Isla Mexican Kitchen, Treasure Island

And We're Walking; We're Walking; We're Still Walking ... Isla Mexican Kitchen, Treasure Island - Dinner (4/21/08)

I'm not entirely sure how we ended up choosing this particular restaurant for dinner, but odds are that it was a combination of my wanting to pick someplace that would satisfy Jay's spicy crave and offer me the promise of as yet untasted alcoholic delights. We scheduled dinner for 6PM, which is earlier than we usually like to dine while on vacation, but we were trying to buy some digestive time since we'd scheduled a dessert tasting at Payard's for later in the evening. **You can read all about the dessert decadence in my next post ... all good things to those who wait.**

I read some really interesting things about Isla, which was a 2005 and 2007 Epicurean Award winner for Best Mexican. The two items that really got my attention were the custom-designed roving guacamole cart and the Tequila Goddess. The guacamole carts provide a sampling of Chef Richard Sandoval's fresh-made guacamoles, including classic Mexico City style, citrus tamarind with habañero and mint, chipotle adobo with spiced pumpkin seeds and lobster with achiote passion fruit and Serrano chilies ... or at least that's what the literature said. The Tequila Goddess was said to welcome guests to the bar and restaurant by personally offering them a selection of cocktails including tequilas, as well as margaritas, sangrias and other Mexican cocktail favorites. If a patron really wanted to splurge, he or she could order The Goddess Elixir, prepared table side by the Goddess herself with Herradura Seleccion Suprema, Grand Marnier 100 Year Anniversary, Cointreau, and Fresh Citrus Syrup. Just for fun, I priced this drink once we finally made it to Isla ... for the bargain price of $100 you can order this beverage the next time you're in Vegas. If you do order this, be sure to let us know what you think - Jay and I would both like to know what a $100 drink tastes like!

Before leaving the hotel on our 75-minute odyssey to Treasure Island we snapped the requisite self-portrait.

Festive Print-Shirt Boy and his flabby sidekick: Timid Tastebud Girl


No, you didn't read that sentence incorrectly. I said that it took us 75 minutes to get to Treasure Island from our hotel. See, we had a plan ... a well thought-out plan that would give us plenty of time to reach Treasure Island from Mandalay Bay. It entailed hopping the Las Vegas Monorail from the MGM Grand to the Harrah's station, which was listed as a jumping off point for easy access to about eight other hotels along the Vegas strip, including our destination.

It would have worked, too, if it hadn't been for Harrah's ... our newest nemesis ... that pee-pee soaked heck-hole ... the darkest, dankest circle of hell equipped with a mouse-maze offering black-lung and never-ending country music caterwauling as its reward upon completion. There were no signs pointing us towards the exit that would spit us out onto the strip, so we took the first set of doors we could find in a frantic dash for freedom and fresh air only to find ourselves in a labyrinth of back streets and parking garages.

I suppose if we'd been thinking properly we would have gone back into the hotel and asked someone for directions. But Jay was stubborn and I was frustrated to the point of tears so we just kept walking along a street lined with garages. We had no idea where we were, but assumed that we were parallel to the strip. We must have walked about three blocks out of our way before coming to a cross-street where we could turn left and head back towards "civilization."

You wanna know where we ended up?

The Las Vegas Convention Center.

Son-of-a-bitch!

We finally made it to the restaurant at 6:50PM ... luckily the hostess was really nice and she seated us right away even though other people were waiting for tables and had obviously not walked through the city's seamy underbelly in order to show up late for their dinner reservation.

Shortly after we were seated our waitress delivered a big bowl of chips and three different salsas. We took two pictures to provide a better view because of the unique presentation method. If I remember correctly there was a traditional salsa, a tomatillo salsa, and a set-yer-tongue-aflame salsa.

Complementary chips and salsas


An aerial view of salsas


Isla's menu is fairly extensive and while we were taking our time deciding exactly what we should order, Jay requested a margarita. And not just any margarita, but Isla's Signature Margarita which was made with lots of premium tequila and tasted ever so good. So good in fact, that I had no choice but to order one of my own after taking a sip of Jay's.

Isla's signature margarita - yeah, baby!

