Las Vegas Trip 2

I was in Las Vegas, NV for the second time in about a month for my mother's 60th birthday (or as she'd want me to put it, the 32nd time she's celebrated her 29th birthday).  This time I really didn't do much but eat, which is pretty much fine by me; after all, that's what Las Vegas is good for if you don't feel like doing much gambling.  I arrived on Friday evening, and left Monday morning, and in that short four days I ate some very good food.

Friday Night
On Friday night after arriving, I went straight to d.vino,  a moderately fancy Italian restaurant at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino.  This was probably the worst meal I had with the family, though it wasn't bad at all.  We started with the Shrimp and Artichokes appetizer, which had probably the best artichokes I have ever had, with perfectly cooked hearts cooked in a lot of butter, tender but with a little bit of "tooth" to it, and it was clearly very fresh produce.  The shrimp were cooked properly, but lacked flavor despite supposedly being butter braised as well, being overshadowed by the artichokes.  I tried a little salad that my mom ordered, the d.Vino Salad, which was pretty good, but nothing special, certainly nothing compared to the salad I had the next night.  My cousin's Roasted Beet Salad, on the other hand, was fantastic, the beets perfectly roasted and the goat cheese combining nicely. 

Seafood risotto; those little balls are the confit tomatoes

For an entree, I had Seafood Risotto, which was only okay; while it was creamy, it appeared to be more from using heavy cream than the actual cooking process of the rice contributing to the texture.  Essentially, they appeared to add a lot of fat unnecessarily instead of taking the time to do it properly; I could be wrong, but that was my impression of the dish.  The shrimp, clams, mussels and calamari were all really well cooked, which was nice, but they didn't have a huge amount of flavor, nor did the confit tomatoes. 

Panna Cotta

My dessert choice was the Panna Cotta, which tasted a little weak, but having never had it before I don't know if that's normal or not.  It was served with a couple raspberries and a raspberry sauce drizzled on it, though not enough to make any real difference in the taste or overall experience.  I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't recommend it.

The most disappointing thing was the beer; I was excited when I arrived to find that my brother had ordered a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, among my favorites, but upon ordering it I was informed that the keg was empty.  I instead ended up with a Full Sail Brewing beer, that may have been their IPA, but certainly didn't taste like one.  This was one of the worst craft beers I have ever had, having almost no flavor whatsoever.  This was equivalent to Bud Light, but three times the price.  Avoid at all costs.

After dinner we went to see Blue Man Group, who I also saw several years ago in Boston.  I was completely exhausted, having barely slept in the previous 24 hours, but it was quite fun, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a chance to see them.

Saturday
I spent Saturday with my brother, watching football mostly after sleeping for a solid ten hours (don't judge, it was great), and we grabbed lunch at some Chinese/Vietnamese combination restaurant, that also had a couple of Thai dishes.  I went with pho, which was good, though honestly, it's kind of hard to mess up.  He had some approximation of pad thai that he thought was only okay.  Thankfully, this was just the beginning of the day's meals.

My mom's scallop dish; perfectly seared scallops

Saturday night was when we officially celebrated my mother's birthday (which was actually on Wednesday), going to The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino for dinner at Bouchon Bistro, a Thomas Keller creation, one of three of the same name.  My mom and step-dad had eaten at the Yountville, CA restaurant a few years ago and loved it, so she felt this would be the perfect choice.  There were eight of us in all: my mother, step-father, my mom's first cousin, my uncle, aunt and cousin, and of course me and my brother.  The restaurant experience was incredible, from the food to the atmosphere to the decoration to the service, it was impeccable.  The only complaint anyone could make was that the restaurant was a little dark, though this was not a problem for me.  Our waitress, Julie, was wonderful, funny and engaging, and really making the overall experience perfect. 

My step-father and I split the Salade Maraîchère au Chèvre Chaud, with mixed greens, herbes de Provence, and goat cheese with a red wine vinaigrette.  It is pretty simple to make a good salad, but tremendously difficult to make a great one.  This was a great salad, with incredibly fresh greens, bright and vibrant, with a perfect little disc of goat cheese, really high quality product, presented beautifully atop the mixed greens.

