jsmeeker

Over in the "waste of money" topic, many people have suggested that Sitram cookware is a great alternative to very popular (and pricey) brands such as All-Clad. I am not very familair with this line of cookware. I did some research, and found their website http://frieling.com/products/cookware/ I see two different stainless steel lines. The "Catering" line and "Profiserie". I see the pics of their skillets, and the sides of them look pretty steep. I would think that would be a disadvantage. What do people like about this brand of cookware? Where can I get my hands on it in a brick and mortar shop?

Since before they built the Luxor? Wow. You haven't been in some time. A LOT has changed since then. Heck, my first trip there was after Luxor had opened. And a lot changed since that trip. At the time, Bellagio had not opened. When Steve Wynn opened that place, that's when things really started to change.

That's a pretty fair question, Bryan. For me, the answer is that I DON'T travel to NYC or Paris or San Francisco just to eat. I haven't been to NYC in years and years. Never been to Paris. I have been to San Francisco several times over the past few years, but for a specific event and only had limited chances to really dine well. Vegas has become my big destination trip every year (recently, twice a year). It's always a large to really, really large group of friends. We have a lot of fun doing all sorts of things. But the good dining is probably what keeps me coming back. I couldn't get any of these friends to go on a culinary tour of NYC. None of them are gonna get comped rooms at a hotel in midtown. There won't be a big resort style pool. etc. etc. Though you are right. I wouldn't return to Bouchon Las Vegas if I had been to the one in Napa a few times. I've already dined at Bouchon in Las Vegas for lunch once and dinner once. And breakfast many times. I only return for breakfast now. But I wonder about a place like L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. There is one in Vegas, one in NYC. Is the NYC more "authentic"? I believe it opened after the Las Vegas location opened. How easy is it to get a seat there? I know in Las Vegas, it's not hard at all. I've dined there twice. Once a large group booked well in advance, the other time a small party booked just 3 or so days in advance (for a Saturday night). Could I have done that in NYC? All that said, for people are food people and like the overall "action" of Las Vegas, it's a great destination for regular visits. You can certainly eat very well without a whole lot of fuss.

bought some "Texas" peaches at a nearby Whole Foods in Dallas yesterday. had one today. Kind of tart. I really don't keep up with the details of the growing season as much as i should. Not sure where in Texas it was from, though. Typically, the ones from East Texas are the prized one. I want some peaches to make a fresh peach tart (no baking of fruit) and also for eating plain and for use in a bourbon old fahsioned.

I finally got around to making some Jamaica syrup over the weekend.. used one cup of flowers to 3 cups of water. Brought it up to a boil, then steeped for two hours. I then strained that. At this point, I still had not added any sugar. I took one cup of the brewed 'tea' and added 1 cup sugar. Brought it up to a boil, then let it cool. I had my hibiscus syrup (the remainder was sweetened enough to make tasty glass of 'agua refreseca de jamaica') Now, onto cocktails.. My first try was simply to add a squirt to my regular margarita. It was OK. But after that, I made a simple substitution. I simply used the jamaica syrup instead of the Cointreau. I am not sure what to call this, but I thought it was pretty tasty. If I had some champagne or sparkling wine on hand, I would try cocktailgeek's French 75 riff. I would also like to try out mkayahara's drink that uses the Appleton rum.

Looks like you have a winner there too, Chris!

Loved that she did simple duck confit. Now, if I could get my hand on some duck lugs. The time slot is OK for me. I TiVo all of my cooking shows on FoodTV and PBS and watch them whenver is convenient.

Not sure, really. I am just guessing. But I after seeing the conservatory at Bellagio, I would think they must have some sort of operation there to grow stuff.

thanks for 'taking one for the team', Chris by making all of these pies. I'm a bit surprised the CI pie flopped like it did. I was expecting that one to do well. Happy eating!

John brings up an excellent point about the water issue. It's really the first thing that popped in my mind as being a big road block to lots of local agriculture in the Las Vegas area. I wonder if people would investigate and contemplate methods that use a lot less water than traditional crops. (Hydroponics??) I also wonder if any of the hotels would start growing some things at their own hotel. Places like Bellagio and Wynn/Encore that already may be running large operations to grow plants and flowers. You would think they could at least grow various herbs and what not for the restaurants on the property.

I thought I was full after following your tweets throughout the day. After reading your post and seeing all the pics, I am positively stuffed.

along the same line... The fancy, elaborate, tile backsplash behind the range/cooktop.

