Nevada – Page 2

Las Vegas: Around the Strip and Honey Salt

February 11, 2013 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip

I am without a doubt somewhat of a creature of habit, there are certain "rituals" that I follow……in Vegas after dropping the Missus off, I'll take a walk up and down the strip to see what's new. I'll usually do this in the morning to avoid the crowds. It had been four years since our last trip here and for me, the biggest change was the massive City Center complex…..

Things had shifted a bit since our last visit….there are now a good number of suite-style offerings; larger rooms, small kitchens, away from the hustle, bustle, cigarette smoke, and noise of the casinos.

We actually stayed at the Fairfield, not quite on the strip, good sized rooms, and away enough from it all to kind of chill. It was easy to get to the strip though….the shuttle to the Mandalay Bay, the tram to Excalibur, a short walk through Monte Carlo to the tram station from Aria to the Bellagio…..

Soon enough you're staring at the Paris……

Which was enough time for me to head back and catch the shuttle at New York, New York, back to the Fairfield.

As for lunch; well, I usually go off the strip. I'd heard about a newer place in Summerlin, that did…well, that much too often used description, "farm to table comfort cuisine"……yet it came highly recommended. So I took that 20 minute drive. I'm sure the distance really wasn't that bad, it just seemed that way. The restaurant, named Honey Salt, was tucked away in the corner of a strip mall…..

Looking very unassuming from the outside, this place was really happening….so many "women doing lunch". It reminded me of places I've been in say, Scottsdale or Buckhead in Atlanta….. The Hostess was very nice telling me they would have a table for me in a few minutes….but I opted for the mellow bar area……

Which must have been fate….I asked the bartender if "it's okay if I sit here…." His response? "Eh, you from Hawaii, huh?" We call "Vegas" the "9th Island", so many visit and so many have moved there…you can't help but run into someone from "home". And once he introduced himself as "Bozo"…..I knew he was the real deal. This was going to be a great lunch……regardless of the food.

Anyway, beyond the pleasantries…..there were many of the typical, "whea' you from" discussions…, eventually things headed to the menu. I had a couple of things in mind, Harissa crusted strip steak salad and Big Eye Tuna Tartar with Crunchy Quinoa came to mind. But MrB told me the two most popular dishes, at least on his watch, which led me to order items I would never had considered.

Starting with the Turkey Meatballs ($9)…….really, turkey meatballs, when was the last time I ordered these? Try never…..

Caramelized onions and a touch of horseradish added some sweetness and pungency. And though the acid was a bit too much, I gotta say, these were the most moist and tender turkey meatballs I've ever had…literally melting in my mouth. You could easily have mistaken them for veal.

For my main, Bozo told me the Biloxi Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich ($13) was the best seller.

The chicken was very moist, though I would have appreciated a bit more "crunch" to it. The brioche was mildly buttery without being too sweet. The slaw completed without overpowering and added a bit more texture to the sandwich.

Actually, I really enjoyed the salad….the kale and edamame really balanced things out…to the utter joy of the Missus who eats and juices kale by the bushel.

I actually enjoyed the food here more than Urban Solace……

Of course, during our meal, another "Bruddah" stopped by for take-out….what can you say? In the end this was a nice meal made better by eating at the bar and talking to another ex-pat Kama'aina and also the young lady from South Africa who convinced Bruddah Bozo (in slang that means "Boy"), a third generation "Bozo", that he needed to check out Lotus of Siam soon. I also got a nice tip on grabbing some poke too…….

Honey Salt
1031 S Rampart Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89145

Las Vegas: Lotus of Siam Four (12) Years Later

February 4, 2013 mmm-yoso Las Vegas, Nevada, Thai Restaurants, Travel

Perhaps I should have titled this post, "LOS Twelve Years Later" because that's how long we've been coming to Lotus of Siam. No trip to Vegas would be complete without a visit to the rather worn strip mall on East Sahara Avenue…….according to my friends, "where cabs don't mind dropping you off, but don't like picking you up." Based on our last meal here almost four years ago, our expectations were high.

We had wondered how time had changed LOS and the answer was easy enough to find. First, Bill Chutima, who owns and runs LOS along with his wife and chef Saipin Chutima is quite the oenophile. There's now a rather large collection of wine on display as you enter. An even bigger difference is that the space next door has been taken over, doubling the size of the restaurant. Even with double the space, hordes of people are still waiting in line at LOS……at least from what we saw on this evening. At least two mini-vans dropped off groups of folks to eat…….all this on a Thursday. Good thing we were on our way out the door when they arrived.

We're always torn when eating at LOS. We want to try out new dishes, but also stick with our favorites from previous visits. Usually, sticking with favorites wins out.

Our main server on this night was the wonderful and warm Mai. Friendly without being overbearing, he enjoyed discussing food, especially Thai food both in the US and Thailand with us. He was a great ambassador for LOS.

