C Simril

San Sebastian, eh? I have long wanted to go there. Now planning a trip in May. 2 days in Madrid, fly to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim and pig out on pinxos and then 4 maybe 5 days in San Sebastian. I'm contemplating food heaven? No? Then a couple of days in Lovorno before bussing back to Madrid and air-swimming back to Vancouver. Any suggestions most welcome.

I think we were both at that event. Some of the dishes were amazing.

John Curtas certainly raved about Esther's Kitchen. I'll check it out next trip, if it's still around. Would certainly return to Vetri and Partage. My whole review of the culinary journey is here: Seem Real Land The maitake dishes were off the menu at both Sparrow and Edo but they made them for me anyway. I worry that dishes I love at any restaurant (except Le Cirque and Guy Savoy) won't be there the next time I visit. I wanted to try the peas at Guy this time, but they insisted it was only a spring dish. Considering the bad weather in mid-Feb, I think a spring visit is definitely the way to go next trip. Would like to try the swordfish at Monzu Pizzeria even though I didn't enjoy its pizza. The fish place wasn't open at Eataly (before noon) so I'd like to try that too.

I had the tomato bread, which was excellent. Also the Maine Lobster Salpicon, not bad. Forgot to have the Bikini, but I would order it were I to go there again.

Best thing I ate: Maitake and shimeji mushrooms on top of cauliflower custard at Edo Tapas. You'd have to go to Spain to find anything this good, and even then, it would be very, very difficult. Best use of eggs ever: Frittata Bianca and Italian Omelet at Veranda in the 4 Seasons. Astonishing breakfasts. Best chicken ever eaten in a restaurant: Jidori chicken at Le Cirque Worth eating: Crab, scallop and lobster dishes at Partage. Crab dish at Mordeo. Lime crab at Zuma. Hamburger at NoMad bar. Still great: Langoustine fritters at L'Atelier Kinda worth checking out: Porceta and gnochi at Vetri. Service is better than food and view is best of all. Maitake dish at Sparrow. Very disappointing: Monzu pizza. Scallop and apricot tapa at Julian Serrano (which was great last year), Eataly food court. Everything but the crab at Mordeo. Cocktails at the Downtown Cocktail Room (which have always been great before) Crime against food: Valentines dinner at Michael Mina Best cocktail: Tiki drink by Jennifer Yim at Vesper bar at Cosmopolitan. Runner up: Yuzu cocktails at Sparrow and Wolf by Alannah and Terry Best tea: Chamomile at Veranda, paired with their two egg wonders. Best things to do when not eating and drinking: Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Bellagio. Gehry-designed Cleveland Center for Brain Research downtown.

Of that list, I've only eaten at China Poblano, which was OK, and Raku which was excellent. The scallop and the agedashi tofu are about as good as those dishes can get.

I'm looking forward to trying Sparrow and Wolf on my next trip to Vegas. I've had great pizza in Vegas before, particularly downtown. I"m looking forward to a pizza place called Monzu. One of the best things I've ever had in Vegas, and something I make at home all the time is the warm grape salad with shiitake, feta, chives and mint at Yonaka. Maybe the best $8.00 I've ever spent on food.

I share your fondness for Milos, Yonaka and Andre's beef. I don't think I've visited any other restaurant on your list.

The best food I've eaten in Vegas would be: Prawns at Mix (predecessor to Rivea), John Dory at Twist along with the mushroom potato dish I had there in Feb. Sea Bass with delicate spices at Guy Savoy. Lionfish at the late, lamented American Fish in the Aria. Also late and lamented, the warm grape salad at Yonaka Modern Japanese Cuisine. The single scallop and the agedashi tofu at Raku. A lot of great food at Le Cirque. I regret not having the langostine fritters at Atelier and the truffled maitaki at Bar Masa on my most recent trip, but will have them again next trip. I always have lunch at Milos and will continue to do so, but my favourite vegetarian baked crepes at the Eiffel Tower is now off the menu so I won't go there again.

Re, Jose Andres. One of the great humanitarians in the world. What he's doing with World Central Kitchen in Haiti, Puerto Rico and other places is extraordinary. I met him once and he was just as great in person. However, his food, not so much. I had some decent tapas in his original restaurant, also called Jaleo in DC in 2005 and he insisted I try his Vegas Jaleo, most of whose dishes I found inedible. His China Poblemo was slightly better but hardly worth going to. The only good thing I can remember about my $300 meal at e was a very good mocktail featuring pear juice, green tea and jasmine air. The food filled me up rather painfully and no memories remain. I've dined at his Bazaar Meat 3 times and his beef is pretty good (although not for anyone who has lived in Japan, as I did for many years). Beef on bread sticks was quite tasty, better if you avoid the bread. His tomato tartare was torture, Brussels sprouts in foam was an insult to my palate (thankfully they didn't charge me for it) and his gin and tonic is good, but not worth the price. Even his olives a la Fernan Adria were a waste of taste. In my recent visit to Vegas in Feb, I had a tasty mushroom croquette and quite tasty sangria at Jaleo, so maybe I'll check it out next trip, but nothing from any of Jose's restaurants compared to the scallop and apricot tapa I had at Julian Serrano's this trip, though Julian's Picasso veg menu was a vast disappointment.

