John Rzeznik (center) is the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls, who just released their new album, Magnetic.

One of summer’s most anticipated concerts is the teaming up of Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox Twenty, both of whom have new material in addition to plenty of chart-topping hits between the two alternative rock bands. In advance of their July 20 stop at Mandalay Bay Events Center, Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznik talks about why he loves Las Vegas and the band’s newly released disc, Magnetic.

You’re about to hit the road with Matchbox Twenty in a co-headlining national tour. Why did you want to tour with them?
JOHN RZEZNIK: We have always been asking ourselves the question why we hadn’t done a tour with these guys, and why it has taken this long. But everything lined up, so we’re just glad that it finally got off the ground. Both bands have had a pretty long string of hits, and I think that’s what’s so appealing about it.

Between your brand new album Magnetic and the last album you did, what do you think the biggest difference is?
JR: The biggest difference is that I made the decision that I was going to write an album that was more upbeat and up tempo and on a more positive note. The last album was very much reflective of what was going on in the world at the time. Really honestly, making that record was so difficult. It was a darker time in the life, and now things feel better, and are better.

What is the most meaningful song to you on Magnetic and why?
JR: The song ‘Come To Me’ because the sentiment of it is very sweet and simple. I think it’s something a lot of people can relate to.

You’ve played in Vegas quite a few times over your long career. Do you like coming here?
JR: I like coming to Vegas, simply because I don’t gamble. I’m not going to lose the money we make at the gig at the craps table. There is a certain vibrancy about the city, and it’s truly an international kind of city. Everybody wants to come to Vegas. I think people are coming from all over the place to have a good time, so that spirit pervades everything that goes on in that city. It has some of the best restaurants, too, I love going there to eat.

Do you have any favorite places here you like to go?
JR: I like the Four Seasons at Mandalay Bay. I really like that hotel a lot. And I love Burger Bar.

Have you ever been approached to do a mini residency here, in the same style bands such as Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe have done recently?
JR: We have never been approached about that, but that’s something I would love to do, to put a show together and not have to move it every day. I think that would be fun.

Call 800-745-3000 or visit Ticketmaster for show tickets.

BY EMMA TROTTER

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Alizé's spring and summer menus emphasize the use of fresh, local produce.

 

Vegetables take center stage in any number of dishes on Alizé's new menus.

 

A medley of dishes, including cured beef carpaccio and Maine lobster and herb salad.

 

A modern twist on the TRIO Entrée features Dover sole, lobster thermidor, and filet mignon.

 

Sauteed tofu with tamarind-glazed vegetables, dried fruit, and Marcona almonds.

 

The coconut-crusted rum marquis features a key lime custard, chantilly, crisp cookie meringue, and vanilla bean espuma.

 

Special cocktails utilize fresh fruits as key ingredients.

 

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The menu at one of the most revered French fine dining restaurants in town, Alizé, has received a makeover complete with the addition of seasonal fruit-infused cocktails, a new chef’s tasting menu ($135) packed with “superfood” ingredients, and new spring a la carte plates ($10 to $28). The food is better than ever at chef André Rochat’s jewel atop the Palms’ original hotel tower with breathtaking views through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s not to be missed.

Behind the kitchen on a day-to-day basis is chef de cuisine Mark Purdy, who has focused on introducing more contemporary tastes and plating into Alizé’s menu, while including more vegetable-centric dishes, lighter components, and unique twists to each recipe. A vegetarian option is available for both the tasting and regular menus, allowing guests to switch up their classic French meal.

The best part of the chef’s tasting menu? It’s customizable, with three choices per course honoring both modern and traditional takes on French cuisine. Guests can work around dietary restrictions (such as veganism), easily avoid foods they don’t like, or simply choose what sounds most appetizing. The seven-course menu, available with an additional $95 wine pairing, ranges from chilled vichyssoise and tomato soup with crispy potatoes and truffle oil to rib eye carpaccio and white asparagus with a divine, buttery-tasting leek puree. The market greens salad is a colorful medley of greens and herbs, with locally-sourced ingredients.

