Day 5 in Las Vegas

A great day out needs another one, right?  So, it is Sunday and we fly out on Monday, so we take a break.  We start the day with a trip over to the Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino for some dining and shopping.  We walked through the mall area and didn't find anything that really got our attention, so we noticed something and tried it: Mesa for brunch.  We have eaten at Mesa before, but this was the first time we have eaten brunch there.

So, what type of food does Bobby Flay like to have at brunch and what does his place serve?  Well, the usual Bobby Flay stuff.  I don't mean this in a bad way, but people don't go to Bobby Flay's restaurant to eat spaetzle or chocolate chip cookies, so you wouldn't expect them to be sold there.  So, they start us off with the basket.  Other restaurants do break or chips or something and here they gave us basket of goodies:

Like all things Bobby Flay, there was a chocolate chip muffin, a cornbread slice, some blue corn something-er-other and jalapeno stuff and things and all very tasty, a bit dry, but very Bobby Flay.  A 3 out of 5 stars.

Proper tea service is strange and unusual in American restaurants.  If you order hot tea, even at brunch, you should be presented with a kettle and everything you need.  Therefore, if you finish your glass quickly, you don't have to wait on other factors like the water from the kitchen or the server to have another cup.  It is all in your hands.

My wife had ordered a Spicy Scrambled eggs dish which had some sweet ham, spicy eggs and biscuits:

I would say it was a good 3 out of 5 stars.

There was a side of grits as well:

Fine and good also at about a 3 out of 5 stars.

Then I ordered a side of mango bacon:

I know this may sound bad and a traitor to most of everyone I know, but I didn't like this bacon.  I felt that the mango and citrus flavor on the bacon was too much and cut the fatty pork flavoring to existence so it just tasted like the Christmas ham that a relative would make with a pineapple slice on it.  I didn't think it tasted at all like bacon.  A 2 out of 5 stars from me.

The final thing was totally Bobby Flay.  It was a blue corn waffle:

This tasted good, better than a buttermilk waffle and not as dry.  It worked perfectly with the cream on top and it was just right.  I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Since it was our last night in Vegas, we decided to go some place special.  On our fifth anniversary, we went to RM Seafood and had the best dining experience ever.  Last year, in July, we went to Rx and so we decided to go back again. Rick Moonen's places are easy winners.

I will not go into extreme detail at Rx.  The server we had was perfect and even delved into 5-10 minute long conversations with my wife about nails, makeup and sewing. (She said she did cosplay and made her own clothes for her job at the restaurant.)  We got our ipad, made our drink selection and then our food came out. 

I forgot what our drink was called, but it was prepared using this cart, at our table.  The drink was a special, made for two, drink:

 

Now, comes the food:

Mini-chicken pot pies: the gooey creaminess of the pies enclosed in pastry.  A 4 out of 5 stars.

A pickle jar, a 3 out of 5 stars.

Mini-pastrami sandwiches, a 4 out of 5 stars.

Moonen tots: tater tots made from both potato chunks and mashed potatoes.  A 3 out of 5 stars.

A tomato and peach salad.  A 3 out of 5 stars for me.

A macaroni and cheese cooked in a little dish and covered in cheese.  I think my wife would give them a 4 out of 5 stars for this.

As I said, the food above at RX is always good and the service is excellent.  However, I think the food at Rose.Rabbit.Lie may have been a better quality and have earned more stars. Please still check them out.
http://rxboilerroom.com/

Desert was at a different spot and yes, that means more pictures.  My wife and I always wanted to try the food at the Red Square, but this night's dinner meant that we couldn't get food there, right?  Well, we stopped in anyway for desert.  The dining room in the Red Square is big and open and looks Russian or Eastern European.  It has a walk-in vodka freezer room.  It has a bar made with a layer of ice and snow on top.  It has a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  They also had a large strawberry version of a baked Alaska:

Not only was it very big and filling, but very strawberry and very tasty.  It was perfectly sweet but not too sweet and I'd give it a good 4 out of 5 stars as a desert.  Again, this was at Red Square and go check them out: http://www.redsquarelasvegas.com

Day 4 of Las Vegas

With the okay buffet at the Bellagio and the bad service at the bar at the Wynn, we wanted a day where we knew that we would have a good time.  This started with a lunch that my wife was looking forward to for the whole trip:

Hot n Juicy has the best tasting hot and garlic sauce that we have ever had.  So my wife got a lobster and mussels and I ordered the Cajun fries and a basket of potatoes and sausage.

