Food and Loathing Restaurant Guide -- Ep. 16: Moonen, Mexican & Magic Mike

My producer Rich and I are joined once again this week by recurring guest co-host Rick Moonen.

Rick starts out by telling us about his trip to Mexico to participate in the Cancun Food and Drink experience at the Royalton Chic Suites.

Next up, I chat about my visit to Superfrico, the new psychedelic Italian restaurant in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It’s a companion restaurant to the show Opium, which runs in the theater next door. Both are created by the folks at Spiegelworld.

While discussing Superfrico’s cuisine, I compare their square pizzas (one of two styles they offer) to the Detroit pizza Chef Marc Marrone offers through his pizza ghost kitchen Gemma Gemma’s. And when discussing their chicken parm, I reference Al Solito Posto in Tivoli Village. I also send a shout out to the head of my favorite local theater company -- MajesticRepertory Theater’s Troy Heard – whom I believe I saw at the Superfrico “friends and family” night.

Next up is a conversation of the meal I had with Steven Soderbergh. The film director was promoting his new spirit Singani 63, which Rick and I proceeded to taste and review. For those who want to try it in some cocktails, we mention that it’s being utilized in a cocktail pairing for the show Magic Mike Live at The Sahara.

Our centerpiece segment for this show is about Mexican cuisine, and we recorded it at Madero Street Tacos on Carson Avenue. My guests for the segment are Madero’s Francisco Alvarez and the owner of Masazul heirloom corn tortillas, Mariana Alvarado. I note that Alvarado has hosted Taco Tuesday pop-ups at the Vegas Test Kitchen.

Before we get into our conversation about Mexican food, I discuss how Carson Avenue has become the “restaurant row” of the Fremont East area, thanks to a cluster of great restaurants. The ones I mention are:

Carson Kitchen (created by the late Kerry Simon)

Donut Bar

Bocho Sushi (124 S. 6^th Street)

La Comida (Mexican restaurant by Michael and Jenna Morton)

Eat by Natalie Young

7^th & Carson (one of my favorite brunch spots)

Vegenation (pioneering vegan restaurant)

When we turn our conversation to tortillas, I try to come up with a list of chefs or restaurants other than those of my guests that serve hand-crafted heirloom corn tortillas. We manage to come up with a few:

Milpa on Durango Drive near Desert Breeze Park.

Viva! by Ray Garcia in Resorts World

Casa Playa in Wynn/Encore

La Neta in Downtown Summerlin

The conversation then turns to the topic of Mexican cuisine in Las Vegas, which I kick off by playing some of my interview with Casa Playa’s Sarah Thompson. She mentions a local spot she likes called Birria El Compa, which has a location on East Charleston Boulevard and has opened a sister spot called La Cruda by El Compa on Valley View Boulevard between Sahara and Desert Inn.

I run through several casual Mexican places I’ve enjoyed over the years, including Bomb Tacos on Durango Drive near Spring Mountain Road, Los Antojos on S. Eastern Avenue and the Tacos El Gordo chain. On the sit-down level, I mention really liking Frank & Fina’s on West Flamingo Road near Interstate 215.

For our final segment, we’re back at Rick Moonen’s house, sipping more Singani 63.

I play a clip recorded at the Crafthaus Brewery 7^th Anniversary Party, in which Astronomy Aleworks founder Matt Brady teases a potential Arts District project.

I report that the landmark Italian restaurant Piero’s has returned to seven-day-a-week operations, which prompts us to tell some mildly scandalous stories about the distinctly “old Vegas” eatery.

Rich does his weekly junk food report (which I refuse to post links for, because if you don’t know how to find fast food chains, you have bigger problems).

Rich mentions his visit to the PR%F Awards at The Westgate, and a visit to that hotel’s casual restaurant Sid’s Café for a turkey club.

Before we wrap up the show, we review the cannabis-infused Two Roots tonic, which we enjoyed, despite being perplexed by its resealable lid.