Great American Bites: Spanish tapas take the stage in Las Vegas
— -- The scene:Las Vegas has what is probably the hottest food scene in the USA, and what is hot in Las Vegas right now is tapas. In Spain, tapas refer to a wide range of appetizers and snacks sold in small portions as bar food. Traditionally these were snacks to accompany drinking and one fairly accepted origin story is that Spanish sherry drinkers would cover their glasses with slices of bread or cured meats to keep out flies and snacking on these evolved into tapas, which translates to "covers." This in turn has evolved into an entire genre of cuisine, and it is now common to make a whole dinner out of tapas, or in non-Spanish cuisine, "small plates," and thus sample many tastes in one meal.
Two celebrity Spanish chefs have opened high-profile, high-end tapas eateries in Vegas, Jose Andres' Jaleo in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Julian Serrano in Aria Resort & Casino. But before either, there was FIREFLY* Tapas Kitchen & Bar, a beloved local institution that now has three branches around town, with a fourth coming soon to the Plaza Hotel and Casino downtown, near the Fremont Street Experience. All three current restaurants are off The Strip, and owned by Chef John Simmons, former executive chef of the very popular Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, which he left in 2003 to open the original Firefly on Paradise Road. Because of where they are, very few tourists know about Firefly, but they should - these are fun, creative eateries that are very affordable with huge selections of tapas. Everyone I know who lives in Vegas has eaten here and the reviews from my local foodie friends were all very positive - one of the best informed local diners I know just took his mom there for Mother's Day.
I visited the original, but all three have the same menu and vibe. Firefly is a lively place, with a line out the door on busy nights. It's a contemporary restaurant with a large bar area and groups of tables separated by half-walls to give diners a feeling of intimacy while preserving the electric, boisterous atmosphere of the big space. Tables are bar-style of sleek dark wood and chairs are topped in leather, with walls of exposed brick and colorful tile. It has a cocktail vibe and emanates a "let's have fun" festive feel that would not be out of place in Madrid. Except most tapas bars in Spain have far fewer selections than the more than 50 you'll find at Firefly.
Reason to visit: The wide assortment of tapas, especially the stuffed dates, meatballs and spicy shrimp, plus the sangria
The food: The menu is daunting because of its sheer size and even a group of four or six sharing can only make a small dent in the possibilities. But it is hard to go wrong - while some dishes were better than others, everything I tried was at least good with no disappointments. The tapas menu is divided into four sections: chilled, hot, seafood and meat & poultry. For folks who don't want to go the tapas route, or maybe just want to try one or two, there are also "big plates," entrée sized portions of things like paella, roasted chicken and rib-eye steak, but since you can get all of these at lots of places, and few restaurants offer several dozen tapas, I advise sticking to the house specialty.
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