Other mouthwatering, innovative choices are the golden osetra caviar, anglotti with escargot and Roquefort, pan-seared foie gras, and a new version of Rochat’s famous “The Trio,” which showcases lobster thermidor, Dover sole, and filet mignon topped with foie gras and summer truffles.

In step with the French reputation for exquisite food presentation, each dish is beautifully plated, and even the meal’s sweet ending includes selections from a dessert cart rolled out tableside. 4321 W. Flamingo Rd., 702-951-7000

The Reliquary bath house at Hard Rock Hotel 

Indulgence is the name of the game in Vegas, but on June 18, National Splurge Day, you have extra license to luxuriate. Head over to Hard Rock Hotel’s posh retreat, Reliquary Water Sanctuary Spa & Salon, and pamper yourself with the glitzy Shine On package ($231 for locals, $330 for non-locals). Valid June 18-24, the specialty spa package is two hours of pure bliss, including a glass of Champagne, 80-minute Rock Star massage, and 25-minute Hydrating Facial. In true Vegas fashion, guests can choose a silver, gold, or copper-colored mineral powder dusting for a glowing finish. A complimentary Champagne-scented candle is given as a parting gift, but spa guests can stick around the whole day to enjoy its plethora of elegant amenities, such as a steam room, sauna, fitness center, and co-ed Roman Bath complete with cabana-like alcoves for relaxing. Additionally, locals receive a 30 percent discount on spa services seven days per week. 4455 Paradise Road, 702-693-5520

BY EMMA TROTTER 

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Amari Boutique owner Marisela Altamirano carefully handpicks each item and accessory.

 

Altamirano looks to customers and trends for every label in the store.

 

Accessories at Amari Boutique complement the clothes, both classic and bold.

 

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Henderson’s chic Amari Boutique is packed with hard-to-find labels, and sophisticated dresses that go from day to night. Owner Marisela Altamirano carefully handpicks each item and accessory, and here she shares details on her eye for style.

There are so many unique pieces in the store, yet some very simple ones. How do you choose how many pieces you want to be eccentric or basic?
MARISELA ALTAMIRANO: Since buying is done two seasons in advance, I take a cue from my customers and what they are looking for, what’s selling, and what’s not. I always do six of each piece when it comes to everyday basics. Everything else is four to six pieces depending on the severity of the trend. For example, is it a new trend coming out this season?

Where do you find the designers you choose to sell?
MA: I am always looking at media. I am on Us Magazine, People, Perez Hilton, fashion blogger web sites, and am obsessed with pop culture. I also look for brands that represent the woman I want to dress: young professionals, with a social life.

What is your best-selling brand in the store and why?
MA: This is a tricky question. As a small outfit, I can't buy every item from a label, so for us it's what's selling right now. Right now is all about outdoor barbecues and evening outdoor cocktail parties. Everyone is looking for light, sophisticated, and airy. Some of the popular brands I carry are Lovers + Friends, Keepsake the Label, Finders Keepers, and Bobi.

Describe what kind of clothes you carry and the woman that you are targeting?
MA: I carry something for everyone—the young professionals who need to be conservative but also have the ability to be playful with her selections to the party girl who needs something sexy and sophisticated to wear out with the girls. My customers consist of teachers, attorneys, physicians, stay-at-home mothers, and industry girls. But most important, I want the clothes to represent a classy gal with style.

What is your own personal style and look?
MA: I tend to gravitate toward classics. I love trends but the older I get the harder they are to pull off.

Since summer is coming up, what are the top trends, colors, and styles in summer fashion?
MA: You will see bold or minimal: bold graphics, prints, florals. Or you will see the girl in the feminine, minimal, soft classic colors. It will be about structure, beautiful architected garments, like origami shapes, and appliqué, brocade, and jacquard.

10271 South Eastern Ave., Suite 114, 702-476-3900

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Carlos Santana displays a bottle of his 2006 Mumm Napa Supernatural Rosé.

 

The "Supernatural" rosé is named after Santana's 1999 best selling album.

