Food nostalgia is a powerful thing. It can transport us back and evoke happy memories spent with friends and family. The idea of comfort food is rooted in this—most of us probably remember our parents making us soup when we were sick or Sunday suppers of pot roast or chicken pot pie. The Gen X latchkey kids among us surely recall fending for ourselves after school with sleeves of Ritz crackers and SpaghettiOs while watching Saved by the Bell.
In our fast-paced modern world of Uber Eats and streaming, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio—celebrity brothers of Top Chef fame—have chosen to go back in time and dig into their culinary memories. The result is Retro, which has taken over the former Aureole space at Mandalay Bay.
Gone is the iconic wine tower, in its place a museum of sorts, dedicated to artifacts from the ’80s and ’90s. Analog pleasures rule here, from BMX bikes and skateboards to VHS tapes and vinyl records.
If you’re of a certain generation, all the Retro touches will surely bring a smile, from the white “paper” plates and vintage water glasses to the table of Slinkies, Rubik’s cubes, Magic 8 Balls and Viewmasters with which you can amuse yourself while awaiting your food. And if you think you’ve forgotten the lyrics to “I Think We’re Alone Now” because you haven’t heard it since junior high, you’d be wrong. Retro’s background music will have you bopping your head to VH1 classics as you gleefully drink your Appletini ($20) or Fuzzy Navel ($20).
Pop culture nostalgia aside, you’re here for the food, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s served with a side of playfulness; the brothers’ version of SpaghettiO’s is called VotaggiO’s ($35) and while it comes in a can—your server prepares it tableside—this is not the Os of your childhood. The pasta is made in-house and enrobed with arrabbiata butter and accompanied by a substantial and tender meatball.
The party-favorite deviled eggs ($28) are reimagined with caviar, while the after-school snack of choice, pepperoni rolls ($16), are now very much grown-up. Made of brioche dough shaped like a cinnamon roll, they’re filled with fennel pollen, basil, mozzarella, Stracciatella cheese, San Marzano tomato marinara sauce and espelette pepper.
“As a chef, it’s always fun to look back,” Michael says of the menu. “Retro is really about [our] childhood through our professional careers, showcased throughout every single dish.”
The brothers’ wide-ranging imagination meets their culinary chops in seemingly humble dishes like chicken pot pie ($24) with croquettes, a buttery cracker crust and black truffle coulis, or the chicken and dumplings ($40), where the dumplings just happen to be ricotta-rich gnudi and the chicken is crispy thighs with a bright lemon jus.
The pot roast ($56) might remind you of mom or grandma, but we bet they didn’t use Wagyu beef cheeks slow-cooked for 48 hours. And shells and cheese ($17)? Sure, you’d be hard-pressed to find a version that isn’t not a crowd-pleaser, but this one is unapologetically Cheez Whiz-y.
And by the way, your mom will be happy to know that you’ll polish off your veggies without protest. The green bean casserole ($15), with a shiitake mushroom broth, crispy onions and mushroom hay, is a delightfully modern throwback, while the young broccoli ($15) won’t last long on anyone’s plate.
“It’s not about the memories you might be taking away, it’s about memories we might evoke when you’re here,” Bryan says of the Retro experience. “When you can make that moment happen for someone as a chef, it’s an incredible connection to our diners and food, and that’s what we hope to do here.”
RETRO BY VOLTAGGIO Mandalay Bay, 702-632-7401, mandalaybay.com. Monday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m.
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