Guide: The Best Sunday Brunches

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Cinnamon bun French toast at First Food & Bar


	Party brunch at Lavo

Bally’s Steakhouse
Sterling Brunch has been serving up unlimited pours of Veuve Clicquot for the past 25 years. For those who relish the finer things in life, this Sunday mainstay offers a classy dining experience of mimosas, caviar, and Maine lobster. Bally’s Las Vegas, 702-862-5138

Border Grill
Introduced last summer, Border Grill’s popular modern Mexican brunch packs a full punch of flavors on favorites like the Yucatan eggs Benedict, chipotle shrimp BLT, and machaca chilaquiles. The cherry on top: $5 all-you-can-drink mimosas. Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, 702-632-7403

The Country Club Grill
Vegas meets New Orleans to the tune of sultry jazz at the “Big Easy”-inspired brunch at Wynn’s Country Club Grill. Get your Creole food fix with offerings that include chef Carlos Guía’s shrimp and grits and French toast bread pudding. Enjoy brunch while overlooking the scenic golf course. Wynn Las Vegas, 888-352-3463

DW Bistro
Add spice to your life with DW Bistro’s appetizing fusion of Jamaican and New Mexican cuisine. Savor menu items such as DW jerk chicken lollipops and a New Mexican-style slow-cooked pork omelet that are authentic and flavorful. And don’t miss the bottomless mimosas. 6115 S. Fort Apache Road, 702-527-5200

First Food & Bar
Salivate over creative American dishes such as lollipop buffalo wings and Philly cheesesteak dumplings. First Food & Bar combines an unmistakable panache with the comforts of home, as well as an unlimited Champagne fountain plus specialty add-ons like fresh-squeezed OJ and strawberry or peach puree. The Palazzo, 702-607-3478

Hash House A Go Go
Hash House A Go Go is famous for its family-friendly appeal and extensive menu of “twisted farm food.” With portions big enough to share (or inspire an episode of Man v. Food), this quirky venue offers traditional breakfast favorites and signature flair. Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino, The M Resort Spa Casino, and Plaza Hotel & Casino

Jasmine
With breathtaking views of the Fountains of Bellagio, Jasmine is a fabulous place to spend Sunday morning. Revel in a mix of cultures and unique flavors from such delectable dishes as caramelized banana-stuffed white chocolate brioche French toast. Bellagio, 702-693-8865

Lavo
Have your pancakes and boogie on the table at the festive Champagne Brunch Saturdays at Lavo. This wild afternoon soiree debuted in October and is a mélange of dance, Italian cuisine, and a nightclub atmosphere reminiscent of New York City. The Palazzo, 702-791-1800

Simon Restaurant & Lounge
Known for avant-garde dishes that range from health-conscious (smoothies and a veggie cocktail) to indulgent (fried chicken and waffles), Simon Brunch, with its famous make-your-own, all-youcan- drink Bloody Mary bar, is a must. The set price includes Kerry Simon’s famous Junk Food Platter dessert with cotton candy, cookies, and caramel popcorn. Palms Place Hotel & Spa, 702-944-3292

Verandah
From a doughnut machine to fresh-squeezed juices and a made-to-order omelet station, the swanky Verandah treats guests to a posh Sunday dining experience without the hustle and bustle of other Strip casinos. Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, 702-632-5121

Tivoli Village: A Marble Palace in Las Vegas

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

One Queensridge Place’s Ladies’ Roman Spa features palatial intricate ancient stonework, mosaics, and crafted statutory


	Yohan Lowie, Tivoli Village design mastermind

	Adjoining rounded and straight exterior walls, accented with Renaissance form stonework, reflect the Old World design at Tivoli

Yohan Lowie has left no stone unturned while building his 35-acre, $850-million masterpiece, Tivoli Village at Queensridge. The architect’s latest major project in Las Vegas promises to be a showpiece of intricate design, with every surface transformed into art. “From the top,” Lowie says, “the entire village will look like a mosaic floor.”

Lowie, the chairman and CEO of locally based Executive Home Builders (EHB) Companies, has spent the last 10 years importing stones from all over the world for this project. Tivoli Village is constructed from malachite, sapphire, garnet, jasper, citrine, carnelian, onyx, agate, lapis lazuli, and chalcedony. The stones come from nearly 30 different countries, including Mongolia, China, Italy, Spain, India, Israel, Egypt, and Brazil. “We create a plan and then look for stones that fit the colors and shapes and ideas,” Lowie says. “Sometimes an eyelash will be made from a piece of stone as thin as human hair. It’s an art to cut a piece of stone that thin without crushing it.”

Some of the more intricately carved pieces took 18 months to create. At one point, Lowie employed about 1,000 artists from around the world, many of whom he has worked with for more than a decade. He estimates about 2 million square feet of one-of-a-kind stone art will be laid on floors, walls, moldings, and ceilings by the time his ambitious project is completed. In creating Tivoli Village, Lowie has masterminded every last detail, down to the origin of each stone and color of each planting. To make his artistic vision come alive, he created a 16-x-9- foot miniature scale model of the village. “We produced a stage of tens of thousands of pieces,” he says, “showing every single detail—the stonework, the colors, the textures, people in their cars.”

Lowie, who co-founded EHB Companies in the 1990s, is best known locally for his work on One Queensridge Place. He refers to it as the first “vertical custom neighborhood” in Vegas, a veritable castle in the sky. Inside and out, every wall, ceiling, and nook is filled with museum-worthy artistry—from ornate, handcrafted ironwork to more than 800 exquisitely handcarved medallions, mosaics, and pietre dure (a Tuscan art of arranging semiprecious stones in elaborate patterns).

The first of Tivoli’s three phases was completed in April 2011. Of the 1.5 million-square-foot design, 380,000 square feet have been finished. The second section is scheduled to debut in the spring of 2013. “It will provide Las Vegas with a sensational, modern Old World European village,” says Frank Pankratz, president of EHB Companies. At the heart of it all is a town square with a bell tower, showcasing a pietre dure replica of the astronomical clock at London’s Hampton Court Palace, and 12 rare bronze Meneely bells dating to 1919 that were acquired from a church in Bronx, New York. Once fully completed, the main destination will be a nearly 800,000-square-foot enclosed shopping mall featuring retail stores, restaurants and cafés, entertainment venues, and office space. “We are building Tivoli for the people,” Pankratz says. ”We want it to be something for everybody.” EHB Companies, 702-940-6930

Vegas Magazine

Guide: The Best Sunday Brunches

Tivoli Village: A Marble Palace in Las Vegas