Gymkhana
Las Vegas - specifically the strip - is filled with restaurants under the same name of some famous variant that became wildly popular and successful in other cities. Nobu (), Carbone (), Jean Georges (), Momofuku (), Catch (), Bavette's (), and now Gymkhana, among plenty more.
The younger version of me was fairly cynical about this process, feeling an uneasiness about a brand and restaurant that would now have Las Vegas in the "locations" tab of their website alongside their true home. As I have aged, I have accepted the way of the world, and I recognize that Vegas is a playground befitting of exactly this type of thing. I have matured from "oh, you went to the one in Vegas?" to "if you liked the Vegas one, you will love..."
It also begs an interesting question about what - or who - really makes a restaurant. Gymkhana, with its original Michelin-starred home in London, travelled quite well, as do Momofuku, Bavette's and Nobu, while others seemingly do not. Are the recipes easier to replicate? Can the owners instill the attention to care and detail that allowed their original restaurant to thrive? Do they hire better cooks? Fuck if I know. I will ask David Chang on my podcast when it comes out.
More interestingly for the moment, between my experience with the burger at Community Tavern and the lamb shank at Gymkhana, I have thought more deeply about the impact of one's decisions on the assessment of a restaurant. At first read to the waitress, we had planned on the wagyu naan, the patiala fried chicken, the tandoori chicken kebabs, the goan lobster curry, the beef short rib, and the bread basket. She didn't necessarily steer us away from the tandoori chicken and the beef short rib, but she certainly steered us toward the lamb shank and pork vindaloo. The lamb shank is apparently a crowd favorite, and I can see why; it is fucking incredible.
Though the rest of the food was very good, I can't help but wonder how wide the range on my rating could have been without the shank. I doubt it would have made it all the way to 2.5, but falling by half a star would have been notable, and it is quite likely it would have landed there. The pork vindaloo was nice, but I expected more spice, even after any profiling based on our table demographics. The goan lobster curry is their Instagram star, which you can probably discern from the photo. Though obviously quite tasty, aesthetics play a bigger role there. Lobster Curry:Lamb Shank::Sydney Sweeney:Ana de Armas::Chris Evans:Brad Pitt.
On the whole, the spices were flavorful, the breads and naans were excellent, the meats were perfectly cooked, and the raitas and greens cleansed the palate well. Their version of an espresso martini, prepared with tequila, also deserves a shout-out. Next time you’re in Vegas, head into Aria and find the green car. If you’re looking at Catch, you are close but not quite where you need to be.