412: All in on Las Vegas Food with Michael Mina and Food at Sphere

27:14You're getting, you know, you can bring in stone crabs from Florida. You can bring in, you know, you can bring in the best of the best and you can bring it in from anywhere around the world as well. How does the supply chain work when you're flying? Is it just this airport just has an amazing like frequency from all over the world? It's just like a – Yeah. Again, like I said, it's because the demand has – there's so many restaurants in Las Vegas now and the demand has become so high that, you know, you're getting in products three, four, five times a week. Let's go to the brosery. Let's talk about being neighbors of Carbona and JG.

27:56Okay. What's the scene like on a Saturday? Is Saturday the big night in Vegas? It varies because of conventions sometimes and what's going on in Vegas. But, yeah, the weekends are going to be big because a lot of, like, whether it's Formula One or whether it's, you know, the Super Bowl or whatever it is, a lot of it's going to happen on the weekends. Yeah. So you will get the scene. And I think people get a little crazier on the weekends. For sure. You know, they're thinking it's a Saturday. Yeah. But like let's what's it like being neighbors of these guys and running like are people going to all three restaurants?

28:31Yeah, they are. I mean, yeah, you know, we're I think we're all blessed that they are going to all three restaurants. And yeah. And I think that, you know, it's it's interesting because obviously with, you know, Carbone having such an amazing footprint in New York and in Miami and John George, you know, all over the world. but New York, you know, and then we have, you know, a lot of people from the Bay Area and from California. And it's a nice mix what goes on up there. I mean, it's really cool. I mean, Mina says something in SF and like really important name. You've got Mario running point in New York and say with JG.

29:10Have the three of you been in the same room to talk about your projects? Have you done that? Oh, yeah. Done that whole. I want to know what's going on when you and JG and Mario are talking about your restaurants. I would love to be in that room one day. That would be – as a writer, I would love to hear it. Yeah. I mean, look, I think, you know, you're comparing notes a lot of times. You know, a lot of times we're either in the same cities or going to the same cities or one of us is there and another person is coming. Like, OK, I've been in Dubai for eight years and so – and then maybe somebody else is coming to Dubai and so you talk about that or – and so you compare notes.

29:48I picked at Formula One. I was picking both of their brains tremendously about New York, you know, because even though I, you know, cooked here and lived here and everything else, it's, you know, the scene changes constantly. And so. You just opened at the Essex House? Yeah. In New York? Yeah. Just opened at Essex House. Yeah. Congrats on that. Thank you. It's amazing. And back to Vegas, I feel like, you know, you've been in the city for so long. what are some of your favorite places to go when you have a moment maybe to take staff there maybe could be anywhere it could be in one of the other casinos or it could be anywhere in the city just a few favorite restaurants yeah like like roku is off the strip that's a really good spot you know japanese small plates that's that's a that's always still a great spot i i love going to uh Robichon, it's a long experience, but I love going to L 'Atelier.

30:46I go there quite often. It's, you know, and it's in MGM. And so I don't know if everyone thinks about going there for that meal, but it's really a great experience every time you go there. It's casual in its own way. It's not casual, casual, but it's, you know, it's just it's a relaxed vibe. And the food is always very, very, very spot on. And, you know, I will always still – I'll still go to Prime. As long as it's been there, just there's something about just sitting on the lake at Las – you know, in Las Vegas. Just sitting on the water, sitting on the lake and having a steak at Prime and in that room that just never gets old.

31:32I love the way you speak about the diversity of the dining. The Raku is really a legend in the game. And back to the Robichon question. Like when you dine at like a multi-course, multi-hour meal, what are you thinking about as a chef looking at a chef? Like, I mean, you obviously you're so you're so in the game and you're so interested in cuisine. Are you just looking for inspiration? I mean, how does that work? 100 percent. I mean, you know what goes into making that happen. You know, the you know exactly how much work is behind it. But you're always picking up new things like whether it's a product or a technique or just how something's presented, even how the server's explaining it.

