Today in Las Vegas Magazine

Big Fish

I confess, I am primarily a meat-eater though this recent visit to Rick Moonen’s rm seafood was a turning point. Less of a concept, and more of a commitment, is the restaurant’s policy to only offer produce borne from sustainable farming practices. In other words, no frozen sea-food by the ton, or serving produce that’s not in season.

We dropped by one afternoon, to see what all the fuss was about and was impressed with the casual, and yet elegant vibe the place emitted. Designed to resemble a ‘human aquarium,’ it’s all glass, metal and light, with a few nautical touches like skylights that resemble portholes.

We like it when chefs ‘play a little’ as in the case of Raw Bar Chef Shaun King’s amuse bouche of hamachi tartare, made elegant by the addition of citrus lemon zest, caviar topping and a broth medley of dashi and soy.

Throughout his ‘tasting section,’ he continued to amaze us not only with such fresh ingredients, but with the combinations of those as well. As with the oysters, which followed – two perfectly fresh-from-the-sea oysters, which came, not only with an explanation of how it was served, but also with a history of its pedigree. Each oyster was topped with different ingredients. One, with a cucumber brunoise and ginger mignonette sauce, and the other with diced mango and wasabi tabiko. If it all sounds a bit complicated and high-brow, don’t fret – in the end, the taste will win you over. Even if you can’t explain how it’s prepared, your palate will thank you for trying it.

Next-up was sushi, but this wasn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill deal, this was yet another ingenious showcase of his talent. We were served Kona Kampachi (Hawaiian yellowtail) topped with diced green apple and a slice of jalapeno pepper and the sauce – an out-of-this-world balsamic ponzu sauce that you have to taste to believe.

Our last sampling was a Cinco de Mayo roll. It consisted of shrimp tempura, jalapeno, avocado, cilantro, topped with tuna, made a little more special with the inclusion of eel sauce and jalapeno vinaigrette dotted with sriracha chili paste. All of them were so perfect and fresh that we had no use for the bottle of soy sauce on the table - possibly the best compliment you can give to a sushi chef.

Not to be outdone, ‘downstairs’ Chef de Cuisine Matt Griffin, presented us with a few of his creations. In keeping with using ingredients that are in season, we were served a creamy pumpkin soup with smoked sturgeon (done in-house) and Dijon mustard microgreens. This proved to be a good break in the courses, signaling the arrival of more hot dishes. Jumbo lump crab cakes were next and they were just that – large lumps of crab, held together with the barest of coatings and fillings and served with chipotle mayonnaise. For want of a better description, that was “one very crabby patty.”

The last, and to me, the piece de resistance, was oysters Rockefeller. After bemoaning to General Manager, Jim Wilson, about the lack of restaurants that served this dish (and served this well), he promptly made the executive decision to serve us what he says is “one of the restaurant’s specialties.” They were indeed special; delicately dressed with some finely chopped spinach, pernod and parmesan.

From the chefs standpoint, the beauty about this set-up is that there is room for creativity on a daily basis. Adds Matt Griffin, “One of my purveyors told me about some great black cod he got in last week, so I picked some up, and served it seared, with a light teriyaki broth. It’s a fun process and often this is the way we find our new menu items.”

An extensive wine list is also on offer. As expected, there was a higher ratio of white wines compared to reds, this being a seafood restaurant, though in the capable hands of Beverage Director Jeff Eichelberger, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal with a 2004 Riesling from Willi Schaefer. You won’t be surprised to know that the restaurant’s policy on sustainable farming also applies to their wines. In fact, its aim is to solely purchase sustainable wines by June 2008.

Not content to rest on its laurels, diners can expect new menu items to be introduced in the near future, such as sandwiches (Rick’s tilapia sloppy joe, lobster rolls), and maybe even tacos and burritos; though, of course, with seafood being the star ingredient.

To paraphrase the great gourmand, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, “Fish in the hands of a skilled cook can become an inexhaustible source of gustatory pleasure,” and no-where has this become both a cause and a celebration than at chef Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood.

-Rachel M. Sugay