Cajun fries were crispy and spicy.  A 3 out of 5 stars.

I placed the potatoes and sausage on the fries, so any sauce would drip on them and make them tastier.  Again, a 4 out of 5 as being good.  The thing with this place is that the food is always good.  It is well worth a trip for people who like seafood and sausage and things like this.  http://hotnjuicycrawfish.com/

My wife wanted to check out a tea store and we went to this place on the same road called Tea Station.

It was a simple place inside, seats for maybe 20 people, and a bar where the guy behind it would make all of the tea and tea drinks.  My wife ordered a honeydew milk tea and the cup smelled like fresh cut honeydew, a 3 out of 5 stars. 

She ordered a desert for the two of us to share, I did not know it would be huge:

What this is: is a giant shaved ice desert.  It has a huge mound of shaved ice in the middle.  It had red beans on top, grass jelly to the left, some boba to the right and the foreground has some agar balls made with rice, purple potato and sweet potato.  There was a small shot glass of warmed up sweetened condensed milk that was poured on top of everything.  Everything turned into something very sweet and yet most of it was very low calories.  It was delicious and an easy 3 out of 5 stars.

That night, we had reservations for the Foundation Room: (http://www.houseofblues.com/lasvegas/fr)

The food here is not expensive, but not cheap either.  The service was as good as Rose.Rabbit.Lie and they were very interesting and knowledgeable.  We ordered some pork belly:

An easy 4 out of 5 stars.

We ordered a side of grilled asparagus, which was a 3 out of 5 stars:

My wife had ordered two appetizer dishes as her main course: The yellow tail tartar bruschetta and the Stefano Farms burrata:

She loved both and would give a 4 out of 5 stars.

I ordered an 8 oz steak with a horseradish crust:

This very good, but not super.  I do eat some horseradish and spicy foods, but this crust was very spicy and had my scraping it off of the top of the steak to cut it.  It was tender, perfectly cooked to medium rare and completely seasoned.  I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

The Foundation Room is a special members only or paid access club at the top of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.  The bar area has music and some dancing space for the DJ, there is a balcony overlooking the strip and on the other side is the restaurant, which was good enough for us to return.  Check it out if you go there and please wear something nice, no chubbies and flip-flops.

Day 3 of Las Vegas

Day 3 was the 11th of July.  This was a Friday and the Strip was full of tourists, taxis and people who don't know to press the gas when the light is green.

So we wander through the Venetian and the Canal Shops, we find a quick little spot to get lunch called something Torretta or something like that.  My phone took some blurry photos and I forget what it was now.  What a horrible restaurant writer I am, right?

They had a real simple lunch special and so I get a simple pizza Neapolitan and am happy with how it comes out to me.

The pizza crust was perfectly tasting and crisp and crunchy and not too much and not burnt.  It was perfect.  There was just the right amount of cheese, the sauce had flavors and spices so that it tasted of something other than tomatoes and the shreds of basil on top added that bit of herbyness required to keep everything balanced in this dish.  I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

We were going to a show that evening, so we needed to go somewhere and try something new.  On our honeymoon, also in Las Vegas, we ate at the buffet at the Paris Paris.  This night, we went for dinner at the Grand Buffet at the Bellagio. (https://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/the-buffet.aspx)   What follows is a large assortment of almost every dish I ate at the Buffet:

Starting at the 12 o'clock position and going around, we have herbed potatoes, some cilantro rice under that, chicken curry, a dinner roll, some pork belly, a whole wheat dinner roll, some pesto mashed potatoes and some curried cauliflower.