The Missus wanted something light and refreshing to start. So we ordered the Soft Shell Crab Salad ($18.95).

Whomever fried this deserves a raise…..the crab was excellent, light and ethereal, with just the perfect crunch. I'm not a big fan of fruits in salads, but here, the green apple did a nice job of adding an additional layer of tartness, without interfering with the overall balance of the dish. In other words, the soul of the dish was unmistakably Thai. It was a great start to our meal…..

Unfortunately, those heights were never quite reached again. Of course we ordered the Koi Soy ($13.95). I just had to have it. LOS was the first place I'd ever had this wonderful raw beef "salad" back in 2002 and it is my benchmark for the dish.

We knew something was off when the dish arrived…..there seemed to be a lot less roasted rice powder, which added great texture and a mild nuttiness to the dish. Some of the pieces of the beef were quite hard and chewy, something I had never experienced with the Koi Neua at LOS. There was a ton of cilantro, but I couldn't taste kaffir lime leaf. You can just compare this with the what we had four years ago below….. This is still good, but not nearly as wonderful as what we've had during previous visits.

Another signature dish at LOS is a Crispy Duck with Chili Mint Leaves ($20.95).

This didn't measure up well either. While the duck was wonderfully fried, there seemed to be a paucity of sauce, which also tasted off, the balance of salt and sweet just didn't seem right. It also looked pretty sloppy with sauce dripping off the side of the plate. Again, this was not a bad dish, the frying was carried out to perfection, it just wasn't as good as before.

Again, another photo from the files.

I mentioned that the restaurant on the other side of LOS had closed down to Mai and joked that the next time we're back they'll have taken over that space as well. His answer was quite interesting. We were told that they now typically do about 400 covers on a good weeknight and sometimes up to 450-500 during the weekend. The restaurant space had been expanded, but the kitchen had not. I began wondering if LOS had not become a victim of its own success?

Didn't have much time to contemplate this as our next two dishes arrived. We had been missing Lanna style Thai. Not so much the Khao Soi, but more of the "dips" which we call "Nam Prik" type dishes. So we ordered first the Nam Prik Hed (Spicy Mushroom Dip – $9.95):

This was another dish that was fine, but didn't hit the same heights as what we've had here before. This was much too sour and the mushrooms too chewy. Sad really, since we really enjoyed it last time – see the photo on the right.

The Nam Prik Noom (Green Chili Dip – $9.95) was good, even though we ordered everything at a heat level '7', this one really brought it to the table.

Loved having this with sticky rice or with some of the light pork rinds. Smokey, with a pernicious burn, I'm thinking my heat tolerance has gone down over the last couple of years.

As I repeated many times, this wasn't a bad meal by any stretch of the imagination. It is indeed better than anything in San Diego. And while newer or first time visitors may think this is fantastic, the bar had been set on our many visits over the years. We know how good the food can, and had been…..and this wasn't it. Remember, Jonathan Gold, back when he used to post on Chowhound, called this the best Thai Restaurant in North America. The Missus was more disappointed than I was. We had just plain wonderful service, so I'm hoping that this was just an "off" night. Now I'll have to try and convince the Missus of that.

Lotus of Siam
953 E. Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702)735-3033

Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Four Years Later Part 2

January 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada

We had really been enjoying our meal at Raku, but I sensed an upcoming lull waiting for the item the Missus was looking forward to having. So I decided to just kind of go for it, ordering some sashimi from the specials board. Having really enjoyed the Shima Aji (striped jack) during my lunch at Mitch's, I wanted the Missus to have a taste.

Along with the pristine slices of fish was a small bit of nice tartar featuring avocado, cilantro, along with the shima aji. The fish was quite good, firm, with a mild sweetness. The Missus just loved the fresh grated wasabi and was actually eating the stuff straight up! I really didn't think much of the sashimi and fish dishes at Raku on our previous visit, but this changed my opinion.

I then decided to take a bathroom break……now why would I mention this……a "TMI" moment. But if you recall, I thought the restroom set-up was quite unique the last time we were here. The faux grass and stone path to the potty are now gone…..but the greenery on the ceiling of the restroom and tweeting bird sounds are still there. I also enjoyed the photo collage of various dishes on the wall.

And of course there are still flower petals lining the floor…….

As I returned, one of the dishes I'd been waiting for arrived……the foie gras with tare. With the ban on foie gras going full steam in California, I needed my fix. The Missus thought I was insane ordering a $16 skewer of foie gras, but what arrived was pretty impressive.

I was surprised at how good this was…….it was really ready to melt. The look on the Missus's face when She had Her first bite was just priceless. So luxurious……I told the Missus that this was so good I wanted "to kick myself". We took our time on this, enjoying every single morsel. When the server came to take the plate away, I thought the Missus was going to do bodily harm on the very efficient guy. The empty plate remained on the table….I actually thought the Missus was going to lick all the rendered fat off the plate!

