A Las Vegas Holiday

When people think of the typical Christmas Holiday Celebration, a trip to Las Vegas does not necessarily come to mind. But in the case of a few of my friends, it sounded like a great way to enjoy life this season!

Our group likes to put in about 10 miles a day in walking to lessen the effect of any of our potential gastronomic excesses.

On one of our walks, we run into Eataly. An amazing one-stop food market/eating place for anything Italian. One of my friends wanted to start the day with a cannoli and espresso. That sounded good to all. The cannoli was light and not too sweet…espresso was strong, a little bitter and the perfect partner to the cannoli. As I said, you could find anything there..pizzas and other variations of breads, all the Italian meats, kinds of pasta..you name it, I am sure you could find it.

I was wandering the market place and saw an individual slicing truffles into a dish. I personally, don’t have many opportunities to enjoy the taste of fresh truffles. Yes, I wanted to experience a small tasting plate of risotto with truffles. And so I did! Before even taking a bite, the aroma coming from the plate was intoxicating. The taste that followed did not disappoint. We left Eataly feeling satisfied. Onward and upward!

On our typical walks, we always passed this Chicken and waffle fast food restaurant and decided to stop this time on one of our lunchtime treks. I love my fried chicken and just recently had a chance to taste the gluten-free chicken at the Crack Shack in Encinitas, California. One of my best chicken bites ever! All my friends were ready for a cheat day of eating, so in we went.

My buddy and I had the Holy Chicken with bacon and a nice gooey egg. The rest of the group had chicken tenders and chicken and waffles. Overall, the results were positive. Waffles were tasty with the addition of the maple syrup. While the chicken was not the best of all-time, it was certainly satisfying and hit the spot. Time to talk about dinner!

Our dinner choice was Joes Steak and Stone Crab at the Caesar’s Forum Shops. But wait, we should talk about what else we ran into at the Forum Shops.

I happen to come across this art gallery of food! I probably would have passed it by, if my friend would not have grabbed me and dragged me over. It was awesome!

The gallery includes the works of Nathan Myhrvold. There were pieces that I would love to have over my fireplace! Mr. Myhrovold definitely has a way to make his food subjects seem like they jump out at you! He has developed certain camera technology to photograph food ingredients in a manner I have never seen before.

The photos that we saw were the perfect appetizers to get us ready for dinner! So off we go to Joes Stone Crab.

The Brussel sprouts and asparagus appetizers were very tasty with no complaints. We had steak tartar that could have used a little more seasoning but was still very satisfying. Service had been perfect, with the night looking promising!

Dana had the filet with a bordelaise sauce. Very tender with a great taste which we would expect with a filet. It did not disappoint. The rest of us wanted fish which was great to spectacular! Alex had the Pan Sauteed Branzino; Nina, the Herb Crusted Mahi Mahi; and I had the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass.

The Sea Bass had to be one of the best fish dishes I have ever had! We all tasted each other’s dish and while they were all good, the Sea Bass was just outstanding. The miso glaze gave the fish a great depth of flavor with an amazing umami finish. The fish just melted in your mouth. Incredibly satisfying. Reminded me of a Black Cod (Sablefish) that I have had in the past that I really enjoyed.

In regards to food, we did pretty well on this trip. As far as experiencing a different version of the holidays, we did pretty well as far as that was concerned too!

I hope you all enjoyed your Holiday Season! And as always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!