32:20There's always so much to be learned. But honestly, it's just – as a chef, it's just never – it never gets old. Never gets old. No. You're just always looking at it and saying, wow, you know, I play basketball and I get to go watch, you know, Chef – I get to go watch Steph Curry shoot three-pointers, right? Right. I mean, you know. Which you probably have as well. I have. You know his wife so well and being a partner with his wife. That's a good example. I mean how do you handle the travel? I mean you've got Dubai, you've got New York, you've got LA, you've got SF, you've got Vegas. Yeah. I mean, are you like Delta?

33:02Are you like American? I have to mix it because based on time, timing, it has so much of it has to do with the timing of when I need to be there. I have a very – I have a great wife, Diane Mina, who – she actually has her own business. She has this amazing Bloody Mary that she makes. So she actually has a pretty thriving business. So that has helped a lot in all honesty because, you know, she's had to. An understanding wife. She has the understanding of it. But the reality is, you know, I'm pretty fortunate. I have created a routine that works for me. I think that when you travel, you have to figure out your routine.

33:53For me, it's like that's the I will not check emails. I will not look at emails. I will not look at text messages. I'll only work on menus when I'm on the airplane. And the reason I won't look at an email or read a text is because there's nothing you can do. Like I'm not a big advocate of let's just say you and me disagree on something and you send me an email. I'm more of an advocate of I'm going to pick up the phone. I'm going to call you. And so if I do that on a plane, then I'll sit and stew on the plane and it'll drive me nuts. And so I've kind of created a routine that I do on a plane. And so that's helped me a lot actually.

34:35What great advice. I mean I think we all like – we like worship over the Wi-Fi connection on our flights, our international flights. But, man, nothing's worse than having a disagreement when you've got like 10 hours to go on the flight. Right, right. The mental health thing. Well, and what it does is it's complete distraction of what you – when I look at it, it's like – when you're creating a dish, it's an interesting process. Sometimes it's like you've created it. You could put that spoon down and you're like, wow, I nailed it. And then sometimes it's a year-long process to get it to where you want it, right?

35:12And so if you use time that's like you don't really have – there isn't – unless I'm on a plane, I don't have blocked out hours of time to do anything. So you're writing menus, which I think is – so you're just taking like notes from maybe test kitchen sessions. Anything. Yeah. Anything and just writing menus. Literally one notebook and just scribbling. I love that idea. What's your average – what's your day like when you land in Vegas? You're like working in SF and you got to be in Las Vegas for – what's it like when you land? Take me through a good day if you're landing in the morning. I mean, look, they're all going to be different because when you do land, you're going to have a couple fires to probably put out that you have to get answers to people.

35:59Which is literally running a restaurant. Right. Yeah. But then when you get to the restaurant, I mean, it's important to get your pulse on the restaurant. So something that I've always said, because you can't do everything. And, you know, I think that one of the issues with chefs and one of the things that I've had to learn over years, I've learned the hard way. And I can't say that I'm happy with everything I've ever done, but I have definitely learned the hard way. It's like, you know, when you're a chef, all of a sudden you think you're a plumber, an electrician, you know, because everyone comes to you for everything.

36:36Oh, toilet's broken. Let's go ask chef what to do. You know, it's like I don't know anything about how to fix the toilet, right? And so you start to take that on. You start to take on a lot more than you really are capable of taking on. And I think that one of the things that, you know, kind of have learned over time is that when you get to a restaurant, if you take the time when you open the restaurant and I like I envy chefs that are doing like television that, you know, and they can do it and do it really well. Like, I mean, you know, I watch people that I've been friends with for a long time, like a Bobby Flay or somebody like that.

37:23And it's really hard. Like, that takes so many hours of your day. I could never do it. I could never, like, I mean, I could, you know, never do it and then do what I like to do in the restaurant, which is when I open a restaurant, I want to spend three weeks, three months, whatever it takes. But I want to run it just like if I was going to be the chef of that restaurant. so that when I go there, when I land, when I'm in a city, I feel very comfortable. I know, like, if I've got to take a plate back to the dish area, I know exactly where it goes, right? Yeah. I feel very comfortable in that room.

