At this restaurant, it’s hard not to think, “Bam!”
While he didn’t express it in his welcoming remarks, Emeril Lagasse’s long-running catchphrase has as much stamina as the 66-year-old chef, apparent at the preview of his newest Las Vegas restaurant. His second location of Meril opens Thursday at the M Resort.
The original, named for his youngest daughter, debuted in New Orleans in 2016. Lagasse said the “whole spirit” of Meril is based on two drawings his daughter made as a young girl.
Those drawings are on a wall past the restaurant’s entrance, marked by a contemporary design that matches the menu. The bright, open dining room features a wrap-around bar with modern booths and tables (220 seats total), along with abstract art “inspired by the soul of New Orleans.” The patio overlooks the M Resort’s pool and outdoor concert venue.
“We met the folks from the Penn Group,” Lagasse said of the M’s owners, “and we instantly had a connection. It’s not just a partnership; it’s also a friendship.”
Venturing off-Strip
This is the chef’s first off-Strip restaurant.
“To be in Henderson is really exciting for me. I’ve been in Las Vegas for almost 30 years now, and to be here, where the people live, you know, it’s going to be a people restaurant, for sure,” he said.
This point was underscored in remarks by Mike Olsen, the chief operating officer at The Emeril Group, which oversees the chef’s restaurants.
“This opening is especially meaningful to me because I grew up just a few miles from here, living in New Orleans now,” Olsen said. “To have the opportunity to help open a restaurant in this community that helped shape me is something I’ll never take for granted. Our goal is simple: to create a place where diners can gather, celebrate and make lasting memories. We hope Meril becomes a restaurant the community is proud to call its own.”
The event kicked off with a jazz band, a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and a tasting of the menu to come.
“The amazing thing about Las Vegas is that everything is here, so anywhere you want to eat or drink is here,” Lagasse said of the dining scene in the city, adding when he does have time to go beyond the kitchens of his eateries, “there’s some really fine restaurants here.”
Hussain Mahrous, the vice president and general manager of the property, said this was M’s first celebrity restaurant, opening soon after a $205 million hotel expansion.
“What could we do to help elevate west Henderson? Three things: class, recognition and an iconic brand. Who is that? Chef Emeril Lagasse,” he said.
On the menu
Meril’s menu is settled in contemporary American cuisine but showcases global influences to reflect the chef’s love of travel.
“Meril’s an inspiration of, basically, a TV show that I did called ‘Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse,’ where I actually went around the world twice,” the chef said. “And so all of the dishes are inspired from my travels around the world. There’s a little bit of everything that’s on the menu, and it keeps evolving each day.”
For breakfast, the morning menu features andouille sausage potato hash with poached egg, bananas foster French toast with candied pecans and beignets, as well as smoothies.
The wide-ranging dinner menu features a mix of small bites, snacks, flatbreads, soups and salads and main dishes. Lagasse’s House Boudin Balls, a New Orleans specialty, are made with pepper jack cheese, Creole mustard and pepper jelly; the barbequed shrimp is addictive — order more than one; and the grilled ribeye is cooked to perfection, served with blistered sweet pepper and chimichurri.
Asked if he had a favorite item, Lagasse mentioned the tuna bundles, shrimp and fried chicken with tzatziki, as well as the fish of the day and pasta dishes.
“I could keep going on and on and on,” he said. “You have to come try them all.”
The cocktail menu is just as diverse in taste, featuring in-true-Vegas-spirit “The Lushie,” Lagasse’s “tasty frozen concoction” (seasonally influenced), the “#20,” which is made with Botanist gin, cucumber water, lime and jalapeño, and the “Hi-Thymes in NOLA,” made with Dos Hombres mezcal, tequila, lime juice, strawberry puree and hibiscus thyme syrup.
And there’s no chance you’re leaving an Emeril restaurant without dessert.
The menu offers Southern comforts and surprising classics: banana cream pie with caramel sauce and chocolate shavings; rocky road bread pudding with pecans and meringue; tiramisu; beignets, of course; a daily ice cream special; sorbet; or cotton candy. For the adults, a menu of nightcaps includes a selection of wines, Irish coffee, a chocolate martini and a carajillo, a Mexican espresso cocktail.
Long history in Vegas
In Las Vegas, Lagasse also owns and operates Delmonico Steakhouse in The Venetian and Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House inside the MGM Grand. The TV star first opened a restaurant, Table 10, in Las Vegas in 2007, closing a decade later, followed by Lagasse’s Stadium, which operated from 2009 to 2020.
The larger-than-life chef — who’s been awarded two James Beard Foundation Awards, as well as a slew of others from everyone from GQ and People to the Gaming Hall of Fame — owns four restaurants in New Orleans, as well as three eateries aboard Carnival Cruise Lines.
Meril is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, visit the M Resort’s website.
Contact Kristen Di Chiara at [email protected].
Eye on the Cup
While many of us grew up with Emeril Lagasse’s TV shows, unless following him on social media, you might not know the chef is a big soccer fan. Last week, he was cheering on Portugal in their final World Cup appearance.
So, who’s winning on Sunday in the final?
“A big upset (Monday) with France losing,” Lagasse said. “It’s going to be interesting what happens (Wednesday) with England and Argentina. I’ve been following it since day one. Either way, whether it’s Argentina or Spain — or England and Spain, which would be quite exciting, actually — I don’t think folks could go wrong. I’ll be there.”