Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Craftsteak; MGM Grand, Las Vegas
If Arts and Crafts Included Meat, I Might Enjoy Them More Often
It's Crafty.
It's Steakie.
It's Craftsteak, another one of those Celebrity Chef restaurants that they seem to like so much in Vegas and which Jay and I seem constitutionally unable to by-pass. This one belongs to Tom Colicchio and while its focus is on meaty goodness, the menu also provides such delights as veal, lobster, salmon, and fresh farmers' market veggies. In fact, they pride themselves on using ingredients that are only from small family farms or other specialized vendors, which is a trend that Jay and I really like. It also didn't hurt that we discovered they offer more than 200 Bourbon and Scotch labels.
Although Craftsteak was one of the few joints at the MGM not offering an actual happy hour, we liked the menu and the vibe enough to stop here during our last-night-in-Vegas-lounge-hop. We nabbed a couple of seats at the bar and mulled over the many options - I must give a shout out to the bartender that night, who was friendly and professional. We encountered some great bartenders on this trip who poured fabulous drinks, provided solid food and drink suggestions, and were just all-around fun - they definitely made our lounge-hops more enjoyable and memorable.
We started out with fairly classic drinks for us, fully intending to order more daring choices during our second round. This plan was tossed on its head by the multitude of phone calls and voice mail messages from family members letting us know that a tornado had touched down in St. Louis and that the airport had suffered significant damage and "oh, dear; you may be stuck in Vegas!"
While being stuck in Vegas isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when you have family that you adore and with whom you get to spend more time, the whole getting a flight re-scheduled and trying not to miss more work than you have to thing made the experience rather stressful and so we had to cut short our Craftsteak visit to take care of real life business. But before we did, Jay savored his Cucumber Martini made with Hendricks Gin, Sliced Cukes, and Fresh Lemon Juice while I continued the bubbly trend with a Champagne Cocktail that included a dry champagne topped off with a St. Germain float. Both drinks were fabulous!!
Cucumber Gin Martini & Champagne Cocktail
And for snacking, considering that we were in something of a meat palace, we decided on the Charcuterie Plate. I apologize for the poor picture quality, but you can still see that it was a large platter with many tasty selections, pretzel bread, and yummy mustards and sauces. We had tried a similar plate at Nobhill Tavern a few nights earlier and that was a really pleasant surprise, but this one knocked our shoes off! In addition to the platter, while I was away from the restaurant talking with people on the phone about what had happened in Stinktown, the bartender brought us a plate of hot, fresh rolls with a dish of light, sweet, creamy butter that could give Joel Robuchon's bread cart a serious run for its money.
Charcuterie Sampler
The Bar ...
Still the Bar ...
And Yet More Bar ...
Towards the end of our visit as we were drooling over the bourbon and scotch menu, our bartender showed up with a bottle of what he called, "the best damn scotch I've had in a long time."
He gave us a wee sample and I must say, he was right about how good this stuff is. Usually I find that the older a scotch gets, the more peaty it becomes and I don't personally like that. This was apparently aged in sherry casks and it was very smooth and a little creamy with some hints of toffee. YUM! We meant to come back later and have a nightcap but by the time we straightened everything out with the airline and made sure we could bunk with the family over the weekend, it was getting pretty late and we wimped out.
All in all, Jay and I were very pleased with Craftsteak - we've already discussed heading back here for dinner on our next trip and pairing everything with scotch or bourbon ... or both!
A thing of beauty
It's Crafty.
It's Steakie.
It's Craftsteak, another one of those Celebrity Chef restaurants that they seem to like so much in Vegas and which Jay and I seem constitutionally unable to by-pass. This one belongs to Tom Colicchio and while its focus is on meaty goodness, the menu also provides such delights as veal, lobster, salmon, and fresh farmers' market veggies. In fact, they pride themselves on using ingredients that are only from small family farms or other specialized vendors, which is a trend that Jay and I really like. It also didn't hurt that we discovered they offer more than 200 Bourbon and Scotch labels.