37:59And to me, I always know if I didn't do my job right opening a restaurant because I'm not comfortable with how exactly the restaurant runs. But when I do my job right and I feel like when I land, I can go there and give the chef the night off and be in the kitchen and run the restaurant. That always is going to give me the best perspective of where that restaurant really is in the life of, you know, that restaurant and its quality and everything else. It's really fascinating. I mean, I want to get a personal take on you. Do you get more excited about like a P &L that's like looking a little better quarter over quarter?

38:39Or do you get more excited about the product coming in off the truck? I mean I think I've met chefs and no chefs who are clearly in one or the other camps. Do you feel like you're – I don't think there is such a thing as one or the other camps. It's probably one of the things that I – advice I give chefs more than anything else people that – because I've done both. I've been the person that could care less what the P &L said and lost great restaurants because of it. And I've been the person that then turns around and focuses too much on the P &L and lost great restaurants because of it. And so there is a balance that you have to find that's called being a chef.

39:23You do have to find the balance. You do have to understand how to use, you know, the full product that's coming in the door and don't just use the best cut and throw away the rest or make family meal out of it or do whatever else it is. There's a science to it and that's part of being a chef. Let me ask you, what's the dream project in Las Vegas? There's got to be a concept that you just are fascinated in and that you think would crush and be really popular but also like fulfilling creatively. Well, you know, the next one we're doing is we are doing the kind of new version of bourbon steak similar to what we just did here where it's got its bourbon steak, but it has a little bit, a few more bells and whistles and a little bit more supper club feeling.

40:08Yeah. And I do like entertainment. I do, like I said, I do like to throw a party in the restaurant. And so having live music and things of that nature, this one's going to be at the Four Seasons. And I'm really excited about that project because I think that project is going to be a spot where both locals and my friends from out of town and people that just want to have fun all hang out. Love it. To me, that's like when people ask me about my dream project, okay, like if you want my dream, dream project, I want to, you know, maybe my last restaurant will be, you know, in Hawaii with no stoves, just everyone's feet are in the sand.

40:55And, you know, slicing your ceviche and sashimis and cooking with, you know, and just. I mean, Michael, I feel like this can happen in Las Vegas. I feel like if anywhere you can recreate a Maui beach with a chef slicing ceviche and fish, it could probably happen in Las Vegas. It probably could. I've got a few more questions. It's been really fun catching up. And I think Las Vegas still is a mystery to some diners. I think like some folks might not be more into gaming and they might be more into food. And I guess I want to get like to close just your your kind of take on how since you've been there for 25 years.

41:44Yes. How is Las Vegas dining evolved into what, you know, World's 50 Best is there this week? Unbelievable. It's there this week. And really, we're celebrating World's 50 being there with these conversations. And really that to me feels like a big moment. But tell me, how has it evolved? I can tell it to you very simply. You can talk about clientele forever and why they're coming there. But when somebody wants to build a restaurant now, guess where they go? They go look at all the restaurants in Las Vegas. Who would have ever thought that if, you know, you pick a celebrity chef or you pick a celebrity restaurateur and they were going to build a restaurant in New York City and they're going to go check out all the designs in Las Vegas and all the different restaurants in Las Vegas.

42:36I think it used to be the other way around. I'm pretty sure. Yeah. So the fact that that has actually happened now in Las Vegas, that people come to Las Vegas because Las Vegas just used to be a place in which you took a concept and moved it to Las Vegas. Now concepts are being created in Las Vegas and going other places. Really smart. I love that statement because it's true with all the interviews you've been doing this week. I feel like it's very much a town that innovates. And it creates its own culture. 100%. And I think it still needs to fight, you know, against a perception. Yeah. I mean, we aren't even talking about the buffet because, you know, I don't want to talk about the buffet.

