Chef Tal Ronnen had a significant impact on dining on the Las Vegas Strip more than a decade ago when he designed vegan menus for many Wynn and Encore restaurants. This collaboration helped start a trend of expanding vegan options in other fine dining restaurants in casinos and more progressive restaurants in different neighborhoods.
While more vegan and vegetarian restaurants have sprung up across the Valley over the past decade, there has only been one all-vegan restaurant to open since then, the casual cafe Truth & Tonic at the Venetian. Now it’s once again Ronnen, in collaboration with Chef Paul Zlatos and Resorts World, who has brought the Strip its first all-vegetable dining destination, the Mediterranean-Italian-inspired crossroads of Los Angeles.
Located near the Resorts World Theater, Crossroads is not advertised as a vegan restaurant inside the new resort. There’s a small cafe out front that operates as Crossroads Burger (CB), serving homemade plant-based sausages, burgers, and chicken nuggets. And the largest restaurant inside looks like a classic casino steakhouse or Italian restaurant, isolated from the action on the floor and decorated with chandeliers, rich wood tones and even an enlarged photograph of David Bowie. .
The menu is easy to navigate, with starters, salads, pastas, pizzas, mains and sides, and there’s no dish here that seems mysterious or elaborate. New creations for summer include a watermelon salad ($16) with heirloom cherry tomatoes, cucumber, feta and pistachios; creamy stuffed zucchini blossoms ($17); and the eggplant fillet ($24) with mashed potatoes, chanterelles and bordelaise sauce.
The appetizers are particularly inventive at Crossroads. There’s a version of caviar and potato chips with French onion dip ($16) and a version of foie gras ($18) with chestnuts and served with a Cabernet demi-glace and sourdough bread. grilled, but everyone orders the Impossible cigars ($16), crispy tubes filled with meat mimicry. Unlike some meatless restaurants in town, Crossroads doesn’t focus on breeding animal protein; this kitchen only cooks tasty dishes and uses these alternative proteins only when necessary.
There’s no diminishing decadence in pasta dishes, especially with the Tagliatelle Bolognese ($27) and its rich ragu layered over pasta parfait. Next time we want to try bucatini con nduja to see what can be done to create a meatless version of the funky, spreadable salami.
The chickpea marsala ($20) is topped with a familiar flavor and served over deliciously creamy polenta, reaching the zenith of lightness and satisfaction. If those plates don’t recalibrate your appetite, the Chocolate Crunch Bar ($14) might do the trick, a dessert as good as you’ll find anywhere on the Strip.
CROSSROADS Resorts World, 702-676-7978, rwlasvegas.com. Sunday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m.
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