Same as above, starting at 12 o'clock and moving around: panchetta, salami, pasta with vegetable sauce, a sesame dinner roll, some wagyu beef, some regular mashed potatoes with gravy and a slice of beef wellington with sauce.

 
I understand that it is not a great picture, but this was one of my wife's plates.  She got some tuna salad, some sushi pieces, a spicy tuna hand roll, some caviar and other things.

I didn't eat much because I knew there was a huge bar of deserts.  We have a pecan pie tart, a chocolate tart, a chocolate truffle tart, a strawberry thing, a lemon thing, a tiny key lime pie, a coconut macaroon and a strawberry cake cookie thing in the middle.

   I forget what these were, some lemon tart a tiramisu thing and something else.

There is a fruit tart, a chocolate brownie, a chocolate mousse thing, a flan, and a creme brule'.

All of the food was okay, much better quality that Old Country Buffet and much tastier and better looking.  I didn't leave hungry, but we both felt that the combined cost of the two of us, almost $90 was a bit much for any buffet.  I'd give the entire buffet, as a whole, a 3 out of 5 stars.

When we had finished and later that evening as we waited for our show, we went to this great little lakeside bar they had called Parasol Down, at the Wynn. (http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/Restaurants/BarLounges/ParasolDown)   They only served cocktails and it was outside this huge wall of glass windows, facing a waterfall and a pool with color changing lights around and dancing it in.  We thought we had a perfect spot, with view of the waterfall, and a server that came quickly over to us.

The first problem we had here is that there was one server.  My wife ordered a drink and I decided to not order one.  The server then tells us that there is a one drink minimum per customer.  This seemed like a big thing as most people won't go someplace if they are required to get a drink, and water didn't count.  So, I fall back and order a sugar free red bull.  So, it is 8:00 when we get a seat and we have a show, also at the Wynn at 9:00.  So, we think that there should be no problem getting our drink, relaxing and then going upstairs to our show, right?  Well, there was a problem.  The only way I can think of as an explanation, is that a black hole had suddenly manifested itself next to the bar and sucked in all of the bartenders for about 30 minutes.  We waited out there, for 30 minutes before our server came back to us and told us that are drinks were on the way and their bar got backed up.  Well, as we saw later as we left, there were 4 bartenders.  So, somehow, in an empty bar, 4 bartenders got backed up...

We finally get our drinks at 8:40.  We complain at the server telling her that we have a show in 20 minutes and we have to leave.  She suggests taking our drinks back and placing them into to-go cups.  So, my wife ordered a $16 cocktail only to have it for her to enjoy in a plastic cup, thanks to some slow people.  We get the bill then:

Her drink was $16, my red bull now also in a plastic cup, was $6.  We spent as much money as we could have at a restaurant eating food brought to our table on time, on two late drinks from a server blaming her problems on the 4 (four) bartenders.  We paid and left and this was the worst.  We are chugging down our drinks as we walk to our show.  Had we not been in a rush, we would have asked for a manager and wanted our money back.  Worst bar ever.  Don't go there.

With the show and things, this turned out to be a great night.

Day 2 in Las Vegas

So, the 10th of July was our first real day this year in Las Vegas and our real anniversary.  Ten years ago from that day, we were married at 2pm on a hot summer day.  The wedding was at St. Raymond's, downtown in St. Louis, but then our photos with the wedding party, were at the Botanical Garden, in the heat and sun.  I think it got to 100 degrees or so that day and while my wife was in multiple layers with her dress, myself and my groomsmen were also in multiple layers of shirts, vests and jackets.  Now, just like 10 years ago, we are spending the time in Las Vegas, also in 100 degree plus weather.

For the day, we went over to the Planet Hollywood Casino and mall.  We had to drop off a refill inventory or my jewelry to be sold at Club Tattoo in the Miracle Mile shops and while in there, we stopped for lunch at a place called the Earl of Sandwich.  I've never eaten there, but the food seemed very familiar.

My sandwich was a toasted BLT with avocado.  It was nice, silky, fatty and salty.  It was warm and crunchy and herby.  It had all of the good parts of the pieces like the crispy and saltiness of the bacon, the fatty and creamy-ness of the avocado and the juiciness.  I'd give the place and their sandwich a 3 out of 5 stars.  It was good, almost very good, but not awesome good.

