There’s been a flurry of bullshit swirling around regarding the status of Silk Road at the Vdara hotel, none of it good. I’ve read everything from they will be closing to they are already closed. However, I just took the 30 seconds necessary out of my day to call down to Silk Road and I’m pleased to report they’re not dead yet. Possibly something that should be done before publishing that a place is shuttered…but I’m just the amateur of the bunch…what do I know? The person at the front desk that I spoke to also said there were no plans to close that she knew of, and sounded quite alarmed when I asked her about the rumors swirling around. Now I feel like a dick. All in the name of good journalism.
I...feel....happy!
What is the future of Silk Road? I don’t know. But what I do know is that they are STILL OPEN as of the date of this post and are still ready to serve you the best breakfast in town.
I have spoken.
—–
Silk Road
Vdara Hotel & Spa
2600 W. Harmon Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas.
Speaking of things that are open, voting is still open between now and 09/30/10! You can vote once per day! Thanks!
For those devoted to the existing Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay, time is running out before they shut their doors for a few months and work on a major remodel. Saturday, September 11, Fleur dy Lys will close its doors and come back as something…else. I don’t think they’re even solid on exactly what the new space will be once it comes back in a few months, but this I do know: Expect the “outdoor” patio area to be greatly expanded, a total overhaul of the indoor space and a more open DJ booth where Hubert Keller will be having much more of a presence in Las Vegas with filming his PBS show here. The food, however, is still up in the air as far as the casual / fine dining balance goes. Expect their International Tapas menu to be greatly expanded, but unlike other reports published elsewhere, expect there to still be a “fine dining” element to remain. Word has it that Hubert Keller will be on hand on Saturday to give the room and the staff a proper send off.
Project Dinner Table Logo (courtesy: projectdinnertable.com)
Project Dinner Table returns with one hell of a dinner scheduled for Saturday, September 11. The six-course menu will be prepared by six of the chefs at the MGM Grand; Chef Jennifer Hargisen of banquets, Chef Stefano Chiarugi of Fiamma, Chef Stephen Hopcraft(who I just interviewed) of Seablue, Chef Stephan Chevet of Shibuya, Chef Patrick Schaffer of Studio Café and James Beard Award Nominated Pastry Chef, Kamel Guechida from Joël Robuchon. So far, Project Dinner Table has raised over $11,000 for the places it has benefited. This edition will be at the historic Fifth Street School and will benefit the Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival. Tickets are $125 and the dinner bell rings at 6pm. For more information, visit http://ProjectDinnerTable.com. You can follow Project Dinner Table on Twitter at @food4good.
Logo of The Best Buffalo Wings in Las Vegas
Home of the best Buffalo Wings in Las Vegas, the Naked City Pizza Shop, will be holding its Grand Opening Party on Thursday, September 9th from 8pm-3am. There will be all sorts of specials, but most importantly….they have the best Buffalo Wings in Las Vegas! Remember, the Naked City Pizza Shop is located INSIDE Moon Doggies bar on the corner of Arville and Desert Inn. They have an arcade game in there where you can shoot zebras. How can you not go?!?
O.G. Bouchon in Yountville, CA. No elevator necessary for this one.
In case you make a habit of reading all-knowing, infallible “professionals” that gain their gold-standard credibility because they shit on the 400 or so words they get tossed from a shithole weekly rag with a vetting process akin to what Old Man McCain did for that dumb bitch that has overstayed her 15 minutes……there’s a fucking elevator in the Venetian’s parking garage in case you wanted to go to Bouchon. That’s all I have to say about that.
Jet Tila - Chef, Guinness World Record Attempter, Lover of Humanity (photo: twitter.com/jettila)
Best wishes to Executive Chef of Wazuzu at the Encore resort, Jet Tila, as he attempts to break a Guinness Book of World Records record by making a 400-foot sushi roll today! He will be doing his attempt at UMass, so don’t run down to Wazuzu to see it. However, run down to Wazuzu because they make some kick ass food there. To get more background story, check out Chef Jet’s very worthwhile blog at this link. No word if Schwan’s will develop a new truck to deliver 400-foot sushi rolls.
You Can Vote Once Per Day From Now Through 09/30/10, or you can masturbate to Judge Judy. The choice is yours! Thanks!
Time is running out and I’m still getting my ass kicked in Anthony Bourdain’s Medium Raw Challenge! I guess “getting my ass kicked” is relative as your much appreciated votes have put over 1,500 people in my rearview mirror. However, the toughest 60-some remain and voting ends on 09/30/10. I know it’s a pain in the ass, and I know there are fears of the spam fairy loading you up with having to register to vote, but think about the hungry children of the world when you vote. Not that I’m going to give them shit, but maybe a moment of pity will also cause a moment of weakness! I have spoken to many of my most adamant supporters, including The Wife, and no reports of spam with doing the Connect Through Facebook thing.
Remember, if not for me….vote for the epic hang that will be thrown should I actually win this pig. I can’t even begin to tell you how much all of the links yous guys have been putting up on Twitter and Facebook mean to me. It makes me feel special…down there. For a direct link to ‘Cooking Well Is First’ click here – http://bourdainmediumraw.com/essays/view/1409
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
Do you remember the look on Ralphie’s face when he woke up on Christmas morning, looked out the window to see the freshly fallen snow, just realizing that Christmas Day had arrived and his Official Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle may have been waiting for him downstairs? That was the look on my face when the invite came across my Twitter screen to check out the Restaurant Week event at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, “Tease in the Kitchen.” Joël Robuchon quality food, a non-stop pour of bubbles, and hot burlesque dancers shaking their tits and ass right in front of your face. Are you kidding me? Santa Claus ain’t got that in his sack!