Although Craftsteak was one of the few joints at the MGM not offering an actual happy hour, we liked the menu and the vibe enough to stop here during our last-night-in-Vegas-lounge-hop. We nabbed a couple of seats at the bar and mulled over the many options - I must give a shout out to the bartender that night, who was friendly and professional. We encountered some great bartenders on this trip who poured fabulous drinks, provided solid food and drink suggestions, and were just all-around fun - they definitely made our lounge-hops more enjoyable and memorable.
We started out with fairly classic drinks for us, fully intending to order more daring choices during our second round. This plan was tossed on its head by the multitude of phone calls and voice mail messages from family members letting us know that a tornado had touched down in St. Louis and that the airport had suffered significant damage and "oh, dear; you may be stuck in Vegas!"
While being stuck in Vegas isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when you have family that you adore and with whom you get to spend more time, the whole getting a flight re-scheduled and trying not to miss more work than you have to thing made the experience rather stressful and so we had to cut short our Craftsteak visit to take care of real life business. But before we did, Jay savored his Cucumber Martini made with Hendricks Gin, Sliced Cukes, and Fresh Lemon Juice while I continued the bubbly trend with a Champagne Cocktail that included a dry champagne topped off with a St. Germain float. Both drinks were fabulous!!
Cucumber Gin Martini & Champagne Cocktail
And for snacking, considering that we were in something of a meat palace, we decided on the Charcuterie Plate. I apologize for the poor picture quality, but you can still see that it was a large platter with many tasty selections, pretzel bread, and yummy mustards and sauces. We had tried a similar plate at Nobhill Tavern a few nights earlier and that was a really pleasant surprise, but this one knocked our shoes off! In addition to the platter, while I was away from the restaurant talking with people on the phone about what had happened in Stinktown, the bartender brought us a plate of hot, fresh rolls with a dish of light, sweet, creamy butter that could give Joel Robuchon's bread cart a serious run for its money.
Charcuterie Sampler
The Bar ...
Still the Bar ...
And Yet More Bar ...
Towards the end of our visit as we were drooling over the bourbon and scotch menu, our bartender showed up with a bottle of what he called, "the best damn scotch I've had in a long time."
He gave us a wee sample and I must say, he was right about how good this stuff is. Usually I find that the older a scotch gets, the more peaty it becomes and I don't personally like that. This was apparently aged in sherry casks and it was very smooth and a little creamy with some hints of toffee. YUM! We meant to come back later and have a nightcap but by the time we straightened everything out with the airline and made sure we could bunk with the family over the weekend, it was getting pretty late and we wimped out.
All in all, Jay and I were very pleased with Craftsteak - we've already discussed heading back here for dinner on our next trip and pairing everything with scotch or bourbon ... or both!
A thing of beauty
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Mon Ami Gabi; Paris Hotel, Las Vegas
America's Version of Paris Offers Their Take on a Paris Breakfast in America ...
Three words: Chocolate Bacon Waffle.
That's all it took for me to decide that Jay and I needed a breakfast visit to this self-styled "classic French bistro" in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. It receives decent reviews, is frequented by locals as well as tourists, and it's breakfast for Jeebus' sake ... how hard does the kitchen staff have to work to muck up the first meal of the day?
Don't answer that just yet; let me answer it for you a bit later, OK?
Our last day (or so we thought) in Vegas dawned cool and clear and windy; we walked to Paris from our hotel in about fifteen minutes to find a long line of patrons checking in at Mon Ami Gabi. Luckily I had made a reservation - Disney has trained me well - and we did not have to wait for a table. We were given the option of terrace seating or atrium seating, and opted for the atrium because it was so breezy that morning.
The Atrium ... or Conservatory
A waiter showed up fairly promptly and asked if we wanted coffee, to which we both said, "Yes, please," in unison. However, our request for milk to add to said coffee seemed to baffle him and he disappeared for a long time ... I assume in search of a cow to milk on our behalf. No one stopped at our table in his absence, so when he reappeared with a pitcher of milk I asked if we could place our order and he replied, "I'm not your server." He then looked around the dining area until he spotted a young lady and pointed at her. "That's your server; she'll be with you shortly."
And then he wandered off.
Jay and I just stared at each other. We'd already been waiting ten minutes to place an order while the waitress he pointed out had stopped at every table in the area but ours. We had even listened in while she explained the breakfast specials of the day to a group seated behind us.
"We don't stink, do we?" I asked Jay.