For our night out to celebrate, we happened upon the best kept secret in Las Vegas.  Hidden inside of the Cosmopolitan is an experience called Rose.Rabbit.Lie.  RRL, is a complete experience.  Upon entry, you are brought past the host station to a room with 4 doors.  The room is void of design or interest and these 4 large doors look imposing.  The host picks a door and opens it and you enter a themed room.  We sat in The Music Room, and it was a room with a large piano, bar and few booths lining the wall.  The walls are made of frosted glass windows and helped divide the room and keep it separate but when there is a small show, in each of these four rooms, the windows retract all of the way down into a half wall and allow the patrons in each room to see through and access the others.

So, we sat down at a booth/table and were greeted by our server, Patrick.  We had no complaints with our server at all.  Patrick was nice, just the right amount of talkative (not too much and not too little).  He was very knowledgeable about everything on the menu, everything about the venue and even the drinks.  It was like getting a dining room manager as a server.  Everything that had to deal with Patrick and our service there was perfect.  He is why I would give him a 5 out of 5 stars for his service and friendly demeanor just made us so happy.

So, with Patrick's help and recommendations we ordered our dishes and it started with the first one: "Heavenly Eggs".  This was a single egg dish, so we ordered two.  This had an egg custard in the bottom and then the truffles and sauce on top.  A single scoop of this dish, was filled with this warm feeling of the truffles, with a creaminess of the smoothest ice cream and the sweetness of the best dessert, while still being savory.  Each bite felt like a warm hug with a loved one.  They were awesome and they made me want to make a whole night of eating these and only these.  I'd give a 5 out of 5 on these.

So, our next dish was a Curry spiced carrot dish.  These perfectly cooked carrots and tomatoes were just perfectly spiced, like a curry or Middle eastern flavored spiced sauce, with perfectly cooked vegetables.  The sauce was the real star and this was an easy 4 out of 5 stars.

This was the "Orange Fennel salad".  This salad, resembled a cole slaw recipe, or at least reminded me of one.  It was shown with shaved fennel and had orange slices on top. My wife loved this and I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.  It was just the right amount of strong and subtle flavors to work well with each other.

Next we had ordered these "Herb Brioche rolls", which as you can see, came heavily herbed with rosemary and thyme and a sweet butter.  These were hot, almost flaky and moist at the same time and very delicious.  As a "carbs" person, these were a great addition to our meal.  I'd give them a 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Next came the pork dish, which was perfectly rich and fat on fat pork.  The dish had a simple sauce, and some vegetables around it and was not a really salty dish, yet I felt that there was too much fat and needed some acid to break it up.  I'd still give it a 3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.

 

Rabbit is a funny thing because as a chef, you don't want to lose the game flavor and you don't want to elevate it to make it inedible.  This rabbit dish called "Rabbit Fricassee", had just the right amount of everything.  It was a perfect balance.  You knew you were eating rabbit, but it didn't taste to strong like rabbit.  It was very mild and tender.  There were rose petals, greens, carrots and it reminded me of a dish I had seen elsewhere.  It looks like the thing to do with animals, when cooked and prepared and plated, is to present them with things that they belong with.  Not suggesting a natural environment or surroundings, but in the case of the rabbit here, presenting and cooking it with rose petals or carrots, which it could have eaten when alive, seems like a good idea.  This was very good and I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.   

Now for desert, we did something different.  By the end of all of these dishes, I was getting full and didn't really want to get a dessert at all.  But, when you are in Vegas, celebrating your anniversary and you are there to do it right and do it big, then go big.  We picked the largest item on the desert menu, something so large that it normally would be ideal for many people to share, but the idea was so interesting that we couldn't back down.  It was the "chocolate Terrarium".  