One of the appetizers passed was something on L’Atelier’s regular menu, a langoustine wrapped in a (I think) rice paper wrapper that was so impossibly thin that you could see the basil leaf delicately laid atop the crustacean. To say this was perfect is an understatement. People work all their lives and never even come close to executing food at this level of quality. It was truly something special. The only way this plate of food could be marred is if some jackass with an iPhone tried to take a picture while stumbling to the left after about 5 too many flutes of champagne, thus making Le Langoustine from L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand this week’s Weekly Bad Picture of Good Food.
Le Langoustine From L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
—–
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
MGM Grand Resort & Casino
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Follow L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon on Twitter at @RobuchonLV
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
Everyday You Vote, A Kitten Grows Its Wings. Please vote once a day from now through 09/30/10 so I can be famous. Thanks!
For the last four years or so, Stephen Hopcraft has served as the Executive Chef of Michael Mina’s Seablue in the MGM Grand. It’s been quite the journey for him, growing up in Ohio, then onto Santa Cruz where he first got into cooking, then up to San Francisco where he honed his craft and eventually made his way to Our Little Twinkle in the Desert. Along the way he picked up a wife, a couple of kids and a little bit of reality show celebrity. Not bad for a kid from Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Executive Chef of Michael Mina's Seablue, Stephen Hopcraft
From Ohio, Hopcraft went to Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, CA where he was going to be a Sculpture major.(just when I thought there wasn’t anything more useless than my Music degree) Like many college kids, he got a job starting off as a dishwasher at a local restaurant, and like so many in The Life of the culinary industry, life in the kitchen became much more attractive than life in the “real” world. It was at The Dolphin on Santa Cruz’ Municipal Wharf where Stephen first cut his teeth in the kitchen, working his way up from Dishwasher to practically running the restaurant. As The Dolphin was basically a “fish n’ chips” joint, Stephen sought out cooking that was a little more involved, wanting to learn the craft. He looked around town and found Café Bittersweet and Chef Thomas Vinolus.
Hopcraft credits Vinolus with really teaching him how to cook. How to make sauces, how to make soups and the fundamentals of cooking that every chef lives or dies by. After Chef Vinolus felt he taught Hopcraft all he could, he suggested to Stephen to enroll in culinary school and that’s exactly what he did. Stephen enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco which not only rounded out Stephen’s education, but placed him in the area where he met the people he needed to meet to get to the place where he is today. While at CCA, Stephen did his externship with Charlie Trotter. When his time there was done, he asked Trotter where to go from there, to which Trotter suggested Aqua. Thus the relationship of Stephen Hopcraft and Michael Mina was born.
Before Michael Mina became the incredibly successful restaurateur we know him to be today, Mina was Executive Chef at Aqua in San Francisco. Starting off as garde-manger(French for Salad Bitch), Hopcraft eventually worked his way up to a Line Cook in his first of what would be several working relationships with Mina. When Mina left Aqua to begin an empire of his own, Hopcraft bounced around a few other restaurants in the San Francisco area until he joined up with Mina once again at Arcadia.
It was at Arcadia where he fancied the Pastry Chef, Catherine, and love blossomed. Catherine wanted to further her career in Las Vegas, so Stephen and Catherine did the long distance thing for a bit until Stephen couldn’t stand being away from his honey so much. Stephen decided to take the Vegas plunge as well and eventually married the baker of his dreams. Stephen started off at Bouchon in the Venetian as Mina had yet to take over Las Vegas. He worked at Bouchon for about 8 or 9 months until he got the call from Michael Mina’s friend and now business partner, Andre Agassi, that he was getting into the restaurant biz and was opening Sedona in Summerlin(a neighborhood of Vegas filled to the brim with the entitled, for those not familiar).
Sedona was Hopcraft’s first real role as Executive Chef, designing the menu and doing all of the fun things that Executive Chefs do. When Sedona was about to change hands, Stephen left to help open Mina’s Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay for about 8 months until the position opened up at Seablue where Hopcraft has been doing his thing as Executive Chef for the last 4 years.
Table setting at Seablue
Across the hall from Seablue in the MGM Grand stands Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak. The geography of this is important because Colicchio and the fine folks at Bravo were holding open auditions for Top Chef at his place. Seeing the sign on his way walking into work, Hopcraft made one of those defining at-the-whim kind of decisions and gave the audition a shot. The producers loved him so it was off to Washington D.C. to tape this latest season of Top Chef.
As fans of the show (although you might not be a fan of this season. Woof.) have seen, Stephen couldn’t quite get in a rhythm on the show. Like Reggie Bush, he spent a lot of time on the bottom. (get it?) Like the good man he is, Stephen owns up to it. Stephen told me about a lot of the Monday Morning Quarterbacking he’s done since the taping and his episodes have aired. He should have studied the show more, he should have gone with the competition more…these are all things he understands should have been done.