I save up for a couple of years so I can eat wondrous food at Le Cirque, Twist and other places in Vegas. Just back from mostly wondrous experiences there. Not sure if I can post this here, but my Vegas trip is here: http://seemrealland.blogspot.ca/

Just back from 5th trip to Vegas. Some comments: Carson Kitchen : orc food. Eat: Enough potatoes to cover Idaho. Bring an army. Great fruit bowl! Downtown Cocktail Room: Don't know what the first drink was except it had arrack in it and was excellent. The apple of your eye, 2nd cocktail, was too sweet. They don't answer their phone, fax or email. What are they hiding? Payard: The tartine de tomate is wondrous. Your taste buds will dance. Raku: Get the scallop. Nobu: No. Good cocktail, crab tempura makes you wish you were as dead as the crab. Eiffel Tower: Get the baked vegie crepes. Guy Savoy: lobster salad a bit chewy. The lobster in cold steam I had a few years ago was vastly superior.. Milos: Lavraki for lunch. Your palate will thank you. Mandarin Tea Lounge: The Jasmine Tea-off is a variation of a mocktail Jose Andres serves (still? i know not) at his micro-restaurant "e" inside of Jaleo. There can be no higher praise than that. Yonaka Modern Japanese Cuisine: the warm budo (grape) salad is the best $8 I have ever spent in my relatively long life. If I lived another 8 trillion years, I doubt I will ever eat anything better. Get the budo cocktail to go with it. As you lay dieing in the distant future, you will recall this dish and will consider your life to have been well spent. DB Bistro at the Venetian: great heirloom beet salad. Avoid Daniel's pasta like the plague. Rhumbar: good Mai Tai 1944, maybe the worst bar tender in the city. Vesper: Emmett is a great bar tender. Made a cocktail for me full of fruit that tasted like Oolong tea. Petrossian: the fabled Bellagio cocktail only ok, but their infused spirits are almost spiritual. Le Cirque: The Loup de Mer is my new favourite Vegas fish. Le C has climbed over Guy Savoy to become my new favourite Vegas restaurant. Thanks, Ivo. Tea Room Again: Had oolong tea, not nearly as good as the mock oolong at Vesper. Bazaar Meat: Jose;s bread sticks wrapped in beef and dipped in cheese sauce is worth taking the slow bus (The Deuce) from South Strip to the SLS for. Very few things are, if any. The vegies: brussel sprout thingie, super beefy tomato tartare, olives ala Ferran are all to be avoided L'Attellier: they used to offer the langostine fitter as a single item, now you have to order three. They kindly allowed me to have only one. Thank you, Chef Robuchon. I returned to Vancouver last Thursday, Feb. 12, full of health and enthusiasm. That's why you travel in the first place.

I was thinking about a lunch pizza at Spago next trip to Vegas, but not sure. Milos was great the first 2 times I went there, but the Lavraki had definitely gone down hill when I last visited in Dec, 20113. Salad was still awesome. Another lunch favourite, the vegetarian crepes at Eiffel Tower had sadly declined in pleasureabe possibilities. Maybe December is not a good time to go to Vegas. Food has always tasted good in Feb.

Elrushbo, I'm sorry to hear of your cancer. I've survived skin cancer thrice, though streaks of good luck last only so long, or there would not be a Las Vegas. You can probably eat as well in Vegas as you can anywhere. The best food I've ever eaten has been in Vegas, although long vanished from its menus. Listen to everything David Ross says and take his advice. He's into Vegas like ham is into a ham sandwich. If you haven't dined there already, check out Le Cirque. Your palate will thank you. Just riffing here, but I think if I'd said to Robin Williams yesterday, "Hey Robin, put that belt back on your pants. We're going to Le Cirque" he would have said, "yeah. Later Suicide. I'm gonna go enjoy some Food!"

Not much of a beef eater (though had a wonderful corn beef on russian rye with sourkraut, swiss and mustard for lunch) but the only really memorable beef I've had in Vegas was the tiny French burger, usually served as an appetiser at Guy Savoy. From Nebraska, the waiter told me. The teppanyaki austrailian wagyu at Tets was edible at best and his sauces were designed for the palates of people who think sauces come out of jars.The truffled maitaki next door at Bar Masa is why I keep going back there. Had a great Lionfish at Amercian Fish, but it's vanished from their menu. I've eaten better in Vegas (4 trips) than anywhere, and so can you.