You've heard the expression "Vegas or Bust!", well, Vegas posts seem to be busting my ability to blog. I don't know what the blockage is, it was a great trip, but I can't seem to discipline myself to sit down and write both posts for Days 3 and 4. In the interest of the 6 other recipe posts I have in the queue and a Boston/New Hampshire post that needs writing, I'm going to button up Vegas with this one final post and just hit the highlights. And those higlights would be...food of course. Two meals to be exact.
The first tasty delight was Todd English's Olives. B and I had ventured here during our last trip, but arrived during the time between lunch and dinner when the Mediterranean inspired spot serves only a limited menu. We had a great lunch on that occassion, but were eager see what the full menu had to offer. We were not disappointed!
The four of us sat down to a lunch that began with three different types of olive tapenade, flat bread and focaccia. Since my father is and will always be a bread man (to the point of embarrassing me as a child with his incessant requests for more and more and more bread), he was happy from the start. B and I decided to split an appetizer and ordered the Carpaccio. This wasn't your average plate of raw meat. Topping the perfectly pounded beef was shaved parmesan, sweet balsamic, roasted Cipollini onions, scallion cream and arugula. It was MASSIVE! And absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. The next time I go, this will be my entree, there will be no need for other food.
But since we didn't know just how enormous and amazing the Carpaccio would be going in, we had each ordered an entree. B chose sea scallops, seared to a perfect golden color while still moist and meaty inside. In addition to two GIANT scallops, the plate also included whipped potatoes and a cold "slaw" made with jicama and cilantro. Sadly, food allergies on this dish kept me at bay, but B assures me it was delicious. My dad chose the free-range chicken, roasted in a brick oven and served with potato cake, green beans and a madiera reduction. While he tends to stay with "safer" foods when we go out, I'll give him this, he always seems to choose well. The chicken was juicy and the reduction was boldly flavored. My mom selected a grilled flank steak served with tempura onions rings. Flank steak isn't my favorite, it's long fibers make it tough sometimes. But again, we were eating in a restaurant worthy of praise. The flank steak was tender and the onion rings were fabulous. Light and flaky but still quite rich. Lastly, I chose a house stand-by, the ricotta ravioli with sweet italian sausage and tomato basil sauce. I try to stay away from the "safe" options and push myself to try new things. But I'd watched this dish go by several times and it looked too good not to try. It was great. In the end, I found myself wishing the sausage had a little more heat (since as a good friend of mine once said, "It's not a meal unless your nose is running when it's over!"). But to be fair to restaurant, it was always billed as sweet and not spicy sausage. Overall, we were extremely pleased with Olive's and would go back again.
And now on to the culinary highlight of the trip, Strip Steak (which I occassionally get befuddled by and call Skirt Steak, much to the superior cut of meat's shagrin I'm sure). We made a reservation her for our last night in town, a nice way to close out the trip and an opportunity for B and I to treat my parents to a nice meal. Every meal at Strip Steak in the Mandalay Bay begins with a trio of thin cut fries compliments of the house, each one fried up sinfully in duck fat. This makes them crispier and so, so tasty! They are served with three dipping sauces, each doctored up to put a little umph in what would otherwise be traditional ketchup, mayo and mustard based sauces. Personally, I'm partial to the Old Bay seasoned sauce. It tastes like summer in the mid-Atlantic, where the best food to be found is Maryland blue crab, steamed and steeped in Old Bay. Mmmm.
While munching on our fries, we selected our meals. B chose an American Kobe Rib-Eye while both my parents and I chose Filet Mignon. While I know that Filet, as steak cuts go, is the most tender it's often also the least flavorful. Unfortunately for me though, it's the only steak that comes in a size that is even reasonable for me to consider eating. At 10 ounces, I still didn't finish it. I just can't eat that much steak.
We also chose a few sides to share among the table. Our sides included steamed asparagus, truffled mac and cheese and scalloped potatoes. The first and last in that list seem like old stand bys, but SS added their own touches to even these sides that made them as memorable as the meat. The asparagus was steamed perfectly and coated in a horseradish buerre blanc that both made the otherwise healthy side a touch more decadent as well as added a nice kick to an otherwise tame vegetable flavor. The scallop potatoes - where to begin. I should probably state that I have a love affair with potatoes. I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Bad for my waist line but still irresistable. I love them as a perfect food. I even like them raw (insert your gagging noises here). My obvious subjectivity aside, this scalloped potato recipe, layered with sweet onions and queso fresco was phenomenal. I could have forgotten my expertly prepared and wonderfully delicious steak and ran away with the potatoes. It's Vegas, I'm sure someone would have married us if I'd asked. And how could I forget the truffled mac and cheese? Fabulous. But you knew it would be just from the name. Wrap all of this up with cocktails to begin the meal (a Plymouth gin Martini for B and a glass of Champagne for me), and a bottle of Joseph Phelps 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and you have a meal to remember.
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