One of the big disadvantages Stephen felt he had is that his catering chops weren’t up to snuff. As you may notice, many of the Elimination Challenges up front are buffet-style steam table events. Cooking a la minute and restaurant-style plate the food, send it to the table kind of format is a completely different set of chops than cooking food that will do well under the conditions of a chafing dish. Stephen kicks himself for not studying the show more to realize the more restaurant style challenges don’t come until later in the season, you know…the week after Stephen got eliminated. So close, yet so far.
As Seen On TV: Stephen Hopcraft
Stephen will be the first to tell you that the whole point of Top Chef is to get chefs out of their comfort zone. Stephen told me, “The whole thing is take you out of your comfort zone, put you on your heels and now go cook. That’s the show. Some people adapt to it better than others. For sure.” I was surprised when I asked him about his preparations for the show if he called up any buddies that were previous contestants to get the inside track and he said no that he thought that was cheating. It speaks volumes to the guy’s character, but even I, who I like to think is a fairly stand-up, honest fellow is scratching his head with that one.
Speaking of his character, I asked Stephen if he liked the way he was portrayed on the show, as the editing room can often be a cold-hearted bitch. He seemed pleased and thought he came across as the easy going, fun loving guy that he thinks he is. I definitely agree with that, both that he is and that’s how he came across on the show. While Stephen can stand up tall with how he was as a human being on the show, he obviously has a few regrets with some of the cooking choices he made.
One that stands out in his mind is, of course, the dish he got eliminated on. For those that need a refresher or haven’t seen the show, the challenge was to cook a dish for a bunch of international dignitaries that used the flavor profile of a particular country. Stephen got Brazil, a country whose cuisine he was not particularly familiar with. I can see that. When I think of Brazil I think of two things; nether region waxing and women with tremendously fabulous asses. Stephen opted to use products from Brazil and come up with something on his own; a marinated skirt steak over rice. The flavors were well received, but it was the rice destroyed by yet another chafing dish that cut his Top Chef run short. You don’t cook buffet rice like you do when you plate it in the kitchen and send it out to the table to be served. Oops.
Another tough thing for Stephen to wrap his head around were the difficulties of shopping. “You’ve got $200 to make 150 portions of food. You do the math on that one,” said Stephen. Also what was difficult for him was shopping at the same place, Whole Foods, all of the time. On this Hopcraft says, “They have great products, but shopping at the same place for every challenge made it tough for me to come up with something in a new direction.” Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to have a change of mindset, something Stephen would be the first to tell you he desperately needed for the competition.
Hopcraft’s advice to future contestants on Top Chef is that, “the person that will always do best on that show is the person that is able to change and grow and really respond to what the judges are looking for and open up. I think there were some contestants, me being one of them, obviously I got eliminated, that kind of just got stuck on their own thing on what they want to do and really just kept on plugging away at that.” He then added, ”I kept on trying to do something that wasn’t there, try to make something that was out of something it wasn’t. I kept trying to do that and make it happen when I should have backed off and let the challenge and the ingredients speak for themselves and do it in that way.”
While Stephen feels that he might have done a few things differently, he has no regrets doing Top Chef. In fact, he has a few moments of pride, his Quickfire Toothpick Challenge entry being one of them, which he thinks he should have won. He said, “I think that a lot of people got to see what I’m all about personality wise. I don’t think it highlighted my cooking abilities, again, just because that’s not the way that I process things and cook.”
Chef Stephen Hopcraft In Front of HIs Home Turf, Seablue
If you want to see how Stephen Hopcraft really cooks, there is no better time than right now as there are still a few days of Restaurant Week remaining (it goes through September 5th). Hopcraft is proud of his Restaurant Week menu by picking some of the more “foodie type things” on Seablue’s menu, one of which is a first course choice of Tandoori Octopus. Also on the menu are choices between Scallop Ceviche and Chicken & Chorizo Empanadas for the first course, Paella, Angus Ribeye and Arctic Char for the main and Bananas Foster Creme Brulee for dessert. The three course meal goes for $50.10 with $6 of that directly benefiting Three Square. That’s 18 meals for some people in need here in Southern Nevada.
While Stephen’s time on Top Chef has come to an end, there’s still a chance for him to bring home a W for the 702, and that is for Fan Favorite. The polls are open now and close on September 8th for us to vote for Stephen as our Fan Favorite. A direct link to vote for Stephen Hopcraft as your Fan Favorite on Top Chef is here http://www.bravotv.com/livevote/top-chef/fan-favorite. Wouldn’t it be nice for his two lovely, fresh out of the oven, twin daughters, Chloe and Madison, to have a Daddy that’s a Fan Favorite? 10 G’s buys a lot of toys for them, so get out the vote and let’s bring one home for the 702! (Oh yeah, and while you’re in the voting spirit, there’s another guy I know looking for votes)
Thanks to Chef Stephen for taking the time out of his day to chat with me for a bit. It was nice getting to meet him and I look forward to testing out his wares in the near future. Don’t forget his Restaurant Week selections, it’s one of the better looking menus of the lot.
—–
Seablue
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
Want To Be At The Greatest Party Ever Thrown On Earth? Then Vote Everyday From Now Through 09/30/10! Thanks!
Wait staff in barely there bikinis, mermaids swimming in the pool, dancers shaking what their mama (with a little help from their surgeon) gave them, Restaurant Week may be benefiting Three Square, but the Wet Your Appetite At Wet Republic kickoff event last night benefited my Spank Bank. Yowza!
Buy a Key. For Charity.
