Pat's friend Bryon was in town visiting Vegas and he invited us to go along with him on one of his Vegas traditions: dinner at Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian. When we arrived at Delmonico we were sat by a very nice hostess, who happened to be a former student of mine. Frankly I'm surprised Pat and I haven't had that happen before as many of my students work on the strip. A plus to being sat vy a student was she then knew we were locals and we were given a special amuse bouche. It was a tiny cup of butternut squash soup and it was delicious.
We started the meal out by ordering the truffle and Parmesan potato chips. They were paper thin potato chips that were covered in the seasoning. It was a great appetizer and we were glad Bryon had suggested them.
Pat had a special that was medallions of beef in some type of sauce. It was very good. I had the filet mignon. It was done perfectly medium rare. It had good seasoning. We had it with the roasted fingerling potatoes and the buttered asparagus. Both sides complemented the beef well. The potatoes were seasoned and were the perfect doneness. I'm pretty picky about my potatoes.
For dessert Bryon had the creme brulee and I had the apple fritters. The apple fritters were delicious. It is not often that I meet a dessert I cannot finish but this one did me in. It came with five fritters that were almost meatball size and a side of salted ice cream. They were delicious but alot.
Pat and I were both happy we got to try Delmonico. We were even happier to just have had some time to spend with Pat's friend Bryon. It was definitely good food, good friends, and good conversation.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Honey+Salt=Restaurant Week Day 2
So for our second restaurant week outing....yes I know I'm a couple weeks behind in posting...be prepared for a marathon posting session...Pat and I went to Honey Salt. The restaurant has a very homey feeling. It's a very refined chic place. The only negative was it was so loud....although this was because it was super busy, which isn't a bad thing, just didn't set the most romantic tone. Pat and I would actually like to go back once it is cooler, sit outside, and hopefully have a quieter and more romantic dinner.
The restaurant week menu was a three course meal. The first course you had a choice of a Caesar salad or a creamless corn soup. I wanted the soup but unfortunately when we went to order they had just sold the last bowl of soup. So Pat and I both had the salad. Pat was less impressed than I was. I think he didn't like it as much because it wasn't just romaine but a mix of romaine and kale. I thought it was very good and the kale didn't bother me. The best part of the salad was a puffed Parmesan crisp. It was like a puffed sheet of Parmesan. It was so good. We both thought it was the best part of the salad.
For the main dish I had the Salmon. It was cooked perfectly....something I have found to be an issue in Las Vegas...it's like since we aren't near water here we don't know how to cook fish properly. The salmon was served over a red quinoa with roasted fennel and house-made peppadew chimichurri. It was delicious. Especially the roasted fennel. I love roasted fennel. I'm not a huge raw licorice tasting fennel gal but carmelized it is a completely different story. Pat had the brick oven chicken breast that came with macaroni and cheese. he said both were very good. I tasted his chicken and it was very flavorful and moist...always a plus in a chicken dish.
Then came dessert. I ordered the peach pie that was baked in a brown bag. It was ok. I as a dessert connoisseur was not impressed. The peaches were maybe too big. It was more like a peach crumble with a pie shell. It was served as in individual pie but it somehow threw off teh balance of the pie. Pat had a berry crumble. It was very good and he liked it. I had a bite and he definately won the dessert round.
Overall we really liked Honey Salt. Put them on your list of places to go in Vegas and you won't be disappointed.
The restaurant week menu was a three course meal. The first course you had a choice of a Caesar salad or a creamless corn soup. I wanted the soup but unfortunately when we went to order they had just sold the last bowl of soup. So Pat and I both had the salad. Pat was less impressed than I was. I think he didn't like it as much because it wasn't just romaine but a mix of romaine and kale. I thought it was very good and the kale didn't bother me. The best part of the salad was a puffed Parmesan crisp. It was like a puffed sheet of Parmesan. It was so good. We both thought it was the best part of the salad.
For the main dish I had the Salmon. It was cooked perfectly....something I have found to be an issue in Las Vegas...it's like since we aren't near water here we don't know how to cook fish properly. The salmon was served over a red quinoa with roasted fennel and house-made peppadew chimichurri. It was delicious. Especially the roasted fennel. I love roasted fennel. I'm not a huge raw licorice tasting fennel gal but carmelized it is a completely different story. Pat had the brick oven chicken breast that came with macaroni and cheese. he said both were very good. I tasted his chicken and it was very flavorful and moist...always a plus in a chicken dish.
Then came dessert. I ordered the peach pie that was baked in a brown bag. It was ok. I as a dessert connoisseur was not impressed. The peaches were maybe too big. It was more like a peach crumble with a pie shell. It was served as in individual pie but it somehow threw off teh balance of the pie. Pat had a berry crumble. It was very good and he liked it. I had a bite and he definately won the dessert round.
Overall we really liked Honey Salt. Put them on your list of places to go in Vegas and you won't be disappointed.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Fountains + Cantonese = Start of Restaurant Week
This week starts the semi-annual Las Vegas restaurant week. The first restaurant we went to was Jasmine in the Bellagio. It's Cantonese cuisine. Let me start off by saying the food was indeed good. I'm saying this upfront because it didn't meet our expectations. I don't know if that's because for a restaurant in the Bellagio Pat and I expected more and it just didn't quite live up to our expectations.
Now Jasmine has a FANTASTIC view of the Bellagio Fountains. The restaurant basically sits out over the pond that the fountains go off in. So when the fountains go off you get to watch from right behind the fountains. I love the fountains at Bellagio and seeing them from this point of view was pretty cool and different. As the water shot up you would get to see this wall of water out the windows and it was really cool.
Now onto the food. Pat and I each got a cocktail to start. They brought their cocktail menu out on an ipad. It was pretty cool. There were nice pictures and you could touch each drink and see a description and ingredient list. Maybe a slight overkill of technology but still kinda neat. Pat got a drink called the Kiss of the dragon. It was an orange-y tasting drink which was supposed to be slightly spicy but it really wasn't that spicy. I got a watermelon mojito. It has a good watermelon flavor and was nice and sweet, which is how I like my drinks.
For my first course I picked the prawns two ways. There were four prawns, two with a walnut sauce and two with a wasabi sauce. They were really good. Pat got the baby spinach and clam soup. It was good but very mild in flavor.
Pat chose the wok fried beef tenderloin for his main entree and I choose the pan fried Chilean sea bass. Both came with egg fried rice. The rice was somewhat disappointing. It had egg in it but for fried rice being called egg fried rice I expected it to have more of an egg punch to it and it just didn't. Pat's beef was good and my sea bass was also good. The sea bass came with a medley of mushrooms, which again weren't bad but they just weren't as flavorful as I thought they would be.
Dessert was quite the show. It was a mango cream. It had a consistency slightly thicker than a soup. It had small dice of mangos inside it and a lemon sorbet on top. It was probably the best part of the meal. It also had a showstopper presentation. The bowl was set on top of a larger bowl of dry ice so it was swirling with smoke as it arrived. I actually managed to get a picture.
So unfortunately we wouldn't recommend Jasmine. Not because it was bad. There are just better places serving similar food on the strip. I did write a blog about one of them...unfortunately it was one of the ones that got lost...so if you are on the strip and want some good Asian food we would recommend either Zine in the Venetian/Pallazzo or Rice and Company in the Luxor. Both were very flavorful meals. If on the other hand you are more interested in a cool view of the fountains and decent food then go to Jasmine.
Now Jasmine has a FANTASTIC view of the Bellagio Fountains. The restaurant basically sits out over the pond that the fountains go off in. So when the fountains go off you get to watch from right behind the fountains. I love the fountains at Bellagio and seeing them from this point of view was pretty cool and different. As the water shot up you would get to see this wall of water out the windows and it was really cool.
Now onto the food. Pat and I each got a cocktail to start. They brought their cocktail menu out on an ipad. It was pretty cool. There were nice pictures and you could touch each drink and see a description and ingredient list. Maybe a slight overkill of technology but still kinda neat. Pat got a drink called the Kiss of the dragon. It was an orange-y tasting drink which was supposed to be slightly spicy but it really wasn't that spicy. I got a watermelon mojito. It has a good watermelon flavor and was nice and sweet, which is how I like my drinks.
For my first course I picked the prawns two ways. There were four prawns, two with a walnut sauce and two with a wasabi sauce. They were really good. Pat got the baby spinach and clam soup. It was good but very mild in flavor.