This next picture is something of a joke ... although I suppose you could say that about almost any picture that includes me (ha ha!). Many years ago when Jay and I were driving to Florida for a week-long vacation, we were blowing through Southern Georgia at about 80 miles-per-hour when a black and white billboard caught my eye. A furtive looking man was reading a magazine, his face visible from the nose up, and his shifty eyes were wide with something like shamed surprise. Underneath the man, in huge print, was the following:

ADDICTED TO PORNOGRAPHY??? CALL 1-800-GET-HELP

Considering that we were in the heart of the Bible Belt, Jay and I found this billboard absolutely hysterical, especially because the advertisement immediately following was a full-color, soft-porn add for the "gentleman's" club called We Bare All.

We've never forgotten either of those signs ... I guess advertising really does work!

Addicted to alcohol?


The answer must be yes ... we are addicted to alcohol. And to prove it we ordered a tequila tasting. We know nothing about tequila ... except that it tastes like burning. There were five different tequila flights to choose from and we picked a more affordable option called Isla's Finest Reposado ($33), which included Corralejo Triple Distilled, Casa Noble Reposado, and Penca Azul Reposado. There was a fourth little tasting sample that our waitress told us was spicy tomato juice - she advised that it would help bring out the different flavors in the tequilas when sipped immediately afterwards.

Did you say Tequila tasting?


How cool is that presentation?

Since we're tequila novices, I'm just going to list the menu descriptions of each sample here for your edification.

Corralejo Triple Distilled: Made with 100% Blue Weber Agave; soft yet rich agave taste with with a hint of pickling spice and a peppered finish; distilled three times for maximum smoothness.

Casa Noble Reposado: Made with 100% Blue Weber Agave; fresh and vibrant bouquet leads to rich flavors of ripe agave intertwined with a delicate white oak accent.

Penca Azul Reposado: Made with 100% Blue Weber Agave; a bit of smoke on the nose with a crisp lemon flavored palate and a smooth finish.

Jay and I actually enjoyed all of these - each one had a distinct aroma and flavor and tasted really good with food. I don't think either of us would go out of our way to drink tequila on a regular basis, but it was fun to try it as a tasting and these three selections were surprisingly good and only tasted a teeny bit like burning.

We officially kicked off the evening's feeding frenzy with an appetizer - Queso Fundido. I liked the word fundido ... it made me think that no matter what food the waitress smacked down before us we were going to have a good time. The appetizer was a mixture of Mexican cheeses and chorizo, served with a plate of warm tortillas in which to wrap it all up snug as a bug.

Looks can be deceiving...

Nekkid Tortillas!!!

The finished product ... yum yum yum!

This was very good - a blend of three different cheeses all melted and gooey with spicy chorizo sausage mixed in for good measure. This kind of selection is always a good compromise - the cheese is safe and bland enough to keep me and my tummy happy while the chorizo adds just enough spice to please Jay's palate.

For my entree I ordered the Cheese Enchiladas:

More cheesy goodness with extra stuff ...


There were two big honking enchiladas on the plate, covered in a mild tomato sauce and then sprinkled with more cheese - they were good and very filling. I could only finish one of them. My sides included rice and black beans; I especially liked the beans, which were very soft and smooth. Jay was the happy recipient of my sour cream and guacamole.

Speaking of Jay, he ordered fajitas for his dinner - he loves him some fajitas!

It looks like a mess but tastes like a dream!

Jason had to create his own fajitas from this bowl of stuff, but he likes doing that. And when I asked him to give his opinion of this dish he said the tastiness of the food made the overland hike to reach the restaurant more than worth the effort.

After all this delicious bounty there really wasn't room for dessert. And an initial review of the dessert menu didn't inspire us to great heights of gluttony, especially since we knew what was waiting for us at Payard's. But then Jay left me alone with the menu and I had a sudden, sweet-tooth change of heart. By the time he returned I'd ordered us some Crepes with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Dulce de Leche Sauce.

First Dessert ... a good ending and a good beginning!


Three warm crepes drizzled with sauce surrounding a blob of cinnamon ice cream ... once I disposed of those nasty pecans all was right with the dessert world. I highly recommend this as an end to your meal should you dine at Isla. It was light and refreshing with a nice balance of sweet and spice.

Overall we really enjoyed our dinner at Isla, and while we never spotted a roving guacamole cart or a Tequila Goddess, we thought that the restaurant had good service and tasty food with a menu that featured nice variety. And they have an extensive tequila selection - some restaurants have a wine list, Isla has a tequila bible. If you like Mexican inspired cuisine and you're going to be visiting Vegas, consider stopping at Isla for a meal. It's affordably priced for Vegas and the food is filling and satisfying.