Restaurateur Tony Nguyen ate a life-changing meal in Vietnam that set the course for his latest restaurant in Las Vegas. His new Saffron, The Vegetarian Eatery in Chinatown focuses on meatless dishes.
“I’m not a vegetarian,” Nguyen says. “Right after that meal, I felt really good about what I just ate. I wasn’t bloating. And I changed my perception about vegetarian food. I was thinking to myself, ‘Las Vegas really needs something like this,’ a good vegetarian restaurant that really showcases all the vegetables and makes people like me, people who are not familiar with vegetarian food … change their perception about it.”
Nguyễn brought in chef Louross Edralin, who appeared on Season 4 of Hell’s Kitchen, to run the kitchen after he worked at Shokku Ramen, another of Nguyen’s restaurants.
