Kokomos @ Mirage
Dining RESERVE ONLINE OR CALL 1-800-864-9587
kokomo's
Mirage - 3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV, 89109
(702) 791-7223
Cuisine: Seafood, Steaks
Average cost: $35 or more
Payment types accepted: AMEX, VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER, CASH
Hours: Open daily, 5 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Reservations: Not Applicable
kokomo's Review:
The Mirage changed the face of Las Vegas in 1989, and kokomo's, an all-American restaurant that opened there that year, helped change the face of Las Vegas dining.
And a great restaurant has been made even better, thanks to a recent redesign by Adam D. Tihany. Schools of iridescent stainless steel fish swim overhead, toward palms beyond the restaurant's borders. Pillars laced with computerized lights are programmed to simulate fireflies.
Then the food arrives, courtesy of Chef Russ Hurry, including steaks and giant lobster tails and other comfort foods. It's hard to argue with success -- the restaurant seats around 180 guests and is always filled to capacity.
My seat, by the rail facing a waterfall, reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean. From it, I can observe the glitterati at the 24-hour bar, sipping chocolate and apple martinis.
kokomo's used to serve the best breakfasts in Las Vegas -- coffee in filter pots and juices squeezed at the table. Now it's strictly a dinner house, serving crunchy, golden crab cakes with plenty of substance, a baby arugula and watercress salad with sweet purple onions and Boursin cheese, and many steak and seafood options.
kokomo's lobster bisque is so well-established that General Manager Christopher Tunnell told me his regulars have demanded it stay on the menu. After breaking through a pastry hat and spooning up the creamy chunks of lobster meat, I understand.
Steaks are wet aged, tender, and flavorful, cooked at 1,800 degrees, sealing in the juices. The 18-ounce New York strip and the Black Angus bone-in rib eye are equally hard to beat.
If you don't fill up on the onion and garlic rolls, accompanied by a trio of flavored butters, then you might have room for sides such as a sweet potato mash or a terrific twice-baked potato kissed gently with horseradish.
For dessert, try the classic strawberry shortcake, the apple bourbon pie or the all-American dessert platter -- a mock Twinkie, Snowball and Ho Ho, which are fresher and tastier than their brand-name counterparts.
kokomo's changed attitudes about Las Vegas dining almost two decades ago, and it's ready to do so once again.
-- Review by Max Jacobson
http://www.vegas.com/searchagent/restaurant/ViewRestaurant.do?restaurantId=3092