43:22Right. Because the buffet is like the death knell of Las Vegas. Sure. Like the buffet is cool. Like I'm into a buffet. Listen, I like a good buffet. But like that is not Las Vegas dining. Like you'd be – No. You're in the dark ages if you think Las Vegas is about buffets. Well, and I think that there's this very false myth that, oh, well, they're successful because they're in Las Vegas and they got to build a$15 million restaurant and they get to be in Las Vegas. That's why they're successful. Trust me. That is very nerve-wracking to build a restaurant that costs a lot to build and you have to do X amount of people every month and you are competing with a lot of other people that are doing the same thing that are very smart people and very smart operators working and partnering with very smart casinos.

44:18Well, I mean I would say on the flip side, while it's stressful for the operators, it's the diners who win. Sure. By having this – no one's resting on laurels. No. And Mina, for 25 years, you've had stress and anxiety over every twist and turn, I'm sure. A down quarter, by your respect, just makes you think differently about some things. Yeah, when you looked at the list of people opening at Bellagio 25 years ago, I didn't sleep too many nights before that opened. Yeah, yeah. It's a good point. I'm glad you're being real about it because this week is about being real and about actually having like cool conversations about the real dining scene, not the perception.

44:59So I appreciate you being real. My pleasure. Thank you so much for joining. This is Tace Michael. It's been such a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

45:16Hey, Eliza, we're here in Las Vegas. We're recapping our week of eating and drinking. And also, we made it to the sphere. We did for Dead & Company. And if we weren't deadheads before, we might be one step closer now. Oh my gosh. When we saw that, we were able to be in Vegas during this string of shows. They're doing 24 shows through July. We had to go. but we had some some ideas of of a mission but we'll get to that later i wanted to like talk about the sphere in general because honestly it's been in our feed since it opened in in in september 2023 and i just wanted to like kind of get some stats out there because i think it's hard to tell from instagram or wherever like what's going on in the sphere until you're there so really here's a couple crazy things that i learned the sphere's capacity is 18 000 people which is almost identical to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which is a place that we've both been and it feels like it doesn't play that big.

46:15It plays more intimate than the Barclays Center, I have to say that. The other thing is that it feels like the seating, the way it's seated, is you're not interacting with people that much. And that's actually not a bad thing for a concert, meaning you're not bumping into people in crowded hallways. Did you agree with that at all? I mean, there's tons of people in the space, but I feel like everyone's being managed in a really intentional way. the way that the sphere works is that there's general admission on the ground floor and then there's maybe five or six floors going up the levels of the sphere that has seats that people can go in and you're kind of going up in these escalators and there is a lot of people moving around the space but i do feel like there is enough room for everybody it feels very clean and new in a way that i haven't really felt that way about most concert venues so the sphere opened in september 23 with a u2 residency that ran i think around i would say 41 shows the price tag of the sphere is 2.3 billion.

47:09It's the most expensive stadium performance theater in American history. It was originally supposed to be around like 1.8, but you know, why not round up a few few hundred million? And really the cool thing is it has 160 ,000 square feet of video screen, which is basically the entire ceiling and backdrop of this venue. It's incredible, incredible experience and really blew me away. I knew it was going to be a good experience. What did you think about the actual screens? Well, I would say the whole experience for me was kind of like going to a megachurch as an atheist and that I wasn't a deadhead.

47:44And I also kind of had reservations about the sphere just in terms of the energy component of what it takes to run those screens all the time. And to be honest, I do still wish that they would turn the sphere off when there isn't a show happening. I just don't think that needs to be happening. But going into the sphere with the crowd, first of all, was awesome because everybody was just so excited to be there. All of these older dead folks were telling us unprompted about their favorite shows that happened 30 years ago. The younger generation was getting to kind of tap in for one of the earlier times.

48:16And you walk into this space and you just see humanity bopping around, being so happy to be there. I'm smiling just thinking about it because it really was, it felt very human for such a high-tech experience, which is something I wasn't expecting. And I think that plays into the visuals that they employ as well. Well said, Eliza. And really, John Mayer, that guy is in his bag. He's so good right now. And the music itself is not really my thing, but I really don't think that's what it's about. It's about being there with the folks. And they played Maggie's Farm, I'm Dylan's Birthday. And people were really into the music and really were into the vibes.