This is what our server Patrick brought to our table.  This was huge, with this glass dome probably standing at least 18 inches high.  The plate or dish was at least 14 inches in diameter.  As you can see from the picture, there was some branches of  lavender, a single edible rose and some smaller plant fronds.  A single candle sat inside the dome as well.  Now, when the dome was lifted, this is how we had it in front of us:

So, where do I begin?  We removed the plant material and took a closer look at the 'dirt'.  Those solid looking parts were giant pieces of chocolate cookie.  There was large chunks of chocolate brownie underneath a crumbled chocolate cake, as dirt.  The white parts were actually ice cream and marshmallow creme.  It was just crazy, the amount of chocolate and hidden things we found as we dug deeper in this dish.  This is the ultimate desert experience and I recommend this to everyone.  This received a 5 out of 5 stars as well.

Now, over the course of eating, there are small shows that take place in each room, as I had mentioned.  We sat a juggler doing a balance act as well, an aerialist, a singer and many other acts, in the dining area.  When we had finished, we watched a show in the 4th room, which has a larger stage and then after the show, it turns into a nightclub with perhaps the best MC I have seen and heard anywhere and a great DJ.

It is called Rose.Rabbit.Lie. and if you are looking for something romantic or to impress or just have an awesome time in Las Vegas, check them out. 

http://roserabbitlie.com/#/about

           

I must be doing something right...

Here is my story:  A few months ago, I started to contact some of the local chefs and restaurant owners, looking for someone to answer a set of questions I wrote to post this interview on my site for the 100th post.  Well, none of the chef's I contacted responded.  One of the chefs I send an email to, had his restaurant partner respond.  This gentleman has since answered my questions with such grace and sophistication that it makes me ....well....fell good. 

Ken works with chef Rick Moonen at RM, in Las Vegas, my new favorite eating spot.  He is quite knowledgeable and I look forward to any emails I receive from him.  From me, the pure fact that I have an owner or part-owner of a famous restaurant willing to answer my questions and email a few times makes me feel good and validates me, with what I am doing.

Now, his last email brings up some good things, such as our mutual 'love' for Anthony Bourdain.  Mr. Bourdain's story reminds me of one similar to so many young Hollywood starlets.  You do your job, starting off, right.  Then you move to drugs and alcohol.  Then you say or write a few things.  Your fans will eat that stuff up, because they are your fans, so it can be good stuff or bad stuff.  (Raise your hand if you ever watched a movie that was mind-numbingly awful, but you did so to see your favorite actor, actress, etc.) You then say something about someone else less in the limelight, but more respected than yourself.  You then go down like a flaming bat in Hell.

There are just so many things that I learned from Mr. Bourdain, when he was answering questions, after his book reading/talk, here in St. Louis last year.  He basically thinks that St. Louis is nothing more than a fly-over stop.  No offense to you, Mr. Sell-out, but St. Louis has more culinary heritage than many of the places you have gone to.  Here's the thing: even great chef's and personalities like Alton Brown, has taken the time to show that St. Louis was essentially a stage, during the 1904 Fair, for food producers and companies to show off what they have.  In 1904, if you wanted great and new food, you came to St. Louis. So, in response to pleads to come to St. Louis, do you know what Anthony says?  "I'm going to the Ozarks."  Why?  Going to the Ozarks is exactly the opposite of what St. Louisans and most Missourians want people to do.  That down-home, hill-billy way of life explained in any Beverly Hillbilly show, will show just the stereotypes that people from Missouri want to do away with.  Would the people of Atlanta like it of Anthony Bourdain instead went to a KKK BBQ?  I doubt it. 

I remember an older gentleman asking about why so many chefs smoke and over-salt.  Well, it is true that smoking doesn't damage your taste buds but it does temporarily numb them, which may be one reason why so many chefs who smoke require extra salt to be added to their foods.  Anthony commented that all chefs smoke or do other drugs, which sounds great, right?  I'm a chef and I don't smoke, does that mean I just proved Mr. Bourdain wrong?