 

The 2006 Mumm Napa Supernatural Rosé is a special blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

 

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Rock legend Carlos Santana is currently in the midst of his second Las Vegas residency with An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live—Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues.  But another hit for the 10-time Grammy Award winner and sprits connoisseur is his recently-released 2006 Mumm Napa Supernatural Rosé ($65). This is his second collaboration with the California-based sparkling wine house, and they’ve named the stellar bottle “Supernatural” after Santana’s 1999 best-selling album to date.

The specialty rosé is a 2006 vintage, with a half-and-half blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with tasting notes of blackberry jam and fig. Only 1,000 cases were made, and are sold online and at the winery itself, but Las Vegas guests can taste it exclusively by the bottle either during a meal in the House of Blues Foundation Room or on show nights in the venue’s music hall.

Not only was the wine a labor of love, but it also fits with Santana’s dedication to philanthropy. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold benefits Milagro Foundation, his 15-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to helping provide children with health services and education.

BY EMMA TROTTER

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Pizza Lounge's interior is upscale yet relaxed.

 

The brick oven baked pizzas are must orders on the menu.

 

Meatballs are a classic and favorite addition to pizzas.

 

The lobster mac and cheese is also a popular menu item.

 

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Known for its locations in Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach, the California cuisine translates well into its first Nevada location with a delightfully eclectic menu. Open daily 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the space is filled with dark woods, granite, and cream colors play off glimmering chandeliers. The interior is rustic yet warm with an upscale ambiance.

Owned by local Ken Henderson, and Pizza Lounge founder Gary Decker, Pizza Lounge shines the most with its brick oven pizzas, all of which can be made with gluten-free crust. The kitchen is also happy to divide pizzas, medium or large sizes, in half with different flavors. The two dozen pizza choices are equally creative, ranging from its famous chipotle shrimp pizza with white chipotle and barbecue sauces, and the caprese pizza, topped with the requisite basil leaves, Roma tomato chunks, and mozzarella.

But those aren’t the only options worth checking out. The garlic chicken and feta or Santa Fe taco pizzas round out the tasty pie selection. However, even the lobster ravioli gorgonzola pasta, California bacon salad, pear and gorgonzola salad, hummus, and lobster macaroni and cheese are hits on the menu. You can wash it down with a craft beer or pick a wine from a lengthy list, which features 20 wines by the glass.

Weekly specials include live music on Mondays, half price bottles of wine every Tuesday, and sangria selections along with specials every Sunday. The 4 to 7 p.m. daily happy hour is ideal to unwind into the evening with the pizza and beer samplers and appetizer specials. Pizza Lounge’s patio is set to open soon with outdoor space that will combine with Tivoli’s spacious new adjoining park. 410 South Rampart Blvd., Suite 120, 702-778-0400

Behold, the ultra-rare Armand de Brignac Dynastie Brut Gold Champagne 

Rapper Jay-Z has been known to pop some bottles—especially since he seems to be the unofficial ambassador of one of the finest premium Champagne brands in the world, Armand de Brignac, otherwise known as Ace of Spades. With handcrafted packaging, the shiny gold bottles are often found on the home bars and nightlife tables of the wealthiest business leaders, athletes, celebrities (think Oprah), and socialites around the world, and Las Vegas is no exception.

Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub has landed an exclusive deal with Armand de Brignac to bring “the world’s most lavish Champagne” experience to the brand new upscale nightlife destination. Hakkasan is the first and only place in the world to offer the Armand de Brignac Dynastie, an extremely rare, one-of-a-kind collection of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold Champagne.

The exclusive Champagne is offered in nine sizes, ranging from a standard bottle to a whopping 30-liter Midas, of which there is a worldwide waiting list for because of its limited, one-at-a-time releases. (Less than 10 Midas bottles are made per year.) The new large format bottles, including the 4.5, 9, and 12 liters, are so rare that the brand decided Hakkasan should be the first venue to offer them, with one particularly posh Dynastie package going for $500,000. The opulent collection totals 109 bottles of the handmade Champagne.

