It was supposed to be a nice long weekend. Part fun, part work. My original plan was to go out on Friday night and just Chill Saturday and ½ day Sunday before my convention started. The convention was to take place at the Ritz Carlton in Lake Las Vegas from Sunday night to Tuesday night. I didn’t want to stay 30 minutes away from the strip as that is where all the action is. So I chose my usual Bellagio location and for the first time rented a car to drive back and forth. Taxi’s would have cost $70 each way so the car was the cheaper move by far. I had made a reservation at L’Atalier de Joel Robuchon where I enjoyed a fabulous meal in November ( search through here and you will see what it was like and why you should go). I made a reservation for 4 just in case I was able to find some people who were going into Vegas Early for some fun and wanted to have dinner with me.
All that fun and planning came to an abrupt crash when two weeks before my trip on the first run of a beautiful warm ski day, my 6 year old hit a jump and came down hard breaking his femur in two. Long story short, got to the hospital where we eventually had to wait till 7:00 pm before he could go into surgery to repair the break. Over a month later he is doing amazing now and will probably be running around like nothing happened in 6 weeks or so.
But then, I had all the plans to cancel my trip. My wife had said I shouldn’t and to take one day at a time. Which I did. Since he and we were doing great up to when I was leaving, I changed the trip to go out on Sunday instead of Friday. I canceled L’Atalier and made another one for Monday.
Sunday night found me on the old strip of Las Vegas’ Freemont Street. Our convention started at the Golden Gate Hotel, home of the original $ 0.99 Shrimp cocktail. One of the members of our organization is now the owner of this hotel and hosted a cocktail party out in front of the hotel on the now pedestrian only street. I haven’t been there since they first put the cover on the street and closed it to cars. Back then it was cheesy and dirty and not anywhere near as flashy as what the new Vegas had become. Now it boasts the world’s Largest HD TV in the world. The canopy that covers the street is a huge TV. How huge? How about 4 blocks huge. At 7:30 and every hour after that the screen fills up with music and videos from the Doors, to CCR and Kiss. One of the cool video portions was a rocket that started at our end of the street and went all the way down to the far end. I have to admit, it was real cool. Derrick the owner, said that they (meaning everyone who has properly on the street) have done a lot to bring people back to this area. Including three concert stages with great acts. I’m told that year round, Friday and Saturday nights are similar to Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I’m glad I went not just for the business end but to see what Old Vegas has done. I would say I would probably come back one day.
Now at a cocktail party like that, I don’t tend to eat a lot. Even though there were some good food being passed around, I try not to eat so that I can pay attention to conversing with others. Plus I would hate to talk and all of a sudden I’m spitting food on someone that I want to sell a quarter of a million dollar machine to. So I sip my drink and talk. After a few hours of this the crowd dispersed for everyone to go their own way. I went back to the Bellagio where I found myself hungry. I walked around and decided to go to Fix. It is located near the stores that lead you over to the Caesar’s. It is also located across from a very popular sushi place called Yellowtail. The place was bustling so from where I sat across from there, I had a great view of some very beautiful people getting ready for a late Sunday night frolic. I think it was stripper night at the night club there because the last time I have seen so many tight outfits propped up on 4” heels was at a strip joint.
So at Fix, I just wanted a little nibble, so after my drink came, I ordered the Kobe Beef slider appetizer. It was three small sliders done up with caramelized onions on small buns. They were very tasty but I have to admit I think the “Kobe” is wasted on sliders. Because the burgers are done small, there is a tendency to overcook them. Now the onions and ketchup bring moisture back to the burger, you don’t get it from the beef at all. I have had regular Kobe beef burgers that needed no condiment on them at all. The interlaced fat retains all the delicious juicy flavor that you need. I have had one at Burger Bar at Mandalay and it is spectacular. So after my burgers and $100 donation, I went to bed early.
Monday was meetings and golf all day and I couldn’t find someone to join me on the strip for dinner that night. Most people wanted to stay local, so I went back and tried to figure out what to do. I cancelled my L’Atalier reservation because I didn’t know if I wanted to get in a taxi. The beauty of the Bellagio is it’s location. I can walk to Caesar’s, Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Paris, Bally’s, Harrah’s, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, the Orleans, and the Venetian. There is lots to see and lots of places to eat all within a 15-20 min. walk. I was in the mood for Steak or at least I thought I was. I first went to Jean-George Vongdericten’s Prime in the Bellagio. It was now 8:15 and the first table for one would be available at 9:30. Monday night with a long wait like that, I was happy to see Vegas is coming back. But I didn’t want to wait. So I know there are a few places in Caesar’s. So I make my way over the bridge and into the Palace. While walking around, I noticed the famed New York Eatery Rao’s. I glace over and it looks like they have availability, but at that point, steak was still on my mind. I made my way to the forum shops of Caesar’s where it is home to many shops and restaurants. At the end on the 3rd floor is BOA Steakhouse. I walk over and notice it’s a dark looking place and as I get closer, aside from the hostess, the place is empty. Not a good sign. I didn’t even stop to glace at the menu. So I took the circular escalator, yes circular it’s really cool, down to the first floor where it is home to Joe’s Steak and Crab. This is satellite restaurant from the famed Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami. If you have never been there on south beach you have to make it there one day. I hope to get there again soon to write about it but better yet, to eat there.
