Post #475215 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Thu, Aug 6, 2009 8:03 PM

This article was in the Dec 67/Jan 68 issue of the casino's "STARDUST NEWS" magazine.

The Magic Touch: Kenny Ryan Knows The Ingredients That Make For A Great Restaurant

*If a tourist wants to combine a trip to Las Vegas with a visit to the South Sea Islands all he has to do is lift up his telephone and make a reservation at the Stardust's Aku Aku.

The minute you set foot in this exotic restaurant you are instantly transported to the romantic atmosphere of the legendary islands of the South Pacific. You see tropical plants growing against stone walls. You hear the gentle splash of water like the sound of a waterfall in a peaceful clearing.

The soft music of the islands engulfs you and you may even find yourself swaying just a little to its hypnotic rhythms.

As you pass through the bar you see that its roof is thatched. By the time you enter the main dining room with its peaked Polynesian Roof, you will know you are in another world.

But the best is yet to come. Look at that menu. There is pressed duck, Yokohama teriyaki steak, curries, broiled mahimahi and other Polynesian and Chinese dishes to tease the palate of the most sophisticated gourmet. This is the restaurant which Holiday Magazine described as "Perhaps the best on the Strip."

You would swear that they must have imported a whole tribe of Polynesians to make the Aku Aku the kind of place that it is. but the truth of the matter is that the fellow who helped make it a great restaurant came out of Peoria, Ill.

Kenny Ryan, Manager of the Aku Aku, broke into the hotel business while he was still in college in Peoria. He rose from night bellman to Executive Assistant Manager working nights. When he came to Las Vegas he soon became the top dining room captain on the Strip.

In 1960 the Stardust gave Kenny a chance to prove that he could create a great restaurant. He was given the authority to buy the finest foods and to get the best staff he could find. It didn't take Kenny long to make the Aku Aku the busiest diner restaurant in Las Vegas.

So in 1966, when the Stardust wanted to open another unusual restaurant, they knew where to turn. They wanted a fine seafood restaurant and with a location in the desert. You can imagine what problems that posed.

But today ask any native of Las Vegas what's the best seafood restaurant in Las Vegas (as well as the best steakhouse) and they'll tell you its the Stardust's Moby Dick.

They may not know why it's so great, but if anybody asks you, you can tell them. When it comes to restaurants Kenny Ryan has the magic touch.*