The Sizzling Southwest

Food Network has certainly given chefs and home cooks the celebrity limelight. Bobby Flay is no exception and his personal culinary journey is one to be respected. As an ode to Bobby, we dined at his restaurant, Mesa Grill, located inside Ceasar’s Palace.

From Ceasar’s Palace website:
Award-winning chef, best-selling cookbook author, and popular television personality Bobby Flay brings the vibrant Southwestern cuisine of his acclaimed Mesa Grill to Las Vegas when he opens his first restaurant outside of New York City at Caesars Palace in 2004.

Above is a picture of our bread basket. It included 3 types of bread and all were very good! For dinner I had the Sixteen Spice Chicken, a wonderful blend of spices and seasonings crusted on tender pieces of chicken. I’m looking forward to trying out the recipe at home, along with recreating the cilantro pesto mashed potatoes the chicken was accompanied with. The dinner portions were a lot bigger than I expected and I would definitely dine there again when in Vegas. I have much more respect for Bobby Flay… he knows what he’s doing and he dones it well!

After dinner, Stephanie and I went to see the show, Stomp! It was an great show with some amazing sights and sounds. We ended the evening with a beautiful view of the Bellagio fountain show from our hotel room…

My Love-ly Evening!

We watched the Cirque du Soleil show, Love, this evening at the Mirage. It was an amazing show full of color, lighting and exuded such beautiful musical prose.

After the show, we had a late dinner at Thomas Keller’s restaurant, Bouchon.

From Dining in France:

Bouchon is modeled after the original bistro located in Yountville, California. Mark Hopper, Chef de Cuisine, oversees the kitchen and offers traditional French country fare with an emphasis on using the best fresh and seasonal ingredients. The raw bar serves a wide array of oysters-on-the-half-shell from both the west and east coasts. Bouchon has also been recognized for its innovative carafe program featuring wines made exclusively for the restaurant by top wineries from the Napa Valley.

One thing I was anxious about being here in Vegas was dining at Thomas Keller’s restaurant, Bouchon. When my husband and I went to Napa Valley/Sonoma Valley last summer, we didn’t get the chance to dine at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry restaurant. So being able to check out Bouchon was the next best thing.

The Venetian writes:

“Bouchon offers authentic French bistro fare of a quality not to be found elsewhere in the United States. The restaurant features a magnificent French zinc bar, a vibrant mosaic floor and an outdoor patio for dining. The exquisite décor is the perfect setting for Bouchon’s culinary delights serving award-winning French cuisine. Flawlessly executed in every aspect, Bouchon delights both the palate and the eye, creating a singular dining experience of global proportions.”

Unfortunately I did not take pictures of our meal, as I didn’t think it would be appropriate. However I did find the following pictures online… along with a recipe!

I ordered Soupe a l’Oignon… which offered a great balance of rich beef broth, sweet onions topped wonderful cheese.

Next up was the Croque Madame… a toasted ham & cheese sandwich on brioche with a fried egg and mornay sauce; served with french fries. I know, you may be wondering why I ordered a ham & cheese sandwich of all things. Initially our plan was to dine at Bouchon for brunch where I would have ordered the Croque Madame. But since we were dining for dinner, I was surprised that the Croque Madame was also offered. So I ordered it based on the many raves I’ve heard of the dish. And just as I expected, it did not disappoint. It truly was the epitome of all ham & cheese sandwiches. The richness of the buttery brioche with the egg and mornay made this quite a special dish.

Ending on a sweet note, I had the vanilla filled beignets served with a decadent chocolate sauce and chocolate sorbet. Perfect. The lightness of the beignets paired with the creamy centers of vanilla cream were heavenly with cool smoothness of the sorbet.

Isn’t it Grand?

This morning, we started out day with an amazing Sunday Brunch Buffet at the MGM Grand. Our special guests joining us today include Lindsay & and husband. It was a fabulous time over some wonderful eats and bubbly champagne & mimosas.

Vegas is a Foodie Oasis

I’m in Vegas this weekend for a “Girls Getaway!” We stayed at Planet Hollywood – a centrally located hotel on the Vegas Strip. Here are pics of the hotel and our “Harrison Ford” room. We had an amazing view of the Paris Hotel next door too!I’m joined with my friend Stephanie and for dinner tonight, we went to Todai. There is a Todai restaurant here in the Chicago suburbs, however Stephanie hasn’t been. We’ve both avid sushi lovers so we decided to start our foodie trip here.
Todai Japanese Sushi & Seafood Buffet is a Japanese style all-you-can-eat buffet to suit any appetite. It is the most impressive buffet with locations in California, Oregon, Hawaii, Texas, Washington and Florida. Todai Japanese Seafood Buffet offers an endless display of more than 40 kinds of sushi, a hand roll corner, an Udon corner, 15 kinds of salads, a fruit bar and 20 kinds of dessert. The dinner menu also features lobster, snow crab legs, cocktail shrimp and half shell scallops.