The final dish of the night was the sake kamameshi, the salmon and ikura iron pot rice. It was a chalkboard special the last time we ordered this and at $35 was probably the most expensive rice dish I can recall ordering. Now you can order it by the cup….well, the Missus ordered 3 cups! That's three cups of uncooked rice……which came to $30 bucks anyway!

This was just as wonderful as on our previous visit. The Missus had the extra bonus of pouring off all the rendered foie gras fat on Her bowl of rice. This was way too much for us to finish of course, but like last time, they made us onigiri with the leftover rice. Which I had as a snack over the next two nights.

The service was reserved but nice. The one male server was pretty amazing in his efficiency. He would pick up on every tiny drop of spilled sauce and get things cleaned up and plates changed and removed with great speed.

It could be that we understand what we enjoy at Raku, making this visit more enjoyable than our last……but I honestly think Raku has improved over the last four years. I can't wait for our next visit!

Aburiya Raku Restaurant
5030 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 367-3511
Hours: Mon-Sat 600pm – 300am

Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Four Years Later Part 1

January 21, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada

Man, time sure does fly, huh? It seems that it was only yesterday that we had a wonderful meal at Raku. But time had indeed marched onward and it was time for the Missus to renew Her certifications….which strangely, you aren't able to do in San Diego. Not that I'm complaining mind you, not in the least. This was actually fairly last minute, but I've got a wonderful manager and a great team who had no problem covering for me in spite of the rather late notice. This time, instead of the Missus flying out and I meeting Her a day later, She just picked me up at work and we drove up to Vegas. Of course this meant that we'd be getting in rather late, but since I usually get into the office before 6 (pssst, what they tell you about needing less sleep as you get older seems to be true!), She could pick me up at a bit after 3pm. In need of a late dinner, Raku, open until 3am immediately came to mind. We made reservations for 10pm, but actually got in before 9, checked in…..it was easy since we weren't staying on the strip….the Missus isn't fond of the crowds, cigarette smoked, and the noise of the strip. We arrived at Raku early to see if they could take us…..and being a rather quiet Wednesday, they had no problem.

Combined with the chalkboard items, the robata-ya, oden, and the rest, there's quite a bit to choose from at Raku. Luckily, we'd been here before and knew what we enjoyed….and more importantly, what we didn't. It made ordering….well not easy because of all the great stuff we had before….but perhaps a bit easier.

We'd had a long drive, so I thought the "Raku Tofu" ($4.50) would be the perfect way to refresh ourselves. Plus, Kirbie made it look delicious.

As per the program, the very nice Server told us to have this first with the matcha-shio (green tea salt), then with the whatever we wanted. While the matcha-shio experience was nice, this was just plain heaven with the house blended soy sauce…..nice mild hints of ume in it. The tofu, while soft, is not quite silken, but still wonderful and I thought the Missus would actually start chugging that shoyu……

Next up was what the Missus thought would be an interesting combination……it wasn't strange for me, but She thought the "gooey on gooey" would be different. Thus we ordered the Poached Egg with Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe ($9). This was really a nice combination. I've always been a fan of the ikura (salmon roe) that Raku serves….it isn't the overly preserved and salty stuff you see at most places. Here's it's briney with a nice "pop".

I loved how the flavors wrapped themselves around my tongue. You mixed the whole thing up…the tororo wasn't just grated, but a combination of diced and grated, so you got the nice, very mildly sweet effect. The flavors created were so complex, sweet and custard like from the uni, a mild "green taste" from the thin slices of okra that seemed like a bonus everytime you had a slice….you get the point, right?

Then the robata items started arriving. First the enoki mushroom wrapped in a nice mildly smoked bacon.

Then the Kobe Beef Fillet with Wasabi….very tender and beefy, with the wasabi adding that nice fat cutting pungency….much like horseradish…..

The tare was nice, not too sweet.

Then something we had on our previous visit, the Duck with Balsamic Soy.

We'd really enjoyed this the last time….this time around…well, I didn't care for it at all. First, the balsamic glaze tasted burnt and bitter to me and the duck was really tough.

The Missus had never had Pork Cheek robata style, so I thought it would be a nice time to try it.

Well, She liked the flavor, but the texture…….at first bite, just like pork, but then chewy and tendon like, freaked Her out.

At this point, it seemed that the one item that the Missus really wanted was still a few minutes away….so what to do?

Stay tuned!

Rodeo Road Trip – NFR 2010, Las Vegas (Great breakfast at Egg Works)

December 7, 2010 Cathy Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is not only about food and meals, but how we got to find that food to enjoy those meals. Today, Cathy writes about her latest adventure.

So. It's time for my annual mini vacation to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Ms. T and I left early Sunday. Soon we were at State Line.

In another 30 minutes, we were at the hotel.
…with the beautiful decorated tree in the lobby...
the outdoor 'beach' pool area…

and very large exercise room, right next to a heated outdoor lap pool.
Which was an amenity we needed to use, after we hit the Buffet for dinner.

