RESTAURANT TOURS POPULAR WITH VISITORS, LOCALS
As an Ohio family was seated at one of the top restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip, the party of seven gazed over an extravaganza of fresh seafoodonice. There was barbouni, which was going for $62 a pound, the king crab at $132 a pound and langoustine lobster, which was also going for $132 a pound.
But the diners — Jeff Haupt and his family — were not only eating at Estiatorio Milos, a Greek restaurant at the Venetian.
They were part of a 17-person restaurant excursion arranged by Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, a local company started by entrepreneur and restaurant industry veteran Donald Contursi.
The Savors of the Strip afternoon tour, one of several offered by the company, takes guests on a walking tour of four Strip restaurants. For $125, participants get a sampling of food at each eatery.
On this day, the stops also included the Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, and Smith & Wollensky, both at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, and Cipriani at Wynn Las Vegas.
The company also offers a variety of tours throughout the valley, ranging in price from $125 to $799 for its “Ultimate Steakhouse Tour,” which includes a stop at Bazaar Meat, world-renowned chef Jose Andres spot at the Sahara.
From start to finish, the Haupt’s tour lasted just under four hours.
Along with enjoying dishes like Smith & Wollensky’s angry shrimp and Sugarcane’s goat cheese croquette, guests listened to a tour guide offer facts and stories about each resort and restaurant.
By the end, there wasn’t an empty stomach or underwhelmed customer.
“It’s something that has really taken off,” Contursi said.
Contursi, 37, launched Lip Smacking Foodie Tours in 2014 after working for years as a server at a number of wellknown restaurants in Las Vegas, including Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las Vegas.
Focused mostly on corporate groups at the outset, the company, which has five employees, has branched out to cater to tourists and Las Vegas Valley residents.
In 2020, Contursi started a spinoff called Finger Licking Foodie Tours to offer self-guided experiences.
Contursi said he started the business because he loved food but was burned out working as a server. “I knew I had something special, so I knew it would crush me if I didn’t do anything with it,” he said.
Today, it’s not uncommon for the businesses to entertain more than 100 people a day, and that doesn’t count corporate groups, which essentially disappeared during the pandemic, Contursi said.
At Sugarcane, the Haupt family and the rest of their tour group were whisked into the restaurant’s dining room seconds after arriving.
Plates of hamachi crispy rice with chives and truffle oil, and bacon-wrapped dates came out a couple of minutes later.
Rodney Ignacio, executive chef at Sugarcane, said Lip Smacking Foodie Tours was a good way for the restaurant to advertise in a nontraditional way.
“It helps get the word out about something that people might not be used to,” Ignacio said. “We’ll see people who come in after going on the tour wanting to get the full dish or full experience.”
Haupt, whose daughter learned about the tours via Tiktok, said it was money well spent.
“We had a great time,” Haupt said. “It’s a great way to experience some of these Las Vegas restaurants without having to put much effort into it.”
Contursi, originally from the Chicago area, followed his mother to Las Vegas nearly 20 years ago. He attended the College of Southern Nevada and UNLV before becoming a full-time server.
Lip Smacking recently introduced a self-guided deep-dish pizza tour in his hometown and was approached by Station Casinos to set up a tour at Green Valley Ranch, which kicked off earlier this month.
“I’d like Lip Smacking Foodie Tours to go national,” Contursi said. “It would be great to bring our product to other cities across the country.”