Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:

1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.

2. The blueberry blintzes in the cafe at Green Mountain Ranch.

I was only there three days, and spent a lot of time
winning poker tournaments, so I only had time for three
really good meals.

The SW Steakhouse at the Wynn is pretty good. I've made
better steak, but there's nothing wrong with this one.
Boneless Prime strip (also comes bone-in if you wish) done
ala Pittsburgh. I think they fumbled it by leaving it in
the window for a minute or two too long, so by the time
it got to me there was no sizzle to the sear. The two
side dishes I chose, however, were excellent. One was
a Hen of the Woods mushroom. Beautiful fungus, that.
The other was a puree of Yukon Gold potatoes. For an app
I got a heirloom-tomato caprese on a slip of proscuitto
with a nice, syrupy balsamic. That was tasty, too.

That was Monday night. Tuesday night I moved 60 feet to
the left to eat at Daniel Boulud Brasserie. *Much* better
experience. If you're going to get into the charcuterie
fad, this is the spot. 7 kinds of cold prepped meat on
a marble tile. My favorite was the quail terrine. I
threatened to order more of that for dessert (but of course
by the end was too full, dang it). Second was the
rabbit rillette, followed closely by the smoked duck breast
proscuitto (tiny pieces; maybe the size of a lemon twist;
but powerful). There were cubes of a nice chunky pate'
with crunchy bits of salt in it. Mortadella that they
said was made in-house, sopressata that they said was
not. Both okay. Thin-sliced ham, but I forget exactly
what kind. Home-made assorted pickles were a bit sweet.

I also tried the onion soup. I've hade better, but I was
nuts about the girl who made it for me, so maybe it was
only a little better and I remember it moreso. The unique
thing about Boulud's is the inclusion of chunks of braised
beef shank. Definitely brought it up a few ticks.

Main course was the Moules Frites. An enormous pile of
the tenderest mussels I've ever had. The fries are darned
good, but struck me as an up-sizing of McDonald's recipe.
I guess I was looking for something more like a refinement
of In-n-Out's. But it wasn't like I wasn't going to get
them the next night.

Which I did. I rolled in to Boulud again to try some
more things I'd seen on the menu. Well, one more thing.
The crispy duck confit. The nice lady next to me
recommended that I ask for it extra crispy or it wouldn't
be crispy at all. So in addition to being a total hottie,
she was also a cogent foodie. I got it her way, and the
fries on the side.

Brunch at Green Mountain Ranch was serendipitous.
I was driving out of town and decided that since it's
right along the freeway and not very busy it would be
a good place to park and nosh. And the food turned out
to be great. Even better than most casino cafe' meals.
Especially the blintzes. Three chubby crepes with
creme-fraiche filling (that's what "sour cream" means in
blintz lingo) and fresh berries, plus a side of blueberry
coulis that worked best when used very sparingly.

Oh yeah, and I won 5 grand in a poker tournament. So
I forget what the food cost, and I'm not sure why I
bothered to come home...

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton said...

> I was only there three days, and spent a lot of time
> winning poker tournaments, so I only had time for three
> really good meals.


So as far as LV cuisine goes, did you add to your A-List or subtract from it?

Congrats on the winnings,

Andy

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
>
> 1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
> Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.

That sounds like a winner. What else was in it, how was
it prepared, etc?

Was it ground up, ala "country style", or was the quail
in whole pieces?

Great read, BTW.

--
Reg

"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>
> Oh yeah, and I won 5 grand in a poker tournament. So
> I forget what the food cost, and I'm not sure why I
> bothered to come home...

The Vegas Visitor's Bureau should have paid you
for that report. It makes me want to go there,
and I don't gamble (except in the stock market).

"Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
. ..
> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:


Try an old off the Strip favorite.

http://www.pieroscuisine.com/history.htm

Their Osso Bucco is to die for.

Dimitri

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
>
> 1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
> Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.
>
> 2. The blueberry blintzes in the cafe at Green Mountain Ranch.

Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>

http://www.mirage.com/entertainment/...du_soleil.aspx

Becca

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:50:46 -0500, Becca > rummaged
among random neurons and opined:

>Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
>going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
>enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>

The DH and I saw the Beatles "Love" Cirque show nearly a year ago and
it was smokin'. You are going to *love* it! And if you want the best
bang for your buck and have an afternoon free (except Mondays), Mac
King at Harrah's does a magic/comedy matinee show that we've seen
twice and wouldn't mind seeing again. $20 - can't beat that on the
Strip.

And if you want the best steak in Vegas, try out AJ's at the Hard
Rock. It's what finally led us to the god of all steak suppliers,
Allen Brothers, when we realized that the steaks we were getting
locally were absolute cr*p in comparison.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Andy <q> wrote:
>Blair P. Houghton said...
>
>> I was only there three days, and spent a lot of time
>> winning poker tournaments, so I only had time for three
>> really good meals.
>
>
>So as far as LV cuisine goes, did you add to your A-List or subtract from it?

Add. Boulud is the new king. Depends on what has happened
to Commander's Palace, which I won't know until I return, which
will probably be December at the earliest.

>Congrats on the winnings,

Merci.

--Blair

Reg > wrote:
>Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>> 1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
>> Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.
>
>That sounds like a winner. What else was in it, how was
>it prepared, etc?
>Was it ground up, ala "country style", or was the quail
>in whole pieces?

Couldn't tell you what was in it. It was in the form
of quarter-inch slices of a pastry-wrapped terrine.
The quail was more solid, which made it more of a flavor
than a flavoring. The seasoning, texture, and balances are
gorgeous. Great appetizer, and, as I said, dessert-worthy.

>Great read, BTW.

Merci.

--Blair

Mark Thorson > wrote:
>"Blair P. Houghton" wrote:
>>
>> Oh yeah, and I won 5 grand in a poker tournament. So
>> I forget what the food cost, and I'm not sure why I
>> bothered to come home...
>
>The Vegas Visitor's Bureau should have paid you
>for that report. It makes me want to go there,
>and I don't gamble (except in the stock market).

I own some Wynn stock. It went up the first day, down the
second, and up the third. I think on balance the company
bought me dinner for the week.

Then everything tanked as I was leaving town. Oh well.

--Blair

Dimitri > wrote:
>
>"Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
...
>> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
>
>
>Try an old off the Strip favorite.
>
>http://www.pieroscuisine.com/history.htm
>
>Their Osso Bucco is to die for.

Man, I love Las Vegas Old School. Battista's, the Rosewood
Grill/Alan Albert's, all that schtick. Piero's is on my
next trip plan for sure.

--Blair

Becca > wrote:
>Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>
>> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
>>
>> 1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
>> Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.
>>
>> 2. The blueberry blintzes in the cafe at Green Mountain Ranch.
>
>Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
>going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
>enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>
>
>http://www.mirage.com/entertainment/...du_soleil.aspx

I like what they did to the Mirage. Cleaned it up.

However, avoid the Carnegie deli. I left my encounter with
their pastrami off my report. I may still be suffering
the effects. Not that it's diseased, but, it's probably
the single greasiest thing I've held in my hands in three
years. The cole slaw was insipid. The sour pickle was
merely typical. I was not impressed by the food being
served to those around me. Quantity over quality, as far
as I could tell. I didn't try the cheesecake, but for that
I blame the bloat that the pastrami had caused mid-meal.

But the Mirage has other places to eat, including a
redesigned California Pizza Kitchen that is probably still
the flagship of the brand. And a bunch of froofy joints.
It's a nice place Stevie built before he went to build two
even nicer places. And the MGM people don't seem to have
screwed it up in their post-acquisition renovations.