The next morning, we needed to get to the airport (to go to Customs and Border Protection for Trusted Traveler Program paperwork completion) and were looking for breakfast.
Egg Works. At the SouthEast Corner of the airport. (Sunset at Southeastern). Hours are 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Seven television sets, free wifi, a coffee cup at every place setting. Breakfast and lunches. Owned by people who own The Egg and I (a restaurant I used to go to when growing up in Detroit-the first restaurant that sent us Birthday Club Cards, the first place my parents remember getting a thermal pot of coffee left at the table… a Midwestern chain which makes and serves Cincy Chili) That black egg face flips to become yellow and is a signal for any passing waitress that you would like their attention.
You get a choice of toast or home made banana nut muffin with your breakfast. The muffin comes out *hot* from the oven.
Pure, simple. real banana and more nuts than in this photo. Really good. People buy loaves To Go of this banana bread.
Ms. T ordered the chalkboard special Northern California Omelette ($9.25) Four eggs, chicken, broccoli and mushrooms, topped with a cheese-Hollandaise-like sauce. Fresh and filling and good. It came with a side of Works potatoes and the toast.

I ordered the Home Made Corned Beef Skillet ($9.95). Really meaty corned beef hash, made with green peppers and onions and potatoes, topped with two poached eggs. Excellent. If you are in Las Vegas, this is the place to have a very good sit down breakfast. There are three locations.
By 5 p.m., we were parked and ready to go inside to see the National Finals Rodeo- the World Series of Rodeos. The top 15 Cowboys in the world of each of seven events competeing for ten days in a row to determine the World Champions.

The women who control horses to race around three barrels as quickly as possible.

The men who control a horse and rope a steer in as little time as possible (three different events): Or the men who stay on a bucking animal for at least eight seconds.

Long Live Cowboys. Athletes.

The tenth and final day of NFR is this Saturday, the 11th. It is shown live and rerun on ESPN daily.

Egg Works 2490 East Sunset Road Las Vegas 89120, 9355 West Flamingo Las Vegas 89147
Egg &I 4533 West Sahara Las Vegas 89102 Website

Green Valley Ranch Resort Website

National Finals Rodeo Website

Road Trip- Las Vegas- A day

December 6, 2009 Cathy Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food written by a group of friends who eat. Today, Cathy is blogging about both food and an adventure.

Hi. The other day, my brother sent me an email that he had a pass to a convention Las Vegas and would be flying in, accompanied by his son, my 15 year old nephew, who couldn't go to the conventionor any adult ventures because of his age. and anyhow, he was wondering if "Aunt Cathy" maybe could drive out for a bit and visit. So I did.

I left Santee about 7 a.m. and drove, keeping the speed limit.

Soon I was at my destination, called my nephew on the mobile, announced I was hungry and was happy he was also ready for lunch.

We drove out of Sunset Staion, took a left and started looking and found a Sammy's California Woodfired Pizza place: Unique for my nephew. So we stopped.

We shared a small Caesar Salad ($7) which was fresh and not too garlic-y.

We asked for bread and a basket of fresh made white bread and some crackers was brought to the table.

Since we could not decide, the "New York" pizza was ordered ($10)- wood fired dough topped with sausage, pepperoni, salami, mushrooms and block olives. Very good.

My brother came back from his meetings and was ready for dinner. We went to Blueberry Hill, a 24 hour, Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner place and he ordered one of each of the soups of the day-a tomato turkey and a beef zucchini; both were very good.

My nephew ordered this- fried chicken, mashed and vegetables. Gravy came on the side.

Along with a breakfast of corned beef hash, poached eggs and ribbon cut hash browns (aren't they pretty?)

I ordered a breakfast, because I wanted a blueberry muffin, grilled.

My brother ordered chicken fried steak. Which came with the gravy on it.

I started noticing flooring in the hotel. Like this birds eye view of hot dogs in the elevator. I knew I needed to sleep.

The view from the hotel room was glorious the next morning, only to be set aside by my dear brother and nephew both telling me "don't fool yourself Aunt Cathy, you snore"…

With that, we went bowling.

There was time for breakfast at the 24 hour coffee shop (Coco's).

As well as lattes and pastries from the Casino Starbucks.

But I did need to start driving home, and greatly anticipated my next stop.

In Baker. The Mad Greek.

A gyros.

A banana shake.

Home before sunset.

We hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Las Vegas: Rincon Criollo and Luv It Frozen Custard

March 25, 2009 mmm-yoso Cuban Restaurants, Desserts, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip

After dropping the Missus off in the morning, I took a 4 hour "stroll" around the strip. Things looked pretty much the same on the strip since my last visit. I had to laugh when I passed the Bellagio…….

The last time I was here with the Missus, She was attending a class as well. The venue for the class was Imperial Palace (ick), and while I had Steak Frites at Mon Ami Gabi for lunch, overlooking the Lake at the Bellagio, the Missus was served Baloney Sandwiches (true story) for lunch! I'm not quite sure if She was exaggerating, but the Missus told me the baloney had a green tinge to it….. Luckily, this time the venue was a bit better.