Anyways, enough Bourdain bashing.  Ken pointed out a good thing in a recent email.  Ken is friends with Alan Richman, the writer, winner of 14 James Beard awards for writing/journalism.  Anthony writes in his book on how he is a "douchebag".  What Mr. Bourdain doesn't realize, as a food writer, he should never say anything bad or show a lack of respect for his contemporaries or for those more experienced than he.  Alan Richman?  Seriously?  I would love to meet the man and get his picture, autograph, everything.  The man knows how to describe and write about food like no other.  Anthony's comments about Mr. Richman are likened to that of a new chef, such as myself, writing about how horrible the chefs I grew up watching were.  Saying bad things about Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Jeff Smith, Martin Yan and Michael Chiarello. I used to watch these chefs on their shows on the local PBS channel on the weekends. 

I will not mention or even show the words because I could not do it.  I can't say that Martin Yan is a [blank], because for all I have seen, he is a really nice guy and what the chef should try to be at all times: a professional.

While I originally have no idea who it is, and had to look it up, Ken suggested that I could be "the next Perez Hilton of the food blogesphere! :) " After looking it up, I see that while it was a compliment, I hope I never turn out the way that he has been going.  I write what I know or look up for more information and while I think of myself as representing the Public, I don't try to incriminate or cause issues for anyone in this industry.  I wouldn't mind having a show, or even some sponsors but currently there is no advertisers looking into investing in foodies in the early 30's age. 

Anyways, thanks for the wonderful comments and support, Ken.  I do look forward to any trips back to RM.  For anyone reading this, please, please, please go to RM.

 

I'm an expert on the normal food...

It is a strange title, but it is true.  I do like Japanese food but most of the time, I find myself relying on the old favorites of mine like anything in a Bento box.  I like anything katsu style, I like most things served with rice and I like most dishes that have simple grilled steak or chicken.  One of my fall-backs at most Japanese restaurants is steak Teriyaki.  This dish is so simple and is usually a marinated steak, cooked and then sauced and served with some rice and vegetables.

It is a very simple dish and I feel that I can judge a Japanese restaurant by as well they can make this simple dish.  Sure those fancy Japanese restaurants may have 400 kinds of sushi on the menu, but if they cannot do a simple Teriyaki dish and do it well, then what good are they?

While in Las Vegas, I ate at a restaurant in Town Square called Kabuki.  Kabuki is a small Japanese style restaurant decorated in a new clean and nice style.  The entry way has shelves behind the hostess station with many large sake bottles.  The booths are clean and dark and there is a slate on the floor.  The rooms are open and dark with dark woods and light colors like green and other Earth tones.  The waitresses and hostesses wear high heels and skirts while the men wear long slacks and dark shoes.  It is like a hip new Japanese eatery.  First off, I was impressed when the sake came to the table, which we ordered.  It was a lychee flavored sake and it came, chilled and on ice, in this nifty glass.

I thought the sake was cool because the blue glass 'bubble' held the ice, which cooled the rest of the pitcher and made the sake just a little cooler than room temperature.

Now, as far as the fall-back item on the menu, the steak Teriyaki, it was the best I have ever eaten, even better than some I have had in Japan!  What I liked about this version, was first of all, instead of using tough meat, the meat was extremely tender and juicy.  I know that traditionally, enzymes are used like the ones in pineapple, to help breakdown the connective tissue and proteins in the meat, allowing it to become tender.  However, most places I go for this dish, don't do that.  They think, I guess, that because any meat can become tender if tenderized correctly, they think any marinate or tenderizer will work.  Most placed, marinate the meat but it doesn't get tender.  They start with rubbery beef and they end with rubbery beef.  This place, may have started with rubbery beef and ended with beef that almost fell-apart like it had been smoked for several hours.

 

I loved this version as well for the crust on the meat.  Most places just do a simple salt and pepper and this place actually used some hint of chili peppers, I think, because it was spicy.  It was still salty and peppery but it had a spice to it that really worked fine with it. I would give it a 4 out of 5 but will say this: that piece of lettuce is completely useless.  It was too big to eat by itself and really didn't serve a point at all.  Other than that though, it was excellent.

So, if you are in Town Square in Las Vegas and you want a good meal, go to Kabuki for what you need, especially your steak Teriyaki.  Then go across the alley for the frozen yogurt.