--Blair

In article >,
Blair P. Houghton > wrote:

> Becca > wrote:
> >Blair P. Houghton wrote:
> >
> >> Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
> >>
> >> 1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
> >> Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.
> >>
> >> 2. The blueberry blintzes in the cafe at Green Mountain Ranch.
> >
> >Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
> >going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
> >enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>
> >
> >http://www.mirage.com/entertainment/...du_soleil.aspx
>
> I like what they did to the Mirage. Cleaned it up.
>
> However, avoid the Carnegie deli. I left my encounter with
> their pastrami off my report.

I have eaten at the Mirage's Carnegie deli several times and I left full
and satisfied each time. I haven't had the pastrami there though, but
the sliced turkey, the matzo ball soup, and the pickles, and the
breakfasts are superb!

Stan Horwitz > wrote:

>I have eaten at the Mirage's Carnegie deli several times and I left full
>and satisfied each time. I haven't had the pastrami there though, but
>the sliced turkey, the matzo ball soup, and the pickles, and the
>breakfasts are superb!

It must be better than the one in NYC then.

Steve

In article >,
(Steve Pope) wrote:

> Stan Horwitz > wrote:
>
> >I have eaten at the Mirage's Carnegie deli several times and I left full
> >and satisfied each time. I haven't had the pastrami there though, but
> >the sliced turkey, the matzo ball soup, and the pickles, and the
> >breakfasts are superb!
>
> It must be better than the one in NYC then.

I am not sure. I have eaten at the NYC Carnegie Deli, but not as many
times as the Las Vegas outlet, which is odd, considering that I live
relatively close to NYC.

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

> On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:50:46 -0500, Becca > rummaged
> among random neurons and opined:
>
>
>>Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
>>going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
>>enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>
>
>
> The DH and I saw the Beatles "Love" Cirque show nearly a year ago and
> it was smokin'. You are going to *love* it! And if you want the best
> bang for your buck and have an afternoon free (except Mondays), Mac
> King at Harrah's does a magic/comedy matinee show that we've seen
> twice and wouldn't mind seeing again. $20 - can't beat that on the
> Strip.
>
> And if you want the best steak in Vegas, try out AJ's at the Hard
> Rock. It's what finally led us to the god of all steak suppliers,
> Allen Brothers, when we realized that the steaks we were getting
> locally were absolute cr*p in comparison.
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it. I will take them with me
to Las Vegas.

Becca

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> Becca > wrote:
>
>>Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Two new favorite things to eat in Vegas:
>>>
>>>1. The quail terrine on the charcuterie platter at Daniel
>>>Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn.
>>>
>>>2. The blueberry blintzes in the cafe at Green Mountain Ranch.
>>
>>Thanks! I will be in Vegas next weekend, so I might check it out. I am
>>going to a Beatles/Cirque show. At $150 per ticket, I may not have
>>enough money left over to buy blintzes.<g>
>>
>>http://www.mirage.com/entertainment/...du_soleil.aspx
>
>
> I like what they did to the Mirage. Cleaned it up.
>
> However, avoid the Carnegie deli. I left my encounter with
> their pastrami off my report. I may still be suffering
> the effects. Not that it's diseased, but, it's probably
> the single greasiest thing I've held in my hands in three
> years. The cole slaw was insipid. The sour pickle was
> merely typical. I was not impressed by the food being
> served to those around me. Quantity over quality, as far
> as I could tell. I didn't try the cheesecake, but for that
> I blame the bloat that the pastrami had caused mid-meal.
>
> But the Mirage has other places to eat, including a
> redesigned California Pizza Kitchen that is probably still
> the flagship of the brand. And a bunch of froofy joints.
> It's a nice place Stevie built before he went to build two
> even nicer places. And the MGM people don't seem to have
> screwed it up in their post-acquisition renovations.
>
> --Blair

Thanks for the info, Blair, I appreciate it!

Becca

And one more panning:

Do NOT eat at Todd English's Olives in the Bellagio.

