This is 10 Things You Didn't Know About?, where Eater Vegas talks to the fine chefs of Las Vegas to get some dirt on everything interesting their lives. Know an interesting chef? The tipline is open.
Mike Minor helms the Border Grill kitchen at Mandalay Bay that serves up Mexican regional cuisine from Oaxaca and Michoacán. Minor studies the cuisines made famous by co-owners and Too Hot Tamales Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger and serves up their fare at this outpost of the LA restaurant. Here, he shares 10 things you didn’t know about him.
1. I'm a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with cancer about 10 years ago. I went through chemotherapy and had a massive cancer surgery. I'm better now and I live my life like it’s the last day on earth.
2. I have this obsession with being a rock star one day. I love music and I play the drums. I'm also the best air guitarist ever!
3. I love the Steelers and I have a man cave that’s all Steelers all the time.
4. I love hanging out in San Diego whenever I can. I love riding my beach cruiser up and down the coast.
5. My favorite thing to eat late at night is cookies and milk. I love Cookie Monster and I have a tattoo of him on my arm.
6. I hope to have my own cooking show one day.
7. I'm a self-taught chef. I worked my way through the restaurant business since the age of 16. I've worked at places like Wolfgang Puck, I was the chef at Z Tajas and I was the youngest executive chef in Hard Rock history at the age of 22.
8. My lucky number is 22. It seems to come up in my life every day in some way.
9. I love spending money and I can out-shop my wife.
10. I like the underdog. I love giving people a chance in life. If I meet someone that I think will do well in the kitchen, I will offer that person a job hoping that I can make his or her life better in some way. At sporting events, I always root for the underdog.
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Mike Minor [Photo: Chelsea McManus]
