BY JIM BEGLEY AND BROCK RADKEThis story fi rst appeared on lasvegasweekly.com.

Wow! 2014 was a seriously big restaurant year in Las Vegas, maybe one of the most deli-ciously signifi cant years ever. You want celebrity chefs? We had new stuff from Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Guy Fieri, José Andrés, Kerry Simon and Daniel Boulud. Craving innova-tive takes on soulful favorites? We got Brooklyn Bowl, Yusho, Mercadito, Lao Sze Chuan and Made L.V. Dreaming of the day a Michelin-starred chef opens an off-Strip jewel? That happened, too.

With all this activity, choos-ing our favorite new restaurants was a tricky task. But that’s what we’re here for. And we brought surprises — only fi ve of our 14 choices are on the Strip, and we’re betting you haven’t even heard of a few of these appetiz-ing arrivals.

Bazaar Meat by José AndrésDon’t call it a steakhouse.

Bazaar Meat is an altar of yum, a monument to meat and more, and further proof — as if he need-ed it — that Andrés is a one-of-a-kind culinary trailblazer. Whole suckling pigs and Spanish-style, bone-in rib steaks ordered by the pound push big-game Vegas dining to the next level, while sea urchin-topped coins of blood sausage and toasted nori-jamon Iberico tacos will blow your mind and catch your taste buds off guard. Don’t miss the per-fect cloud of omelet with kidney, sweetbreads and bone marrow called Tortilla Sacromonte, a weird, special, fantastic treat. SLS, 702-761-7610. 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5:30-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday .

Carson KitchenFinally, destination dining

downtown. No other restau-rant has drawn us to Fremont East like Carson Kitchen has, and it’s only fi tting that it comes from one of our city’s all-time favorites, Kerry Simon. While battling multiple system atro-phy , Simon developed a creative menu including addictive fried chicken skins, hauntingly good gyro tacos and a bourbon fudge brownie with brown butter bacon ice cream that epitomizes decadence. 124 S. Sixth St. Suite 100, 702-473-9523. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday ; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday .

CleoChef Danny Elmaleh’s bright,

beautiful take on Mediterra-nean cuisine includes familiar bites like tahini-laced hummus and delicately fried falafel along with fun, fresh, unique dishes like the raw lamb kibbeh nayyeh and eggplant-feta fl atbread from a central woodburning oven. It’s all incredibly refreshing and so, so welcome in a city where pasty hummus and dried-out shawar-ma is all too common. SLS, 702-761-7612. 6-10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday ; 6-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday .

David Clawson RestaurantDavid Clawson may not be a

household name, but his restau-rant — set in a sleepy Anthem shopping center — is better than those of some of his more famous contemporaries. Menu descrip-tions for his small-plate offerings are simple but the preparations are not, including the valley’s best crab cake, uni-laden faux risotto and noodles rife with gar-lic. There’s hardly a more precise meal in town, and that’s all the fame Clawson needs. 2480 Bicen-tennial Parkway, 702-466-2190. 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday .

DB BrasserieThere were other new res-

taurants this year that came with more hype or edgier fare, but Daniel Boulud’s new Vegas menu collects favorite French, Mediterranean and American dishes from his other restau-rants, hones in on what makes each of them great, and effort-lessly knocks it out of the park. Venetian, 702-430-1235. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. daily .

District OneVietnamese restaurants tend

to be cookie cutter — oh look, pho and spring rolls! — so the inspired menu at District One is

more than a refreshing reprieve. Sharp beef carpaccio swimming in sesame oil highlights Italian infl uences, while hearty oxtail fried rice channels China and Charleston. Even the traditional Vietnamese dishes deviate from the norm, with whole-lobster pho and the now-infamous Big Bone soup, fi lled full of femur. Your mother’s Vietnamese this is not. 3400 S. Jones Blvd. Suite 8, 702-413-6868. 11 a.m.-3 a.m. daily .

The GoodwichNo matter your tastes, you’ll

fi nd your favorite sandwich at the Goodwich, the small kiosk in the Dino’s parking lot. It’s reminiscent of holes-in-the-wall you’d fi nd in more mature food cities . From the best PB &J to a ridiculously rich patty melt, ingredients are painstakingly procured and prepared gener-ously, with ample use of foie gras and chicken skin. Goodwich? More like Greatwich! 1516 S. Las Vegas Blvd. Suite A, 702-910-8681. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday ; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday .

Japanese Cuisine by OmaeChef Takeshi Omae earned

Michelin stars at Masaharu Morimoto’s Tokyo restaurant.

Now Omae has landed in Las Vegas, ready to compete with the stars of the Strip, armed with 12 seats and a constantly changing omakase menu utilizing immacu-late ingredients and unbelievable technique. This artistic, reveren-tial Japanese experience is not for everyone, but if you go, it’ll be one of the most memorable meals of your year, too. 3650 S. Decatur Blvd. Suite 26, 702-966-8080. 5-11 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday .

JinyaWhen is a ramen bar one of the

best new restaurants in the city? When it’s Jinya, the acclaimed LA transplant that fi nds a cozy home on the west side, stays open late and serves some of our best, most soul-satisfying noodle soups and a diverse, smile-inducing selec-tion of dishes from crispy chick-en and pork buns to quinoa salad and spicy-creamy shrimp tempu-ra. 4860 W. Flamingo Road, 702-868-8877. 11:30 a.m.-3 a.m. daily .

Lao Sze ChuanWe have super-upscale Chi-

nese fi ne dining, and we have super-cheap and tasty, hole-in-the-wall, Spring Mountain Road Chinese deliciousness. But what falls in the middle? Tony Hu’s

Lao Sze Chuan is the answer, coming from Chicago to fi ll our void with authentic, addictive, frequently incendiary cuisine made for sharing. Get the sig-nature three chili chicken or the spicier dry chili chicken, but don’t miss the tea-smoked duck and Szechuan peppercorn fi sh. Palms, 702-942-6862. 11 a.m.-midnight daily .

MercaditoThe Sandoval brothers’ taco

shrine was another welcome newbie from the Windy City, a colorful, high-energy eatery that seems focused on decon-structing our favorite Mexican foods and rebuilding them, piece by piece, to fl avorful perfection. There are three seafood tacos, and we can’t decide which we love best, each decorated with specifi c slaws or sauces. More choices await with three guacs, three ceviches and fi ve salsas, and don’t even get us started on the cocktails. Red Rock Resort, 702-979-3609. 11 a.m.-midnight Tuesday-Thursday ; 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday ; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday and Monday .

Rose. Rabbit. Lie.Fine dining meets energetic

supper club, with entertainment and diners intertwining for a feel unlike any other restaurant’s. RRL might have lost some luster with the departure of Vegas Noc-turne, but it’s still worth a visit, to try executive chef Wes Hol-ton’s crispy riff on oysters Rock-

efeller, creamy duck confi t pasta or undeniably unctuous uni per-ciatelli. Because ultimately, the dishes are as enthralling as the entertainment. Cosmopolitan, 877-667-0585. 5:30 p.m.-mid-night Tuesday-Thursday ; 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Sporting Life BarLocals bars are a fi xture of Las

Vegas life, and unfortunately, so is pedestrian bar food. But for-mer Bouchon sous chef Daniel Dalton has elevated Sporting Life’s menu, a blend of classic fare and haute cuisine. Where else can you fi nd veal presse alongside green pork chili nachos, or order pork belly with the valley’s best chicken wings? Only at this non-descript sports bar, which used to house an Outside Inn — adaptive reuse at its fi nest. 7770 S. Jones Blvd., 702-331-4647. 24/7.

YushoTruly unique and wildly

exciting, Yusho — an American take on a Japanese izakaya — is oddly challenged by its Strip-side location at Monte Carlo. That means many haven’t tried out the remarkable, deboned chick-en wings with bonito salt, the pig-laden Logan Poser Ramen, or the on-tap gin and tonic. The menu is loaded with innovative offerings necessitating numer-ous visits, but you have to start with just one. Monte Carlo, 702-730-6888. 5-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday ; 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday .

DINING

The best new restaurants of 2014

CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS

Tortilla Sacromonte.

PATRICK TREGENZA

Uni perciatelli dish at Rose. Rabbit. Lie

Mercadito’s blackened swordfish tacos.

SUN FILE

KRYSTAL RAMIREZ

Sweet shrimp tartare with tomato sorbet and celeriac purée, an unusual and transcendent dish at Japanese Cuisine by Omae.

SUN FILE

Lobster pho at District One.

CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS

The confit chicken wings at Sporting Life Bar seem simple, but they taste amazing.

A crab cake prepared at David Clawson Restaurant .

MIKAYLA WHITMORE

LAS VEGAS SUN SUNDAY, JANUARY 4, 2015 FOOD | 9