Pat chose the wok fried beef tenderloin for his main entree and I choose the pan fried Chilean sea bass. Both came with egg fried rice. The rice was somewhat disappointing. It had egg in it but for fried rice being called egg fried rice I expected it to have more of an egg punch to it and it just didn't. Pat's beef was good and my sea bass was also good. The sea bass came with a medley of mushrooms, which again weren't bad but they just weren't as flavorful as I thought they would be.
Dessert was quite the show. It was a mango cream. It had a consistency slightly thicker than a soup. It had small dice of mangos inside it and a lemon sorbet on top. It was probably the best part of the meal. It also had a showstopper presentation. The bowl was set on top of a larger bowl of dry ice so it was swirling with smoke as it arrived. I actually managed to get a picture.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Amarillo + Beef Brisket = Amazing BBQ
It's a good thing I don't live in Texas. I don't think I would eat anything but BBQ beef brisket...every.single.day. It's so delicious. Two years ago my brother Joey got married in Texas and Pat and I were exposed to all sorts of Texas BBQ. We did the Salt Lick and then Smities and Black's in Lockhart.
When Pat and I drove across the country to move him to Vegas we had our first taste of Tyler's BBQ. When I moved out to Vegas I stopped there. And two weeks ago on our trip across the country we stopped again. This time we didn't even bother to order anything but a pound of brisket. It's THAT good. It just melts in your mouth. It has a great smoke ring.
And Tyler's BBQ was recently named one of the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas by Texas Monthly. Tyler's has been open just around 3 years and is already an award winner. Pat and I totally agree. And if you happen to be driving across I-40 in TX it's easy to access from the highway.
So go to Tyler's. It's delicious. But be sure to get there early because they make a certain amount of BBQ each day and when they sell out that's it. All you will get is a brown paper bag tapped to the door saying sold out.
When Pat and I drove across the country to move him to Vegas we had our first taste of Tyler's BBQ. When I moved out to Vegas I stopped there. And two weeks ago on our trip across the country we stopped again. This time we didn't even bother to order anything but a pound of brisket. It's THAT good. It just melts in your mouth. It has a great smoke ring.
And Tyler's BBQ was recently named one of the top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas by Texas Monthly. Tyler's has been open just around 3 years and is already an award winner. Pat and I totally agree. And if you happen to be driving across I-40 in TX it's easy to access from the highway.
So go to Tyler's. It's delicious. But be sure to get there early because they make a certain amount of BBQ each day and when they sell out that's it. All you will get is a brown paper bag tapped to the door saying sold out.
Albuquerque + Sopapillas=New Mexican Mexican
Pat and I recently drove across the country from Las Vegas to PA. On our way we stopped at some of our favorite restaurants along the way. So the next couple blog entries will be about some of our favorite places on the drive.
The first place was El Pinto in Albuquerque, NM. This was a restaurant that I first went to when I drove out last summer to Las Vegas. I went there on the recommendation of the desk clerk at the hotel I was staying at. So when Pat and I planned to visit the Petrified Forest in AZ we decided we would make that a shorter day(only 8/9 hours....I did say shorter) and stay in Albuquerque.
So the hotel I stayed at my first trip out was really nice AND I thought I had remembered which one it was but I didn't. Luckily I DID remember El Pinto. One of the things I have learned driving across the country is that Mexican food is really different depending where you get it. The Mexican we were used to in the East is different than the Mexican in NM, which are both different than the Mexican we get in Las Vegas. One of the things I like the best about New Mexican Mexican is the sopapillas. Sopapillas are these puffed pockets of dough. I've had them before in the east but always as a dessert. They've been served drenched in a caramel sauce with ice cream. In New Mexico they aren't sweet. They are served like bread is and most restaurants also have honey to put on them. El Pinto has a local honey that is delicious. The sopapillas and the green sauce at El Pinto are what I remembered the most after my first visit.
So Pat and I stopped together this time. He admitted after I didn't remember which hotel I stayed in that he was skeptical I had remembered the correct Mexican place and was hoping it would stand up to the hype that I had given it. I'm pleased to report it didn't disappoint. It was just as good as I remembered. Pat had the Carne Adovada plate. It is pork marinated in red chili on top of a tortilla. It was really good. I had the stuffed sopapillas which were sopapillas stuffed with green chiles, chicken, and pinto beans and topped with lettuce tomatoes and cheese. Both dishes were really good.
So if you are ever in Albuquerque you should stop by El Pinto. It lives up to the hype and won't disappoint.
The first place was El Pinto in Albuquerque, NM. This was a restaurant that I first went to when I drove out last summer to Las Vegas. I went there on the recommendation of the desk clerk at the hotel I was staying at. So when Pat and I planned to visit the Petrified Forest in AZ we decided we would make that a shorter day(only 8/9 hours....I did say shorter) and stay in Albuquerque.
So the hotel I stayed at my first trip out was really nice AND I thought I had remembered which one it was but I didn't. Luckily I DID remember El Pinto. One of the things I have learned driving across the country is that Mexican food is really different depending where you get it. The Mexican we were used to in the East is different than the Mexican in NM, which are both different than the Mexican we get in Las Vegas. One of the things I like the best about New Mexican Mexican is the sopapillas. Sopapillas are these puffed pockets of dough. I've had them before in the east but always as a dessert. They've been served drenched in a caramel sauce with ice cream. In New Mexico they aren't sweet. They are served like bread is and most restaurants also have honey to put on them. El Pinto has a local honey that is delicious. The sopapillas and the green sauce at El Pinto are what I remembered the most after my first visit.
So Pat and I stopped together this time. He admitted after I didn't remember which hotel I stayed in that he was skeptical I had remembered the correct Mexican place and was hoping it would stand up to the hype that I had given it. I'm pleased to report it didn't disappoint. It was just as good as I remembered. Pat had the Carne Adovada plate. It is pork marinated in red chili on top of a tortilla. It was really good. I had the stuffed sopapillas which were sopapillas stuffed with green chiles, chicken, and pinto beans and topped with lettuce tomatoes and cheese. Both dishes were really good.
So if you are ever in Albuquerque you should stop by El Pinto. It lives up to the hype and won't disappoint.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Clam Chowder+ Caesar Salad=Lunch
In continuing our quest to discover good but affordable Vegas food Pat and I had lunch at the Oyster Bar in the Sunset Station Casino. The Sunset Station is one of the off strip casinos. We've been venturing around town exploring the various off strip casinos and signing up for their rewards cards so we know what special promotions they each have. And we've found that many of them have deals on restaurants, especially the station casinos which try to cater to locals.
So we went to Sunset Station for our free "swipe and win entry", unfortunately we didn't win the million...oh well. But we did try the Oyster Bar while we were there. Before I talk about the food I want to take a second to talk about the ambiance. The restaurant has an indoor water curtain...basically a veil of water cascading down and making a nice waterfall sound...surrounding the restaurant. we picked a seat right next to the water. Water and the sound of water is one of the main things I have missed the most since moving to Vegas, so the water sound albeit man-made was nice.
Pat and I each got the lunch deal which was a bowl of clam chowder and a Caesar salad. We each went for the New England clam chowder. It was a very big bowl that was loaded with clams. The Caesar salad was really good as well. It wasn't overdressed and the croutons were really good.
Overall it was a good lunch and pretty filling and it was only $7 a piece. A good bargain and a good lunch. I definitely recommend it.
So we went to Sunset Station for our free "swipe and win entry", unfortunately we didn't win the million...oh well. But we did try the Oyster Bar while we were there. Before I talk about the food I want to take a second to talk about the ambiance. The restaurant has an indoor water curtain...basically a veil of water cascading down and making a nice waterfall sound...surrounding the restaurant. we picked a seat right next to the water. Water and the sound of water is one of the main things I have missed the most since moving to Vegas, so the water sound albeit man-made was nice.
Pat and I each got the lunch deal which was a bowl of clam chowder and a Caesar salad. We each went for the New England clam chowder. It was a very big bowl that was loaded with clams. The Caesar salad was really good as well. It wasn't overdressed and the croutons were really good.
Overall it was a good lunch and pretty filling and it was only $7 a piece. A good bargain and a good lunch. I definitely recommend it.
Steak+Martini=9.99 Dinner
So since Pat left his job we started to explore some of the "cheaper" side of Vegas for our date nights. We had seen a steak and martini Monday advertisement at Casino MonteLago in Lake Las Vegas. It was for $9.99. That's right $9.99. And my first thought was how good could a $9.99 steak and martini really be? I mean come on $9.99...I know you are all thinking the same thing too.