By the time I hit the Wynn, I was starting to get hungry, so I headed back to my car. I had one lunch in Vegas, and there were many choices. But I knew what was ruled out….

No cheap drinks…..

And no buffet…..

And in keeping with our eating "theme", nothing on the strip…..

I had more than a few choices to consider. Perhaps some Filipino Food? Salo Salo Grill had been recommended, and good ol' Elena's Restaurant had set up shop in Vegas as well. There was Yun Nan Garden for Yunnan and Sichuan. But I thought some Cuban food sounded good. Way back in the days "BB" (before blogging) 'Jorge' had recommended two Cuban Restaurants in Las Vegas. One of them was Havana Grill , but that was a bit more of a drive than I wanted. Which is how I found myself driving North on Las Vegas Boulevard, past the Little White Chapel, "Where Joan Collins and Michael Jordan were married!" (Not to each other I hope) And farther out, past the shadows of the Stratosphere. An drove into a parking lot with some pretty colorful art work:

I parked, and walked past the Reggae Lifestyle store….

And the "Adult Superstore"……

And to my destination……

Rincon Criollo Cuban Restaurant:

When I arrived, the place was starting to get busy, an older woman stood, and pointed me to a table in the corner. Most of the customers there had the rapport and body language that told me they were regulars. Most of the conversations were in Spanish……

The menu here is located under the plate glass covering each table.

Jorge had recommended a couple of dishes to me……the two version of Puerco Fritas came highly recommended, but that would have wiped me out for the rest of the day. We still had dinner plans for Lotus of Siam, so I decided on something other than pork.

As I was reading over the menu, some bread, toasted in the "Plancha" (Cuban Sandwich Press) arrived.

I had decided on the Boliche Mechado ($9.99). Boliche is a Beef Roast (usually rump roast), stuffed with Chorizo sausages, simmered in a tomato based sauce. And when it arrived at the table, it looked just like photos I'd seen of the dish:

It's very hard to see in the photo above, but there are two chorizo sausages stuffed into the slices of beef roast. The beef was nice and moist, firm, but not tough. The sauce was quite nice, tangy, with a mild garlic flavor. My only complaint would be that it was served lukewarm. I'd have preferred it a bit hotter. It came with some plain, and very mild tasting black beans and rice. The chorizo added a bit more "zing" to the dish, but not much.

Of course it seemed like every other customer had ordered the Masas de Puerco Fritas (deep fried chunks of pork) or Chuletas de Puerco Fritas (pork chops), both of which looked wonderful. Talk about food envy. Still, this was a pretty good lunch.

Rincon Criollo
1145 South Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89104

(702) 388-1906

Later that evening, the Missus wanted something "sweet" to freshen Her palate after dinner at Lotus of Siam. One of the really nice Servers recommended Luv It Frozen Custard, which is also located North of the strip, right off Las Vegas Boulevard. We arrived to a pretty crowded parking lot.

There are lots of locals that will give you advice here…..the gentleman in the photo told us he's been coming here for over 35 years…since 1973! When I first saw the sign saying "frozen custard", I warned the Missus. She is not a fan of "eggy" desserts. She ended up purchasing a combination Pina Colada/Raspberry cup.

This frozen custard was less "eggy" and lighter than the versions I tasted in Madison. The raspberry tended toward the sweeter side, and had almost an artificial flavor. The pina colada flavor was less sweet. We thought this was okay, but nothing we'd rush back for. In fact, for the rest of the evening, everytime I mentioned the place, the Missus would repeat, "it was ok…..but I didn't LUV IIIIIT!"

Luv-It Frozen Custard
505 E Oakey Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702) 384-6452

Tue-Thu. 1:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

You should check them out if you're in the area….who knows….you just might LUV IIIIIT!"

Las Vegas: Lotus of Siam

March 18, 2009 mmm-yoso Las Vegas, Nevada, Thai Restaurants, Thailand

In the world of food forums and food blogging, you know something or somewhere has pretty much "made it" when it becomes a generally accepted abbreviation. Case in point; Din Tai Fung, is now called….."DTF", and they are well known for their "XLB"…Xiao Long Bao, a double whammy in this case. Back in 2005, Dylan, the mind behind the magic of Eat, Drink, & Be Merry, did a joint post on Niu Rou Mian, which we simply started calling "NRM". Now I'm not going to make any Al Gore-ish claims to have invented anything (it was all Dylan, he-he-he), but I see "NRM" abbreviations everywhere. And so we get to "LOS"….…. an abbreviation you'llsee everywhere this restaurant is mentioned.LOS = Lotus of Siam is a "GAA" (generally accepted abbreviation). In many ways for me, Lotus of Siam represents the best of what Chowhound was. In fact, I've bookmarked the very first time I read about LOS, in this post from 2000, by Dave Feldman. Over the years, LOS became an interesting case study for me. I believe it was with LOS that I first really noticed "the contrarian", you know them…he in the name of "honesty and truthfulness" who goes to a restaurant that folks love, who orders to the exact weakness of a restaurant, who desires to "balance the scales" and cut through the hype. He who in the end creates his own negative hyperbole, by exaggerating every possible negative thing they can think of about a restaurant. Of course, it didn't help that Jonathan Gold declared Lotus of Siam the "single best Thai restaurant in North America." That's some major real estate……..even after our first visit in 2001, where I really enjoyed the food, but still wasn't really sure about the "the best" title. In fact, if you'd like to go back in time, you can check out this post from CH in 2001.

