Quick impressions -- 4 dinners; 3 lunches from 15-19 April 2015

My wife and I were in town for the FEI World Cup competition (http://www.fei.org/news/guerdat-claim…), which made for an exciting stay in Vegas but virtually an “upside-down” type of trip. Fortunately, the competition ended by 10:00 pm every night, so we were able to have some nice dinners after all.

D1) Dinner @ Bazaar Meat, 4/15: We had the prix fixe menu, which included (but was not limited to) the famed Ferran Adrià olives, the Super-Giant Pork-Skin Chicharrón, “Lox & Bagels” cones, a Caviar flight, Grilled Pulpo a la Gallega, Butifarra Spiral, Steak Tartare, and, of course, some rib-eye – plus the Cotton Candy Foie Gras. This continues to be one of my favorite places in Vegas; truly wonderful.

L1) Lunch @ __________, 4/16: After checking to make sure it was open for lunch, we opted to return to the SLS and go to KU Noodle . . . only to discover that the website upon which I was relying was incorrect. “Oh,” said the less-than-helpful SLS employee, “yeah, well, they USED to be open for lunch.” It now being about 2:00 pm, and dubious we could make it to Lotus of Siam in time, we chose instead to remain at the SLS and check out 800° for their built-to-order pizzas. The employee who was building the pizzas clearly didn’t exactly know what he was doing, and had to ask for help a number of times, but at least the pizzas were good . . . but nothing more than that. I doubt we’ll return.

D2) Dinner @ Raku, 4/16: OK, my mistake. I didn’t make a reservation, as this was the first night of the competition, and I had no idea what time we’d be done. So we got in a cab, drove out to Raku, and waited for nearly an hour for a table. But it was worth the wait! I think we probably ordered two too many dishes, but it was excellent. Great wine & sake list, too. Definitely be back, but with a reservation next time.

L2) Lunch @ La Cave, 4/17: Suffice it to say it was nothing more than average, and we needn’t return.

D3) Dinner @ Jaleo, 4/17: Went late enough, and were seated in a different part of the restaurant than usual (for us), the resulting combination meant it was far less noisy than typical. We had, among other things: Pan de cristal con tomate fresco, Anchoas españolas, Patatas bravas, Pulpo asada con crema cebolla, Vieiras con mojo rojo y polvo de almendras, the Vieiras con mojo rojo y polvo de almendras, and a few more . . . seriously delicious – all of it! Remains high on our list.

L3) Lunch @ Bardot Bistro, 4/18: MUCH better than db bistro (or Bouchon), with everything – from the room to (more importantly) the food taking me back to France. My omelet was a tad overcooked, but that was the only negative in an otherwise delicious meal.

D4): Dinner @ Rose.Rabbit.Lie, 4/18: A wonderful meal, and a wonderfully fun (if a wee bit loud at times) evening. In nearly random order, we had Glazed Brussels Sprouts, Bone Marrow, Duck Confit Pasta, Caviar Tacos, Crispy Oyster Rockefeller, Hokkaido Sea Scallops, and one more dish which I can’t recall at the moment. Definitely worth going to again!

Cheers . . .

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