Well...it was delicious! It was a tender 6oz steak. It was cooked perfectly medium rare. It came with asparagus, which was roasted or sauteed or something, and mashed potatoes. The asparagus was nutty and perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were super creamy and exactly how I like mashed potatoes. And to top it off it came with a martini. Pat got the martini and said it was very good. I'm a I like to drink alcohol that doesn't taste like alcohol and was happy to hear I could get a glass of wine instead of the martini. So I had a nice glass of moscato wine. It was a very nice dinner.
And to top it off Casino MonteLago's July and August promotion for club members is to draw from the emergency fund. So you pick an envelope and then get either free slot play, comps, or even cash. Pat got free slot play and I got $5 off in the restaurant so technically my steak and martini was only $4.99.
So the moral of the story is that $9.99 steak and martini CAN in fact be good and I encourage you to try it if you are out at Lake Las Vegas.
Well...it was delicious! It was a tender 6oz steak. It was cooked perfectly medium rare. It came with asparagus, which was roasted or sauteed or something, and mashed potatoes. The asparagus was nutty and perfectly cooked and the mashed potatoes were super creamy and exactly how I like mashed potatoes. And to top it off it came with a martini. Pat got the martini and said it was very good. I'm a I like to drink alcohol that doesn't taste like alcohol and was happy to hear I could get a glass of wine instead of the martini. So I had a nice glass of moscato wine. It was a very nice dinner.
And to top it off Casino MonteLago's July and August promotion for club members is to draw from the emergency fund. So you pick an envelope and then get either free slot play, comps, or even cash. Pat got free slot play and I got $5 off in the restaurant so technically my steak and martini was only $4.99.
So the moral of the story is that $9.99 steak and martini CAN in fact be good and I encourage you to try it if you are out at Lake Las Vegas.
New Twist + Cosmopolitan = Date Night
It's been a while since I have blogged and I first off want to apologize. It's been a couple whirlwind months and I got backlogged. I tried to catch up while on a flight in May and I don't know what happened but the 5 entries I wrote got lost...so I decided to just start over. So hopefully my new school year resolution will be to stay up to date with this blog.
A couple weeks ago Pat and I tried a new twist on Date Night. I have recently been reading the blog A Cup of Jo. In one of her entries she talks about meeting your husband someplace for a date rather than leaving the house together. It was a good entry(read it here). So Pat and I decided to give it a try. I have been teaching an evening Calc class at the college and so we decided to meet on the strip for dinner after my class. We got dressed separately and all so it was a total surprise what we would be wearing and all. And it totally had that "like we were dating feeling" where you can't wait to see the other person and talk about your day.
We decided to try D.O.C.G enoteca an Italian restaurant by Scott Conant. It's in the Cosmopolitan, which Pat and I have come to see as the chic, hip hotel. We sometimes feel out of place in the hotel but they do have a plethora of good restaurants. D.O.C.G. is fairly on the small side so we did find it more noisy. It could also have been because we went to dinner more at the Vegas "prime time" of 9pm.
We started off with a couple appetizers. We had the Affettati Misti, which was a selection of Meats and Cheeses by the Chef. It was good, but we would have liked a better explanation of what the meats and cheeses were, although must were good. We also had the Beef Carpaccio. Pat and I have a soft spot for beef carpaccio. We had the best beef carpaccio ever at a restaurant called the Burgundy Room in Columbus, OH. It closed a couple years ago and we haven't had a really good beef carpaccio since. And unfortunately the beef carpaccio at D.O.C.G. didn't fill the void from the Burgundy Room. The carpaccio lacked flavor. The only bites that had any type of flavor at all was the bite that was loaded with the lemon aioli. The beef, which should have been the star, was just lackluster. And it was so thin that it was practically plastered to the plate. We had to scrape the slices off of the plate. Overall just not up to our standard of beef carpaccio.
Onto the main dishes. I had a Pappardelle with a mushroom ragu. The mushrooms were earthy and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I'm a huge fan of pappardelle pasta and D.O.C.G. didn't disappoint. Pat had the Cavatelli. It was served in a sauce that had sausage and porcini mushrooms. I tasted his dish and he definitely picked the better one. It was a rich and hearty dish and it was delicious. Our main dishes definitely made up for the poor carpaccio.
After having both an appetizer and a main dish I didn't think I would want dessert but the waiter tempted us with a dessert that was voted "best dessert on the strip" twice! So of course how could you not bite? I couldn't. It was a salted caramel budino. It was a creme brulee type custard that had a salted caramel sauce and whipped cream on top with a salted caramel pretzel bark. Don't get me wrong it was good but I have a hard time thinking that it is the best dessert on the strip. I guess maybe I'm a little bit of a dessert snob. We haven't had many desserts on the strip so who knows.
Overall we would recommend D.O.C.G., just skip the beef carpaccio.
A couple weeks ago Pat and I tried a new twist on Date Night. I have recently been reading the blog A Cup of Jo. In one of her entries she talks about meeting your husband someplace for a date rather than leaving the house together. It was a good entry(read it here). So Pat and I decided to give it a try. I have been teaching an evening Calc class at the college and so we decided to meet on the strip for dinner after my class. We got dressed separately and all so it was a total surprise what we would be wearing and all. And it totally had that "like we were dating feeling" where you can't wait to see the other person and talk about your day.
We decided to try D.O.C.G enoteca an Italian restaurant by Scott Conant. It's in the Cosmopolitan, which Pat and I have come to see as the chic, hip hotel. We sometimes feel out of place in the hotel but they do have a plethora of good restaurants. D.O.C.G. is fairly on the small side so we did find it more noisy. It could also have been because we went to dinner more at the Vegas "prime time" of 9pm.
We started off with a couple appetizers. We had the Affettati Misti, which was a selection of Meats and Cheeses by the Chef. It was good, but we would have liked a better explanation of what the meats and cheeses were, although must were good. We also had the Beef Carpaccio. Pat and I have a soft spot for beef carpaccio. We had the best beef carpaccio ever at a restaurant called the Burgundy Room in Columbus, OH. It closed a couple years ago and we haven't had a really good beef carpaccio since. And unfortunately the beef carpaccio at D.O.C.G. didn't fill the void from the Burgundy Room. The carpaccio lacked flavor. The only bites that had any type of flavor at all was the bite that was loaded with the lemon aioli. The beef, which should have been the star, was just lackluster. And it was so thin that it was practically plastered to the plate. We had to scrape the slices off of the plate. Overall just not up to our standard of beef carpaccio.
Onto the main dishes. I had a Pappardelle with a mushroom ragu. The mushrooms were earthy and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I'm a huge fan of pappardelle pasta and D.O.C.G. didn't disappoint. Pat had the Cavatelli. It was served in a sauce that had sausage and porcini mushrooms. I tasted his dish and he definitely picked the better one. It was a rich and hearty dish and it was delicious. Our main dishes definitely made up for the poor carpaccio.
After having both an appetizer and a main dish I didn't think I would want dessert but the waiter tempted us with a dessert that was voted "best dessert on the strip" twice! So of course how could you not bite? I couldn't. It was a salted caramel budino. It was a creme brulee type custard that had a salted caramel sauce and whipped cream on top with a salted caramel pretzel bark. Don't get me wrong it was good but I have a hard time thinking that it is the best dessert on the strip. I guess maybe I'm a little bit of a dessert snob. We haven't had many desserts on the strip so who knows.
Overall we would recommend D.O.C.G., just skip the beef carpaccio.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Mandalay Bay+Wagyu Burger = Date Lunch
This semester my schedule of teaching and Pat's work schedule don't exactly mesh together well so we have been trying to have lunch together on Tuesdays. Many Tuesdays this semester Pat has had meetings so we often find ourselves racing to get something quick to eat before I have to head to school to teach my class. One Tuesday a couple weeks ago though his meeting was cancelled and we were actually able to have a nice relaxing date lunch. We decided to go over to Mandalay Bay, walk around and choose a random place for lunch. We went to Fleur by Hubert Keller.
