17-course sushi tasting hits the Las Vegas Strip this weekend
During World’s 50 Best Restaurants week in early June in Las Vegas, when Disfrutar of Barcelona was crowned the top restaurant on the planet for 2024, there were lavish dinners and other events surrounding the ceremony.
The Sushi by Scratch Restaurants pop-up at RedTail in Resorts World, seemingly over-the-top with its 17 courses of nigiri, was actually an intimate and quietly powerful celebration of ingredients, creativity and searching culinary intelligence.
Chef Phillip Frankland Lee and his wife, chef Margarita Kallas-Lee, founded Sushi by Scratch, which now has locations in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Texas, Miami and Montecito, California (with one Michelin star).
At the pop-up, chef Lee and two assistants served nigiri to only 10 guests per tasting seated around a sushi bar in a private omakase chamber at RedTail. The fish and shellfish, mainly flown in from Japan, delivered deeply clean and pure flavors on fingers of perfectly prepared rice.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Sushi by Scratch pop-up returns to RedTail with three seatings per evening. Following a welcome cocktail, guests will take their seats in the chamber for a menu that, as before, mixes chef Lee’s signature nigiri with newer confections.
Hamachi, bluefin, albacore, marrow and more
Highlights:
■ Hamachi brushed with sweet corn pudding and topped with a sprinkle of sourdough breadcrumbs.
■ Aged bluefin tuna served with Lee’s homemade soy sauce and fresh wasabi.
■ Albacore wrapped in sake-soaked nori and topped with ponzu, fresh wasabi and crisp onions.
■ Roasted bone marrow nigiri seasoned with soy sauce, a spatter of sea salt and freshly grated wasabi root.
■ Unagi fried crisp in the rendered bone marrow fat, then dressed with poblano yuzu kosho, soy sauce and ponzu.
■ For dessert, chef Kallas-Lee’s matcha bon bon with makrut lime, white chocolate and shortbread paired with hot green tea brewed using umeshu plum wine, smoked lavender honey and fresh yuzu.
The pop-up is $225, plus tax and gratuity. Beverage pairings variously featuring sakes and Japanese whiskies run $105 to $125. Beverages may also be ordered à la carte. Visit here to reserve a spot.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
