Shawn McClaine's Off to Vegas!

I just learned that Shawn McClaine -- executive chef of one of my favorite restaurants, Spring -- is branching off from his restaurant group and heading to Vegas to launch a restaurant called Sage in CityCenter. A waiter told me the news while we celebrated my birthday at Custom House last night (really good! 3.5 out of 5 Zs), although it was reported earlier in the month in the press. Good thing I went while he's still there.

I guess I'm OK with this, although the upscale restaurants I've been to in Vegas have never been as good as they're made out to be -- their original counterparts seem better.

Our waiter also noted this is Shawn's last week and that he'll retain Spring (although my boyfriend recalls he said he'd retain Spring AND Green Zebra). Hear my sigh of relief?. It all makes perfect sense: Custom House was his last restaurant to open in Chicago, and that was three years ago. He's clearly a success; I had been wondering why I hadn't heard anything recently.

Good luck to him, good luck to the new executive chefs who have to fill his shoes, and bummer for me, who can't get to Green Zebra before he leaves.