Apparently this is a place that you should have reservations for, even on a Tuesday at 11:30am. They didn't have any seating in the dining room but did have a table in the lounge that we decided to go for. So we sat in these low comfy chairs with a small table between us. We both ordered the Wagyu Burger. It had bacon, wild mushrooms, and gruyere cheese on a toasted potato bun. The burger was very good. It was juicy and didn't even need any type of condiments on it. I was surprised as I usually like some type of mayo or something on my burger but you definitely didn't need it on this burger. Pat and I both admitted though that while the burger was delicious we couldn't tell that it was Wagyu beef. It didn't taste different than a regular high quality burger.
So the verdict: We really liked Fleur, we would definitely go back, and would probably just go for the regular burger next time.
Apparently this is a place that you should have reservations for, even on a Tuesday at 11:30am. They didn't have any seating in the dining room but did have a table in the lounge that we decided to go for. So we sat in these low comfy chairs with a small table between us. We both ordered the Wagyu Burger. It had bacon, wild mushrooms, and gruyere cheese on a toasted potato bun. The burger was very good. It was juicy and didn't even need any type of condiments on it. I was surprised as I usually like some type of mayo or something on my burger but you definitely didn't need it on this burger. Pat and I both admitted though that while the burger was delicious we couldn't tell that it was Wagyu beef. It didn't taste different than a regular high quality burger.
So the verdict: We really liked Fleur, we would definitely go back, and would probably just go for the regular burger next time.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
One great steak dinner + one mediocre Mexican dinner= restaurant week
Pat and I tried two different restaurants during restaurant week in mid-march(it's been a busy semester hence the lateness of this post and the next couple).
The first restaurant we tried was Envy Steakhouse in the Renessaince hotel. It's close to the strip but not actually on it. Upon sitting down and ordering the restaurant week menu we were brought an amuse bouche. It was a tiny piece of beet topped with goat cheese and some sauce. I thought it was very good. Pat is not quite the beet enthusiast that I am so he thought it was just ok. The first course was a Salad that contained port wine poached anjou pears, Candied Walnuts, Baby Spinach, Dijon Vinaigrette. It was delicious. I'm not a huge wine soaked fruit person but the pears were really good. For our main course we both choose the espresso rubbed filet mignon with a bacon mushroom compote. The espresso flavor was subtle but there. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and the bacon mushroom compote was very good. My only complain with the main course was I would have liked to have a small side of mashed potatoes or something. Dessert was a delicious sticky toffee bread pudding with a warm toffee sauce and unsweetened whipped cream. The bread pudding was so sweet that the whipped cream didn't need any sweetener and was the perfect compliment.
Overall the dinner at Envy was fabulous. Besides the great food we had a super attentive waiter. He was a wealth of information and was ready to tell us all about his favorite hang out spots in Vegas. And after our main course while we were waiting for dessert the chef himself came out and asked us how our dinner was. It was such a personal touch and we really appreciated it.
Our second restaurant week dinner was at Bobby Flay's MESA grill in Caesar's Palace. We had such high hopes and were so disappointed! The best thing we had the whole night was the prickly pear margarita that I ordered. It was pink and fruity and delicious. Now onto the disappointments. For the appetizer I ordered the southwestern spice chicken skewers. They had a peanut bbq sauce with them. The sauce was ok. The chicken was moist and was probably the best food dish of the night. They came in a make your own taco form. Pat ordered the venison and black bean chili. It was mediocre. It wasn't bad but we both agreed it wasn't anything special and Pat has made chili similar in taste before. For my main course I had the grilled mahi mahi over a green chili rice. The fish was almost over cooked and kinda on the dry side. The rice was good but overall it was just a let down. Pat got the chili braised short ribs, which again were nothing special. They were tender but the spice and flavor we expected from Bobby Flay just wasn't there. For dessert we both choose the salted caramel pudding. It had a pretzel topping on top. And it too was just ok(are you sensing a theme here?).
Now if Bobby Flay had personally come out and asked us how our dinner was I may have given MESA grill a better rating. But for a well known chef and well known restaurant we were not at all impressed and will probably not return to MESA grill.
The first restaurant we tried was Envy Steakhouse in the Renessaince hotel. It's close to the strip but not actually on it. Upon sitting down and ordering the restaurant week menu we were brought an amuse bouche. It was a tiny piece of beet topped with goat cheese and some sauce. I thought it was very good. Pat is not quite the beet enthusiast that I am so he thought it was just ok. The first course was a Salad that contained port wine poached anjou pears, Candied Walnuts, Baby Spinach, Dijon Vinaigrette. It was delicious. I'm not a huge wine soaked fruit person but the pears were really good. For our main course we both choose the espresso rubbed filet mignon with a bacon mushroom compote. The espresso flavor was subtle but there. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and the bacon mushroom compote was very good. My only complain with the main course was I would have liked to have a small side of mashed potatoes or something. Dessert was a delicious sticky toffee bread pudding with a warm toffee sauce and unsweetened whipped cream. The bread pudding was so sweet that the whipped cream didn't need any sweetener and was the perfect compliment.
Overall the dinner at Envy was fabulous. Besides the great food we had a super attentive waiter. He was a wealth of information and was ready to tell us all about his favorite hang out spots in Vegas. And after our main course while we were waiting for dessert the chef himself came out and asked us how our dinner was. It was such a personal touch and we really appreciated it.
Our second restaurant week dinner was at Bobby Flay's MESA grill in Caesar's Palace. We had such high hopes and were so disappointed! The best thing we had the whole night was the prickly pear margarita that I ordered. It was pink and fruity and delicious. Now onto the disappointments. For the appetizer I ordered the southwestern spice chicken skewers. They had a peanut bbq sauce with them. The sauce was ok. The chicken was moist and was probably the best food dish of the night. They came in a make your own taco form. Pat ordered the venison and black bean chili. It was mediocre. It wasn't bad but we both agreed it wasn't anything special and Pat has made chili similar in taste before. For my main course I had the grilled mahi mahi over a green chili rice. The fish was almost over cooked and kinda on the dry side. The rice was good but overall it was just a let down. Pat got the chili braised short ribs, which again were nothing special. They were tender but the spice and flavor we expected from Bobby Flay just wasn't there. For dessert we both choose the salted caramel pudding. It had a pretzel topping on top. And it too was just ok(are you sensing a theme here?).
Now if Bobby Flay had personally come out and asked us how our dinner was I may have given MESA grill a better rating. But for a well known chef and well known restaurant we were not at all impressed and will probably not return to MESA grill.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Arizona+Local Distillery=Roll out the Barrel Rum Dinner
This past weekend Pat and I went to Kingman, Arizona. Historic Route 66 passes through Kingman and it's just a short hour and a half drive from Las Vegas. On Saturday night we attended the Roll out the Barrel Dinner event at the Diamond Desert Distillery. This local distillery makes Vodka and Rum. The dinner was to celebrate the opening of their next barrel of rum and watch the uncorking.
Upon arrival we went and found our table. Having never been to one of these events we were a little nervous when we realized we would be sitting with 6 other strangers. We were afraid everyone else at our table may be locals who knew each other and it would end up feeling like when you are at a wedding and with a couple of people who all know each other and you don't(awkward!) Luckily, the three other couples at our table were really nice and all of us turned out to be from out of town. One of the couples was even from Canada, I guess they came to the desert to escape their winter.
After finding our table we enjoyed a large array of Hors d'oeuvers. They had an antipasti tray, a wide assortment of cheeses, some delicious special European Tradition Hams(I don't know what made them special), as well as some fruits and vegetables. We also visited the bar. They had two mixed drinks for the evening. I drank a delicious Apple-tini made with their Gold Miner Vodka and Pat had the Manhattan made with their Gold Miner Rum. The Apple-tini was fantastic and according to Pat the Manhattan was very good too.
The dinner was made by a local Italian restaurant Lombardo's Sicilian Grille. It started with a salad and was followed by a Pasta Salad. Our table also received a nice selection of rolls and I had a great wheat roll. It was nutty and had a nice texture. They offered two main courses: Osso Bucco with a dark rum glaze and Stuffed Salmon in a Vodka Sauce. They were both good although the sauce on Pat's Osso Bucco was delicious. It had flavors almost as big as the dinosaur sized bone his Osso Bucco came on. My Salmon was very delicious. The salmon was cooked well, which has been an issue with me and salmon for a while(why restaurants feel the need to overcook it is beyond me). Both dinners were served with sides of asparagus and German scalloped potatoes.
