Lineup of chefs, restaurants announced for annual UNLVino
The culinary lineup has been announced for this year’s UNLVino celebration.
Unlike recent years, this year’s event will take place on one evening and will not be at a casino. UNLVino is set for 7-11 p.m. April 14 at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health on Bonneville Avenue.
Among the culinary stars who have committed to appear are Burger Bar’s Hubert Keller, Scott Conant of Masso Osteria, Gustav Mauler of Spiedini, Brian Howard of Sparrow + Wolf, Zenshin’s Terrence Fong, Charles Phan of The Slanted Door and the two-time James Beard Award-winning Paul Bartolotta, who no longer has a restaurant in Las Vegas. Other participating restaurants include RM Seafood, Momofuku, Aburiya Raku, Chica, Makers & Finders Coffee, Soho Sushi Burrito, District One, Culinary Dropout, Kaiseki Yuzu, Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar, Libertine Social and Lotus of Siam. The Venetian, The Palazzo, Palms, Delano, The Cosmopolitan and Aria are also on board. As always, top wine, champagne, sake and spirits companies will provide beverages.
Michael Severino of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, which has been sponsoring UNLVino since it began 44 years ago, says the format is a return to its roots.
“In 1974, the first one was done in the warehouse of Southern Wine on Wynn Road,” he says. “Robert Mondavi showed up, and it was for the students. So this is kind of a retro event.”
Severino notes that in addition to raising money for scholarships, students who organize UNLVino earn college credit for their work. Over the years, he’s seen many return to the event in a professional capacity.
“If you look at the restaurants participating, a lot are graduates. I can’t tell you the number of times participants have told me ‘I worked UNLVino (in school).’ ”
Tickets are $100 through Friday at unlvtickets.com. The advance price rises to $150 on Saturday, and $175 the day of the event.