The location where Joe’s is, is mostly out in the mall area. While it’s good for people watching, the location isn’t very good for high traffic and I wasn’t in the mood for a brightly lit area while eating. So what do I do? Should I make my way back to Prime and wait another 45 min. at this point? I remember Rao’s. I walk back there and see that I could just come in so I glance at the menu outside. It is classic Italian fare but I have heard done better than anyone else can do it. So I go up to the front and was seated in a minute. The menu looked great. All Classic Italian dishes. My problem was what to try. I changed my plan from Steak to Veal. Yes I know it’s the same animal but we all know it’s different. All veal dishes looked amazing and I was really having a hard time deciding. I saw at the last minute that there was Osso Buco on the menu and that was a heavy contender. Glancing at the appetizers I saw Clams Oreganata. When done right, the clam is left whole and the topping is a breading mixture of oil, clam juice, lots of finely chopped garlic and parsley and then topped with even more butter. It is baked and then broiled for a minute to crisp up the tops. Growing up in Long Island, there were lots of Italian places that did these right. We used to get an extra loaf of bread to mop up the juices. The plates would literally come back stark white. Not clean mind you, but stark white. But in Connecticut, I am yet to have a clam done like I did growing up. Yes they have the clams casino and the big heavy stuffing chopped up baked clams. But a Clams Oreganata done right is probably the best thing you can put in your mouth.
Just a short story about Clams Oreganata. Our entire family plus spouses had gone to my grandmother’s unveiling of her cemetery stone in Long Island a year after her death. There is usually a small ceremony and that is it. After, being that every fairly large event in the Jewish religion revolves around food, we decided to go eat at La Parma. Another classic New York Italian family style eatery. There were 10 of us all together. I think we were all drooling at the idea of the clams as they do them fabulous there. When the waiter came, we ordered 6 dozen. Yes 6 dozen for a group of 10. Normal families usually have 1 or two clams as a morsel to start the meal. We don’t believe in morsels. We asked for many loaves of bread to so we can mop up the juice when we finished the clams. If there were professional clam eaters, my family would be champions. We devoured these clams so that there wasn’t any bits of mollusk or bread crumb left. There were noises coming from our table that would sound like it was meal in the medieval days. One of us was facing the servers who were watching all of us and noticed one of them saying to another, “look at those pigs”. We were all hysterical. But we were happy and we were together so they could have called us whatever we wanted.
So knew I was ordering the Clams, but what to have for the main. As I usually do, I ask the help of the server. He said if this is your first time, it has to be the veal. I said I was only looking at the Veal. He said then the choice is between the Veal parm or the Osso Buco. I said the Osso Buco it is.
The clams arrived and they sat in an oblong ramekin in a bath of butter. The tops were browned perfectly. But they were scalding hot. So I had to just wait a moment before diving in. The crumb topping was perfect with just the right amount of seasoning and moisture that you would expect in dish. I would say I have two gripes with the way they prepared the dish. One was that the clams weren’t shucked so if you didn’t eat them right, you would have to take two bites, one with all the topping, then another with the clam. The way to get the most out of the dish is to have them together in one smooth motion with your front teeth acting like spoon removing it from its shell. Then you can go after and get any last remaining bits. So this one required some work with a knife and fork. But in the end it was still worth it. My second gripe was the fact that none of the topping spilled over into the dish for mopping. The bottom of the dish was basically clarified garlic butter. Delicious yes, but not for mopping. Would I order it again, I’m not so sure If I would for two reasons, one it’s $17.00 for 6 clams. And two there are probably other things on the menu that are amazing.
The main dish came and it looked pretty as a picture. I still kept in my new no picture policy at restaurants and this one I should have broken the rule. This massive bone in Veal shank sat atop a bed of saffron risotto and looked so beautiful. I was given a steak knife and I don’t know why. It was so tender, and when it is done right it should be, that you only needed a fork to remove the meat. The dish was cooked in a veal reduction sauce that enhanced the flavor that much more. The sauce mixed in the risotto making it creamy and rich in flavor. The portion was huge. I didn’t finish the rice but I did finish the meat. And yes, I did get a small spoon for the buttery marrow inside. Truly a decadent dish. I would highly recommend this to everyone.
No dessert as I was filled to the gills. I had a nice walk back to walk off the meal. I am looking forward to another visit there.
My final food experience was at a place I went to the last time I was there. Hot and Juicy Crawfish. I really went there for a t-shirt because they didn’t have my size last time I was there. And sure enough, they didn’t have it this time as well. But I got an amazing meal of spicy crawfish for lunch. They were just as good as the first time and I guess I’ll be back for that shirt in a few weeks when I return.
I’m not sure where I’ll eat then but I’ll be sure to let you know.
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