Dessert was a bread pudding served with an Agave sauce and rum balls. Now neither Pat nor I have had a rum ball before. They were EXCELLENT. I was skeptical as to how much I would like them, after all I like alcohol that doesn't taste like alcohol. And even though I am Italian, I cannot stand rum cake. It has the consistency of a wet sponge, so I was a little apprehensive about tasting the rum balls. But they were delicious. The rum flavor was not overpowering(probably due to the high quality of rum in them), and the texture was nothing like rum cake. They were the consistency of cookie dough(which I like). They were so good, I think I need to try my hand at making some....maybe they would be a great use of some of the bottle of the Gold Miner's Agave Rum we bought there.
After dessert we got to watch their barrel #3 get uncorked and the first official tastes were taken. The owner John drew the rum out of the barrel and mixed it to the correct proof and then we all were given a shot of this rum to toast the new barrel with. The rum was very good and had a nice burn to it. And you know it must have been good if I could drink it straight.
All in all it was a great evening. I learned a lot about rum and we found a great new local distillery. And even better they have distributors in Las Vegas, one that even ships it out of the state, should you be in need of some awesome rum. So if you are in need for a new rum or vodka supply, I HIGHLY recommend the Desert Diamond Distillery. It's excellent, award winning spirits will not let you down.
Upon arrival we went and found our table. Having never been to one of these events we were a little nervous when we realized we would be sitting with 6 other strangers. We were afraid everyone else at our table may be locals who knew each other and it would end up feeling like when you are at a wedding and with a couple of people who all know each other and you don't(awkward!) Luckily, the three other couples at our table were really nice and all of us turned out to be from out of town. One of the couples was even from Canada, I guess they came to the desert to escape their winter.
After finding our table we enjoyed a large array of Hors d'oeuvers. They had an antipasti tray, a wide assortment of cheeses, some delicious special European Tradition Hams(I don't know what made them special), as well as some fruits and vegetables. We also visited the bar. They had two mixed drinks for the evening. I drank a delicious Apple-tini made with their Gold Miner Vodka and Pat had the Manhattan made with their Gold Miner Rum. The Apple-tini was fantastic and according to Pat the Manhattan was very good too.
The dinner was made by a local Italian restaurant Lombardo's Sicilian Grille. It started with a salad and was followed by a Pasta Salad. Our table also received a nice selection of rolls and I had a great wheat roll. It was nutty and had a nice texture. They offered two main courses: Osso Bucco with a dark rum glaze and Stuffed Salmon in a Vodka Sauce. They were both good although the sauce on Pat's Osso Bucco was delicious. It had flavors almost as big as the dinosaur sized bone his Osso Bucco came on. My Salmon was very delicious. The salmon was cooked well, which has been an issue with me and salmon for a while(why restaurants feel the need to overcook it is beyond me). Both dinners were served with sides of asparagus and German scalloped potatoes.
Dessert was a bread pudding served with an Agave sauce and rum balls. Now neither Pat nor I have had a rum ball before. They were EXCELLENT. I was skeptical as to how much I would like them, after all I like alcohol that doesn't taste like alcohol. And even though I am Italian, I cannot stand rum cake. It has the consistency of a wet sponge, so I was a little apprehensive about tasting the rum balls. But they were delicious. The rum flavor was not overpowering(probably due to the high quality of rum in them), and the texture was nothing like rum cake. They were the consistency of cookie dough(which I like). They were so good, I think I need to try my hand at making some....maybe they would be a great use of some of the bottle of the Gold Miner's Agave Rum we bought there.
After dessert we got to watch their barrel #3 get uncorked and the first official tastes were taken. The owner John drew the rum out of the barrel and mixed it to the correct proof and then we all were given a shot of this rum to toast the new barrel with. The rum was very good and had a nice burn to it. And you know it must have been good if I could drink it straight.
All in all it was a great evening. I learned a lot about rum and we found a great new local distillery. And even better they have distributors in Las Vegas, one that even ships it out of the state, should you be in need of some awesome rum. So if you are in need for a new rum or vodka supply, I HIGHLY recommend the Desert Diamond Distillery. It's excellent, award winning spirits will not let you down.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Vacation+ Salt lake City=Great Food
Over President's Day weekend Pat and I went to a boardgame convention in Salt Lake City, UT but took the opportunity to eat at some really good restaurants.
The first place we had dinner at was at the Oasis Cafe. You can see our selections for dinner below.
We had an amazing Salmon Bruschetta appetizer.
I had a grilled Salmon with a honey lavender polenta cake. I thought the lavender might be overpowering but it had this great balance. Pat had the wild mushroom risotto. Both of our entrees were delicious and me with my sweet tooth was looking forward to dessert.
We ordered the apple cashew crumble. A nutty take on an apple crisp that was warm and wonderful and topped with vanilla ice cream.
We also ordered the Lavender infused panna cotta.
While the presentation was wonderful: the taste...not so much. The overpowering lavender flavor was there and it was intense. Eating it along with the berries made it palatable. We highly recommend the Oasis Cafe(just steer clear of the panna cotta)...everything else we had was scrumptious!
Saturday, on our way to the Capital building we stopped at Wild Grape Bistro. Pat had the Wild Beef Burger and I had the House Smoked Turkey Sandwich. Pat's burger was very good. My sandwich was good, although it definitely could have had a higher brie to everything else ratio. The brie, one of my favorite cheeses, got a little lost in the sandwich. We both splurged for the Parmesan truffle fries, which were well worth the extra dollar.
Sunday we had a hard time finding food. The entire city practically closes down on Sunday mornings. We waited until 11ish and tried to find an open Mexican restaurant without any luck. While driving around searching for any type of food we happened across Caffe Molise. An Italian restaurant that serves brunch. Pat ordered the Salmone Benidictus(Eggs Benedict with smoked Salmon). Unfortunately the eggs came overcooked. The runny yoke that makes an egg benedict was a fully cooked yolk. After eating one of the eggs we did finally tell our waiter who brought out two eggs cooked correctly. Pat said it realy made a difference and enjoyed his second egg much better. I ordered the Anacardi Tostata(an italian take ok French Toast). The pieces of bread were crusted with chopped cashews and Frangelico. It was served with a sweetened ricotta cream and maple syrup and it was delicious. The chopped nuts got all toasted during the cooking and it was this rich nutty piece of bread. The sweetened ricotta was a nice touch.
Sunday night we had dinner at Bambara. We started with a local cheese plate. It had a coffee crusted cheese that Pat really liked as well as goat cheese I thought was delicious. There was also a parmesan and a blue cheese that were both good but not our favorites. For our entrees Pat had the Filet of Beef. It was served with duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes and a leek puree. It was a melt in your mouth steak and the mushrooms that were served alongside were the perfect accompaniment to the steak. I got the venison with a wild Oregon huckleberry syrup. It was served with a celery root puree, something I have had a couple times recently and have taken quite a likening to it. The venison was paired with a cipollini, fingerling potato huckleberry hash. The whole plate had a great balance to it. Even Pat, who is not always a fan of sweet and savory being mixed thought it all melded together well. We finished off the meal by sharing this:
I know it's a little blurry but it's a turtle ice cream sandwich. It was good but the ice cream was over frozen so it was really hard to cut off a bite without having the ice cream crumble. I think if the ice cream had been that perfect creamy consistency then it would have been an A+ dessert. Instead it was more of a B dessert, but we did eat it all, so obviously it was still tasty.
Monday, we ate at one more Salt Lake City restaurant before heading back to Vegas. We had lunch at Cedars of Lebanon. It was a great middle eastern restaurant. We had a very attentive server(possibly since we were the only ones in the restaurant). We had their hummos as an appetizer, which was smooth and creamy. I have yet to figure out how to make my hummos that creamy. We both had the creamy red lentil soup. Apparently a specialty that is only made a couple times a year. It was very good, and I'm sometimes picky about my lentils. Pat had a Chicken Curry dish. The chicken was so tender and moist. It was amazing. I had the kafta Kabobs. They were really good as well(although I think the winner of the better lunch went to Pat this time). After our main entrees we did split a piece of baklava. It was not the best baklava I have ever had. It was homemade but it was the simple syrup the cook put on top that I did not like. It had a strong citrus flavor, which just didn't enhance the flavor. I also felt like the nut layer wasn't as toasty as I would have likied.
So all in all Salt Lake City was a great place to go visit but more importantly eat! Ok, ok, I like the Lake a lot too.
The first place we had dinner at was at the Oasis Cafe. You can see our selections for dinner below.
We had an amazing Salmon Bruschetta appetizer.
