Weekend Recap: Las Vegas

Josh and I high-tailed it to Las Vegas this past weekend to help his Mom celebrate her birthday. It was my first time to the city, and while I had a lot of fun, I must say, it's not really my thing! The best part, however, was that we did a lot of good eating. Vegas is home to a plethora of restaurants at both the high-end and low-brow extremes. While very expensive across the board, the food was pretty good everywhere we ate... so at least the value for our expenditure was there!

Friday, after we arrived, we walked over to Treasure Island and dined at Isla, their upscale Mexican offering. In comparison to the high-end Mexican joints here in Chicago (such as Frontera Grill / Topolobampo, Salpicon and Zocalo, to name a few), Isla wasn't quite there... but the food was still very tasty. We started with a round of guacamole, which came accompanied by some crispy and fresh tortilla chips and three salsas (a spicy pico de gallo, a verde, and a smoky chipotle). The salsas really shined, and the guac was good, but no different than any other guac I've ever had. Josh ordered up a house margarita on the rocks, which was sufficiently spiked, while I enjoyed a glass of Chilean Sauvignon blanc (being the wine lover that I am, I'm always thrilled when a Mexican or other ethnic restaurant has good wines by the glass offerings).

The next night, Josh and I were in charge of the dinner reservations, and I chose an off-the-strip place called Dragonfly. I was craving sushi, and I was pleased to see that by venturing slightly away from Las Vegas Blvd. onto Paradise Rd. meant dramatically less prices, but no drop in quality. The fish was very fresh, and the place was quiet and friendly. Our server was a little annoying - he was trying to be funny, but it came off as kind of sarcastic and rude. That was the only bad thing I have to say about it though. We started off with some miso soups, which were heartier than the usual fare (bigger chunks of flash-fried tofu and more seaweed, plus mushrooms). Next, we split a plate of yellowtail sashimi, cut very thin and lightly dressed with a spicy miso sauce. Sashimi is a great way to judge a sushi place because it showcases how well a chef can cut the fish and how fresh the fish is. This was definitely up to snuff - I wish we had gotten a second plate! Between us and the rest of the table, we tried their California Roll (with crab-salad), Las Vegas Roll (with tempura-fried lobster tail), a Mexican Roll (the best! with spicy tuna, jalepeno, mango and avocado), a Spider Roll (soft-shell crab) and a palate-cleansing tekka (tuna) maki. Stuffed, but not beaten, the rest of the table dug into some tempura-fried bananas with chocolate dipping sauce. (I don't eat the 'naners!)

Sunday we took eating to a new level. In the morning, we hit the buffet brunch at the Flamingo, which boasted an overwhelming array of edible fare. The most visually pleasing was the dessert area, featuring cute little mini-sweets (pictured). That night, we mosied over behind the hotel to a little place called Battista's Hole in the Wall. A divey, red-sauce Italian joint remniscent of some of the places (like Club Lago) here in Chi-town. The food here was predictably so-so, but if you're looking to stuff yourself rotten with Italian food, this is the place for you.

All in all, we tried quite the variety of places while in Vegas. I would have liked to have gone to some of the other well-known restaurants (such as Mesa Grille, Bobby Flay's joint, or even the Picasso restaurant at the Bellagio), but you can only do so much! I'm looking forward to getting back in the kitchen this week - too much eating out! Even Josh offered to cook dinner this Friday at home, which is very unusual indeed. Sometimes, home-cooked is just what you need.