If nothing else, it made me happy. Not in the “Ooh look at that ass shake with each step” kind of happy, but in the sense that I see it as another step in the merciful dying of fine dining as we know it. In case you were wondering, fine dining is dead. It died a few years ago, but a couple places keep it on life support to appease the few remaining gourmands out there. Finally food is getting down to the most important part of eating; the food. The ivory tower holding the pomp and circumstance of which fine dining sits upon is finally being dismantled and instead of having a different glass for every year and every shade of wine, you can finally relax and enjoy your meal. Eating food is so much more pleasurable when you don’t have a stick up your ass.
But notice I said the “dying of fine dining as we know it.” There will always be “fine dining,” it will just be done in a more casual atmosphere. The food will always be “fine.” That concept will probably never be accepted by the old stodgy gourmands out there, as they’ll yearn for the days of tableside preparation, white tablecloths and a different sized fork for every bite, but who gives a shit. The casualization of fine dining makes good business sense and it makes good cultural sense. We are a people that are rapidly getting the ceremonious bullshit out of our lives, so why should restaurants go against the stream?
Ok…I’ll get off my soapbox now and get on with the event.
It's a party, so dance! For charity.
The Wife With A Tasty Watermelon Mojito. Think Watermelon Jolly Rancher That Makes You Drunk.
The Wet Your Appetite At Wet Republic event was a true celebration. Think of it as a miniature version of the Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting with a whole lot more boobs. It was great to see such a big turnout to enjoy the good times and to raise some dough for Three Square. The restaurants represented at this event were a bunch of Restaurant Week participating restaurants that are housed in MGM properties; Olives, Sensi, Circo, Fleur de Lys, Burger Bar, Sage, Jean Georges Steakhouse, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, Fiamma, Joël Robuchon and Craftsteak.
Sensi: Makers of Tasty Foods
Pork Belly Steamed Buns from Sensi. Amazing.
Not even I am that much of an asshole to rag on any of the dishes presented. It’s an outdoor catering event and it’s for charity for shit’s sake. Mostly everything there was quite good, but the Pork Belly Steamed Buns offered from Sensi moved all of the aforementioned chicks down a spot in the Spank Bank and took over as CEO. I’ve professed my love for Chef Martin Heierling and his crew’s food many times, and I will continue to do so many times. A perfect choice for the event.
I make a motion to have these as the new uniforms in Burger Bar. Made a motion. Get it?
The Wife’s pick of the evening came via Burger Bar in the Mandalay Bay resort. It was a mini-dessert burger with a donut bun, some kind of chocolatey / Nutella-y thing for a patty, I think passion fruit to look like cheese, maybe kiwi to look like lettuce and a strawberry to look like a tomato. I could be completely wrong about all of that, but that’s what I remember tasting. It was served with a Strawberry Beer which The Wife enjoyed quite a bit. Obviously, I have failed as both a food writer and a husband in my attempts to make her understand that you don’t fruit the beer.
From Sage: Tasty Beer in the Foreground, Delicious Chilled Corn Soup in the Background
Another top choice for me was a Chilled Corn and Saffron Soup with Dungeness Crab from the fine folks at Sage in the Aria resort. You can’t go wrong with good corn and crab, and doing a chilled soup in a plastic shot glass is a smart move for an outdoor mingling event such as this.
And yes, why I’d like to paint this event as nothing more than eating good food amongst the backdrop of finely tanned titties, there was, of course, something much more important going on, and that was raising money for a great cause, Three Square.
Chef Matt Seeber (2nd from Right) with the Craftsteak Crew
I got to chat a bit with Matt Seeber, Executive Chef of Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak at the MGM Grand. I asked him about Craftsteak’s relationship with Three Square outside of Restaurant Week and he said, “we work quite a bit with Three Square both in-house and with the hotel.” He went on talking about different seminars the hotel puts on getting the employees involved with the Las Vegas community. Seeber added about Three Square, “they do great work here in Las Vegas.”
Chef Robert Moore of Jean Georges Steakhouse
Also at the event was Executive Chef of Jean Georges Steakhouse at the Aria resort, Robert Moore. While Jean Georges Steakhouse is a relatively new joint on the scene, Robert recently celebrated his sixth year in Vegas, three of which was spent at Prime in the Bellagio before he got tapped for his current position. Through the time he’s been here he has also developed a good relationship with the charity of the evening. Moore told me, ”Three Square is an amazing charity, everything they do is to help people. How can you not want to help these people out?”
From the Pages of GQ to the Floor of Fleur de Lys, Owen Deignan
While his boss, Chef Hubert Keller, was spinning discs up in the DJ booth, General Manager of Fleur de Lys at the Mandalay Bay resort, Owen Deignan, was on hand looking his GQ self and handing out some lovely Sashimi of Hiramasa with tasty foam. Owen told me that, “Restaurant Week is a great way to celebrate, getting together with other restaurateurs in the valley, but most importantly to help out the community in the passionate way that we find ourselves working in the day-to-day. It’s a nice way to give back.” I couldn’t agree more.
Restaurant Week is indeed a great way to celebrate. Our restaurants in this valley should be a source of pride for our community. These people, our neighbors, work their asses off day in and day out and present some of the best food that’s found on this planet. How lucky are we to live among such talent and be able to sample the things they do? Most importantly, how great is it that we have an organization like Three Square to get behind? Their dedication to helping the less fortunate is inspiring. To be able to help out in some small way makes you feel good inside.
