Posts Tagged ‘sashimi’
Okay, back to the fourth and final installment of our 10th anniversary trip to Las Vegas in early September. (Read Part I; Part II; Part III) The last two places we ate at were Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace and Yellowtail at the Bellagio where we were staying. Mesa Grill was on the list before we left home, and we were both really looking forward to eating at one of our favorite celebrity chef’s restaurants. So was it good? Yes, the food was excellent as we thought it would be. We started with the Squash Blossom appetizer. They were very good and disappeared quickly. (We love these and always get them at any restaurant that has them.) For dinner I ordered the Fire Roasted Veal Chop with horseradish maple glaze and a wild rice tamale with sage butter. The veal chop was perfectly cooked and so tender; and the horseradish maple glaze was really good, a little heat and a little sweet – just right and not overpowering on the veal. It was wonderful. The wild rice tamale however was really dry, I did not finish it. Pete’s entrée was the Southwestern Spiced Duck Breast with carrot habanero sauce and a chorizo & goat cheese tamale with thyme butter. He said the duck was very flavorful and good, but it was a tiny bit dry and could have used more sauce. The chorizo & goat cheese tamale was much better than mine; he said he could have eaten another one. We enjoyed the food but there was something missing from the overall experience; the ambiance felt like that of a chain restaurant and frankly we felt a tad rushed through the dinner by the servers. Who, by the way, were very nice but a bit cold at the same time. Would I eat at Mesa Grill again? Probably not.
Our final meal in Las Vegas was at Yellowtail in the Bellagio hotel where we were staying. I have to say that this restaurant and Olives, both in the Bellagio, were our favorites of the entire trip. We started with the Big Eye Tuna Pizza, a thin almost cracker like “pizza” drizzled with truffle oil and topped with big eye tuna and micro shiso – it was fantastic! Pete also ordered Akira’s “Shooter” – a Kumamoto Oyster in Blueberry Infused Vodka with Wasabi. I didn’t order one because I don’t like oysters, but the blueberry vodka in that shooter smelled so amazing I doubt I’d even taste the oyster. Pete said Akira’s “Shooter” is probably the best oyster dish he’s ever had! Next we ordered a Strawberry specialty roll (spicy tuna & cucumber), a Soft Shell Crab roll (a must have for me at any sushi restaurant!), an Unagi roll (another must have, we both love eel!), and a Yellowtail Kampachi sashimi plate with cilantro and yuzu-soy sauce. Every dish was gorgeous, as well as being a wonderfully balanced harmony of flavors and textures, and the restaurant itself had a great ambiance. The lighting was very nice, dim but not too dark. The decor is modern and yet traditional Japanese; minimal and artistic. The wait staff was very attentive and pleasant. Oh, and I almost forgot the piece de la resistance of the entire meal was this fabulous custom cocktail they have called a Shiso Sunset – Absolut Mandarin vodka, pink grapefruit juice, and blood orange juice with a shiso leaf garnish. (Shiso is the Japanese word for Perilla, an annual herb in the mint family whose taste is similar to that of mint or fennel.) Let me tell you this is one great cocktail; it’s my new favorite drink. A few days after we returned home our server, Carol, sent us a thank you card – how sweet! Yellowtail was a great dining experience and we would eat there again in a heartbeat. It was a terrific way to spend our last evening in Las Vegas!
The photo of the bison sculpture is from the trip and was taken in front of Wells Fargo Bank on Main Street in downtown Grand Junction, CO. The group I was with, a bunch of gearheads, was geeking out on this because it is made entirely of old bumpers. How cool! We walked around and marveled at it for at least ten minutes, it is very impressive – and large. By the time I returned on July 1st the trip had lasted 19 days, a bit longer than expected. Pete picked me up from the airport and we went directly to East By Southwest for sushi. We got to try something new, Pacific Blue Marlin, and wow was that ever terrific! Very similar to Walu, a light colored flesh with a mild flavor and very “meaty” in texture. It was presented sashimi style (my favorite) with a balsamic fig sauce and peppery micro greens, delicious! Before picking me up at the airport Pete had stopped at Wal-Mart for some new shirts and also picked up a huge lodge-style tent so we can go camping. He set the tent up yesterday, all 11’ x 20’ feet of it and boy is it great! We’re planning on going camping for a couple days next week in nearby South Fork along the Rio Grande river. It’s really pretty over there, and it’s only a little more than an hour away. I have a lot of data entry to do before we go, but there has to be time for fun with all the work I’ve done over the past three weeks. I haven’t worked this many hours in years. Oh well, feast or famine as they say. One thing is for certain though, it is so nice to be home and to be with my honey and all our kitty kids. I missed them all so much!
