Richard Blais Brings The Crack Shack to Las Vegas in 2019

Just when it seemed every new restaurant was announced for the Park MGM, along comes celebrity chef Richard Blais’ The Crack Shack to the mix. The gourmet fried-chicken eatery known for one-of-a-kind menu items plans to open in the fall of 2019.

As Blais likes to say, “There’s no reason a $12 chicken sandwich can’t be treated like a $90 roast chicken.”

The three-meal casual-dining outlet features comfort food such as fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, chicken oysters, mini biscuits with miso maple butter, deviled eggs with candied bacon, Mexican poutine with pollo asada and Cheez Whiz, and more. A full bar, bar games, and a patio also will be available. Most importantly, the restaurant devotes itself to all things chicken as well as breakfast for dinner.

Blais is probably best known as the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and trained at The French Laundry, Daniel, Chez Panisse, and el Bulli. He’s appeared on Top Chef, Top Chef All-Stars, Iron Chef America, and Chopped All-Stars as a competitor, and has a recurring role as a judge on Top Chef and Master Chef.

The Crack Shack already has locations in Encinitas, Costa Mesa, San Diego, and Century City, California, with a fifth location coming to Pasadena soon.

The restaurant plans to open next to Eataly, which debuts later this year.

Other dining outlets at the Park MGM include Roy Choi’s Best Friend, opening in December; Hogsalt Hospitality’s Bavette’s Steakhouse, already open at the resort; and chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara’s NoMad Restaurant, coming this fall. On The Record, a nightclub from Los Angeles nightlife kings Mark and Jonnie Houston, will open closer to New Year’s Eve.

The Crack Shack

The Crack Shack

The Crack Shack

The Crack Shack

The Crack Shack

• Tracking the Restaurants Headed to the Park MGM and NoMad This Fall [ELV]