and a drink called Barking Mad that will be offered at the new Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace. In a post last week on her Facebook page (that has since been deleted), she included a photo of the Vanderpump cocktail menu and asked “Should I be ‘Barking Mad?’ Lisa Vanderpump doesn’t strike me as someone who likes cheap copies.” It went on acknowledge the theory that no cocktail is original, but said, “it doesn’t make it any less hurtful when someone you’ve worked with in the past straight rips your most popular cocktail to put it on a menu at their new bar that is just a front for a mediocre reality show.” Representatives of Vanderpump Cocktail Garden did not reply to a request for a comment.

Sightings

Professional poker player and Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu at Sake Rok at The Park at MGM. Former Fifth Harmony star Ally Brooke and Why Don’t We band members Corbyn Besson and Jonah Marais in separate parties at Tao at The Venetian. Vegas Golden Knights right winger Reilly Smith at Lavo at Palazzo.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates The Venetian and Palazzo.

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