I know, I know, it ended up being nearly a month! I'm ashamed of myself. :-(
But after nearly a month of being tied down by other obligations, I'm back... And I recently had a chance to revisit a new favorite.
And once again, my Urth Burger was out of this world! I'm still trying to figure out how Holstein's manages to make a veggie burger so "meaty", so bursting with farm fresh veggie flavor, so absolutely delicious! It's really great on its own... Really! But if you're not a strict vegan, add the Point Reyes Bleu Cheese for an even more otherworldly experience.
The fries were again super fresh. The popcorn was still addictive. Oh, and this time I had the chance to try a chocolate malt. And jeez, was that rich and bursting with down home chocolate goodness!
Someone help me. I think I'm falling in love with this place. ;-)
(For the first time EVER, I'm giving a perfect score to a non French-i-fied high-society uber-bucks fine dining joint. Lordy help me!)
Back in 2009, I had my first experience at LBS, an upscale "burger joint" way out in the mysterious hinterlands often referred to as Summerlin. I've constantly been amazed by the superior quality of the food, the interesting vibe of the place, and the surprising value they offer...
But can the folks behind LBS score a successful sequel on The Strip? So far, I'm inclined to say yes. Holstein's really took so much of what I love at LBS, and takes it to an even higher level at Cosmopolitan.
My recent lunch out was off to an interesting start with a small bucket of "truffle popcorn" awaiting me. I must admit the popcorn was quite addicting. It had great flavor without being too greasy.
Pretty soon, my cocktail arrived. I ordered a Blood Orange Cosmo, and it arrived full of great, refreshing, sweet orange flavor. Just what I needed.
Yep, this was just what I needed to relax and whet my appetite for more. And oh my goodness, did I get more! My "Urth Burger" was a house made vegan patty that didn't taste like "imitation meat" or "random veggie blob", but rather a hearty patty full of great flavors and complemented well by the nice bun and tangy Point Reyes Blue Cheese (that I added onto the burger). This, for me, is the hallmark of a truly great burger palace. If it can take the often maligned "veggie burger" and turn it into this wonderful, edible masterpiece, than it can do pretty much anything!
The shoestring fries were also a nice complement on the plate. They tasted fresh. They weren't overly greasy. They were addictive.
Of course, no great lunch is truly great without a stunning dessert, so I gave into temptation and ordered the "chocolate slider with fries". Basically, it turned out to be a plate of a "slider" consisting of rich chocolate ganache sandwiched between two delectable chocolate cookies. YUM! And even better, it came with these pillowy soft and delicately fried churro "fries" along with a cup of tangy strawberry "ketchup" for dipping. Was it gimmicky? Perhaps? But was it so damned good that I really didn't care? ABSO-F*CKING-LUTELY!!!
So what else can I say about Holstein's? The food was phenomenal. The atmosphere was groovy. The service was quite friendly. And I finally found the perfect "veggie burger". Did I just find heaven? ;-)
I just had to try it. I was drawn to it. Chinese food. And Mexican food. And avant garde cuisine. By Jose Andres. All under the same roof!
Many adjectives can describe the food here, but I suspect "boring" will never be one of them. Since I needed a cool libation after a rough morning, I was ready for a margarita. My "Salt Air Margarita" soon emerged... With salt foam on top! Very interesting, and very yummy. So far, so good.
And from there, it just kept getting better. The queso fundido came out piping hot, and served alongside fabulous housemade tortillas. It was divine.
Next up was an eggplant dish that I'm still trying wrap my head around. It was sauteed with black garlic and served with this interesting, slightly sweet soy sauce. The black garlic was quite pleasant and sweet, and the eggplant was very tender.
And finally, there was dessert. Because my curiosity got the best of me, I had to taste for myself the "coconut tapioca balls" with passion fruit and mandarin orange sorbet. OMG, this was something else! I had my doubts, but this made me a believer in tapioca pudding again... Especially when it's combined with floating balls of coconutty creaminess and perfect orange sorbet!
All in all, my first impression of China Poblano was quite good. I look forward to returning soon and exploring more of the fascinating menu here.
Alex Stratta’s beacon of French cuisine at Wynn Las Vegas is closing. The nearly six-year-old Alex restaurant will close its doors after service on Saturday, January 15, giving diners just seven days (Alex is open Wednesday-Saturday) to stop by and pay homage to the Michelin two-star restaurant.
The beautiful space will remain intact for special events.
“I’m really bummed out,” chef Stratta said Thursday afternoon. “It was a good run. I guess it was just time.”
The lavish restaurant has been one of the jewels of the Wynn’s dining program, winning Forbes (formerly Mobil) Travel Five Star Awards and AAA Five Diamond Awards for the last five years straight, along with the highly coveted Michelin two-star rating in 2008 and 2009.