Short ribs

There were two specials that night, one with seared scallops that my mother ordered, and was perfectly cooked and delicious, and a slow braised short rib dish that I ordered. Braised for 12-14 hours according to Julie, the short ribs were fork tender, with a deep, rich beef flavor that was only enhanced by the braising liquid on the plate.  Those little white balls are confit chestnuts, which I could not identify while I was eating them, but which were really quite nice, with a woody, earthy quality that is unique to them but quite pleasant.  There were also bits of roasted quince that reminded me of pear, but rather less crunchy; very tasty.  The short ribs were placed upon a nice pile of wilted collard greens that tasted great with the braising liquid.  As good as all this was (and the short ribs were the best I've ever had, by far) the best part was what they labeled a "pain perdu," though this was a bit of a play on the term.  It was really more of a savory bread pudding, only very slightly sweet, with a flavor that almost reminded me of really good pumpkin pie (you know, not the stuff from a can), with some cinnamon flavor really coming through.  I don't think I could even ever hope to replicate it, but I would love to find a recipe.

French fries

We also ordered a side of frites, or french fries.  They don't look like anything particularly impressive, but they were incredible.  Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, with just the right amount of salt.  I'm not sure what they were fried in, but it was a stronger flavor than normal fries, and there was no greasiness.

Crème Caramel

For dessert I ordered the Crème Caramel, a classic caramel custard that was, to keep up the trend, perfect.  Smooth, gelatinous, and a little creamy, with just a mild caramel flavor, and not too much sweetness.  Among my favorite desserts of all, this was really quite fantastic, and I highly recommend it. 

The beer list wasn't bad at Bouchon, though their focus is clearly on the wine list.  I went with the Chimay Trippel, a fantastic trappist ale that I enjoyed for the first time.  Mild, slightly hoppy, with a nice citrusy flavor, served in a goblet like glass bearing the Chimay name.  This was a great beer to have with this meal, as it complemented the short ribs nicely but was not so strong as to overwhelm even the salad.

Sunday
Sunday was a fairly lazy day as well, which consisted mostly of my step-dad and I reading by the pool (until it got cold) and wandering around CityCenter and checking out some of the many shops containing clothes we could never afford (including an $8700 leather jacket at Kiton that my step-dad wanted until I told him the price, and a $4400 Ermenegildo Zegna wool jacket that I may have considered selling my car to buy), before grabbing a beer and some food at the Aria Resort and Casino (also home to the previously reviewed Julian Serrano, where my family went on Thursday night...I am still displeased with them for that) where the family was staying.

After wandering around CityCenter, my step-dad and I adjourned to the wine bar at Sirio Ristorante, another moderately fancy Italian restaurant not entirely dissimilar to d.vino.  They have a "happy hour" menu from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, which includes "cheap" (it's a relative word) drinks and small plate options.

For beer I went with a Birra Moretti Lager (picture on right), a beer similar to that old standby Stella Artois, extremely crisp and light, with no hops to speak of.  The head dissipates quickly, like a lot of these super light beers, and there was no aftertaste.  This was nothing to write home about, but if it weren't imported (aka, expensive) it would be a great session beer.

There were five options for food (mozzarella bites, pork cheeks and tomato bruschetta, salted cod croquette, chicken meatballs, and spinach and ricotta ravioli), and we picked three initially.  Once the rest of the group arrived we ended up having all five.

All three of the original "bites" from Sirio's wine bar

The pork cheeks and tomato bruschetta were amazing, with thin, crisp slices of baguette topped with fresh tomato and slices of fried pork cheek that were incredibly salty, fatty, and crisp.  It was a little too fatty for my step-dad, but I loved it; after all, fat is flavor, right?  It was my favorite of the night.

Better view of the ravioli

The ravioli, which came in a sage butter sauce, were unremarkable, less impressive than the similar ravioli my mother occasionally makes from scratch.  They tasted fine, but I really doubt there was anything homemade about them.  There was a nice earthiness that almost tasted of mushroom, but that is really it.

The chicken meatballs in a tomato-Gorgonzola fonduta were more successful, as they were still moist, with a mild chicken flavor that really should have been stronger, but was pleasant nonetheless.  The fonduta was the best part, tasting (and looking) rather more like a roasted red pepper sauce than tomato, but was really fantastic, with just the right amount of salt imparted by the cheese.  These were a great option.