I had a grilled Salmon with a honey lavender polenta cake. I thought the lavender might be overpowering but it had this great balance. Pat had the wild mushroom risotto. Both of our entrees were delicious and me with my sweet tooth was looking forward to dessert.
We ordered the apple cashew crumble. A nutty take on an apple crisp that was warm and wonderful and topped with vanilla ice cream.
We also ordered the Lavender infused panna cotta.
While the presentation was wonderful: the taste...not so much. The overpowering lavender flavor was there and it was intense. Eating it along with the berries made it palatable. We highly recommend the Oasis Cafe(just steer clear of the panna cotta)...everything else we had was scrumptious!
Saturday, on our way to the Capital building we stopped at Wild Grape Bistro. Pat had the Wild Beef Burger and I had the House Smoked Turkey Sandwich. Pat's burger was very good. My sandwich was good, although it definitely could have had a higher brie to everything else ratio. The brie, one of my favorite cheeses, got a little lost in the sandwich. We both splurged for the Parmesan truffle fries, which were well worth the extra dollar.
Sunday we had a hard time finding food. The entire city practically closes down on Sunday mornings. We waited until 11ish and tried to find an open Mexican restaurant without any luck. While driving around searching for any type of food we happened across Caffe Molise. An Italian restaurant that serves brunch. Pat ordered the Salmone Benidictus(Eggs Benedict with smoked Salmon). Unfortunately the eggs came overcooked. The runny yoke that makes an egg benedict was a fully cooked yolk. After eating one of the eggs we did finally tell our waiter who brought out two eggs cooked correctly. Pat said it realy made a difference and enjoyed his second egg much better. I ordered the Anacardi Tostata(an italian take ok French Toast). The pieces of bread were crusted with chopped cashews and Frangelico. It was served with a sweetened ricotta cream and maple syrup and it was delicious. The chopped nuts got all toasted during the cooking and it was this rich nutty piece of bread. The sweetened ricotta was a nice touch.
Sunday night we had dinner at Bambara. We started with a local cheese plate. It had a coffee crusted cheese that Pat really liked as well as goat cheese I thought was delicious. There was also a parmesan and a blue cheese that were both good but not our favorites. For our entrees Pat had the Filet of Beef. It was served with duck fat roasted fingerling potatoes and a leek puree. It was a melt in your mouth steak and the mushrooms that were served alongside were the perfect accompaniment to the steak. I got the venison with a wild Oregon huckleberry syrup. It was served with a celery root puree, something I have had a couple times recently and have taken quite a likening to it. The venison was paired with a cipollini, fingerling potato huckleberry hash. The whole plate had a great balance to it. Even Pat, who is not always a fan of sweet and savory being mixed thought it all melded together well. We finished off the meal by sharing this:
Monday, we ate at one more Salt Lake City restaurant before heading back to Vegas. We had lunch at Cedars of Lebanon. It was a great middle eastern restaurant. We had a very attentive server(possibly since we were the only ones in the restaurant). We had their hummos as an appetizer, which was smooth and creamy. I have yet to figure out how to make my hummos that creamy. We both had the creamy red lentil soup. Apparently a specialty that is only made a couple times a year. It was very good, and I'm sometimes picky about my lentils. Pat had a Chicken Curry dish. The chicken was so tender and moist. It was amazing. I had the kafta Kabobs. They were really good as well(although I think the winner of the better lunch went to Pat this time). After our main entrees we did split a piece of baklava. It was not the best baklava I have ever had. It was homemade but it was the simple syrup the cook put on top that I did not like. It had a strong citrus flavor, which just didn't enhance the flavor. I also felt like the nut layer wasn't as toasty as I would have likied.
So all in all Salt Lake City was a great place to go visit but more importantly eat! Ok, ok, I like the Lake a lot too.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Tapas+Date Night=Nosh & Swig
Pat and I have tried a couple different tapas restaurants in Las Vegas. Up until last night we hadn't been super impressed and felt like they were all just ok. Last night we tried a new tapas place called Nosh & Swig. Think modern tapas. They are located in a shopping mall away from the strip so they were super easy to get to. They recently opened so they didn't have the "swig" part up and running yet but if the "nosh" part is any indication of the future of this restaurant it will be amazing. The menu is broken up by protein and we picked one dish from many of the available proteins.
We started our meal with the sticky bun tacos. These were tacos whose "shell" was an Asian sticky bun filled with fried pork belly, pickled cabbage, and a ginger soy sauce. They were excellent. The bun wasn't too sweet, something Pat was slightly worried about...he's not the biggest sweet person, the pickled cabbage was the perfect sour component to cut through the rich pork belly, which was perfectly crispy. They were so good that we split the third taco since neither of us really wanted to give it up to the other person.
The second dish we tried was the charred beef crostini. It was a coffee dusted beef on top of a piece of Gruyere cheese on top of a toasty baguette finished with a horseradish mousse. The coffee flavor was wonderful. It paired perfectly with the horseradish. The cheese was all melty goodness(I love cheese). The only one small issue we had with this dish was that the beef was a little tough when you went to bite into it.
After the beef we opted to try the pretzel brats. It was a chicken sausage on a pretzel roll covered in a cheese gravy with some sauerkraut on top. The cheese sauce was amazing. I could have licked it off the plate. Pat was afraid this course would be too heavy but they really give you a perfect portion. And the pretzel bread was great too. I've really been into pretzel bread lately.
Our final non-sweet plate was the elote. It was grilled corn with garlic butter, cayenne, and a cilantro pesto. I am not the biggest cilantro fan but this was so good. It wasn't overpowering cilantro. The butter and cayenne really helped to tone the cilantro taste down.
After the elote I was craving dessert. Pat said he was full and wasn't sure he would eat any of the dessert(little did he know how much he would enjoy it). We asked our server what she would recommend and she suggested the cream cheese lote. It was a Thai flat bread that they filled with cream cheese filling. The flat bread is then rolled up and possibly grilled??? It was perfect. Just the right amount of sweet(as our server suggested. And finally it had a creme anglaise sauce on top. Pat and I each ate half and it was delicious.
And to top it all off the people running the restaurant really care about their diners. When we got our check we noticed that they didn't charge us for the beef dish. When we asked about it the waitress told us she took off the price because we had to wait so long for it. We felt bad because we really didn't wait that long for the dish. We actually enjoyed the relaxed pace of the dishes coming out. Even if we had been charged for the plate the meal still was relatively inexpensive. We were surprised at the low cost(especially after last week's extravagant date night).
We definitely recommend Nosh & Swig. If you are in Vegas please, please, please GO to this restaurant(I really mean it). We liked it a lot and want to see it do well. It's in an easy area to get to, away from the strip. You will not be disappointed. I can't wait to go back. I am excited to see what types of drinks(swigs) they will have on their menu....hopefully a fruity one I can enjoy!
We started our meal with the sticky bun tacos. These were tacos whose "shell" was an Asian sticky bun filled with fried pork belly, pickled cabbage, and a ginger soy sauce. They were excellent. The bun wasn't too sweet, something Pat was slightly worried about...he's not the biggest sweet person, the pickled cabbage was the perfect sour component to cut through the rich pork belly, which was perfectly crispy. They were so good that we split the third taco since neither of us really wanted to give it up to the other person.
The second dish we tried was the charred beef crostini. It was a coffee dusted beef on top of a piece of Gruyere cheese on top of a toasty baguette finished with a horseradish mousse. The coffee flavor was wonderful. It paired perfectly with the horseradish. The cheese was all melty goodness(I love cheese). The only one small issue we had with this dish was that the beef was a little tough when you went to bite into it.
After the beef we opted to try the pretzel brats. It was a chicken sausage on a pretzel roll covered in a cheese gravy with some sauerkraut on top. The cheese sauce was amazing. I could have licked it off the plate. Pat was afraid this course would be too heavy but they really give you a perfect portion. And the pretzel bread was great too. I've really been into pretzel bread lately.
Our final non-sweet plate was the elote. It was grilled corn with garlic butter, cayenne, and a cilantro pesto. I am not the biggest cilantro fan but this was so good. It wasn't overpowering cilantro. The butter and cayenne really helped to tone the cilantro taste down.
After the elote I was craving dessert. Pat said he was full and wasn't sure he would eat any of the dessert(little did he know how much he would enjoy it). We asked our server what she would recommend and she suggested the cream cheese lote. It was a Thai flat bread that they filled with cream cheese filling. The flat bread is then rolled up and possibly grilled??? It was perfect. Just the right amount of sweet(as our server suggested. And finally it had a creme anglaise sauce on top. Pat and I each ate half and it was delicious.