"I don't smell anything."
"Well, I wonder what the problem is. Maybe I look surlier than usual this morning."
"That's unpossible."
The server finally made an appearance just as I was ready to get up and walk out. She took our drink orders, which we really needed by then although she seemed put out by our request for water. And then, even though I didn't want any of the breakfast specials, I asked her about them ... just to be a snot because it was clear she wasn't going to tell us the restaurant was offering any that morning.
Jay went with their signature bloody mary and the chocolate-bacon waffles that everyone raves about. I apparently swallowed a stupid pill before leaving the hotel and ordered a ham and cheese crepe and a side of bacon with a champagne cocktail. Why I didn't order a waffle or some kind of decadent french toast is as beyond me now as it was then.
I do have to say that once our morning alcohol made an appearance I thought that we were back on track. Jay's bloody mary was really tasty - smooth and flavorful with a kick and a hint of citrus to shake things up a bit; and my champagne cocktail was just the right blend of bubbles and sweet-tart.
Bloody Mary & Champagne Cocktail
The food, on the other hand, left something to be desired as far as I was concerned. Let's start with my crepe, shall we? In February we had breakfast at a local Stinktown place called Rooster, which is known for the yumminess of its crepes. Mistakenly, I assumed that if Stinktown could do such an awesome job with breakfast crepes then fake-Paris in America would blow my socks off.
Turns out not so much.
Mon Ami Gabi used deli ham in their crepe, rather than thick, sliced farmstead ham; and then they paired it with the single-most bland and gritty white cheese they had on hand in the kitchen as opposed to something sharp like a cheddar or a colby. And then they drowned it in more bland white cheese sauce, slapped some greens and a dollop of dijon mustard over the top of it all and set it in front of me as if it were a culinary work of art.
It was not good - it was actually quite gross, but our server disappeared for the entire length of our meal once she delivered it and Jay ended up eating enough of the crepe despite its general gackiness that I didn't feel like I could really complain and send it back to the kitchen for something else. Besides, I still had some bacon to chew on, and I knew that the hubba would share some of his waffle with me.
Ham & Cheese Crepe with ...???
But wait! They managed to screw up the bacon, too, which in my world is a crime that should never go unpunished. I can live with crispy bacon but what we received was actually pretty charred and tasted less like succulent pork and more like burnt, blackened, soot.
Crispy Bacon? More like charred.
Thank goodness the chocolate-bacon waffle was all that we thought it could be and more; and thank goodness I have a hubba who's willing to share his breakfast bounty with me! The waffle was light and airy and had bits of bacon and chocolate baked into it - add some butter and maple syrup and it was a thing of beauty. This one dish made the visit mostly worth the effort, but I'm not sure we would go out of our way to dine there again. For one thing we make waffles at home that are just as good as these and for another there are far better places in Vegas for breakfast: Hash House, Society Cafe, and House of Blues come immediately to mind.
Chocolate Bacon Waffle
Three words: Chocolate Bacon Waffle.
That's all it took for me to decide that Jay and I needed a breakfast visit to this self-styled "classic French bistro" in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. It receives decent reviews, is frequented by locals as well as tourists, and it's breakfast for Jeebus' sake ... how hard does the kitchen staff have to work to muck up the first meal of the day?
Don't answer that just yet; let me answer it for you a bit later, OK?
Our last day (or so we thought) in Vegas dawned cool and clear and windy; we walked to Paris from our hotel in about fifteen minutes to find a long line of patrons checking in at Mon Ami Gabi. Luckily I had made a reservation - Disney has trained me well - and we did not have to wait for a table. We were given the option of terrace seating or atrium seating, and opted for the atrium because it was so breezy that morning.
The Atrium ... or Conservatory
A waiter showed up fairly promptly and asked if we wanted coffee, to which we both said, "Yes, please," in unison. However, our request for milk to add to said coffee seemed to baffle him and he disappeared for a long time ... I assume in search of a cow to milk on our behalf. No one stopped at our table in his absence, so when he reappeared with a pitcher of milk I asked if we could place our order and he replied, "I'm not your server." He then looked around the dining area until he spotted a young lady and pointed at her. "That's your server; she'll be with you shortly."
And then he wandered off.
