A native of New Mexico, Dustin Rixey is right at home in our Mojave metropolis. The chef’s first Las Vegas gig was at Bellagio in 2000, and for the past six years he’s been running the show at Planet Hollywood’s steady steakery Strip House. He still travels a bit to help open Strip House restaurants in Florida and New York, but he misses Vegas when he’s gone. “I’m used to cranking out huge numbers, 500 covers a night, go, go, go,” Rixey says. “In other places, it seems slow and I can get kinda bored.”
On Strip House’s reputation as a hidden gem: “I get that a lot, that we’re overlooked. It’s just so different from all the other steakhouses. We have a lot of concierges and event planners telling people they’ve gotta try Strip House.”
On serving a diverse crowd: “With Britney [Spears] opening up, we’ve seen some change. You can tell by what people order who’s coming in: they’re doing lighter fare, more fish and lobster. But then March Madness rolls around and it’s a bunch of dudes asking for tomahawk ribeyes, ginormous four-pound steaks Fred Flintstone would have eaten.”
On kitchen experimentation: “I get whims and play with things all the time, and it’s wonderful to have a kitchen where you can experiment. My wife and I had a date night and ordered a dessert with chocolate and mascarpone, two ingredients that are so amazing together, so I played with that dessert with fresh blueberries and raspberries. The thing about Vegas is there are so many great chefs, it’s easy to go out and try things and get inspired.”