My husband and I have been fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas dozens of times over that past few years. This trip, we decided to celebrate our 6th wedding month’iversary by dedicating the majority of it to what we both love the most… food! …and what better an excuse to visit a couple of places mentioned on The Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate?? 🙂 Enjoy!
The Todd English P.U.B. is one of our favorite places to stop by when in Las Vegas. It’s located at City Center’s Crystal shopping center. Living in SoCal, Lobster Rolls are hard to come by so when we saw this on the menu, it was a no brainer. Let me tell you – this is a MUST HAVE there! It was so buttery and delicious and just plain awesome. The New England Fish & Chips was incredibly crunchy and perfectly flakey and moist. One of my favorite subtle details? Both dishes came with slaw but they were both different slaws that matched perfectly with the entrée!
Jean Philippe Patisserie is a place you cannot miss while walking around Aria or the Bellagio. The easiest way to spot it? Their ultra modern almost space-age like decor or massive chocolate fountain. It’s beautiful, colorful and delicious! Plus, I’m a sucker for macarons and the simple fact that they have one (above) the size of a coaster just makes my heart skip a beat thinking about it 😉
Emeril Lagasse’s Table 10 at the Palazzo had Grissini’s on their menu that are something I still think about. They looked like awkward looking sticks when the server brought them out but the taste – holy moly… they were delicious. Grissini’s wrapped in prosciutto and smothered in truffle butter?! I definitely look forward to our next trip to Vegas just so I can grab a drink at their bar and order their Fresh Baked Grissini’s. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it! Their Truffle Mac-n-Cheese on the other hand, was terribly disappointing. I never thought one could make mac-n-cheese this bad… it was so bland, as if they forgot half the ingredients when making mine, at least I hope that’s the case. I could not add enough salt to make it taste good and there was not a hint of truffle (or ANY flavor for that matter)… it tasted like pasta, breadcrumbs and creme … it wasn’t at all cheesy. It had to be a mistake 🙁 . Our oysters, entrees and asparagus were all lovely and enjoyable!
Bartolotta Ristorante Di Mare at the Wynn Las Vegas left us speechless. Albeit quite stuffy, the food was absolutely divine. The Lasagnette Con Ragu di Crostacei was featured on The Food Network as Bobby Flay’s pick for their Best Thing I Ever Ate – Italian Seafood episode. We had it as our entrees (it’s an appetizer but can be doubled in portion, and price, to be an entrée). We enjoyed every single dish and drink we ordered and aside from the smug and uncomfortable ambiance, we have nothing to even conceive of complaining about. Out of all the reviews we read prior to making our reservations, David Fishman’s was my favorite… Definitely a must read if you plan on dining here. What absolutely made our night? Meeting Chef Paul Bartolotta himself. Although we weren’t crazy about the said ambiance, Chef Bartolotta was the nicest man! He was incredibly gracious and greeted us when he saw us a bit starstruck and grabbed a nearby patron (perhaps an off the clock employee?) to take a picture of us. He even had the man take multiple pictures to make sure I was happy 🙂 he was awesome!! We will definitely be dining here again next time around, if not because of their marvelous food, because of his sheer kindness.
Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill has always been one of our favorite restaurants since we visited New York City a couple of years ago and dined at his iconic 5th Avenue location. While walking around Caesar’s Palace shopping and looking for a great place to brunch, my husband spotted Mesa Grill and we knew we had to stop in. We both ordered his Ancho Chile Honey Glazed Salmon (my favorite when we were in NYC) and it was just as delicious as I remembered, if not better! The staff here were super nice, especially given the fact that we walked in 30 minutes before brunch was over and very helpful with suggestions. The fries were wonderful, perfectly seasoned and the bread basket was to die for. I’m now on the hunt for the amazing Jalapeno Biscuit recipe!
Payard Patisserie was also featured on the Food Network as Wolfgang Puck’s choice for The Best Thing I Ever Ate’s Nutty episode. The patisserie was pretty empty when we arrived but by the rude attitude of the staff there, you would have thought it was busy and overwhelming for them. They were very short with us and inattentive. I probably had to ask for assistance two or three times – with more than 5 people behind the counter, shelves fully stocked and no customers, one would wonder what they were “too busy, too cool” doing… anyway, the only macarons they had available were said Coffee Macarons that Chef Wolfgang Puck chose so I was satisfied leaving with only that. They were indeed tasty and flavorful. I’m not sure if I’d say they were my favorites… but hey, they’re always pretty to look at 😉
The Overlook Grill at the new Cosmopolitan hotel was a breath of fresh air – literally. It sits on their rooftop and overlooks the pool. It was unexpectedly quiet and the food was satisfying. Maybe it was just too new but the wait staff seemed scattered and unsure about… well, everything. The food was good but nothing to brag about. It was definitely a nice pleasant place to finish off our trip before our flights back home but I’m not sure it’s somewhere I’d dine at again.
Overall, we had a great trip and definitely found some great restaurants and dishes we’ll be eager to visit again!
Xox,
An
1 Comment
Wow…my mouth is literally watering as im typing! Great pic…the truffle mac n cheese looks yummy! You looked cute as usual too!
July 5, 2011 at 3:02 pm