48:52Yeah, it sounded great. I think I totally played into the sphere's hopes for the guest experience and that when you walk in, it basically looks like they're playing in a giant barn venue. I think I said out loud, wow, I thought they were going to do more. And then as soon as I said that the walls of the barn fall away, it transitions into a street in Haight-Ashbury and then almost like a hot air balloon effect of everybody lifting up over until it's the whole world, man. But I did feel that way. And I thought the sound was great. And even the 20 minute drum solo was awesome because they're vibrating all the seats when you do that.

49:27Back to the megachurch effect, the fact that everyone around us sat down immediately when they knew that was going to happen. And we just kind of followed suit. And then also we went and ate a lot of food when we were there. We did. And one more note, the guy next to me, when they were opening up the doors, he was like, open it up, open it up. And like, it was like he clearly had been there before, like, and seen that effect. But it's such an incredible opening moment of this set to see yourself flow over San Francisco. I fully agree. I love that. Also, the Dead & Co fans are so excited to be there.

49:57And you know that everyone is talking about it in the Facebook groups ahead of time. So maybe they just know what's going to happen with the visuals. We also got a tip off from a Dead & Co Facebook group that the pizza was going to be really great at the Sphere. So I do think we ate more food at the Sphere than anyone else has ever eaten. We went to like all of the different stands and when intermission hit and we had a platter full of waffle fries and everything else, we definitely were getting a lot of jealous looks. So let's get to the food, Eliza. And you did some great research going into this.

50:25You learned something about the pizza being served at The Sphere. It's not your typical stadium pizza. Well, I'm just going to give a shout out to my friend Rose, who used to tour with Dead & Co., who is our insight into the Dead & Co. tour family Facebook group. And she sent us a screenshot that someone says, this will be the dumbest question today, maybe all month. I was at the shows last weekend and the pizza sauce at The Sphere was ridiculous. It's the sauce I've been looking for. Does anybody know what brand of sauce they use? If you're going and can snag me a picture of the label, You'll be my hero.

50:58Well, I'm here to tell Jimmy Katz from the Denning Ho tour family Facebook group that the pizza is being made by Pizza Rock, which is a local pizza restaurant here in Vegas. Yeah, and it really was a choice to go Sicilian style with the actual format of the pizza. They could have gone New York style and just done slices. They could have definitely done Nona style with a little bit of a thinner cross, but like a pan. But they're going full Sicilian. And I feel like that choice is a good choice because, listen, you're at a concert and you want a slice of pizza. You want to feel that bread. You want to feel it inside you.

51:35You don't want to just feel the vibes from Bob Weir. You want to feel the bread hitting you hard. Yeah, we tried a couple different slices. Honestly, I wouldn't say the sauce itself was anything special, but it totally hit the pizza craving, which was maybe what you're looking for. And also I want to say that this post has over 500 likes and 300 comments. So I think a lot of people are interested in food options at the sphere in general. For sure. And we're going to get into all the food. And I feel like we're doing like the deep journalism that we're known for. It's a joke. The hard hitting. The hard hitting.

52:06That America needs. But what I loved about the pizza also is that they had packets of Parmesan Reggiano and crushed red pepper at the concession. It felt very considered. I like the pepperoni a little bit more than the plain cheese. mileage may vary with a plain cheese slice at a stadium, but I feel like it was fine. Yeah. Honestly, I would say the meatballs and marinara that we got from the Pizza Rock stand were the best. Totally agree. Great call on that. We ordered the marinara and balls and honestly, hot. It wasn't like medium temperature. It was like hot. And I love that about stadium food.

52:41The temperature for me is most important. And you can definitely tell when something has been sitting out or has been under the heat lamp forever, or if it's been freshly prepared and they were pretty much hitting the marks on this visit. Yeah. I mean, I would say my favorite thing that we got to eat at the Sphere were the pretzel sticks. Great call, Eliza. I think we should transition this conversation into the heavier foods, the real stadium food, chicken tenders, pretzel sticks. So we got a great tip from one of the vendors. We asked them if there were any highlights and we got this pretzel with queso.

