Six Restaurant and Chef Wild Cards to Watch in 2015

Aside from the 48 restaurant and bar openings in 2015, this year plans to be full of surprises. Whether it’s a hot chef planning to open a new, unnamed restaurant, an undisclosed location for a restaurant promising to enter the Las Vegas market or a sizzling space that remains empty, here are six wild cards in the 2015 restaurant game.

WILDCARDS

Brian Howard/Photo: Anthony Mair

Brian Howard

The Situation: Brian Howard left his executive chef position at Comme Ça at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas back in December, and rumors point to as many as three new restaurants off the Strip from the chef.
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Geno Bernardo

Geno Bernardo

The Situation: Geno Bernardo left Nove Italiano at the Palms in 2013, moved to Jersey and then Mexico and is now back in Las Vegas. Could he be opening his own place in the coming year?
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Sirio

The Sirio Space

The Situation: Sirio shuttered at Aria last month, but so far nothing has been announced to take its place. Rumors point to New York’s trendy Carbone taking over the space.
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The Pearl Space

The Situation: The Chinese restaurant Pearl closed at the MGM Grand in November, and so far, nothing has been pegged to take over the prime space across from Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House at the resort.
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BBD’s

The Situation: Ralph Perrazzo, the chef behind BBD's out of Long Island, N.Y., says he wants to bring his burgers to Las Vegas. The former alum of Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace, Jean-George in Manhattan and Clio in Boston confirms that he expects to announce a Las Vegas location off the Strip. BBD's, which stands for beers, burgers and desserts offers a steakhouse burger, cooked on a wood and charcoal grill, griddle burgers and steamed burgers.
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Smoke’s Poutinerie

The Situation: Smoke's Poutinerie is now repeatedly asserting they are coming to Las Vegas to serve up the classic Quebec dish of fries, seasoning, gravy and curds, with the bonus of more than 30 extra topping options. And that is all they do, in dozens of Canadian locations.
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