Rehan Choudhry Shares His Favorite Fried Chicken, Personal Tapas and Breakfast Spots

Sin City is home to a lot of restaurants and bars, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Las Vegans aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's food players to share their recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential. Know a chef who wants to share some top dining spots? The tipline is open.

Rehan Choudhry puts his job out there for the world to see, taste and experience this weekend when Life Is Beautiful takes over Downtown Las Vegas. The festival founder "came up with the idea for a music, food, art and learning festival after leaving his high-profile corporate job and looking to explore his passion." He was the director of entertainment and special events for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas before creating Life Is Beautiful. Before that, he founded the Food Network’s Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, and worked as the regional director of marketing, partnerships and development for Caesars Entertainment. Here he shares three of his favorite restaurants for unexpected fried chicken, a personal exploration of tapas and a must-eat breakfast.

Which Vegas restaurants do you turn to when you’re not working on Life is Beautiful?
1. Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
2. Bazaar Meat by José Andrés at SLS Las Vegas
3. Eat

What dishes are most memorable? Please describe each dish.
1. At Blue Ribbon, my favorite dish is their fried chicken. It is so unexpected and has the right balance of Southern crispiness and Asian spices. Paired with both the honey wasabi and their variation of Sriracha makes for an incredible dining experience.

2. At Bazaar Meat, I treat it like my own personal tapas restaurant. My first dining experience there was with José and I swear we ate more that 16 courses that evening. The meat is flawless, the foie gras and cotton candy lollipops are a total surprise, and everything melts in your mouth like butter.

3. Eat is my weekly go-to for breakfast and lunch. I’m literally there three days a week at least and order the same thing each time: two eggs, turkey bacon, sliced tomatoes, and a side of their killer homemade sourdough bread.

Why do you enjoy going there?
1. Blue Ribbon feels like I’m having dinner with my best friends every time I go, even when I’m rolling solo. Seriously. They all know your name, welcome you with a hug and are so incredibly gracious. And they know how to show you a good time.

2. Bazaar is a world-class dining experience. To give it five stars even sells it short. The atmosphere feels really cool and LA-trendy, while the service is very personal.

3. Natalie Young makes Eat like going to my mother’s house for breakfast. There’s a familiarity to it that can only be described as being at home.