Restaurant Review: Chi Asian Kitchen (The Strat)
RESTAURANT REVIEW: CHI ASIAN KITCHEN (STRATOSPHERE)
I hated everything about Chi Asian Kitchen except one thing; the food, which was terrific. So, how do I write a restaurant review and what grade do I give it?
Chi Asian Kitchen is new. It opened in the fall of 2022. Negatives: Difficult to get to, ultra-industrial modern decor, annoying boombox music, uncomfortable tables/chairs, hipster service —– this place screams everything I dislike about dining out in a restaurant. But if you can get past the petty annoyances, and admittedly I’m the prince of pettiness, the food here is outstanding.
Let’s begin with Chi’s location, which is right next to the rear entrance to The Strat (formally, the Stratosphere). Oh yeah, the Stratosphere. Where to begin? This floundering casino resort has been a flop ever since it first debuted nearly 30 years ago. Other than making an obligatory visit to the rocket-shaped tower (the highest structure in Nevada) when those pesky out-of-towners come to Las Vegas, there’s no other reason for locals to come here. Ever. For this reason, The Strat has never been quite able to establish itself with any clear brand or loyal clientele, seemingly trying to appeal to everyone, but ultimately pleasing no one. Poor Strat. It always seems in transition, under renovation, for sale, under the new ownership of some faceless congomerate, going through changes — oh, and the escalators never seem to work.
To be fair, The Strat’s disadvantages and problems largely stem from its unfavorable location, dead in the epicenter of notorious Naked City, a sprawling urban eyesore of vagrants, hookers, crackheads, and feral cats populating countless vacated sun-bleached two-floor 1950s-era apartments mostly padlocked with chain-link fences. There’s no place around here you would want to walk to unless you’re in the market for something with needles. The Strat seems like a walled-in citadel. Its prospects worsened in the last decade with the ongoing Fontainebleau fiasco so close by, which has been a constant strain on noble attempts to revitalize the north-center Strip zone, a longtime blight on Las Vegas. In a word, this neighborhood just seems, well — cursed.
Though no fault of Chi Asian Kitchen, chances that we’ll become regulars at this restaurant were quickly extinguished by the Strat instituting “paid parking” policy. Huh? Seriously? Paid parking? In this neighborhood? What in the hell is The Strat management thinking? This is like selling tickets to a lead smelter plant. With a casino struggling to attract guests? Does Strat management really think shaking down guests, clearly the low end of the casino market, is going to produce dividends? Oh, and their paid parking system is worsened by no cash or credit card options. Instead, guests must use a bar code scanner when they enter and exit the parking garage (which is filthy and smells). Using an app with a scanner linked to a payment option might be in our future. But I sure don’t appreciate waiting in line parked on an incline with the motor running simply to enter the garage in a line of cars while staff provides high-tech smartphone tutorials to a steady stream of befuddled guests fumbling with phones and presumably confused as hell by the new technology. Just imagine trying to explain the parking system to San Bernadino gangbangers or your grandparents. Paid parking is bad enough, but forcing a new app installation on guests seems terribly unwise. It took several minutes for us to enter the garage, and this was a weekday afternoon.
There are some things to like about Chi Asian Kitchen and the way it’s set up, but overall it was a disappointing experience. The restaurant offers side (more private) dining enclaves, funky booths near the front, and a bar positioned near the rear, which is an odd layout. What was most annoying was the lack of comfortable seating inside the main dining room. About half the tables are high-tops (high tops!) and the rest were undersized two-tops and four-tops, which made us feel crowded despite plenty of space and few customers. The industrial loft-like decor, combined a repetitive techno-beat constantly punctuating the peace, made the brunch feel more like a rave than a restaurant.
Service was satisfactory, though we were annoyed by the standard check-padding opener of a question-greet that’s become all too common. “Still or sparkling?” We made it clear that regular tap water was fine (the horror!) but instead were served -we thought- still water in a Panna bottle. We made no fuss over it, assuming they serve tap water in bottles by the haute Italian water company. Then, we later saw the $8 upcharge on the bill for Panna (and paid it, without objection even though that’s not what we ordered).
The oasis of our dining experience was the food, which has a way of making most of the other challenges insignificant. We began with Wonton Soup for two ($16), which was clearly made in-house. I ordered Mongolian Beef ($21), my standard go-to choice, and this was as delicious as any dish in the city. But the real star of the afternoon was Bulgogi Freid Rice with an egg on top ($19), ordered by Marieta. I’ve enjoyed Bulgogi and Fried Rice variants hundreds of times, but I do not ever recall enjoying the sweet sauce of Bulgogi with the fried rice as a combination. This was the clear winner of the day. It almost made the paid parking and ear-splitting boombox rhythms worth it.
Almost.
Full disclosure: I racked up lots of comp points with the True Rewards program, which was mostly a perk from Arizona Charlies on Decatur. Unfortunately, the food options there are abysmal. So, when we learned that The Strat is also part of the True Rewards point system, it made sense to try out this new Asian place.
In summation, we loved the food. For The Strip, the prices were comparable to most other casino dining establishments. We were far less impressed with the ambiance and even annoyed by some unnecessary distractions that detracted from our experience. Unfortunately, the paid parking and lack of other appealing attractions at The Strat make it very unlikely we will return.
It all brings up the fundamental tipping point of many restaurants, which aside from the food is perhaps even more important. Location, location, location.
Food: Good.
Location: Bad.
