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Louiie Victa
Hospitality veteran Andy Hooper says his two favorite cuisines are Italian and Mexican. He already has Locale Italian Kitchen in Mountain’s Edge, and starting today, he opens El Luchador Mexican Kitchen + Cantina, taking over a former Burgerim space in the Mountains Edge Marketplace.
Hooper opened the 2,286-square-foot space fast after taking possession in mid-December. Diners can sit outside on the patio with room for 75 or pick up takeout orders at a separate window. He named the restaurant El Luchador, Spanish for the fighter, after WWE and WWF fighters he loved as a child in Tennessee.
Diners can start with house-made chips and bean dip made with pinto beans and a chorizo spice mix, or order table-side guacamole, queso dip, or nachos.
Hospitality veteran Andy Hooper has a new restaurant opening next week, this time bringing Mexican fare to Mountain’s Edge. El Luchador Mexican Kitchen + Cantina takes over a former Burgerim space in the Mountains Edge Marketplace, close to Hooper’s other restaurant, Locale Italian Kitchen.
The 2,286-square-foot space features room for a patio up front with an occupancy of 75.
Hooper brings in chef Aaron Bryan to helm the kitchen. The Southern California native attended Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, and went on to intern with the Four Seasons Newport Beach. After a year, he was accepted into their sous chef training program before being promoted to assistant banquet chef. He worked as a chef tournant at Nero’s Steakhouse at Caesars Palace in 2006, and moved on to become a sous chef at Charlie Palmer Steak, executive room chef for Station Casinos, and chef de cuisine at Eggslut at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.