Vegas Feb. 2015

[C Simril]

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.

 

[BKEats]

Wow, heading there in a few days. Thanks for this. I primarily stick to Chinatown when In Vegas but, have been to most the places you went to. A very impressive collection of meals from one trip!

[David Ross]

I second that wow.  That is a plethora or restaurants of varying cuisines, styles and service standards.  Le Cirque has always been my favorite of the haute French rooms, but I've been a little troubled as to why they go through Chefs every couple of years.  They've always tempered my doubts with each of the talented Chefs they've brought in.  Me thinks the tomato tart at Payard is going to the top of my "what dish to try first" on my next trip to Las Vegas. 

[BKEats]

was just in vegas, I would say, if anyone is looking for some really good Chinese Food, Yunnan Garden and Dumpling Kind are both really fantastic restaurants..