I’d like to thank the good folks at MGM for inviting me and The Wife to come to this event. I’m sure there will be something of this nature every year for Restaurant Week, so if you missed it this year, make sure you go next year. You can’t beat a night out like this for the price of admission. And it’s for charity.
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
If Not For Me, Vote For The Hang That Will Be Thrown Should I Win! You Can Vote Once Per Day From Now Through 09/30/10! Thanks!
One of the greatest weeks of the year we have in Las Vegas will be taking place between August 30 through September 5; Restaurant Week! I think only behind the week the Porn Convention is in town, Restaurant Week features over 80 of the finest restaurants our Little Twinkle in the Desert offers, each preparing a special three-course meal with a portion of the proceeds benefiting our favorite charity, Three Square. Learn more about Three Square by checking out our post back when Vegas Uncork’d was rolling along.
Message Above Entrance Way to Three Square Facilities
There are three different price levels for the three course meals, $20.10, $30.10 and $50.10, with each restaurant donating $4, $5 and $6 of that price, respectively, to Three Square. Three Square says only $1 in donation pays for three meals for people in need, so think about the impact we can all have by eating some magnificent food while supporting an outstanding charity!
Kicking off Restaurant Week will be “Wet Your Appetite At Wet Republic”. From 8pm to midnight on August 30th in Wet Republic at the MGM Grand there will be a blowout party kicking off Restaurant Week that will feature Chef Hubert Keller manning the DJ booth for a bit and a whole slew of entertainment that spans from synchronized swimmers to Recycled Percussion. There will also be complimentary food and drink provided until 10pm from several of the MGM Resorts restaurants participating in Restaurant Week such as; Joël Robuchon, Craftsteak, Fiamma, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, Jean Georges Steakhouse, Sage, Burger Bar, Fleur de Lys, Sensi, Osteria del Circo and Todd English’s Olives. Tickets for the Wet Republic event can be purchased for $30.10.
To find out what restaurants are participating in Restaurant Week and to check out their special three-course menus, check out: http://www.threesquare.org/events/event-calendar/restaurant-week/. I’d love to hear where you go for Restaurant Week, so be sure to let me know! Enjoy!
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
We're Getting Closer Each Day Thanks To You! Remember, you can vote once per day from now through 09/30/10!
You Can Vote Once Per Day from Now Through 09/30/10! Thanks so much for helping this happen!
Thanks to all of you that are supporting my little venture with Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Medium Raw’ Challenge! It’s because of your votes that my entry is now in the Top 100 and climbing! There is still a little over a month to go, but the biggest part of the mountain is still left to climb. I’m currently about 1,100 votes behind to break into the Top 10, so every vote is desperately needed!
I know many of you are squeamish about registering to vote on these websites, but the Connect Through Facebook thing they use is easy and all I can tell you is that The Wife has been voting everyday (ain’t she great?) and has had no problems with spam or otherwise. If not voting for the quality of the essay, then vote for the epic hang that will be thrown in magnificent fashion should I actually win this pig!
Opening to the public today is Republic Kitchen and Bar, located in the space vacated by Fadó Irish Pub at 9470 S. Eastern Avenue in Henderson. Headed up by Chef Josh Green, who has an impressive resume that spans from Aureole to the late Daniel Boulud Brasserie, Republic appears to be offering mostly traditional American bar fare with a few twists here and there. They are rolling with some late night hours with a reverse happy hour that happens from midnight to 2am each night, so that makes me happy to have another place for the late night gorge closer to the homestead. Also things to note they are having a Saturday and Sunday Brunch that ranges from $8 – $17 and a decent looking cocktail and beer menu. Best wishes to the folks at Republic Kitchen and Bar, I hope ye doesn’t suck! Republic Kitchen and Bar’s website is at http://republickitchenandbar.com.
JaiHo Fusion Restaurant Logo
Also near the new Republic Kitchen and Bar comes an Indo-Chinese Fusion restaurant called JaiHo at 9530 S Eastern Avenue in Henderson. I know absolutely nothing about this place other than they say they opened on August 16th. Oooh….a mystery! Full website advertised as coming soon at http://www.JaiHoFusion.com. Also best wishes to the crew at JaiHo, I hope ye doesn’t suck either!
R.I.P. - Naked City Sandwich Shop
It’s not all good news though, and I have the unfortunate duty of informing you that the Naked City Sandwich Shop is no more. Apparently this happened while The Wife and I was on vacation, but I was just perusing through some Facebook pages today, and saw the news on the Naked City Sandwich Shop page. All hope is not lost, however, it looks like they will gradually add in the Sandwich Shop menu to the new Naked City Pizza Shop location, so the best sandwiches in Las Vegas will still happen in Las Vegas, but we’ll just have to wait a minute to get them again. I’ll let you know if there are any further updates.
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
Las Vegas went such a long time with only one Hash House A Go Go location, but now they seem to be popping up like pimples on Montana Fishburne’s ass. The third location will mercifully take over the Red Cup Café space at the M Resort and is slated to open sometime in October. They’re looking for a wide range of positions, both front and back of house, and they are holding a job fair in the Molise Room 4 in the M Resort on Tuesday August 17 and Wednesday August 18 from 9am-6pm. If you’re looking for a gig, make sure you’re prepared for an interview. Best wishes to all applicants!