Over the years, I'd been to LOS 4 times. You can find a photo from a visit in 2002 in this post. And I've got to say, even though we encounter 1 sort of clunker of a dish during every visit. LOS is still the, or among the, best Thai Restaurants I've ever been to. But this visit was different, I hadn't been to LOS in five years, the Missus six. During that period of time, we've gone through a heck of a lot of Thai Food…here…and in Thailand. And time has a way of working on you (thank goodness for the food blog), even with such revered bloggers such as Elmo to keep you up to date. But still you tend to wonder……..was LOS still that good? Upon our arrival, LOS still looked as it did the first time we visited…….looking just like another restaurant awash in the sea of strip malls in a sort of seedy part of Sahara Avenue.

There were two major changes on our arrival, the crowd of people waiting to get in, and all of the awards, clippings, and magazine covers that now cover almost the entire wall at the entrance of the restaurant. Still, the rest of the restaurant seemed the same…from the stained acoustic tiles on the ceiling, to the tacky lattice w LOS03 ork.

We found the familiar surroundings comforting…we even laughed as we ticked off and identified the different tables we've had over the years.

Since I had forgotten our ice chest, the strategy for the evening was to minimize left-overs…..bummer. We also decided to order from three different regions.

We started with the Crispy Duck with Chili Mint Leaves ($19.95):

Crisp duck, mildy sweet, with just the hint of five-spice. Topped with fried Thai Basil leaves, just like Bangkok.

This was a good dish….good crisp skin, not greasy in the least bit. As with many of this type of Thai dishes, the flavors were very familiar.

We also ordered the Issan Sausage ($9.95):

I did mentioned that with every meal there was a "clunker" right? Well this was it. We loved many of the sausages we ate in Thailand, and none of them tasted like this. I love the sour-fermented flavor of Thai Sausages….but these tasted rancid….it was also dry. Not good eats…..

We had considered getting a nice Northern Larb, but in the end decided on the Koi Soi (Spicy Raw Beef Salad – $13.95). LOS was the first place I ever had Koi Soi, and I remember enjoying it, so I was curious to see if my opinion would still hold true. Let me just say that it was even better than I remembered:

First off, the meat used was tenderloin….fresh and tender, and sliced into small cubes like tartar, the beef was of excellent quality. Second, the roasted rice powder, was just that, a very fine powder, that still added texture, but without the the intrusive tooth cracking that the occasional large piece of coarsely ground rice powder would add. Third was balance, the salty-sour-spicy balance was perfect, as were the fine chiffonade of kaffir lime leaf, cilantro, and other herbs, creating a harmonious dish. Ummm, harmonious, in a spicy sort of way…….

I love the Koi Soi at Sab E Lee, but this was in another league…much more refined, much more balanced. It was by far, my favorite dish of the short trip.

Having really enjoyed the various "dips" in Chiang Mai, we went for the Nam Prik Hed (Spicy Mushroom Dip – $9.95):

The earthy tones of the mushrooms, combined with the sharp flavors of the herbs, and the even sharper heat, along with blanched veggies made this a wonderful dish. It was also the spiciest…..just as spicy as the Nam Prik we had in Chiang Mai. We were instantly transported to a restaurant called Huen Phen in Chiang Mai. The flavors were right on…..as was the heat!

The long beans were especially good, young and sweet.

We had 1 order of sticky rice for our Koi Soi and Nam Prik, which was cooked to perfection. And I mean perfect. And 1 order of steamed rice for the crispy duck.

In this rare case, I'd say that our meal had exceeded our expectations….it was better than I recalled. We drew a few stares from the tables around us. Most of those folks ordered stuff like Wor Won Ton Mein, Tempura(???), Tom Yum, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (contrarians perhaps?). Best Thai Restaurant in North America? I don't think I'll ever be able to answer that. Great Thai food that's worth the trip to Vegas? You bet…..

Some Notes: Times have changed since we first started going to LOS, make reservations. And do yourself a favor, unless you want to be a "contrarian", don't do the buffet, and give something different a shot. Bill Chutima is a well known wine enthusiast, so you might enjoy the wine list.

