By Robin Leach, Las Vegas Sun

By Ben Vaughn
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 | 9:31 p.m.
It’s a little-known fact to the average foodie: Chefs typically like their food simple and easy to devour, potentially without a plate or utensils and normally off the beaten path or at least away from their own following of customers. It’s the meals off the clock where chefs seek true comfort and potentially enjoy the most.

Their energy and creativity usually have been spent on cooking their own food, creating the experience you have been referencing on Twitter or sharing the dozen of food porn photos via social media #exquisite #dinnerperfection #mouthgasm. The typical setting for a chef is the busy kitchen with its full-blown, high-energy and over-the-top details, from cooking methods to timing, small-ware selection to appropriate garnish accompaniment.

Every second counts when you are on the line, and attention to detail is a must. So when a day off shows its inconsistent face, chefs take the opportunity to flavor seek in a slightly different manner than the usual restaurant customer.

The point to simple meals off the clock is that most chefs just want to eat big flavors with low frills. Simple food isn’t just about simple — we aren’t exhausted with food in general, but we are ready to allow someone else to be the puppet-master. More specifically, we seek well-thought ingredients designed to be simple, and not intentionally simple like hot dogs and French fries, although those also are delicious.

I’m referring to a simply beautiful braise for meat in the taco, a stellar fortified stock and handmade udon, a perfectly poached egg, maybe an absolutely perfectly executed BLT, a dish without bells and whistles that is perfect without any smoke and mirrors.

These are the menu items I see on the day-off wish-list menus for chefs, cooks and restaurateurs all over the country. Check out these iconic yet simple Las Vegas industry favorites, dishes and locations that not only feed the local chef, but also ultimately might inspire them for their next elevated street-food classic.

Here are five locations that I enjoy when I’m in Las Vegas after an exhausting day in the kitchen. When it’s just good, honest, under-the-radar flavor time, I choose these rock star restaurants and trucks.

Pizza Rock

Let’s be honest, the No. 1 choice for pizza in Las Vegas and amazing late-night vibes is Pizza Rock. Don’t settle for just a slice. At Pizza Rock, the pizza styles are endless,

with signature pies like the New York, Neapolitan, Sicilian and Roman all created by Pizza Rock star Tony Gemignani.

The Oyster Bar

An authentic, Southern-style oyster bar. Yum. This is a joint at Palace Station sporting just a counter with less than a dozen seats serving Delta Bayou-style raw shellfish and seafood specialties cooked or shucked right in front of you. All this, and the shucking show is available 24 hours a day, 365.

Raku

Asian food is somehow always a chef’s late-night standard in any city, but no other city but Las Vegas has Japanese Robata — cooking on skewers over specialty charcoal. The experience is as outstanding as the food. The menu is in my hunger games wheelhouse with tasties like Kobe beef tendon, Kurabota pork ribs and loin and foie gras in soy sauce reduction.

Lotus of Siam

Despite its unassuming and nondescript strip mall location, the over-the-top, outstanding and authentic food at Lotus of Siam has earned endless awards and the title of Best Thai Restaurant in the United States. A chef is called to this type of food because of its organic nature of deeply developed flavors. The balancing act of spicy, sweet, savory and umami are in full swing when devouring Thai cuisine executed at its best.

The menu at Lotus offers more than 150 choices ranging from classics to signature Lotus dishes. If it’s authentic, well-executed Thai food you crave, Lotus is for you. Arrive early or make a reservation because the quality and consistency aren’t a secret anymore.

Great Bao Truck

Now this is one of my favorites. I love the Chinese-style Bao sandwich with the perfectly steamed bun. The bread is a delicious vessel to bring all the flavorful ingredients straight to your face. Bao is said to be defined by the execution of the bun, and this kitchen on wheels, Great Bao, has superb buns. Check out the location tracker online (GreatBaoLV.com) and take time to visit the truck at its next stop.

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Ben Vaughn, star of the Food Network’s “Health Inspectors,” started cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen and after graduation moved on to become partner and chef at River Oaks restaurants and then owner of two critically acclaimed restaurants, Grace and Au Fond Farmtable, in Memphis.

Ben’s transition from chef to consultant was triggered by his passion for teaching others and his desire to pass along the valuable lessons he learned throughout his restaurant career. Ben now dedicates his career to helping food establishments. He is the culinary director and executive chef for Brewed to Serve Restaurant Group and White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails.

A regular Las Vegas visitor, Ben was here two weeks ago serving as the creative director for the World Food Championships. Ben will be back as an occasional contributor to Vegas DeLuxe to discover the unknown food treasures and eateries of our city away from the Strip’s celebrity chef restaurants.

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