Pistachio Summer Fruit Tart from Bachi Burger. Amazing.
Due to overwhelming demand, Bachi Burger is shooting their day off out the window and are re-opening with slightly shorter hours than the rest of the week, 12pm-8pm, on Sundays. (of course they’re keeping their Monday-Saturday hours from 11am-2am) By the way, they’ve got a new limited-time special burger there called the Spicy Miso Burger along with a new item on the dessert menu, a Pistachio Summer Fruit Tart, that will knock your socks off. I call the Spicy Miso Burger a Four Napkin Burger. You need three for your face and hands and one for the mess that is sure to be made in your lap after you take your first bite. The Summer Fruit Tart is easily one of the best desserts I’ve ever had and comes with this Plum Wine Ice Cream that will make you thankful to be alive. They’re good.
Good Food Made Here. Silk Road.
One of the highest recommendations I give is for people to hit up Chef Martin Heierling’s Silk Roadat the Vdara hotel for breakfast. I just got word in that for a limited time, Silk Road will be offering half priced bottles of champagne along with their fabulous Sunday Brunch. Like we needed another reason to go eat the sensational food, half price bottles of bubbles ain’t that bad! Remember, it’s only for a limited time, so make sure you call ahead if the deal is going to make or break your visit.
Comeoniwannaleiyou Day at First
Celebrating the anniversary of Hawaii’s Statehood, First Food and Bar is throwing a full blown Luau on Saturday, August 21st starting at 9pm. They’ll have all the traditional Hawaiian grub from Kaluha Pork to Spam and will be having drink specials as well. Anybody that scores a picture of 0 in a grass skirt and coconut bra will be my Hero for Life!
Vote Once Per Day!
Speaking of First, thank you so much to all that have already voted and have been promoting my ‘Medium Raw’ contest entry! We still have a long way to go as I’m over 2,600 votes shy of the top, but I’m still hopeful to make up some ground with us being able to vote once per day from now through 9/30. I know many of you have posted links on Twitter and Facebook, but I do have to give a special shoutout to two fabulous ladies that have been going above and beyond trying to get the word out, @aka_kristin and @Adeviousone on Twitter. It seems like everytime I go on Twitter, one of them has put a link up, browbeating their own followers to help me out. Thank you so much to both of them and thank you so much to everyone for your incredible support! With your help, we can bang this thing out and take one home for the 702!
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
For the first vacation The Wife and I have taken in over three years, we decided a road trip through California was in order. Yeah….I know….three years. When greedy scumfuck banks decide to jack your credit card rates up to 30% for no reason at all other than they are greedy scumfuck banks, sacrifices must be made. And besides, we live in Las Vegas, it’s like living in a vacation anyway…except for the whole work part.
Big Ass Tree in Sequoia National Park
But I digress, it was good to get out of the heat and see something new. We took 8 days to drive first to Sequoia National Park, then up to San Francisco, then a quick day in Yountville, then down the coast to Santa Barbara where we would then come home. Not only was this a vacation, but it surrounded The Wife and I’s 5th Anniversary, which we celebrated while in Yountville. Why the hell that woman has stayed with me for 5 years is beyond me, but who am I to question.
Another part of the trip was to get away from Tasting Las Vegas for a bit, which a few of you noticed. It was indeed nice to look into The Wife’s blue eyes during meals instead of FourSquaring and taking notes. It was also nice to have a conversation with her rather than say, “Get the hell away from me, I’m writing.” And while I could use another 2 or 3 years..I mean weeks away from the Bill Payer, I missed TLV and you fine folks dearly.
So it was off to the open road we were, cooler packed with lots of water, lemonade and cranberry juice and a bag full of chips, pretzels and other processed foods one should only eat while on a road trip or in the middle of a bout with deep depression (Oreo Cakesters, FTW!). I finally subscribed to XM / Sirius Radio or whatever the hell they call it now. The soundtrack to this trip was provided by the 80′s on 8 and Howard Stern. Unfortunately, Howard was on vacation the very same week, so they had a “Gayest Week Ever” thing which was all of his offensive, homophobic shit about gays from over the years. Most of it wasn’t funny, especially the sketch bits, however I almost drove off the road from laughing listening to George Takei pick who has The Prettiest Penis or hearing Artie Lange’s story about getting spooge on his chest during a threeway.
The Mad Greek
Our first pit stop was the one made by countless other travelers on I-15 between Vegas and LA, The Mad Greek in Baker, CA. Eating at the Mad Greek brought on thoughts of a growing concern within myself, and that is since I started to write about restaurants and food, constantly thinking about it with my Holier-Than-Thou Judgment Cap(patent pending), I’m starting to enjoy shitty, greasy roadhouse food, less. The diners, drive-in’s and dives are starting to appeal to me less and less, and it’s not just because Guy Fierimakes the hair on my balls curl even more than it’s supposed to.
Where in my youth the gut rot from a greasy spoon used to be worn like a badge of honor, it now just pisses me off. Now I look for shitholes that make good food and use good ingredients. The days of Sysco Whipped Imitation Butter and chemical eggs are way behind me, which unfortunately makes 90% of American breakfast joints now suck. It’s not just that I don’t like it anymore, I can’t really eat it anymore. Period. If I eat that poison, now it feels like my gut is on fire, there’s a vice on my chest and it only goes away once I do a scatological imitation of the Bellagio Fountains out of my ass. It sucks getting old.
