The culinary delights of Las Vegas

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The booming voice of the bassist reverberates off the walls as the melody swells to a grand crescendo. The music washes over me before I realise the singer, Giovanni “Gio" Mauro is wearing a chef’s coat.

Welcome to Las Vegas, where nothing is quite as it seems. Gio, the opera-singing Sicilian, is also the head chef at Monzú Italian Oven & Bar, where he has been doling out Roman-style pizzas, antipasti and entrees to diners who flock to his family-style restaurant. Monzú is known for its iconic pizza dough that’s crafted over five days with a 300-year-old starter from the Italian island of Ischia.

The pie is a delight to sink into—airy, light and full of flavour. Visiting Vegas for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in June, I had my fair share of Michelin-starred meals lined up with enough star power (Thomas Keller! Daniel Humm! Wolfgang Puck!) to light up the city’s iconic neon signs. All those dinners were expectedly fantastic, but the meals that surprised and delighted me the most were the ones at places such as Monzú, that operates far from the shiny lights of Vegas’ Strip, the city’s iconic patch of real estate that houses some of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world.

Big name celebrity chefs draw the casino crowds on the Strip that’s known for its modern architecture and a wide variety of attractions that span everything from a giant sphere to dancing fountains and a replica of the Eiffel Tower. Off the strip, however, Las Vegas reveals itself as a melting pot of unique flavours brought to the city by its many communities. One such revelation was that Vegas is an exciting hub for Hawaiian cuisine.