Saturday, November 12, 2005
Restaurant Review - Mesa Grill - Las Vegas
I love the finer things in life, though true snobs find me way too pedestrian. For example, "foodies" think that Las Vegas, in the culinary sense, is over the top, garish, unrefined, and low-brow. However, as a guy that will take comic book art over Renoir any day, it is a delight.
The French established the marks for cooking excellence long ago, which is all the more reason to think outside the box as far as I am concerned.
The original Mesa Grill is in NYC, but as Master Chef Bobby Flay has become a big celebrity type, courtesy FoodTV, and he has opened one in Ceasars Palace here in Las Vegas. In a nutshell, I spent a bit of time in heaven last night. One warning if you come, be prepared to drop serious change. We spent several hundred dollars and had no wine.
Service. Marvelous. There was very expensive reservation mix up which the hosting staff resolved with amazing speed and class. This is no bistro, this is an enormous operation, and the bureacracy is immense, tying in with hotel reservations systems, etc. To keep me feeling like the center of attention, to make it obvious that giving me a great dinner was all that mattered under those circumstances is a miracle.
The wait staff was likewise great. This is designed to be a casual, but elegant, dining experience. This means great service, without the hovering bus boys and wine guys of the continental places. Always someone there when you need them, never someone intruding. They earned every dime of the 25% tip I gave.
Food. This is the true heaven part. French cooking is all about richness and subtlety. You have to have a clean palate between every course just to taste the difference. This place; however, is all about flavor - big, bold, delicious flavor.
Around our table we had a steak, lamb chops, pork tenderloin, and chicken. If there was a downside, there was nothing without a hint of "kick" to it, which is hard for the faint of tongue, but I am not one of those people. Each of these was uniquely seasoned and wonderful. The meats were well-aged, tender, and cooked to perfection. The sides were masterful.
Highlights are hard to come by because it was all grand, but here are a few. The blue corn pancake with duck barbeque appitizer. This is a house specialty and now I know why. The pancake, made with blue corn meal, was sweet and delicious. The duck, which is hard to do without drowning in grease, was tender and succulent, and greaseless. The sauce, a habanero based sauce added just the right touch.
The mango salsa which accompanied my lamb chops and my wife's chicken, superb. It was just the right touch of sweetness to go with the ancho chili heavy rubs used in the preparation of the meats.
The creamed corn side dish. This isn't your mother's creamed corn. The crema was based on cilantro and red pepper. It would light up your world, and was simply, delcious. I will spend hours in my kitchen until I get this one down just right. Then I will eat nothing else for weeks on end.
Apple carmel cheesecake. There are no words other than the perfect consistency, the perfect flavor, the perfect end to the perfect meal.
Now, if only they find this review and are so complimented they ask me back for free.
The French established the marks for cooking excellence long ago, which is all the more reason to think outside the box as far as I am concerned.
The original Mesa Grill is in NYC, but as Master Chef Bobby Flay has become a big celebrity type, courtesy FoodTV, and he has opened one in Ceasars Palace here in Las Vegas. In a nutshell, I spent a bit of time in heaven last night. One warning if you come, be prepared to drop serious change. We spent several hundred dollars and had no wine.
Service. Marvelous. There was very expensive reservation mix up which the hosting staff resolved with amazing speed and class. This is no bistro, this is an enormous operation, and the bureacracy is immense, tying in with hotel reservations systems, etc. To keep me feeling like the center of attention, to make it obvious that giving me a great dinner was all that mattered under those circumstances is a miracle.
The wait staff was likewise great. This is designed to be a casual, but elegant, dining experience. This means great service, without the hovering bus boys and wine guys of the continental places. Always someone there when you need them, never someone intruding. They earned every dime of the 25% tip I gave.
Food. This is the true heaven part. French cooking is all about richness and subtlety. You have to have a clean palate between every course just to taste the difference. This place; however, is all about flavor - big, bold, delicious flavor.
Around our table we had a steak, lamb chops, pork tenderloin, and chicken. If there was a downside, there was nothing without a hint of "kick" to it, which is hard for the faint of tongue, but I am not one of those people. Each of these was uniquely seasoned and wonderful. The meats were well-aged, tender, and cooked to perfection. The sides were masterful.
Highlights are hard to come by because it was all grand, but here are a few. The blue corn pancake with duck barbeque appitizer. This is a house specialty and now I know why. The pancake, made with blue corn meal, was sweet and delicious. The duck, which is hard to do without drowning in grease, was tender and succulent, and greaseless. The sauce, a habanero based sauce added just the right touch.
The mango salsa which accompanied my lamb chops and my wife's chicken, superb. It was just the right touch of sweetness to go with the ancho chili heavy rubs used in the preparation of the meats.
The creamed corn side dish. This isn't your mother's creamed corn. The crema was based on cilantro and red pepper. It would light up your world, and was simply, delcious. I will spend hours in my kitchen until I get this one down just right. Then I will eat nothing else for weeks on end.
Apple carmel cheesecake. There are no words other than the perfect consistency, the perfect flavor, the perfect end to the perfect meal.
Now, if only they find this review and are so complimented they ask me back for free.
