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Vegas Test Kitchen Lets Diners Try Out Chefs’ Dishes Before They Open a Restaurant

Jolene Mannina of SecretBurger opens the incubator in Downtown Las Vegas later this year

The interior of a restaurant.
Vegas Test Kitchen
Vegas Test Kitchen [Official Site]

A new test kitchen for aspiring chefs to give the public a chance to sample their dishes opens in Downtown Las Vegas later this year. Jolene Mannina of SecretBurger, the website that offers limited-edition dishes and meals, opens Vegas Test Kitchen inside the former Chow space from Natalie Young next to Fergusons Downtown.

The idea is to offer a rotation of restaurant projects, pop-up dinners, and special events in one incubator location.

Chef Lanny Chin, the chef de cuisine at The Slanted Door, and formerly at Greene St. Kitchen at the Palms, kicks off a residency for his ramen restaurant, Slurp Society, when the test kitchen opens. He plans to serve tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, egg rolls, sticky pork belly, and chili garlic wontons during his three-month stint.

Chef Roy Ellamar of Harvest at the Bellagio and chef Chris Conlon at Piero’s Italian Cuisine both plan to test out their new restaurants that they plan to open at the food hall Platform One at UnCommons in early 2022 in southwest Las Vegas.

Resident chefs will be in the Vegas Test Kitchen Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Diners can choose to dine in, take their food to-go, or at it next door on The Yard at Fergusons.

Pop-up dinners will take place from Rooster Boy Café owner and chef Sonia El-Nawal, who will have Bodega Bagel, and Forte Tapas owner Nina Manchev, who will offer Banichka.

Bodega Bagel brings New York-style bagels with house-made gravlax, white fish salad, and a variety of schmears, including a vegan option.

Banichka will showcase a Bulgarian dish, the baniza, a flaky pastry dish layered with Georgian cheeses and other fillings. Banichka will offer a rotating variety of the dish, including with traditional Georgian cheese as well as spinach, meat, mushroom, and even a Bulgarian hot dog.

Other pop-up dinners are planned from Yukon Pizza with its sourdough wood-fired pizza made with 120-year-old family heirloom starter, Pop N Pies from pastry chef Andrea McLean, and Sliced Sushi from chef Sung Park, previously the executive chef of Sake Rok at the Park. Hours will vary depending on the pop-up.

On Saturday and Sunday nights, the venue offers special events.

When Vegas Test Kitchen opens, the space will comply with all COVID-19 regulations, limiting capacity to 50 percent, spacing tables at least six feet apart, thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing between diners, and more.

Vegas Test Kitchen [Official Site]

Greene St. Kitchen

4321 West Flamingo Road, , NV 89103 (702) 944-5965 Visit Website

Platform One

215 Beltway and Durango Drive South, Las Vegas, NV 89113 Visit Website

Vegas Test Kitchen

1020 East Fremont Street, , NV 89101 (725) 251-2090 Visit Website

Fergusons Downtown

1028 East Fremont Street, , NV 89101 Visit Website

Sake Rok

6 Park Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 706-3022

Piero's Italian Cuisine

355 Convention Center Drive, , NV 89109 (702) 369-2305 Visit Website

Harvest by Roy Ellamar

The Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Chow

, Las Vegas, NV (702) 998-0574

Rooster Boy Cafe

2620 Regatta Drive, , NV 89128 (702) 560-2453 Visit Website

Forte Tapas

4180 South Rainbow Boulevard, , NV 89103 (702) 220-3876 Visit Website

The Park

3782 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109 Visit Website

The Slanted Door

3500 Las Vegas Blvd. S. , Las Vegas, NV 89109 Visit Website

UnCommons

6880 Helen Toland Street, , NV 89113 (520) 505-1446 Visit Website