I don't own any All-Clad cookware, but I would not put it on the list. Instead, I will nominate major appliances. Built in sub-zero fridge, for one. (too shallow) But the king is the Viking** range or cooktop in the household where the only cooking going on is making microwave mac and cheese. ** Or any other pricey brand

I'm heading out there in less than a month. Original plan was to go to Alex. But it will be closed when I am out there. I would like to go to Joel Robuchon since they announced their additional menus, but finding someone in the group of friends I am going out there with is proving to be difficult. Most aren't really all that interested in that type of food in a formal atmosphere. So far, I have reservations for large parties at Sensi and Nob Hill Tavern. I'll be there four nights, so I need two more places for dinner. There is still the posibility that I can convince some people to go to Robuchon. I may also head over to Bar Charlie after I see 'Love'. I would go by myself if needed. We plan to head over to Gold Coast and eat at Ping Pang Pong. I know out out Fat Guy tried that place out with Vegas foodie John Curtas. Seems like it's pretty good. Should be much better than the fancy casual Pan-Asian places like 'Red 8' and whatever the one in Bellagio is called (Noodles??) I'll try out dining at Encore by hitting Society Cafe for breakfast. I've also heard good things about breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi. If it's early and not too hot, it would be nice to sit outside. --- I went to Picasso a few years ago (back in 2005). I thought it wa great. Beautiful room. Good food. Refined, polished service. I went to Wing Lei a while back. I guess it was Summer 2007. A couple of us had the duck tasting menu. It was excellent. Some of us got the wine paiting with it, too. Sommolier was nice and gave us very generous pours of each wine. Largerst pours I've ever had with a tasting menu with wining pairings. They were pretty much full sized pours. I was pretty blitxed bu the end of the meal (especially considering it was hardly my first drink of the day!! ) For French that isn't one of the uber expensive places (Robuchon, Savoy, Alex), why not look into Le Cirque at Bellagio?

I didn't enjoy this weeks episode as much as last week's. The vending machine 'amuse bouche' challenge didn't do it for me and I didn't like that they only cooked one course for the elimination challenge. Also, the banter amongst the chefs didn't seem to be as much fun as it was with the first group. Wylie just tripped up in the amuse challenge. I bet if he didn't over-reduce his Dr. Pepper, he would have won the whole round and moved on to the champions/final round. I too would be curious to get details about his egg technique. I wonder what temp the water bath was set to?

Call Wynn and make sure Alex is open. When I called them to book a reservation for a dinner un July, I was told it was going to be closed for summer vacation. a Few weeks worth.

When I saw this topic title, Ken't Rathbuns 'Blue Plate' came to mind right away. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I understand it's really popular.

Sounds like you have a lot of berries to make multiple pies. Try the CI recipe. I generally have pretty good luck with their desserts.

I do have a sports jacket. But I actually called out there to the restaurant and asked about the dress code. The response was "for gentlemen, jackets recommended but not required"

I took another shot at this today, and I think my results were much better. 2 oz gin 1 oz. heavy cream 1 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz lime juice 1 oz simple 1 egg white few drops orange flower water No curdling issues this time. I DID get a very distinct, stable, foamy head. I wasn't totally sure if this was right or not. reading thorough this topic again, it seems to be the goal. However, there were a few issues. Flavor wise, it was a bit lacking.. The non foamy part had little flavor. It was all trapped up in the foamy head. Another issue here was something mentioned a few times already. This drink needs a stronger gin.. Plymouth is all I had on hand (it's typically the only gin I keep on hand since I think it works well in most gin cocktails). Maybe Beefeater? A bit less money than Tanq. Anyway, I think this drink i worth my time to perfect.

I came up with almsot the same idea myself a few months ago. But I was pretty certain I didn't invent anything. But I dind't add bitters.

Speaking of "value priced" meals in Las Vegas, Joel Robuchon (the formal one, not L'Atelier) has announced 4 new pre-fix menus $89 $115 $148 $195 Really trying to check this out when I am there in July. About the only that might prevent it would be dress code. My friends aren't too keen on packing and wearing a jacket in Las Vegas in the dead of Summer.

Just now, I tried my hand at enchiladas again. This time, I didn't bake them in the oven like I always had done in the past. I prepped the tortillas like I usually do (spray with oil on a sheet pan, pop into 300 ish oven until soft. took a few minutes). When the tortillas were soft, I stacked them up on one side of the sheet pan. I took one, put it on the other side of the pan. Spooned on some of the sauce and spread it around. Flipped it over. Spooned some on the other side and spreadit around. I spooned in some of the filling. (a beef mixture), then did a fold/roll, picked it up, and put it on the plate. I simply repeated this process with all of the tortillas. I spooned and spread some more sauce onto of the enchiladas. Sprinkled some cheese on top. From there, under the broiler just until the cheese melted and got bubbly. Garnished with green onions. Here is the finished plate.

For serving food, I don't overbowl. I don't really have any really large serving bowls to allow me to do it. You could probably say I underbowl when serving because I tend to really fill them up with whatever. For cooking/prep, it can be a mixed bag. I like the idea of overbowling for prep/cooking, but don't always do it because I may not have enough clean large bowls or maybe I do, but it won't fit in the nearly full dishwasher. So, I'll use a really small bowl to mix something up.

Wow.. Lots of good recommendations. It should also be noted that many restaurants are offering special priced Pre-Fixe menus. Seems like most places at MGM Grand are doing it, most every place at Wynn (including Alex), places at The Mirage, etc. etc.