And to top it all off the people running the restaurant really care about their diners. When we got our check we noticed that they didn't charge us for the beef dish. When we asked about it the waitress told us she took off the price because we had to wait so long for it. We felt bad because we really didn't wait that long for the dish. We actually enjoyed the relaxed pace of the dishes coming out. Even if we had been charged for the plate the meal still was relatively inexpensive. We were surprised at the low cost(especially after last week's extravagant date night).
We definitely recommend Nosh & Swig. If you are in Vegas please, please, please GO to this restaurant(I really mean it). We liked it a lot and want to see it do well. It's in an easy area to get to, away from the strip. You will not be disappointed. I can't wait to go back. I am excited to see what types of drinks(swigs) they will have on their menu....hopefully a fruity one I can enjoy!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Bubble Gum Sorbet+ Seafood=Anniversary dinner
So after Pat being sick for our anniversary week, me getting sick the following week, and then our reservation for the following week being cancelled because the restaurant was having a private party, we FINALLY got to celebrate our anniversary. Our celebratory dinner took place at RM Seafood inside of Mandalay Bay. The RM stands for Rick Moonen(yes the one that was on Top Chef Masters).
We arrived a little early and decided that we would explore Mandalay Bay to kill some time. Next to RM Seafood is a Peter Lik gallery that you can walk through, and buy artwork at. Peter Lik is a local to Vegas photographer. He photographs nature and there were some awesome prints. As a matter of fact there was one picture called Solace of the underneath of a pier in La Jolla, CA. It was gorgeous. Pat and I both could have stood there and looked at it for a long time. And if it hadn't have been a couple thousand dollars for the print alone it would be hanging above our couch right now as I type this. So if you are in Mandalay Bay you should check it out. It was amazing, all misty and the waves were rolling in under the pier...just breathtaking.
So after the gallery and some other window shopping we arrived at RM Seafood. They have an upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs restaurant is more relaxed and casual. The upstairs is more formal. We had chosen to dine in the upstairs restaurant so we could do one of the tasting menus.
The meal started with a delicious pretzel roll along with a whitefish dip. The roll was exactly what you would want in a pretzel roll. Crusty pretzel outside, soft and chewy inside. I'm not a huge fan of salt on pretzels so I was super happy that there was just a tiny sprinkling on the top. The dip had a really nice flavor. Not too fishy and complemented the roll perfectly. It was even served in a cute tin with a custom label made to say RM caviar(the artist in me appreciates these touches). Then we had the first of two amuse bouche appetizers. The first was a duck pate with a purple mustard on top. It was pretty good. This amuse bouche was given to all dinners at the restaurant. Since we we ordered one of the tasting menus we got a second special amuse bouche. It was an oyster on the half shell. It was topped with a lemon juice and shaved coconut. It had this really nice clean, ocean taste to it and was a great start to the meal.
The first course was tuna. It was lightly seared, on top of a bed of lentils with a bacon foam...yes you read that right, bacon foam. The tuna had that melt in your mouth consistency, the lentils were good(even though lentils aren't my favorite), and who wouldn't love bacon foam? A great start to the courses. The tuna was followed by a grilled octopus dish. This was some of the best octopus I have ever had. It was not chewy at all. Just perfectly cooked. The grill gave a perfect char. On the plate was also some chorizo, which was also good, although may have competed some with the flavor of the octopus. The third course was a cobia, a fish similar to swordfish. A good dish but writing this a week after having it nothing memorable stands out about the dish. Following the cobia was both mine and Pat's favorite dish of the night. The scallop was perfectly cooked. It was served with a seared pork belly, which while very tasty was probably not needed, and a frisee salad, which helped cut through the fat of the pork belly. Not only was the scallop great tasting it was the best presentation as well. The plates were these upside down wide u shapes. They were just really cool looking and helped elevate(literally) an already fabulous dish.
The scallop/pork belly was the perfect bridge between the fish courses and the meat courses. The next course was a trio of duck. It had crispy duck confit, duck breast on red wine braised cabbage, and a duck sausage. Pat and I first dug into the sausage and were both disappointed that it was not as flavorful as we thought it would be. The duck confit was very good but the star of the dish for me was the duck breast over the red wine braised cabbage. The duck breast was tender and not at all greasy. The cabbage was the perfect sweet/sour addition to the plate. It was a very solid dish. The final course before dessert was a lamb osso bucco, on top of a celery root puree. The lamb was fall off the bone delicious. The celery root puree was creamy and sweet and perfect. At this point we were both glad that the main dishes of the meal were done. As amazing as they all were, we were getting rather full.
Next out came the pre-dessert palate cleanser. It was a vanilla ice cream with some mango or passion fruit little frozen balls...think dippin dots...they were delicious. And then out came the main dessert. I bet you were wondering when I was getting to the bubblegum sorbet. So the main dessert was a marscapone cheesecake, with a bubblegum sorbet, caramel sauce, and graham cracker crumbles. When the plate was first put in front of me I tasted the bubblegum sorbet. And it was bubblegum tasting alright. Like a frozen hubba bubba super sweet sugary sorbet. I who love sweets, who have not met a dessert I don't like was not sure I would be able to finish the sorbet. So I tasted the rest of the dish. The cheesecake and caramel sauce were delicious. They were rich and dense and went great with the graham cracker crumbles. But before I gave up on the bubblegum sorbet I thought I should really try one bite of everything all together. After all the chef put all the elements on the plate. And when I took that bite the most amazing thing happened. The bubblegum flavor disappeared. That bubblegum sweet flavor cut through the rich dense cheesecake part. And you just got sweet. Everything meshed perfectly. I never thought it would work. It shouldn't have worked and yet it did. It was the perfect ending to a great dinner.
And yet the meal didn't end there. After our server cleared the table Pat asked me what I thought about a vessel on our table. He thought it was a modern decoration and I looked at it and really thought it was a carafe to hold some type of liquid. Well score one for Jen because I won. Not more than five minutes after our conversation the waiter came out and poured some red liquid into the vessel and said he would be back. A couple minutes later he reappeared with two small glasses and what looked to be a stainless steel water jug, except it wasn't a water jug but a liquid nitrogen jug. The waiter poured the liquid nitrogen into the red liquid, causing the surface to freeze and lots of cool smoke to come spilling out of the vessel and crawl all over our table. It was very cool. The red liquid was actually an after dinner digestive tea that they cooled down table side with the liquid nitrogen. Very cool. The tea was very fruity and as such I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great ending to a nice two and a half hour long dinner experience.
So if you are in Mandalay bay, I definitely recommend RM Seafood. It did not disappoint.
We arrived a little early and decided that we would explore Mandalay Bay to kill some time. Next to RM Seafood is a Peter Lik gallery that you can walk through, and buy artwork at. Peter Lik is a local to Vegas photographer. He photographs nature and there were some awesome prints. As a matter of fact there was one picture called Solace of the underneath of a pier in La Jolla, CA. It was gorgeous. Pat and I both could have stood there and looked at it for a long time. And if it hadn't have been a couple thousand dollars for the print alone it would be hanging above our couch right now as I type this. So if you are in Mandalay Bay you should check it out. It was amazing, all misty and the waves were rolling in under the pier...just breathtaking.
So after the gallery and some other window shopping we arrived at RM Seafood. They have an upstairs and downstairs. The downstairs restaurant is more relaxed and casual. The upstairs is more formal. We had chosen to dine in the upstairs restaurant so we could do one of the tasting menus.
The meal started with a delicious pretzel roll along with a whitefish dip. The roll was exactly what you would want in a pretzel roll. Crusty pretzel outside, soft and chewy inside. I'm not a huge fan of salt on pretzels so I was super happy that there was just a tiny sprinkling on the top. The dip had a really nice flavor. Not too fishy and complemented the roll perfectly. It was even served in a cute tin with a custom label made to say RM caviar(the artist in me appreciates these touches). Then we had the first of two amuse bouche appetizers. The first was a duck pate with a purple mustard on top. It was pretty good. This amuse bouche was given to all dinners at the restaurant. Since we we ordered one of the tasting menus we got a second special amuse bouche. It was an oyster on the half shell. It was topped with a lemon juice and shaved coconut. It had this really nice clean, ocean taste to it and was a great start to the meal.
