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I was always interested in knowing if this is the "original" Joe's from Miami Beach or something different. So I emailed the company and asked:
Is the Joe's in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas your restaurant? Or did another restaurant license your name?
And the response:
The Joe’s location in Las Vegas is an affiliate of ours. They are owned and operated by the Lettuce Entertain You group.
For those unfamiliar with Lettuce Entertain You, they are one of the biggest retaurant operators in Chicago. They have 53 restaurants in Chicago (give or take as it changes day to day). They also are in Vegas, Arizona, minneapolis, and a few in California. Most are good--several are great. The Joe's here in Chicago is great, touristy, and expensive.
Many years ago when the founder, Rich Melman, had only a few restaurants, I applied for a job there in their accounting department. I really had no interest in accounting (although I have a CPA license), but their employee softball team was the best in the state and I wanted to play on the team. Mr. Melman told me I was way over qualified for the job so there went my softball career.
That would make a very interesting career note: "I applied for the job because I wanted to play on their softball team." How did it go over in the interview? Did you mention your softball skills?Quote:
Originally Posted by regnis
Always has been issues with my priorities in life.
It's kind of funny. Melman was just starting out like all of us and he actually took my call for the interview. He now has an empire--but at that time he was still answering his own phone and interviewing a shmuck like me. I did discuss with him my desire to play softball on his team. I told him to call me if he needed a second baseman. He did say he would call me if a more advanced position in the accounting department opened--but he didn't bite on second base.
Damn regnis... you were only one phone call away from perhaps having your own Topps baseball card... or free lunches for life.
LOL---more like $29.95 for lunch. He does have a better rewards program than Caesars tho.
Anything appearing in Las Vegas that you recognize from elsewhere is pretty much a watered down version of the original.
A good example is Rao's in Caesar's.
It is very well regarded at the original NYC location: http://www.yelp.com/biz/raos-new-york
They opened a Caesar's-owned Rao's in Vegas, and the reviews are very mixed: http://www.yelp.com/biz/raos-las-vegas-3
In addition to Joe's Stone Crab, the Forum Shops also features restaurants such as The Palm, which again pales in comparison to the original.
Similarly, Broadway shows appearing in Vegas are often shorter-running and rarely feature big stars. Their counterparts in New York get the big names, while Vegas gets the no-names. That's not to say these shows are all bad. They're just a smaller-time version of the originals.
The above is the result of trying to take famous elements from other cities and transplanting them into Vegas. You get them all in one place, but at the same time, it loses something in translation.
Also, regnis mentioned something about Joe's in Chicago being "touristy and expensive".
That's another problem.
ANYTHING that is touristy will feature a jacked-up price.
That by itself frequently turns me off.
I don't mind paying a lot of money for quality, but I hate when I'm paying artificial high prices because of the fact that they know they're catering to tourists who are willing to pay it.
Same reason I sometimes like to drive a few blocks away from the freeway when I need gas. The price is often 20 cents per gallon cheaper than right off the freeway.
I like Mon Ami Gabi at Paris. Its a Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant too. "Reasonable" prices, good food, crusty fresh warm bread, wine cart, nice view, good service. Haven't tried Joe's yet.
Geez that's just so wrong. Rao's has now been in Caesars for years, it's successful, and it's nearly the same as the one in NYC (I've eaten at both twice). Saying the LV restaurant is only a "watered down" version smacks of the kind of inexperience regularly seen all over the Internet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Druff