Lotus of Siam
953 E. Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89104
(702)735-3033

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Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Part 2

March 17, 2009 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of this post. But before the next item arrived, it was time for a potty break. I usually don't do bathroom photos….but the restroom at Raku is pretty unique….after all, I don't know of many places that have faux grass with stone walking path (however short a walk it is) to the restroom. And once inside….are those really flower petals lining the floor and the toilet tank?

And what was that noise…….what? Birds singing….. coming from the faux flowers……on the ceiling??? You gotta love it….. Heck, you may not want to leave!

I returned to our table to find three bowls, one of them filled with water, with a "Shamoji" (rice paddle) in it.

This could only mean one thing…….the Sake Kamameshi (salmon and rice cooked in a iron kettle) was to arrive.

This was an item from the "specials board", deciding that we would need some starch during the meal we ordered it, not knowing that it was enough to feed four to five people! We also didn't know it was $35! Yep 35 dollars for a rice dish…..and I'd say it was almost worth it.

The rice was cooked to perfection, studded with salmon, grilled salmon skin(yum), ikura (salmon roe), thin chiffonades of ginger and shiso.

The Missus isn't a big fan of ikura, but after tasting the roe, I told Her that it was of excellent quality. This was a grade higher than the standard overly salty and fishy ikura. Granted it wasn't like the amazing ikura at Urasawa, but it was better than most. It added a nice slightly briney flavor to the rice, the salmon added richness, and the shiso and ginger kept everything in check. There was a nice balance to this dish.

The rice was perfect. It was moist, yet you could count every single grain. Knowing we still had stuff coming I had one bowl…the Missus had two. As we were finishing our bowls, Miki came by and told us, "we will prepare this for you to take home." And a few minutes later a package arrived. The Missus couldn't help Herself, and had to take a peek……just so you know how much rice was in that kamameshi. There were six perfectly formed salmon-ikura onigiri (rice balls) in that box:

We had couple as a snack later that night (because we just had to), and the rest for breakfast the next morning. I'm not sure if it was just the Missus and I, that we'd order it again….but if you've got a party of four, this might be worth your while.

Next up was this:

On the menu it is listed in English as "Cold Udon Noodle with Foie Gras Custard Soup". Basically, Foie Gras Chawanmushi with Udon. The chawanmushi looks wonderful, with a nice layer of dashi on the top.

The noodles are a perfect al dente, and are designed for "dipping".

There's a wonderful slice of grilled duck breast in the broth, and the texture of the chawanmushi is perfect.

I love foie gras, so for me it was custardy foie gras heaven! One the other hand, the Missus found this to be way to rich for Her. So I had most of it to myself….and I happily slurped away:

It was indeed rich, as I found myself pretty full by this time.

But there was one more dish….Agedashi Tofu ($9). In comparison to most of the other dishes, this was pretty large.

The kinugoshi tofu (silken tofu) is made in house, and is as smooth as, well silk. It is lightly coated in potato starch(katakuriko) and deep fried. This gives the tofu a fairly crisp, but thin coat. The tetsuyu (broth) was much darker and richer than most I've encountered, bordering on salty. The Missus is used to tofu that is much more "beany" in flavor, and thought the flavor was too mild. I enjoyed the ikura and nameko mushrooms as well.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal. It's not for everybody though. We appreciated the quality ingredients, the wonderful service, and didn't think the price was too bad. If we had planned a bit better, we probably could have gotten away with about $70 for two…of course we drank no alcohol, which always adds to the price. I've easily spent more on dinner at Sakura.

You could perhaps find something comparable in LA, but not in San Diego. Funny thing, I glanced through the January issue of GQ, and found that Alan Richman called his meal at Raku one of the best he had in 2008…..

Some notes: The restaurant is small, so make reservations. I've read that they get very busy after midnight. One nice touch is that everything is written out in English, even the specials, and it seemed that everyone is well versed in describing the dishes.

Aburiya Raku Restaurant
5030 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 367-3511

Hours: Mon-Sat 600pm – 300am

Part 1 of this post can be found here.

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Las Vegas: Aburiya Raku Restaurant Part 1

March 16, 2009 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip

Last week, the Missus had some classes in Las Vegas. I hadn't been planning on going, but as the week progressed, things started getting more and more promising. I managed to get Friday off, Da' Boyz favorite "Uncle" agreed to watch them for a few days, and I had a tank full of gas(about as close to "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses" as I'll ever come, I guess)….. Being a last minute trip, I had to plan our meals out. The Missus isn't a real fan of the crowded "strip", so I decided on a couple of places off the strip. It had been five years since I'd last been to Vegas, and six since I last drove up, so I was more than a bit interested to see what had changed.