The first course was tuna. It was lightly seared, on top of a bed of lentils with a bacon foam...yes you read that right, bacon foam. The tuna had that melt in your mouth consistency, the lentils were good(even though lentils aren't my favorite), and who wouldn't love bacon foam? A great start to the courses. The tuna was followed by a grilled octopus dish. This was some of the best octopus I have ever had. It was not chewy at all. Just perfectly cooked. The grill gave a perfect char. On the plate was also some chorizo, which was also good, although may have competed some with the flavor of the octopus. The third course was a cobia, a fish similar to swordfish. A good dish but writing this a week after having it nothing memorable stands out about the dish. Following the cobia was both mine and Pat's favorite dish of the night. The scallop was perfectly cooked. It was served with a seared pork belly, which while very tasty was probably not needed, and a frisee salad, which helped cut through the fat of the pork belly. Not only was the scallop great tasting it was the best presentation as well. The plates were these upside down wide u shapes. They were just really cool looking and helped elevate(literally) an already fabulous dish.
The scallop/pork belly was the perfect bridge between the fish courses and the meat courses. The next course was a trio of duck. It had crispy duck confit, duck breast on red wine braised cabbage, and a duck sausage. Pat and I first dug into the sausage and were both disappointed that it was not as flavorful as we thought it would be. The duck confit was very good but the star of the dish for me was the duck breast over the red wine braised cabbage. The duck breast was tender and not at all greasy. The cabbage was the perfect sweet/sour addition to the plate. It was a very solid dish. The final course before dessert was a lamb osso bucco, on top of a celery root puree. The lamb was fall off the bone delicious. The celery root puree was creamy and sweet and perfect. At this point we were both glad that the main dishes of the meal were done. As amazing as they all were, we were getting rather full.
Next out came the pre-dessert palate cleanser. It was a vanilla ice cream with some mango or passion fruit little frozen balls...think dippin dots...they were delicious. And then out came the main dessert. I bet you were wondering when I was getting to the bubblegum sorbet. So the main dessert was a marscapone cheesecake, with a bubblegum sorbet, caramel sauce, and graham cracker crumbles. When the plate was first put in front of me I tasted the bubblegum sorbet. And it was bubblegum tasting alright. Like a frozen hubba bubba super sweet sugary sorbet. I who love sweets, who have not met a dessert I don't like was not sure I would be able to finish the sorbet. So I tasted the rest of the dish. The cheesecake and caramel sauce were delicious. They were rich and dense and went great with the graham cracker crumbles. But before I gave up on the bubblegum sorbet I thought I should really try one bite of everything all together. After all the chef put all the elements on the plate. And when I took that bite the most amazing thing happened. The bubblegum flavor disappeared. That bubblegum sweet flavor cut through the rich dense cheesecake part. And you just got sweet. Everything meshed perfectly. I never thought it would work. It shouldn't have worked and yet it did. It was the perfect ending to a great dinner.
And yet the meal didn't end there. After our server cleared the table Pat asked me what I thought about a vessel on our table. He thought it was a modern decoration and I looked at it and really thought it was a carafe to hold some type of liquid. Well score one for Jen because I won. Not more than five minutes after our conversation the waiter came out and poured some red liquid into the vessel and said he would be back. A couple minutes later he reappeared with two small glasses and what looked to be a stainless steel water jug, except it wasn't a water jug but a liquid nitrogen jug. The waiter poured the liquid nitrogen into the red liquid, causing the surface to freeze and lots of cool smoke to come spilling out of the vessel and crawl all over our table. It was very cool. The red liquid was actually an after dinner digestive tea that they cooled down table side with the liquid nitrogen. Very cool. The tea was very fruity and as such I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great ending to a nice two and a half hour long dinner experience.
So if you are in Mandalay bay, I definitely recommend RM Seafood. It did not disappoint.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Shabu Shabu=Bland Bland
Last week I was trying to find a place to get take-out from and happened to stumble across the restaurant Shabu Shabu on Yelp. The restaurant was categorized under both fondue and Japanese. I like fondue. I LOVE Japanese(even if I wasn't too sure of it on one of mine and Pat's early dates...I'm so glad back then I was trying to impress him and went with him to a Japanese restaurant even if I didn't think I would like it...but I digress). So I love Japanese and I really like fondue, so what would there not to love about a Japanese fondue place? And EVERYONE on Yelp loved it! All I could find was raves about the place. As a matter of fact the place sounded so awesome that Pat and I decided we should go there for dinner and forgo getting takeout.
So we walked into a very tiny restaurant in a strip mall. It looked cool. It had burners built into the table, just like a fondue place. Pat and I each ordered a platter that came with two proteins, salad, and veggies. The salads arrived first. They were pretty good. We really couldn't put our finger on what exactly the dressing was but it tasted pretty good. During the salads the waitress, who was great, started our cooking pots. We both went shabu shabu style, which was water with a piece of nori seaweed in it. Shabu Shabu also includes three sauces: a ponzu sauce, a peanut sauce, and a hot sauce(which was incredibly hot...although mixed with the peanut sauce pretty good).
After our salads the waitress brought out our proteins. Between Pat and myself we had scallops, shrimp, chicken, and pork. The chicken and pork were sliced incredibly thin. So thin I found myself wondering how they did it(I'm thinking they must have frozen the meat and then sliced on a deli slicer). She also brought out two plates full of veggies, tofu, and soy noodles.
Then she showed us how to go about cooking our meal. For the seafood you just drop it in and wait about 3 minutes, but for the chicken and pork you take a piece between your chopsticks, and while holding onto the meat you "swish swish" the meat for thirty seconds in the boiling water. And so we did just this. And after all that work the meal was ok. The main problem was that the broth had zero flavor. It was just bland. One small piece of seaweed wasn't really able to flavor the broth well. So thank goodness for the dipping sauces because without them I would have been thoroughly disappointed. This way I was only somewhat disappointed.
So the final verdict: We will not be returning to Shaba Shaba and we don't really recommend it, unless of course you like bland food...in that case it would be a great restaurant for you.
So we walked into a very tiny restaurant in a strip mall. It looked cool. It had burners built into the table, just like a fondue place. Pat and I each ordered a platter that came with two proteins, salad, and veggies. The salads arrived first. They were pretty good. We really couldn't put our finger on what exactly the dressing was but it tasted pretty good. During the salads the waitress, who was great, started our cooking pots. We both went shabu shabu style, which was water with a piece of nori seaweed in it. Shabu Shabu also includes three sauces: a ponzu sauce, a peanut sauce, and a hot sauce(which was incredibly hot...although mixed with the peanut sauce pretty good).
After our salads the waitress brought out our proteins. Between Pat and myself we had scallops, shrimp, chicken, and pork. The chicken and pork were sliced incredibly thin. So thin I found myself wondering how they did it(I'm thinking they must have frozen the meat and then sliced on a deli slicer). She also brought out two plates full of veggies, tofu, and soy noodles.
Then she showed us how to go about cooking our meal. For the seafood you just drop it in and wait about 3 minutes, but for the chicken and pork you take a piece between your chopsticks, and while holding onto the meat you "swish swish" the meat for thirty seconds in the boiling water. And so we did just this. And after all that work the meal was ok. The main problem was that the broth had zero flavor. It was just bland. One small piece of seaweed wasn't really able to flavor the broth well. So thank goodness for the dipping sauces because without them I would have been thoroughly disappointed. This way I was only somewhat disappointed.
So the final verdict: We will not be returning to Shaba Shaba and we don't really recommend it, unless of course you like bland food...in that case it would be a great restaurant for you.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Date Night +Restaurants=Reviews
Welcome to our blog! Pat and I are Mathematicians by day and foodies by night....well, some nights anyway...and the reason we started this blog is because as we are getting older our memories are getting worse. For the past couple years we have been able to eat at some amazing restaurants and now it's hard to remember what we ate and why they were so amazing. So we decided to FINALLY do something about that, especially since living in Las Vegas gives us some great opportunities to eat at a wide variety of restaurants...way too many for us to remember.
So just like you shouldn't grocery shop on an empty stomach, you probably shouldn't read our blog on an empty stomach either, as I can't promise reading won't make you more hungry. Happy reading(Oh and if you have any restaurants we should try in the Vegas area let us know.)
So just like you shouldn't grocery shop on an empty stomach, you probably shouldn't read our blog on an empty stomach either, as I can't promise reading won't make you more hungry. Happy reading(Oh and if you have any restaurants we should try in the Vegas area let us know.)
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