What do you call something that achieves three wins: the trifecta. What about when a restaurant exceeds more: the five-fecta is what I give Emmitt’s Vegas in Fashion Show for stellar service, a dinner menu that delights the palate from steak to sushi, a unique bar menu – yes there is a football-shaped ice cube with Emmitt Smith’s number 22 in it + an Espresso Martini Collection with five different expressions – beautiful ambiance in several settings including a patio that faces the Strip and the Wynn hotel, and lastly they have won the prestigious OpenTable Diners’ Choice Award twice, based on expectational feedback from diners! Thanks for NFL Legend Emmitt Smith, Executive Chef Antwan Ellis, and all of their staff for creating this dining experience!
(Is your mouth already watering? Cut to the chase to see all of what we enjoyed in our photos here.)
Food We Inhaled: With the help of Bernadette, our expert server with a sweet Irish accent, we learned about their most special dishes. We started with a favorite dish of mine (how did they know?) a Truffled Steak Tartare with caper, egg, Dijon, wild mushrooms, and toasted brioche. I shared very little of that with my husband Eddie. We also couldn’t resist their Creole Shrimp with a dark, savory sauce of Cajun spices, confit shallots and crostini that was great for soaking up every last drop.
From there we moved over to mains: a tremendous Bone-In Pork Chop with butternut puree, apple fennel slaw and pomegranate agradolce (a sweet and sour sauce). The apple fennel slaw was amazing, and I made sure to have each bite with a little of that as well as the butternut and pomegranate. The second main we tried was their Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut with caulilini (a variety of cauliflower), chili crisp, and a buttery crab sauce poured on top. Again, the toppings and sauce were incredible tasting with the fish as it was with the pork chop.
For dessert they surprised us with their most requested: Emmitt’s Butter Cake that was topped with vanilla ice cream and a nice pour of warmed bourbon-salted caramel sauce! If you are a fan of Honey Toast served in some Japanese restaurants, put that aside for a moment, this Butter Cake is even better.
Drinks We Sampled: We started with the signature Gold Jacket Fashioned made with Woodson Whiskey (as in professional football player Charles Woodson) and Smith’s number 22 in the football-shaped ice cube, and a gin of the bartender’s choice in my Martini – Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin – was perfect. After dinner, we tried two of their Espresso Martinis: The Royal that has a base of Hardy Cognac and the Traditional – with a red “22” in the foam top – was made with vodka. I’m here to tell you that if you think you’ve had the best Espresso Martini in the world, you better get to Emmitt’s to double-check that with Chris, their bar manager.
More reasons why we love Emmitt’s Vegas: The menu truly has something for everyone; from fresh fish to aged steak I feel like I could go there with anyone who is craving anything. For us, coming from the west side of Las Vegas, in Spring Valley, we don’t have to cross the strip to get to this restaurant on the strip and parking is free at Fashion Show. And if you happen to be a football fan, there is memorabilia galore decorating the different dining areas, bar fans have a beautiful long bar with seating, and wine fans have a large cellar filled with wines to choose from. Finally, their Manifesto that is shared on the menu shows just how much attention to detail they strive for. This is an excerpt: “It’s a testament to heart and soul, acumen and hustle…” indeed.
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Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