The Missus had flown out the night before, so I had a solo drive. As soon as I finished work, I hit the road. And made it in pretty good time….. five-and-a-half hours. After meeting the Missus, and taking a quick shower, we drove to Aburiya Raku, where I had made dinner reservations. I was more than a bit excited about eating here. I'd read a few interesting articles, and had tucked away a Chowhound post from last year for "a rainy day". Being a aburiya, Raku closes at 3am, and apparently had made a name for itself, since names I recognized like Kerry Simon, Michael Mina, and Paul Bartolotta, and since I'm really not a "Chef Junky", names I didn't recognize like Rick Moonen and David Varley were sprinkled among the articles like magic dust.

The tiny restaurant(about 30 seats) itself is dark, classy, and dressed in the typical spartan, understated, Japanese manner. There's a small dining area, along with a "bar" area.

One more thing…..the restaurant is located on the Western edge of Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas's Asian shopping and eating neighborhood. And of course, it is tucked in the far corner of a strip mall, to the left of, hidden from view by a smoke shop. The photo in my previous post is of one of the buildings in that strip mall.

Our main Server this evening was "Miki", who was a complete and utter joy. Friendly, helpful, funny, Miki had one thing in aces….perfect timing. She was always there with a refill of our tea, or to answer a question, but was unobtrusive.

Raku bills itself as an aburiya and robotayaki, a place for grilled items, but as you'll notice a bit later it is much more. So what is the difference between a Yakitori-ya, and a Robatayaki-ya? When someone asks, I tell them, "from my limited understanding, there is a sematical difference. Yakitori refers to grilled chicken (yaki-tori), whereas robatayaki refers to the entire gamut of grilled food."

The menu is pleasingly large, with a variety of dishes. In addition to the grilled items, there's a section of items in broth (Oden), and one of starches….but oh, what starches they were. In addition to the typical yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls), there were some really interesting items.

There's also a chalkboard with specials of the day, and a pretty good Sake list as well.

As we went over the menu, the Missus noticed something. She pointed to the podium and asked, "is that their cookbook?" I turned….it was a copy of "The Complete Robuchon", a signed copy. I inquired, and found out that Joel Robuchon has been by a few times as well……

So on to the food. The Missus and I wanted to sample a good variety, so we ordered several items from the robatayaki menu…..and though most would order 2 orders or more, we did single orders so we could sample a good range of items.

We started from the "Oden menu", with Uni Oden ($4):

Several pieces of freshly cracked uni on a bed of wakame in a dashi based broth. The subtle, balanced flavors were excellent. The uni was sweet, rich, and custard-like. The wakame added texture, and the wonderful umami. The broth was savory, yet refreshing. If you could think of the taste of the ocean……

The Missus wanted to order the Sashimi Salad($9). I had reservations about ordering fish at a robatayaki, but we ordered it anyway.

The parts of the salad were wonderful; crisp baby spinach, crisp fried potato, and wonderful salmon(though the maguro was, meh). But when put together with an overly salty ponzu like dressing and drizzled with a spicy mayo, like you'd find on a spicy tuna roll, this wasn't very pleasant. This was my least favorite dish of the night.

Grilled Lamb Chop($5):

Miki thoughfully delivered a knife, since it was a single chop for two. This was a bit past where I'd have wanted the chop to be with regards to doneness. It was moist, but slightly tougher than I'd have desired. Also, the Missus noticed that the sweetness of the "tare" (sauce) detracted from the flavor of the lamb.

Chicken Wing (Tebasaki – $1.50):

There's a simple equation which makes amazing things happen. The presence of a chicken wing seasoned with good quality salt, grilled over Binchōtan, is simply wonderful. And this did not disappoint. It was moist, the wonderful flavor of the salt and chicken, with the smokey flavor of bincho-charcoal came through. The wing was cooked to perfection, bursting with flavor and juices. The skin was a work of art. I wanted to order 15 more.

The next item was recommended by Miki; corn stuffed with potato ($2.50):

We're still talking about this seemingly simple dish. The excellent quality corn's cob has been replaced by mashed potato. The corn, which I believe was already sweet, was made exceedingly so by grilling which developed all the sugars. Think of it as the "heart of a potato and corn croquette."

Grilled Duck with Soy and Balsamic Vinegar($4):

This was excellent. We were worried that this would turn out to be too sweet, but it was not. The grilled duck breast had hints of the smokey bincho flavor and was moist. There was a decent amount of fat, and the scallions helped to cut the richness of the dish. The Missus even forgot Her, "all duck should have five spice flavor" rule for a moment.

Eringe Mushroom ($3):

Earthy and woodsy, with the addition of salt, and a smokey flavor. This had a nice meaty texture.

Kobe Skirt with Garlic($6):

This was tougher than expected, and I'd have wanted more of the beefy flavor that beef skirt has to come through a bit more. Loved the fried garlic.

Chicken Breast wrapped in Skin($2.50):

Great quality chicken breast meat, cooked to perfection, wrapped in it's grilled to bacon-est skin. Having the three qualities that most chicken breast lacks, moistness, tenderness, and great flavor. Man this was good……..

And yet, if you think this was good, wait till part 2! Foie Gras Chawanmushi anyone?

Part 2 of this post can be found here.