Jay and I just stared at each other. We'd already been waiting ten minutes to place an order while the waitress he pointed out had stopped at every table in the area but ours. We had even listened in while she explained the breakfast specials of the day to a group seated behind us.
"We don't stink, do we?" I asked Jay.
"I don't smell anything."
"Well, I wonder what the problem is. Maybe I look surlier than usual this morning."
"That's unpossible."
The server finally made an appearance just as I was ready to get up and walk out. She took our drink orders, which we really needed by then although she seemed put out by our request for water. And then, even though I didn't want any of the breakfast specials, I asked her about them ... just to be a snot because it was clear she wasn't going to tell us the restaurant was offering any that morning.
Jay went with their signature bloody mary and the chocolate-bacon waffles that everyone raves about. I apparently swallowed a stupid pill before leaving the hotel and ordered a ham and cheese crepe and a side of bacon with a champagne cocktail. Why I didn't order a waffle or some kind of decadent french toast is as beyond me now as it was then.
I do have to say that once our morning alcohol made an appearance I thought that we were back on track. Jay's bloody mary was really tasty - smooth and flavorful with a kick and a hint of citrus to shake things up a bit; and my champagne cocktail was just the right blend of bubbles and sweet-tart.
Bloody Mary & Champagne Cocktail
The food, on the other hand, left something to be desired as far as I was concerned. Let's start with my crepe, shall we? In February we had breakfast at a local Stinktown place called Rooster, which is known for the yumminess of its crepes. Mistakenly, I assumed that if Stinktown could do such an awesome job with breakfast crepes then fake-Paris in America would blow my socks off.
Turns out not so much.
Mon Ami Gabi used deli ham in their crepe, rather than thick, sliced farmstead ham; and then they paired it with the single-most bland and gritty white cheese they had on hand in the kitchen as opposed to something sharp like a cheddar or a colby. And then they drowned it in more bland white cheese sauce, slapped some greens and a dollop of dijon mustard over the top of it all and set it in front of me as if it were a culinary work of art.
It was not good - it was actually quite gross, but our server disappeared for the entire length of our meal once she delivered it and Jay ended up eating enough of the crepe despite its general gackiness that I didn't feel like I could really complain and send it back to the kitchen for something else. Besides, I still had some bacon to chew on, and I knew that the hubba would share some of his waffle with me.
Ham & Cheese Crepe with ...???
But wait! They managed to screw up the bacon, too, which in my world is a crime that should never go unpunished. I can live with crispy bacon but what we received was actually pretty charred and tasted less like succulent pork and more like burnt, blackened, soot.
Crispy Bacon? More like charred.
Thank goodness the chocolate-bacon waffle was all that we thought it could be and more; and thank goodness I have a hubba who's willing to share his breakfast bounty with me! The waffle was light and airy and had bits of bacon and chocolate baked into it - add some butter and maple syrup and it was a thing of beauty. This one dish made the visit mostly worth the effort, but I'm not sure we would go out of our way to dine there again. For one thing we make waffles at home that are just as good as these and for another there are far better places in Vegas for breakfast: Hash House, Society Cafe, and House of Blues come immediately to mind.
Chocolate Bacon Waffle
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Aureole Wine Lounge; Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas
Isn't Every Hour at a Wine Lounge Happy Hour?
On this particular evening in Las Vegas we had reservations at Red Square - Jay and I were taking my parents to dinner there and then we planned to drop hard earned money on a ridiculously over-priced bottle of vodka so we could toss back shots in their vodka vault ... but that's a story for another post. We arrived at Mandalay Bay at least an hour before our reservation so that we could find a good lounge for some snack-n-sip. We tried Stripsteak on a previous visit and the horror that's been visited on the former Fleur dy Lys doesn't bear mentioning here.
While wondering what we were going to do, we stumbled across Aureole's wine lounge. And I do mean stumble because it's not located inside the establishment but actually juts out into the hotel's interior walkway along restaurant row. If you're not paying attention, and some Bendys among us are almost never paying attention because they are daydreaming, you will trip over a potted plant or walk right into a cozy white couch-chair, or both.
