Gordon Ramsay - Steak

Our first dinner in Vegas was at Gordon Ramsay's STEAK. Located in the Paris Hotel, there is a kitschy entrance from the hostess's stand, a tunnel that is supposed to be representative of the Chunnel, taking you from Paris to London. Thankfully, it's only a few feet long, but I felt sympathy for the hostess who had to explain that to us with a straight face. The other thing our hostess explained to us was on the ceiling. Apparently, this is an artist's rendering of Gordon Ramsay's hand movements when he cooks. Who knew? But instead of just having this vision hanging over your head, the have incorporated this wild movement into other parts of their decor as well.

They've reused the same symbol on their menu. I asked the hostess who the artist was, and she drew a blank. Does anyone know??  Once seated, we were presented with an iPad which showcased all their cocktails. Tap a cocktail and you'll presented with the ingredients of each. This definitely adds a cool, hi-tech feel to the evening.

 

With an iPad in hand, we decided to order two cocktails, a South Side on the left with a Sidecar on the right. The South Side is just gin, lemon juice, sugar and some mint. I thought it was fun that they served it to us with the strainer, instead of straining it for us. The Sidecar was a nice potent beverage probably because of the cognac. There is an orange liqueur, something like GM and a touch of lemon juice. Both of the drinks were amazing, just potent enough but flavourful so that you don't feel like you're boozing it up. 

There is a Limited Tasting Menu available for $145/person. However, I am not a fan of desserts and it just seemed like a waste to pay for a 5-course dinner, knowing full well that I wouldn't enoy one of the courses. And then there was the Beet Salad, again not a huge fan. 

Making the decision a bit harder was the temptation of an autographed picture of Gordon Ramsay himself. But in the end, we opted for a picture of the autograph and decided to order a la carte. 

Once we decided forego the Tasting Menu, our waiter brought over the Wheel of Fortune of Meat. This was insane, complete with mirrors to show you the meat from every possible angle. The meats are real, from tenderloin, ribeye, porterhouse and t-bone and so much more! How to choose? Well, we did, stay tuned for our choice! For the complimentary bread, we actually got a selection of four different types. On the right, we had a Lemon Thyme Foccacia bread. Next to them were two bread rolls. One is a Truffle, Mushroom and Pancetta Roll, and on top of it, there is a slightly sweet roll that seemed to have a hint of Chocolate to it. And then the baguette we had was infused with flavours from walnuts. And to the far left, there is a creamy butter, called English Devonshire, with a neatly placed line of Volcanic Sea Salt. But don't fill up on bread, the best is yet to come! Instead of ordering a few appetizers, we decided to go for the Shellfish Platter. Because the Smoked Mussels didn't really fit onto the platter, they brought this out first, along wit the sauces, such as the champagne mignonette, a citrus soy glaze as well as your traditional cocktail sauce.   Then our waiter brought over this...a gigantic octopus. Apparently, our shellfish platter would be placed on this octopus. I can't wait!! So this is the Shellfish Platter. It's about $75 for two people and there are tiger prawns, shelled king crab, fresh Kusshi and Malpaque oysters, and lobster as well. I've had shellfish platters before with the dry ice for effect, but I've never had one where the gigantic blocks of ice IS the plate. This was amazing and more impressive than I expected. There was a lot of food and they make it very easy to eat, shelling everything for you.   So, what did we pick for our entree? At the suggestion of our waiter, we chose the Porterhouse for Two. At 32oz, bone in and for $105, we knew we were going headlong into a food coma. On a porterhouse steak, you get both the striploin as well as a tenderloin. Sort of the best of two worlds, plus a bone to chew on as well!   Man cannot survive on meat alone (well, I tend to disagree), but we opted to get a few sides to complement our meal. This is the Sauteed Mushrooms and I have to say, it was interesting. I liked the mushrooms but was a bit weirded out by the bonito flakes on top. I think the bonito threw me off.   Because we didn't have anything "carby", we decided to go for a Baked Potato, but not just a potato with some butter, hell no! This was loaded with a smoked gouda bechamel (super creamy), some slices of lardon and a sprinkling of chives. This was my plate with both cuts of meat. The mushrooms are hidden and the potato is off to the side. 
I was a full and very satisfied girl! 

Take Note:

• Even if you have a reservation, the staff will act quite confused by it all.
• Go through all the cocktails on the iPad, it's a wide selection.
• Unless you love everything on the tasting menu, it's wiser to go a la carte.

All my Vegas eats are listed on this page. They include:

Spago - Spring 2013

Gordon Ramsay STEAK - Spring 2013

Wicked Spoon Buffet - coming soon

Nobu - coming soon, 

Bouchon - Spring 2013

I Love Burgers - coming soon 

Carnevino - coming soon

Pizza and Pasta at Spago

Upon our arrival in Vegas, our first meal was lunch and I decided on Spago at Caesar's Palace. I figured we would be in need for comfort food after waking up at 5:30 in Bellingham for our very early flight. I think I was right. I was definitely in the mood for carbs.

