What's the Deal with Nosh & Swig and More? What's the Deal with Nosh & Swig and More?

"After you eyeball this menu, crammed with more than four dozen original dishes, you're going to ask yourself a question: What the hell is a place like this doing in such a sleepy, nondescript hood?!" says Max Jacobson at Vegas Seven. He checked out the new Nosh & Swig from Steve Piamchuntar, the former executive chef at the Stirling Club.

He says several dishes knocked his socks off, including the Singapore Greens, a salad served in a jar with hearts of Romaine, stir-fried vegetables, crispy noodles and a tamarind vinaigrette. The Thai beef jerky with sticky rice and nam prik dubbed Tiger Cry features "meat that flakes gently apart when prodded by the teeth."

"His restaurant is still in the experimental stages, so look for surprises from this brazen newcomer — and expect to be dazzled."

21 Restaurant & Lounge, PoshBurger Bistro, Viva Las Arepas and more. > >

Al Mancini at CityLife tries out the new Korean restaurant 21 Restaurant & Lounge. "Everything I've sampled here has ranged from good to great," he says. Standouts include the eight medium shrimp in a teriyaki-barbecue sauce, garlic skewers, bulgogi and a kimchi pancake. Another highlight, the chicken wings. "breaded and perfectly fried, resembling traditional fried chicken." [CL]

John Curtas is on a tear lately, returning to his multiple reviews. The good news for Conrad Gallagher's PoshBurger Bistro is that he liked the $25-plus burgers at the restaurant. "So will all those affluent folks be willing to pay more — in this case two or three times more — for what is arguably a much better burger meal?" Without a full bar, he doubts it will last. [EatingLV]

He also went to the recently relocated Viva Las Arepas, the terrific Venezuelan restaurant. While he says he wasn't a fan of the cornmeal-based arepas, he recommends the "succulent wood-roasted chicken, crispy fried yucca, sweet and satisfying fried plantains, and a frijoles negroes con queso to beat the band." [EatingLV]

Jim Begley at Las Vegas Weekly dined at Japanese Zen Curry, the newish spot in Chinatown that focuses on curry. "Zen's [curry] is substantially milder than what you might encounter at your neighborhood Thai joint, but you can up the heat with a trio of complimentary pepper mixtures." [LVW]

Yes, Heidi Knapp Rinella at the Las Vegas Review-Journal continues to dole out A grades, this time to Lilly's Thai & Vietnamese despite "very slow" service, which she lists as one of the pluses. "Lilly's Thai & Vietnamese is fairly tame, which really is no surprise considering its distance from the concentration of Asian restaurants in and around Chinatown." She hands out an A for the food, A- for the service and B+ for the atmosphere for an overall A-. [LVRJ]
Nosh & Swig [Photo: Chelsea McManus]