BY EMMA TROTTER  

Turn your cabana lounging time into community service at Palms Pool's Cabanas for a Cause 

Infamous for its Ditch Friday events and poolside performances by the likes of Diddy and Chris Brown, Palms Pool (4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-942-6832) is no slouch when it comes to philanthropy: The chic dayclub is reprising its Cabanas for a Cause promotion for the third consecutive year. Held on various Mondays throughout the summer, Cabanas for a Cause offers cabanas and daybeds for a $100 food and beverage minimum, with proceeds going toward the day’s selected charity. Guests can indulge a dining menu that includes food by One Group’s Heraea, Palms’ newest hot spot, as all-star DJs spin specialty sets throughout the afternoon. Here's this year's Cabanas for a Cause schedule and featured charities: 

June 10: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas

June 17: Special Olympics Nevada

June 24: The Center

July 8: Three Square

July 15: HELP of Southern Nevada

July 29: Lili Claire Foundation

August 5: Grant a Gift Autism Foundation

August 12: Conkerr Cancer

BY EMMA TROTTER  

On the menu at Mix is the spicy crab salad.

Superstar chef Alain Ducasse’s only Vegas outpost has earned accolades from Michelin and AAA Four Diamond Awards, but it doesn’t mean the kitchen is resting on its laurels. Mix at the Mandalay Bay’s THEhotel, which opened in 2004, is still an impressive and stunningly beautiful place to dine, both in the setting and food presentation.

With contemporary and classical French influences, Mix has a well-rounded menu that changes every season, adding specialty dishes depending on different fruits, spices and vegetables that are available. Highlights include the decadent filet mignon Rossini with black truffle and foie gras, braised Wagyu, bigeye tuna tartare, spicy crab salad, and the farmer’s market vegetable cookpot. Pair any of these dishes with wine from a 7,000-bottle wine room stocked with rare labels, which an expert sommelier curates and can explain seamlessly to any diner. The beauty on the plate also translates to the Murano glass bubble décor and interior vision designed by Patrick Jouin. The grand scenery inside is breathtaking in itself, as is the outdoor patio dining with a killer view of the Strip 64 floors up.

This upscale jewel has also just launched a special prix fixe “Thriller” menu to celebrate Michael Jackson ONE, Cirque du Soleil’s latest showstopper and eighth resident Las Vegas show, which soft opened on May 23 at Mandalay Bay. The $58 menu (priced after Michael Jackson’s birth year) is comprised of culinary hits from the restaurant’s menu.

Available on show nights, the three course indulgence begins with a sampling of Jackson-influenced cocktails, including the P.Y.T., Smooth Criminal, and Billie Jean drinks. Choose from shrimp cocktail or potato gnocchi with asparagus and wild mushrooms for appetizers, and New York strip steak with a side dish cod brandade are among the entrée choices. Mix’s famous signature candy bar with coconut-lime sorbet or the cheesecake are also dessert options, so we recommend splitting everything with your guest to try each one.

Want to take in the view? Hit the restaurant’s happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily for 25 percent off food and drink items on the lounge menu. 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 702-632-7200

Chic environs and gourmet bites make Heraea the ultimate co-ed sports bar

In the successful footsteps of STK at The Cosmopolitan, One Group brings us Heraea, part restaurant, part music lounge, part trendy sports viewing venue. Open for lunch, dinner, and a Saturday and Sunday brunch, Heraea recently released its spring menu, loaded with gourmet sports grub (some of which is even figure-friendly). 

The pretzel-wrapped dogs and crispy green beans with sweet chili dipping sauce are musts, as are the wings, loaded potato skins, mushroom spring rolls, and skirt steak salad. There are also more filling offerings such as oysters, sea bass, mini Kobe burgers, and a six-ounce petite filet mignon. Hand crafted cocktails are also a specialty here, including drinks especially made for ladies.

On May 28, Heraea is hosting a special event in celebration of the Vegas-filmed The Hangover: Part III; enjoy dinner and drinks served at 8:30 p.m. before a screening of the movie inside Palms’ Brenden Theatres. Call to reserve a spot. Palms Casino Resort, 4321 W. Flamingo Road, 702-702-0201

BY EMMA TROTTER