Thank goodness there was a big chalkboard with happy hour specials written in big, bright, bold chalk letters. Everything was 50% off until 7PM! We parked ourselves at a table and got down to the business of ordering before a more practical inner voice had a chance to say, "Are you sure this is such a good idea? After all, you're going to be having dinner in just under an hour."
Of course it was a good idea! How often does anyone have a chance to sip wine and snack on small plates at one of Charlie Palmer's joints for a 50% discount?
I ordered an Alta Maria Pinot Noir and Jason ordered a Tempranillo - both were just lovely and paired nicely with our appetizer selections. Said appetizers included Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup with a Country Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Sirloin Sliders with Guacamole Chipotle Sauce. Both appetizers were fabulous but I must admit to having a soft spot in my heart for tomato soup and grilled cheese and this was the stuff of cheesy dreams - warm, rich tomato soup with ooey-gooey, wee grilled cheese sandwedges ... I really do wish I was eating it right now!
Aside from the great happy hour deals, one of the wine lounge's primary draws is the large windows that face the restaurant's four story wine tower. At any given time one of those lovely, brave "wine angels" may appear in mid-air to retrieve a bottle of wine for a patron. It was cool to see but definitely not a job that I would want (not that they would ever hire a four-eyed klutz like me for a job like that ... haha!). But I digress ... suffice to say that Aureole's wine lounge is a terrific addition to the Mandalay Bay snack-n-sip scene and it offers a fabulous happy hour deal through 7PM; stop in the next time you're in Vegas and relax with a lovely glass of wine and some tasty, upscale finger- food. You won't regret it!
Wines and Snacks
Wine lounge & wine tower
Wine tower & wine angel
Heirloom Tomato Soup & Cheese Wedgies
Sirloin Sliders
On this particular evening in Las Vegas we had reservations at Red Square - Jay and I were taking my parents to dinner there and then we planned to drop hard earned money on a ridiculously over-priced bottle of vodka so we could toss back shots in their vodka vault ... but that's a story for another post. We arrived at Mandalay Bay at least an hour before our reservation so that we could find a good lounge for some snack-n-sip. We tried Stripsteak on a previous visit and the horror that's been visited on the former Fleur dy Lys doesn't bear mentioning here.
While wondering what we were going to do, we stumbled across Aureole's wine lounge. And I do mean stumble because it's not located inside the establishment but actually juts out into the hotel's interior walkway along restaurant row. If you're not paying attention, and some Bendys among us are almost never paying attention because they are daydreaming, you will trip over a potted plant or walk right into a cozy white couch-chair, or both.
Thank goodness there was a big chalkboard with happy hour specials written in big, bright, bold chalk letters. Everything was 50% off until 7PM! We parked ourselves at a table and got down to the business of ordering before a more practical inner voice had a chance to say, "Are you sure this is such a good idea? After all, you're going to be having dinner in just under an hour."
Of course it was a good idea! How often does anyone have a chance to sip wine and snack on small plates at one of Charlie Palmer's joints for a 50% discount?
I ordered an Alta Maria Pinot Noir and Jason ordered a Tempranillo - both were just lovely and paired nicely with our appetizer selections. Said appetizers included Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup with a Country Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Sirloin Sliders with Guacamole Chipotle Sauce. Both appetizers were fabulous but I must admit to having a soft spot in my heart for tomato soup and grilled cheese and this was the stuff of cheesy dreams - warm, rich tomato soup with ooey-gooey, wee grilled cheese sandwedges ... I really do wish I was eating it right now!
Aside from the great happy hour deals, one of the wine lounge's primary draws is the large windows that face the restaurant's four story wine tower. At any given time one of those lovely, brave "wine angels" may appear in mid-air to retrieve a bottle of wine for a patron. It was cool to see but definitely not a job that I would want (not that they would ever hire a four-eyed klutz like me for a job like that ... haha!). But I digress ... suffice to say that Aureole's wine lounge is a terrific addition to the Mandalay Bay snack-n-sip scene and it offers a fabulous happy hour deal through 7PM; stop in the next time you're in Vegas and relax with a lovely glass of wine and some tasty, upscale finger- food. You won't regret it!
Wines and Snacks
Wine lounge & wine tower
Wine tower & wine angel
Heirloom Tomato Soup & Cheese Wedgies
Sirloin Sliders
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