I do love the skies at Caesars, making you think that it was a late afternoon, even though it was actually only noon. I guess it makes it easier to indulge in heavier fare when you think it's later in the day. Were it brighter, I would have felt like bacon and eggs or something else. 
One of the items that caught my eye was this, a Corpse Reviver #2 (I guess #1 didn't work?). Thankfully, I didn't have a need for this (yet), but now that I have the menu, there's a mental note in my head for the next time I might need "reviving".

So what did we get? I started my Vegas vacation with a glass of Hawk Crest Cabernet Sauvignon and we also tried a Ginger Lime Tea.

First to arrive was our Lamb Pizza. The thin slices of lamb chorizo had just a bit of tomato sauce on it, with a very light touch of goat cheese. Although rapini and sun dried tomatoes are supposed to be there, it was barely noticeable, as you can see from above. The goat cheese was there, but the additional freshly shaved parmesan made it even better (after the picture was taken).
Our other carbo-loading entree was the Pasta a la Bolognaise. Since the pasta was a fairly vague description, we asked the waitress what type of pasta it was. She informed us that it was a garganelli (one of my favourites, see the one I had in Trattoria in Vancouver) and definitely not penne. So we decided to order it. However, this was not garganelli, is it? In fact, it looks like penne, just not cut on a bias. Maybe she got the two confused?? Oh well, the braised beef was abundant, and the tomatoes and cheese were both very fresh. And in case you are thinking this is a very small portion, it's actually half of a whole order, they split it up for us.
I didn't think the food was outstanding, the service was good, and the pasta was good, but everything seemed to lack an "oomph" factor. It seemed they were trying to make food that would appeal to the masses, instead of making something extraordinary. They succeeded, but I would have liked more punchy tastes and things that would make them stand out in my mind. 

Take Note:

• Every table had a pizza, yours should too.
• Ask for chili flakes, shaved parmesan, anything to enhance your entree.
• If you like lime, they have a Key Lime Pie Baked Alaska!

All my Vegas eats are listed on this page. They include:

Spago - Spring 2013

Gordon Ramsay STEAK - Spring 2013

Wicked Spoon Buffet - coming soon

Nobu - coming soon, 

Bouchon - Spring 2013

I Love Burgers - coming soon 

Carnevino - coming soon

Brunch at Thomas Keller's Bouchon

Maybe I don't come to Vegas enough (something I intend to change in the future), but Thomas Keller's Bouchon was one of the hardest restaurants to find during our whole trip! Located in the recesses of the Venetian, we had to hunt this place down. We decided to visit only one buffet this trip and that was the Wicked Spoon. We opted for the sake of our stomachs to choose quality over quantity. To be honest, we needed every arrow to guide us towards our destination. And hurray, we found it! Good thing too because we were hungry!

 

There is a Daily Specials menu featuring some amazing things for our Easter Brunch, the Lobster and Crab Benedict sounds pretty good, doesn't it? I'm not a fan of omelet but I could make an exception for one filled with prosciutto!   No reservations are allowed for brunch or lunch, only for dinner. Friends have warned me about the waits, one has waited up to an hour! Thankfully, we arrived early and the wait was "only" 20 minutes. They did have little Mini Muffins on hand to feed those who need a bit of nourishment for their hangover. They were fluffy, buttery and a cute little bite. The almond sliver topping gave the little bite a nice contrasting texture.  Once seated, our waiter brought us our Warm Bread, along with some fresh butter and jam. The bread was warm and I loved how they serve the little buns while still connected and blanketed in a towel to keep them warm. 

 

Now some people would think coffee is the best accompaniment for brunch, but when in Vegas, a cocktail is the beverage of choice. And for me, it was a French Margarita. This little breath of fresh air consists of Grey Goose, Sauza Hornitos tequila, cranberry & lime juice (for the vitamins), with a bit of fresh sour and served on the rocks, complete with a salted rim. As part of the Breakfast Américaine, we got to start off with a lovely Chocolate Croissant, again served warm. The flakiness of this is unlike anything I have ever seen. The pastry itself is nice and light with a creamy chocolate centre. There is no way to eat this cleanly, the flakiness is messy but oh, so worth it! The next part of the Breakfast Américaine is a plate of two eggs any style (we went for poached) served with bacon, AND country sausage with some toasted brioche. Yes, you don't have to choose between bacon and sausage here, you get both! The eggs are a perfect sunny side up, and sit atop a slice of their brioche toast, with another slice on the side. The toast is a perfect foil for the runny egg yolk. The sausage was a bit fatty but we asked for the bacon to be crispy and it was exactly as ordered. They had an unlisted special for brunch, the Steak and Eggs. Oh yes please! Touted as an 8oz sirloin, I really think this was bigger that. I loved how they grilled the sides instead of just the top and bottom. The brioche was good, and better than the potatoes in my book. I could have had a bit more of heat on the eggs, but I didn't request it, and this was good enough. For $26, this was well worth it.

All my Vegas eats are listed on this page. They include:

Spago - Spring 2013

Gordon Ramsay STEAK - Spring 2013

Wicked Spoon Buffet - coming soon

Nobu - coming soon, 

Bouchon - Spring 2013

I Love Burgers - coming soon 

Carnevino - coming soon