I have given this place three chances now, spanning
several years. I wasn't planning eat there to this time
in town, since Olives had failed twice to live up to any
form of big-name-chef performance; nor any form of Bellagio
restaurant performance, for that matter. But I had just
signed up for a poker tournament and had only an hour
before it started to find something good to eat.

Olives closest option that was upscale and open for lunch.
And, being essentially one to take a gamble on the benefit
of the doubt, I was intrigued at my chances.

As with my results in that first tournament (busted out in
15th place), I should have gone with knowledge over emotion
(I put my opponent on AJ offsuit while I held JT suited,
and I called his all-in bet anyway...the board paired both
of our jacks and paid him not me). I should have just gone
to Noodles, or had the tuna sandwich.

I forget what I started with at Olives, but the entree
was a roast chicken that was dry and, possibly, also
day-old. Execrable.

If it had been one bad meal out of three, I'd have
chalked it up to volume stochastics. But three
out of three isn't random, it's a policy decision.

Todd English has decided that bad food is good enough
to serve.

Next time, I'll eat a roll of breath savers from the gift
shop before I'll give that dump my money. The MGM-Bellagio
should rip it out and install a P.F. Chang's.

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton wrote:

> And one more panning:
>
> Do NOT eat at Todd English's Olives in the Bellagio.
>
> I have given this place three chances now, spanning
> several years. I wasn't planning eat there to this time
> in town, since Olives had failed twice to live up to any
> form of big-name-chef performance; nor any form of Bellagio
> restaurant performance, for that matter. But I had just
> signed up for a poker tournament and had only an hour
> before it started to find something good to eat.
>
> Olives closest option that was upscale and open for lunch.
> And, being essentially one to take a gamble on the benefit
> of the doubt, I was intrigued at my chances.
>
> As with my results in that first tournament (busted out in
> 15th place), I should have gone with knowledge over emotion
> (I put my opponent on AJ offsuit while I held JT suited,
> and I called his all-in bet anyway...the board paired both
> of our jacks and paid him not me). I should have just gone
> to Noodles, or had the tuna sandwich.
>
> I forget what I started with at Olives, but the entree
> was a roast chicken that was dry and, possibly, also
> day-old. Execrable.
>
> If it had been one bad meal out of three, I'd have
> chalked it up to volume stochastics. But three
> out of three isn't random, it's a policy decision.
>
> Todd English has decided that bad food is good enough
> to serve.
>
> Next time, I'll eat a roll of breath savers from the gift
> shop before I'll give that dump my money. The MGM-Bellagio
> should rip it out and install a P.F. Chang's.
>
> --Blair

Thanks for the advice.

Becca

"Becca" > wrote in message
...
> Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>
>> And one more panning:
>>
>> Do NOT eat at Todd English's Olives in the Bellagio.
>> Todd English has decided that bad food is good enough
>> to serve.
>>
>> Next time, I'll eat a roll of breath savers from the gift
>> shop before I'll give that dump my money. The MGM-Bellagio
>> should rip it out and install a P.F. Chang's.
>>
>> --Blair
>
> Thanks for the advice.
>
> Becca

Thanks for the pan. I've seen his travel-type shows just the last month or
so, which theme seems to be Arizona. Is Olives geared more of an
Italian/Med or Southwest. The other day I noticed his name coming up on a
channel that sells 'stuff,' but I didn't watch it. Perhaps he's gone the
way of Bourdain.
Dee Dee

Dee Dee > wrote:
>Thanks for the pan. I've seen his travel-type shows just the last month or
>so, which theme seems to be Arizona. Is Olives geared more of an
>Italian/Med or Southwest.

Mediterranean. I.e., there are olives and olive oil in
some things.

>The other day I noticed his name coming up on a
>channel that sells 'stuff,' but I didn't watch it. Perhaps he's gone the
>way of Bourdain.

Todd English isn't a dingleberry on Bourdain's
smack-wrinkled ass. I'd trust Bourdain to fillet a fugu.
I wouldn't trust English to plate a PB&J.

--Blair