53:12So yeah, it was a white queso, like a very runny queso. But the pretzel sticks were super long and they had the kind of fluffy inside and that kind of brined, crunchy, very salty exterior. They were everything I wanted out of a pretzel stick and also three times as big as I thought they were going to be, which is always a win. Very much agree. I like that they were like griddling it and probably some kind of butter. They were very buttery. I love that. And the queso was really good. So that's a real highlight there. Chicken tenders were pretty good. What do you think about chicken tenders there?

53:45I mean, I think a chicken tender is a chicken tender. And as long as it's not raw, it's going to be pretty good. So it was a pretty good. I also think the waffle fries were great. They were a sweet potato waffle fry, which if you are a sweet potato waffle fry fan, were really great. They come with a togarashi ranch. I honestly didn't get any togarashi. Yeah, air quote togarashi. All ranch. But it was great. And we did have extra fries that we got to gift to some nearby Denko fans, which I think was our mitzvah of the day. It was, okay, set the scene here. Here's Eliza and I and Shirley and Clayton like running around the stadium.

54:17It was like right before intermission, about two hours in the show of a four and a half hour show, mind you. And like, we're like hitting every stand. We're like stuffing our faces, but we have extras. Here's Eliza, bless you, anti-food waste, kind soul you are, you found a home for these fries and the person was happy that they had fries. Well, I asked the people next to us and they actually declined, but then said that the nice young men sitting in front of them might want them and pointed them out. So I brought them over to there, which I do think is very much in the spirit of Dead & Co. So I was happy we got to do that.

54:50Should we talk about the tacos? Let's talk about the tacos. I think the tacos were, we were going into it extremely skeptical, correct? Like that's kind of like not really the format for eating decent tacos, right? I mean, I always have high hopes for tacos because there really aren't that many components. And if you have a good tortilla and you have one good filling, then I think you're in a good stead. But I do think tacos are not necessarily the most common food for that format. So cautiously optimistic. I like that they had a vegan chorizo option. There weren't a ton of vegan protein options at the sphere in general.

55:28So that was nice to see. And also the Bedia taco, I wouldn't really call that Bedia, but I did think it was short rib and it was very tender and well cooked. So it was, even though it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, it did hit a moment. It was like morgisado. It was like soupy. Yeah, it was. It was. And it was three in an order. And they also were doing margs and all of those kinds of things. And also a hot tip is that the taco place is on the ground floor and then the other food is above it. And when we were up on the fourth floor, like all the food was being mobbed, but down on the bottom level, actually, I felt like it was easier to get food.

56:02Yeah. And shout out to the vegan chorizo brand Abbott's. That's the brand they were using. And I thought it was really good for a plant based option. I like that brand a lot. It's a pea protein based chorizo. Yeah, definitely. And I agree that, you know, I'm pretty optimistic about tacos and these are pretty, pretty good. They delivered. We also had street corn, which to me is like not ever what you want in a concert. Oh, I loved it. No, so it worked out, but like it's like messy. You get stuck in your teeth. It's like not like easy to eat. But man, it was pretty good. I didn't try. I was like, no, I'm not.

56:32I liked it. It was pretty juicy. It had a good amount of mayo and parm. And then what I think was probably chipotle powder on it. I think I didn't realize I would need to bring floss to the sphere. So that component was maybe a little tricky. But I definitely think that Angelino and me growing up, like a lotte on the street in front of a concert venue is like the most classic thing. and it felt very much like what I wanted. Before we get to the dessert, I want to do a little side about the self-vending there. Very smart. You know, we're in this society now that we do a lot of self-checkout. It's becoming part of our culture and wisely so.

57:07It's very easy to do and it makes it like really like user-friendly. So they have like a lot of self-vending booths at the Sphere and really like it's all Pepsi drinks, which, you know, some may like it, some may not. I'm kind of a Diet Pepsi fan personally. But the beer selection was pretty good. I felt that I saw Modelo, 805 Cerveza, Pacifico, a lot of craft beers, like probably I would say about 10 beer options. I grabbed an athletic free wave IPA downstairs. So they have some NA beers there. And it's not fully self-service. They have folks there manning it. But you can pick what you want out of the fridge and bring it over to checkout.

