“Forget about those old buffet-table days,” Donald Contursi says about the white-hot food scene in this neon-lit desert city.
“Vegas today is a culinary magnet, featuring celebrity chefs, Michelin-starred French masters and the most master sommeliers in the U.S.,” he says. “People now come just for the food.”
And that’s where Contursi comes in. A native Chicagoan who spent years working as a server at various high-end Vegas restaurants, Contursi parlayed that experience — and the connections he made along the way — into Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, one of TripAdvisor’s highest-rated Vegas tour companies.
Debuting two years ago, Lip Smacking’s culinary walking tours aim to give guests a VIP-like, insider experience at some of the city’s top restaurants and resorts. Guides take guests to a handful of different restaurants — customers don’t know where they’re going in advance, adding an element of surprise — to sample some signature dishes and get the skinny on everything from chefs’ back stories to the eateries’ artwork.
On a recent Afternoon Culinary Adventures tour, Contursi met our group of 12 by the massive waterfall feature outside Aria Resort & Casino. He sagely advised us not to fill up on bread as we embarked on a visit to four restaurants inside Aria and its equally tony neighbor, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
At Aria’s standout Mexican restaurant, Javier’s, we marveled at “the world’s largest piece of chain-saw art” — a series of intricately carved panels weighing 3,000 pounds — before settling into the private Marcos Room. The exclusive spot is a favorite among high-rollers and A-listers who can afford the $4,000 minimum.
Our culinary adventure began with hand-shaken pineapple margaritas, zesty salsa and Dungeness crab-stuffed enchiladas.
Touring Aria’s $40 million public fine art collection en route, we proceeded to the Cosmopolitan’s acclaimed Greek restaurant, Estiatorio Milos, where we checked out the fragrant tomato display and on-site market of fresh Mediterranean fish flown in daily. We settled in and feasted on grilled octopus and other goodies.
At The Cosmopolitan’s Jaleo, from superstar Spanish chef Jose Andres, I snacked on artfully sliced Iberian ham with my Jose’s Choice gin and tonic in hand while chefs worked a giant paella pan in the blazing fire pit and its million-dollar ventilation system.
A cowbell announced the presentation of the paella for picture-taking and the ensuing feast, which included drinking wine, head tilted back, from a communal narrow-spouted porron.
The finale unfolded at the swanky Shops at Crystals mall, where chefs at Wolfgang Puck’s Cucina presented four desserts in a choreographed parade.
“Food was a way of life in our Italian-Greek family,” says Contursi, 33, who grew up on Chicago’s Northwest Side eating beef sandwiches and Carson’s ribs. His family made regular outings to Greektown and Elmwood Park’s legendary (and long-gone) Horwath’s.
As a teen, he worked at local hot dog and pizza joints and enjoyed the customer-service aspect of it. A career in food, however, wasn’t in his sights. Not back then at least.
Contursi moved to Vegas at age 18 to join his mother, who’d relocated here two years earlier.
“It was a culture shock,” he says, “but I soon saw Vegas as a place of opportunity.”
After graduating from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, his first job was working “turn-and-burn” double shifts as a server at Planet Hollywood. Over the next decade-plus, Contursi, discovering “my flair for mastering the menu, anticipating customers’ needs and crafting custom culinary experiences,” quickly moved up within the city’s restaurant scene.
His apex was at The Cosmopolitan’s STK Las Vegas steakhouse, where he says he became the No. 2 salesperson — before losing his job.
“Some customers complained that I was trying too hard,” he says. “Vegas can be unforgiving.”
After enduring financial challenges and other setbacks, he found work at Gordon Ramsay Steak, within Paris Las Vegas. But his fire was gone.
“Deep inside,” he says, “I wanted something more fulfilling.”
It was Chicago that helped show him the way forward. It started on a trip to his hometown with his girlfriend.
“She really wanted to try deep-dish pizza,” recalled Contursi. “I knew places like Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s but had never been, so I researched and found a deep-dish tour company online. We never used them, but the idea stuck. Then I took (Oprah Winfrey’s) assessment for discovering one’s passion. Ideas fell into place … food … tourism … tour company. In Vegas, my hobby had been trying out restaurants and bars, and absorbing everything I could on the scene. Why not share that knowledge and passion with other people?”
That’s exactly what he was doing when I tagged along on another Lip Smacking tour, Savors of the Strip. During this evening excursion, we were ushered past the waiting line into celebrated San Francisco chef Michael Mina’s bustling Bardot Brasserie at Aria, where we were shown the $100,000 zinc-topped bar and the cart of rare Chartreuse liqueurs (served tableside) before diving into puff pastry escargot and wood-grilled duck wings a l’orange.
Contursi’s ultimate VIP tour, Savory Bites & Neon Lights, includes a nighttime helicopter flight over the Strip and the chance to try at least 15 signature dishes before hopping into a limo coach for the ride back to your hotel.
Contursi says his tours take the guesswork out of planning a food-focused visit to the city. He’s also able to help people navigate the menu and home in on the dishes that make each place special.
“We provide an adventurous but approachable and affordable way for visitors to connect with and learn about Vegas,” Contursi says. “The restaurants gain customers, revenue and awareness. Everybody wins.”
What’s next?
“I’m working on adding new restaurants and tours, and would love to eventually expand to other cities — including Chicago.”
Jeff Heilman is a freelance writer.
If you go
Lip Smacking Foodie Tours: Prices start at $125 a person for the 2.5-hour, four-restaurant Afternoon Culinary Adventures tour and go up to $299 for the five-hour, five-restaurant Savory Bites & Neon Lights experience. Group pricing is available. Add-ons for a pre-selected signature cocktail at each stop are $60 a person for Strip tours and $40 for downtown tours; 888-681-4388, www.vegasfoodietour.com.
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