The mozzarella bites were nothing special, with virtually tasteless cheese on skewers with delicious oven roasted tomato and some basil pesto.  The salted cod croquettes were better, crispy and moist, and the puttanesca coulis was nice for dipping.  It did not match up with the pork cheeks, but it was pretty darn good.

We ended up having dinner at Sirio as well, which had a slightly better result than the bar food.  I went with the gnocchi, served in a very heavy green sauce that I can't really describe too well.  The gnocchi were fine, having a good flavor, but they were a bit too light.  I know that lightness is a virtue in gnocchi, but these had almost no substance to them, and a little more density would have been nice.  Dessert was a platter of small Italian doughnuts, dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and served with three dipping sauces.  Happy Birthday was written out in chocolate on the side of the platter.  These were actually pretty awesome, though a little overly sweet with the sauces, which included a caramel sauce and a "tropical" sauce (aka, lemon).  Overall, this was not my favorite meal, but it wasn't the worst either, and I would not object to going back, though there are certainly better options both in the Aria and in the surrounding casinos.

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Las Vegas, NV

Homelessness is a clear issue in LV, but some homeless are more
creative with their fundraising efforts than others

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of Las Vegas.  That said, I enjoy many of the things that come with the city, including gambling, good nightlife including great bars and occasionally clubs, and incredible food.  I've already detailed my trips to Julian Serrano at Aria and Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, but my trip included several other good experiences, both for food and entertainment.

My trip was with my best friend from college, Joe, and one of his classmates at the Harvard Kennedy School, Renee.  On Friday Oct. 5th, my first night, upon arriving at the Palazzo Joe, Renee and I went to grab some food at I ❤ Burgers, which is conveniently located on the second floor of the hotel, tucked in among The Shoppes at the Palazzo.  Like Burger Bar, I ❤ Burgers offers both the option of building your own burger or selecting one off the menu.  I chose the "Inferno" burger, made with ground Angus beef, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, roasted jalapeños, and habanero-jalapeño mayo.  The waitress recommended having the mayo on the side, and she was 100% right; that was hot.  Unlike the chipotle aioli at Burger Bar, which was not spicy enough and got lost in the rest of the flavors, this mayo was exceptionally hot, and risked overwhelming the burger, though I didn't use much after tasting it before putting it on the bun.  The burger itself was great, made perfectly rare (slightly less so than at Burger Bar, but still within that perfect range), on a nice brioche bun that complimented it very nicely.  Joe had a "Plymouth's Pride" turkey burger (I know, I know...it's not really a burger) because he was running a Tough Mudder in a couple days, and figured it would be a good idea to eat light.  He seemed to enjoy it.  Renee had already eaten dinner, so she stuck with a shake, which Joe shared, and both liked, though I don't know what kind it was.  We also got some onion rings, which were exceptional; hot, crispy, with the batter clinging perfectly to the onion so that when you took a bite it doesn't fall apart.  It was served with a dipping sauce that was pretty good, though I can't for the life of me remember what it was.  For a drink I went with a Kona Brewing Company Big Wave Golden Ale draught.  Very smooth, very tasty, and a nice, subtle compliment to the burger.

After dinner, we dressed up and hit TAO, a nightclub at the Venetian, which is the sister/adjoining hotel to Palazzo.  Because we were staying at the Palazzo, we were able to get right into the club, which saved us a lot of time waiting in a line and also meant we didn't pay a cover.  When we got in, it was just Renee and I at first, as Joe went to get drinks before we figured out we could be in a much, much shorter line, and it took him a while to find us once we got in.  At first it was a lot of fun, as there weren't too too many people there, and we had a little space to move and breathe, but it quickly got extremely crowded.  One couple next to us were literally humping each other, and the guy ended up knocking my beer out of my hand without even so much as an apology; this is a significant part of why I don't frequent clubs, along with the fact that I'm hilariously bad at dancing.  After a while, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and a couple other members of the LA Clippers showed up, and at that point, it went from being fun to being a little over the top.  We had accidentally ended up in a spot only about 10 feet from where the "celebrities" were hanging out, so we ended up getting crushed by the crowd.  We spent about another hour there before we got sick of getting squeezed by people and made our way out with some difficulty. 

Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Wolfgang Puck's Solaro Poolside, which had a limited menu, and quite honestly awful service.  The food received mixed reviews, as Joe did not even remotely enjoy his buttermilk pancakes (made with fresh blueberries and blueberry compote), but Renee and I, who wanted both the breakfast burrito (with scrambled eggs, mozzarella cheese, chorizo, potatoes, and two salsas, one a fresh salsa and the other a spicy tomatillo, which I preferred) and the granola parfait (house made granola, vanilla yogurt and fresh berries) just ended up each getting one and splitting them and loving them.  The parfait was really good, not too sweet, and the granola was really nice, but it did not come close to the breakfast burrito, which was exceptional, and I sort of regretted agreeing to share it, as I wanted the second half after finishing my part.  Everything in it was perfectly cooked, and the chorizo and tomatillo salsa added a really great kick that assisted with getting rid of the little hangover I had from the previous night.  The coffee was merely acceptable, though Joe liked it, and he's a coffee addict.  As I previously said, the service was terrible, as we waited at least 10 minutes from when we sat down before the waitress came over to take our order, and when she did she neither said hello nor offered any sort of pleasantries, simply stating "Go ahead."  The service did not particularly improve over the course of the meal, either, and was not worthy either of the hotel or a chef like Wolfgang Puck.

After breakfast we lounged by the pool for a couple hours, reading, chatting and attempting to get some sun, which I badly needed.  It was quite pleasant until the sun came down in full force, at which point it got extremely hot, jumping in temperature a solid 15 degrees the second the sun hit us.  I ordered a piña colada, which was great, but cost me a whopping (and surprising) $17 dollars, which the waitress (or Joe, who had previously gotten one) didn't feel the need to tell me ahead of time.  We then went inside and got to gambling, which was entertaining but doesn't make for much of a story.

Later on we grabbed some food at Ra Sushi, which serves non-traditional sushi and Japanese influenced dishes.  We were there right at 3:00pm, when happy hour starts, so certain drinks and food were significantly marked down.  A bowl of edamame, some shrimp tempura, a spicy shrimp roll, spicy yellowtail roll, and two straight fish preparations later, we were pretty happy, and got out of there for a very reasonable amount of money.  The sushi was, as I said, non-traditional, so if you only like pure, unadulterated sushi this is not the place for you, but the fish was very fresh and flavorful, and presented in a pleasant way that made it well worth it to go, at least during the happy hour period from 3pm-7pm Monday to Saturday.  The Seared Tuna (perfectly done) and Garlic Citrus Yellowtail were ridiculously good, especially the yellowtail, which is my favorite fish.  Sadly it's also supremely overfished, so hopefully farming gets better (aka, more ecologically friendly), ensuring a continuing supply of this delightful fish.  There are, of course, many better options for real sushi, but this was a fun, nice little place to go have a snack.

On Sunday I went to lunch with my brother while Joe and Renee were at the Tough Mudder, and we went to a Greek restaurant that I do not recall the name of, though I will try to remember to ask him since it was really fantastic.  I had stuffed peppers, which were great, with lamb and olives being the dominant flavors, served with a huge amount of rice and a salad.  We also got hummus to share, served with pita bread; now, hummus being both delicious and quite ordinary most of the time, I wasn't expecting anything different from what I've had elsewhere, but this was really great.  I have no idea what the difference was between what I'm used to and what they do, but it was really great.

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Among the things I really do enjoy about Las Vegas is simply walking up and down the Strip, seeing the sights, and it's best at night, where amidst the dozens of Central American immigrants attempting to hand you fliers for "escorts," you can see some pretty cool stuff, such as the Bellagio's Fountain Show, or cool street performers.  So, while there are plenty of places I'd rather go, when I do end up in Las Vegas there are also many, many things I can find to do (or eat) that lead to a fun trip.  Coming up in about a month, I'll be headed back so the family can all celebate my mom's 60th birthday together, and I'll be reviewing Bouchon Bistro, a Thomas Keller restaurant.

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