57:43That's right. That's a good distinction. It's not full self-service, but it's a little easier grab and go. It definitely beats the lines. And really, let's talk a little bit about prices because we haven't really gotten into that. I would say like the beers are 20 a can, which is like super typical. Cocktails are 21 a drink. And to me, that to me is stadium drinking, concert drinking. You know, it's certainly exorbitantly expensive to some, i.e. us, but you know, it's just the way it goes when you're at a concert. Yeah. Not to be a stickler, but I will say the domestic beers are$19 a can. Oh, there you go.

58:16And then premium in quotes is 20 a can. They are tall boys. So it's not like - They're Tall boys. That's the other point. Sorry. Really good point there, Eliza. They are tall boys. So you're getting many more ounces. You could drink like 150 ounces of beer if you want during that show. I have to also say that they have like extreme stoner snacks just like hanging out from like they have Doritos. They have – they can buy Funyuns at the Sphere. You can buy lots of different types of candies. I think that they were really smart about having like snacky foods. And then, of course, we had some dessert too.

58:48Yeah. I like that they have little salt and straw ice creams in the grab and go section. I do think having ice cream at a concert is an underrated experience. For sure. Very easy to use. And they also had this kind of cookie ice cream sandwich. It was a cookie. It was like a white chocolate macadamia nut, but like a big, like kind of outsized portion of Ube ice cream. What do you think about that? Yeah. I mean, it would be difficult to eat as a sandwich for sure. but I did like the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. It had a nice amount of chew in the middle. It wasn't like just one of those really dry snappy cookies that you sometimes find on an ice cream sandwich.

59:27And ube has definitely been a reoccurring theme of our time here in Vegas. We had other ube ice cream and ube desserts. So it's interesting to see the way this fear is trying to play into food trends, certainly with BDA tacos as well. And it's interesting to me also because besides from the pizza rock stand that we mentioned, there really wasn't any food branded from restaurants, as far as we could tell. It seemed like it was all proprietary in house. And as someone that doesn't go to a lot of stadium shows, I found that to be interesting because I think it is kind of common to have fast food or like a local restaurant franchise or something.

59:57How did that hit for you, Matt? It was an interesting choice. It's a good distinction because we often do see local restaurants like at the Barclays Center, there's like five to 10 local restaurants represented. We only saw one here. I mean, it's maybe a consistency thing. They wanted to keep it all in house. It could be the early days, You know, the sphere has only been open since last September and has had only a few concerts here. So maybe that will increase. They'll probably like figuring it all out. But I kind of like the food in general. I didn't have any like super issues with it. And it was like way better than I expected.

1:00:28Do you have a single favorite bite? Pratzel steak. Me too. I'm going to have to say that as well as my favorite bite. I liked definitely the chicken tenders with sweet potato fries. I thought that was like a nice version, even though the togarashi ranch wasn't really togarashi. It still was ranch ranch, which to me is an incredible choice. to have available. I loved that. Yeah, I think it was all great. And I think just meditating a little more on this concept of not having other known food brands at the sphere, my instinct would probably be that they are trying to own the whole experience, that everything is just the sphere and there aren't other brands or things that are being known in that same context, which, you know, it is an immersive experience with the screens and the music and even the vibration in the seat.

1:01:08So it's just an extension of that. It's great catching up about the sphere with you, Eliza. Are you going to Are you going to book another show? Are you going to go see Dead tonight? Yeah, you're never going to see me again. I'm just going to go on tour with Dead & Co. This has been All In on Las Vegas Food, presented by Las Vegas.

1:01:29This is Taste is hosted by Eliza Abarbanel and me, Matt Rodbar. The show is produced by Shalia Harris and Pat Stango and edited by Clayton Gumbert. Theme music by Steve Rydell. Visit Taste Online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter for updates on all cool things that are happening.