Gyros From The Mad Greek in Baker, CA
Anywho, I got the obligatory Gyros at the Mad Greek, and where it was once a dish that I would scarf down and ask for more, it was now just another roadside plate of shit that’s going to give me The Agita in about 20 minutes after consumption. I must say though, it was sort of worth the burn. The Gyros at the Mad Greek is certainly nothing special in and of itself, but it’s one of those rites of passage travelers in our little corner of the Earth should do. And if you’re hungry and in Baker…it’s not like you have many other choices.
All of the Middle of California Looks Like This
We pressed on from the Home of the World’s Largest Thermometer to Three Rivers, CA, the entrance to Sequoia National Park. For those not familiar with driving through the guts of California, it’s something you really need to see. The rolling golden hills look so soft from a distance that you want to pet them. Once you get off the exit on your way to Sequoia National Park, much more of the greens come in with jagged rocks jutting through. The winding roads were a wake up call for this Pennsylvania hick now turned Certified City Boy….well…maybe Certified Suburbia Boy.
Three Rivers is a cute no-traffic-light town that appears to solely exist to be one of the entrances to the park. No one in the history of big ass trees (and that’s a long history as many of the trees are over 2,000 years old!) has ever gone to Sequoia National Park for the food, so I’ll try not to shred the food too much, but it was certainly something that made me reflect on life in Vegas.
One reflection is that where Las Vegas might not have the baseline of produce (more about that in Part II where I’ll talk about San Francisco) found elsewhere and while the prices in Las Vegas might be jacked up for mid-range joints on up, Las Vegas kicks the ass off of any town’s service across the board. Whether you are rolling 3-Star at Robuchon or whether you are getting a quick nosh at a place like the Weiss Deli, service in Las Vegas is MILES beyond most other comparable establishments elsewhere. Is it because the jacked up prices attract the cream of the crop? I don’t know. But it’s just better. A good side effect from living in a town built on the service industry, I suppose. It shouldn’t be rocket science to keep a water glass full, check on the table every now and then and for shit’s sake to pick up the damn check once we stick the credit card in the folder…but in many places, it is.
Buckeye Tree Lodge at the entrance to Sequoia National Park
The view from our balcony
We stayed at the Buckeye Tree Lodge which I would recommend to anyone thinking about hitting up Sequoia National Park. We had a stunning view from our balcony of a mountainside whitewater creek running in the backyard of the inn. There’s no food at the Buckeye, but next door was the closest place and by looking at a selection of menus in our hotel’s office, the fanciest place in town, the Gateway Restaurant and Lodge.
Spiders Come Free!
“Rustic” doesn’t quite describe the Gateway. More like infested shed. The Gateway also has a fabulous view from their back balcony outdoor seating area. Unfortunately the tables were strewn with bird shit on the tablecloths and spider webs, complete with the spiders that spun them, riddled the railing along side the table. Needless to say, we didn’t sit out there for long and relocated to their indoor dining area.
Surf and Turf, or Suffer and Tough
Once inside, we ordered our food, The Wife going for Ribs and I springing for the $30Surf and Turf of Shrimp Scampi and Filet Mignon. Isn’t that cute? I don’t think I’ve ordered Surf and Turf since living in Upstate NY. I should say that beforehand, even the nice lady running the office at our hotel warned us of The Gateway, however I assumed it was because of the exorbitant-for-the-area prices, which were half of what we’re used to in our Little Twinkle in the Desert. However, I didn’t take into account that the quality of the food was below a Village Pub, thus making the meal twice as expensive as a comparable meal in Vegas. Needless to say, the fanciest restaurant in Three Rivers, CA is a far cry from the fanciest restaurant in Las Vegas, NV. The evening was capped off when a spider came down on a web from the ceiling and crawled into the bread basket. Hilarious! For the rest of the trip, the Gateway was officially known as “the place with the spider bread.” I wonder if they’ll add that line to their advertising!
The view on the way up to the Big Ass Trees in Sequoia National Park
The next day we made the trek up to the star of the area, Sequoia National Park. The difference between Sequoias and Redwoods is that Redwoods are taller and found on California’s coast, Sequoias are thicker and found more in-land. These are some big fucking trees. It’s about a 45-minute twisting, winding and stunningly gorgeous drive from the entrance to the park to the Grove of the Big Ass Trees (I think they call it the Giant Forest, I’m partial to my version). I can’t even count the number of times I nearly drove us to our ultimate demise off the side of the mountain due to being awestruck by the scenery. I’m not even much of a nature person, and this is something I’d recommend anyone to do at least once in their lives.
Makes for a nice Commemorative Paperweight!
As I said before, no one has ever gone to Sequoia National Park for the food, and the Lodge at Wuksachi Village certainly won’t buck the trend. I knew before even entering the restaurant that there must have been something called a Sequoia Burger with my name on it, and not to disappoint, the Giant Sequoia Beef Burger was nearly top billing on the menu for $10.25. I think the namesake trees might be easier to chew and swallow, but I didn’t expect anything less. A half-pound incinerated gray puck of despair. Strikingly flavorless, however, was the Onion Soup. I didn’t know that it was possible to make beef broth and onion to have no flavor, but they figured out a way. I’d like to imagine a world where food served in the middle of the wilderness didn’t have to suck, but I guess I’m going to have to keep imagining. The moral of the story is…if you’re going to Sequoia National Park….pack a sandwich.
