New U.S. Restaurants Sizzle for Spring

When it opens in the coming weeks, The Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino promises culinary magic. Ramsay is to take over the resort's culinary marquee with a showstopper dining room worthy of the chef and the address. With entree onto the American dining scene via signatures eateries in New York and L.A., Gordon Ramsay Steak transforms the former Les Artistes Steak House into a Brits-meet-Baz Luhrmann fantasy, complete with dining room emblazed with a Union Jack and intricate ceiling mobile that swaps Calder for culinary wizardry. Ramsay oversees a culinary team that uses his own signature beef-aging program for dishes that include traditional steakhouse fare and English staples from fish and chips to shepherd's pie.

In San Francisco, where new restaurants are covered by local press with paparazzi-like frenzy, excitement continues to build for the latest eatery by Flour + Water chef Thomas McNaughton. Known for its legendary pasta dishes and Neapolitan-style pizza, McNaughton's Mission District eatery is still one of the hardest reservations in town despite being almost three years old. His Central Kitchen is slated to open by the end of spring in a grittier part of Mission District inside a converted warehouse structure. While the menu has yet to be unveiled, reports suggest a deviation from the pasta/pizza norm to dishes with a fancier edge. Additionally, the location will be home to Salumeria, a casual gourmet deli shop for all those who can't get through the door for the first year or so.