Michael Morton |
Las Vegas isn’t a city known for coming-up with new and innovative ideas out of the ether. However, when somebody with a little passion and creativity sees an idea working well, elsewhere, and has the wherewithal to make a go of it – oftentimes it can lead to something great.
Now, I’m not a wine-guy, per se, but my buddy Michael Morton is. For Pete’s sake, the first time I saw his in-home wine vault, there was so much high-tech gadgetry going-on, that I thought I was looking at an off-site NORAD control-room!
Beef Filet Crostini with Bleu Cheese |
Michael isn’t simply a lover of great wines (of which there are many), but he’s a great lover of wine (which is more all-encompassing and far more in-line with Morton’s personal outlook on life). He loves wine for wine’s sake, and is one of those guys who can tell you, in layman’s terms, why he enjoys a particular bottle/vintage/varietal/what-have-you, without sounding like a pretentious blowhard (and that’s a neat trick…).
So, here we are, nearing the end of 2010, and Michael Morton (best known as the fine-dining and nightlife impresario behind N9NE Steakhouse, Nove Italiano, ghostbar, and Playboy Club) is welcoming us all into his world; opening La Cave at Wynn Las Vegas – the first independently-owned restaurant at Steve Wynn’s eponymous luxury resort.
La Cave’s menu will feature roughly 150 “hand-crafted” wines from all over the globe, in addition to a dozen micro-brewed draft beers, fine spirits, and tapas – those small, shareable plates of nibbly things (like artisanal charcuterie, oven-fired flatbreads, hand-cut crudo, and farmhouse cheeses) that go so well with everything.
Main Dining Room at La Cave |
Not one to skimp, Morton has built-out La Cave, at a cost of $5.5 million, putting his money where he feels his guests’ palates (and wallets) are, and will be, as Las Vegas recovers from the fiscal beat-down it’s taken, over these past couple of years. Two factors at play, in this scenario, according to Morton, are the simultaneous decline in the price of wine and the rise in its consumption – make the time ripe (pun intended) for such a venture.
Unlike so many of the ultra-snazzy but highly intimidating wine bars in cities like New York, Miami and San Francisco, Morton promises that La Cave will have more in common with its laid-back yet well-appointed SoCal brethren, making it far more inviting to those who don’t know the difference between a Shiraz and a Syrah. (That’s a joke, btw – but a rather sly one…)
The Cave at La Cave |
Meanwhile, keeping things mellow is all well and good, but this is Las Vegas; so in order to achieve the luxuriously warm glow that permeates La Cave, hammered gold was used throughout (albeit in the most subtle and tasteful manner, possible).
With a number of inviting nooks and comfy crannies, a low-slung ceiling, and sexy décor, La Cave promises to become a favorite lunch, dinner and late-night spot for locals and visitors, alike.
In Vino Veritas, indeed…
LA CAVE - Wine & Food Hideaway
Wynn Las Vegas
Opening December 3rd
Click HERE for more info
Get into it!
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