The General Sherman, A Really Big Fucking Tree
Sequoia National Park is home to the largest tree in the world by volume, The General Sherman Tree. Many of the trees in the park were named in the Civil War era, so there was the General Grant, the General Lee and so on. Neither words, nor pictures can appropriately describe the size of the General Sherman. It’s a really big fucking tree. That’s about as good as I can do.
The path to the General Sherman from the nearest parking lot is about a half mile, but it is very steep and at over 7,000 ft. If you wanted a good laugh, you should have seen my fat ass struggling to make it back up the mountain to the car. I thought I was going to die. If you want an even better laugh, I present to you an (as far as we know) unnamed tree that is still pretty big which The Wife and I named The Lance Armstrong. Behold…
The Lance Armstrong Tree
That's my girl!
Exhausted from the walk back up to the car, we said goodbye to the land of the Big Ass Trees, drove back down the mountain and retreated to our hotel room before going to a restaurant that’s name tugged on my Vegas-centric heartstrings, Serrano’s.
Far From Julian...
The Don Jesus Burrito from Serrano's in Three River, CA
The Three Rivers version of Serrano’s however is of course a far cry from our hometown hero. This Serrano’s is a Mexican joint. I won’t knock it too bad, as it was the best food we had by a landslide thus far on our voyage. Again, it was a name on the menu that dictated what I ordered and the Don Jesus Burrito it was. It was a huge carne asada burrito with all the fixin’s. While anyone that is of Mexican descent or has ever seen a person of Mexican descent will think that Taco Bell is closer to the truth, the food was certainly edible and met my needs just fine.
No Bueno.
A Plate of the Unchewable and Flavorless
Unfortunately, the some of the worst food of the trip was had the following morning on our way out of town and onto one of my favorite places on Earth, San Francisco. Breakfast at the We Three Bakery & Restaurant was brutal, and no matter how bad you expect the food to be at such an out of the way place, this is one to pass as you’re on your way to some other hole. I went for the Steak and Eggs and I wish I didn’t. The restaurant itself looked like the Republican Party exploded all over the walls. Military, America and Apple Pie. While I’ll certainly always support our troops, it’s a rarity that I support the people that support our troops, if ya know what I mean. Regardless of the politics, the food was inedible. It’s from this Tea Party Hookup House that we left the woods and made our way to civilization once again. Good civilization. Civilization with good restaurants. San Francisco.
Home of Unmatched Beauty, Not So Hot Food
Our trip to Sequoia National Park not only had me reflect on the majestic beauty of Mother Nature, still un-raped by mankind, but it also made me reflect on how sorry I feel for people that don’t live within a reasonable distance of a good restaurant. It’s such a joy that I take for granted living in one of the premiere restaurant towns on Earth, it takes moments like these to remember not everyone has our luxury. And sure, people can’t imagine people living in a place with billboards about starring in internet porn, but everybody eats, and it’s too bad some people can’t leave the pots and pans in the cupboard and go out once in a while to eat well.
I suppose ignorance is bliss to a certain degree, but it still makes me sad. My desire for everyone to experience the best in life almost makes me want to help these fine folks like a Red Cross Doctor would aid a poor child stricken with malaria in the African bush. A Restaurants Without Borders, if you will. If only I could put Rick Moonen in a backpack and have him whip up some Cioppino at some distant, Middle American land. Move over American Cancer Society, I think I’ve just founded the greatest charity. Ever.
I guess I’ll split our California Road Trip up into three parts. The next will be solely dedicated to San Francisco and I’ll round out the series with Yountville and Santa Barbara being the third. Stay tuned for more adventures. I promise, the next one will be more about food. Good food. Until then, to my fellow Las Vegas valley residents, go to your favorite restaurant soon, kiss the chefs and toss a few extra bucks into the tip jar for the servers. Be thankful for what we have.
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
You can vote once per day from now until 09/30/10! Thanks for your help!
TLV Army! I call upon you as I am in need of great assistance. I’ve entered a contest being held by the publishers of Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Medium Raw’(my review of ’Medium Raw’)and I need votes to get my essay published in the paperback edition of the book! The contest is to write a 500-word essay on what it means to cook well.
Your Vote Can Help Get This Bubble Gum and Duct Tape Operation Published!
When I think of “cooking well,” I can’t help but think of the ass-kicking crew at First Food and Bar, so they are ultimately who I decided to write about. First has a crew bursting with pride, dedicated to the highest quality ingredients that consistently bangs out innovative food at a high level of execution. It’s this foundation that First Food and Bar is built upon that makes it a shining example of cooking well.
Please check out my essay,‘Cooking Well Is First‘ and if you dig it, please vote for it, and please vote for it often. Tell your friends, put it up on Twitter and Facebook. Anything you’re willing to do to help me out achieve this once in a lifetime opportunity is greatly appreciated. Also, I beg your forgiveness as this certainly won’t be the first time you’ll be hearing my plea for votes!
I’ve also put a little widget at the top right hand corner of TastingLasVegas.com that you can click on anytime to vote.
Thanks again so much for your help! Wish me luck!
—– Mike Dobranski is a professional musician, amateur blogger, eater of good food, poker junkie, master of the inappropriate comment and bad husband to a wonderful wife.
Follow Mike and Tasting Las Vegas on Twitter at @TastingLasVegas
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