A Wynn representative pointed to the strains of the economy as the reason for the restaurant’s closing, adding that “high-end French dining is not what people want these days.” Stratta will stay on with the resort to continue running his more casual, Italian-influenced restaurant, Stratta, and perhaps to work on yet-to-be-determined projects.
So what does this mean? Without a doubt, Vegas loses one of its brightest culinary stars. And not only that, but Alex Stratta made his name here! He became a star here. And now, his flagship restaurant dies here.
And why? So that Wynn can have a "private party venue" for D List "celebutards" to get wasted before getting even more wasted at Surrender?
John Curtas is definitely onto something when he talks about the "slow, steady dismantling of whatever gourmet food/restaurant reputation [Wynn/Encore] sought to create". With Daniel Boulud leaving last year and Alex leaving this year, Wynn has lost two of its three (well-deserved IMHO) Michelin starred restaurants. And more importantly, Wynn has lost two solid houses of superb French cooking.
These last three years haven't been easy on Vegas, and so far 2011 looks to be another year of dramatic highs and lows. Just as foodies celebrate the exciting new restaurants at Cosmopolitan, we're left wondering (again) WTF is happening to Wynncore.
When I arrived in LA this week, I wanted to treat my dad to something special. And because I haven't been to LA and tried a David Myers restaurant in a while, I wanted to come here. So we did.
And from the start, we were quite impressed with what we found. The bread we were served tasted fresh, and the wine was a great vintage.
And from there, it was onto my French Onion Soup. And wow, what strong flavors I found! The sweet onion and savory jus went perfectly with the nutty, slightly sweet melted gruyere. Just wonderful.
I soon had a chance to jump into the gruyere and shallot quiche I ordered. And my goodness, I got another grand slam! The quiche was done just right, and the flavors of the shallot and gruyere went along beautifully, alongside the spring greens providing some refreshing, crisp contrast.
Finally, I jumped into my apple tarte tatin dessert. And yet again, I was blown away! The apple was sliced so thinly, I was wondering how it happened. And even better, the apple was caramelized and provided the perfect, hot, tangy sweet bite that went alongside the cool vanilla ice cream (that I'm pretty sure was house made... It had strong vanilla flavor!).
All in all, I had a great lunch here. And more importantly, so did my dad. (He had the roasted beet and goat cheese salad and vol-au-vent au poulet.) I enjoyed my meal at Comme Ca West Hollywood, and I can't wait to try the new Comme Ca at Cosmopolitan soon!
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is set to open tonight, and The Strip is ablaze with chatter, rumors, optimism, concern, and so much more. John Unwin keeps saying he sees this not as a "book end" or "end of an era", but rather as "a new beginning". Could this be true?
Interestingly, most of the big name restaurants: Jaleo, Comme Ça, Milos, and Scarpetta are located on the third floor, and essentially adjacent to each other as they wrap around the main escalator. The effect is striking (and very convenient for galloping gourmets), and gives the appearance of the ultimate, up-, upscale food court — featuring the best of Spanish, French, Greek and Italian cuisines.
None of them are especially intimate (a quick scan puts each at around 175 seats), but if the hype and reputations of these places is to be believed, the only place in America that comes close to such an intense concentration of gourmandia is the Time Warner Building in the Big Apple. [...]
You heard it here first: The Cosmopolitan is going to shake the gastronomic ground in the High Mojave Dessert, and the whole world is going to feel the shudder.
What we’ve been thinking about is the difference between hotels who own their own restaurants (à la Wynn/Encore, Caesars, Bellagio, et al) and those who four- wall (i.e lease out) their food service operations (à la Venetian/Palazzo, Palms, and the soon-to-open THE Cosmopolitan).
We won’t bore you with all the pros and cons of one business model versus another, but suffice it to say the big, corporate hotels who dominate the Strip (and who own their own restaurants), are always teetering on the brink of reverting to the Vegas of old — when hotel gourmet rooms and coffee shops were almost indistinguishable from one another — and whatever personality the dining spots had was confined to cossetting the guests and getting them back to the tables quickly. Food wasn’t the point back then, the illusion of luxury was, and metronomic operations were the rule. [...]
The trouble is, big, corporate gambling palaces aren’t that good at food service operations. What they’re good at is running hotels and casinos. If any of them were being honest, they’d admit they don’t even want to run restaurants, they just have to. Since 1994, when MGM made the first big splash with Emeril, Mark Miller, and the original Charlie Trotter, the hotels have been locked in the restaurant equivalent of a cold war arms race — each feeling it has to top the other or risk being forever marginalized by the upscale tourist market they are all aiming to attract.
So how might Cosmo change this? Well, they're not even trying to take full control of the restaurants. They're simply leasing out their restaurant spaces, thereby allowing the chef-owners to have more control over their operations than the typical casino restaurant overseen by F&B (the casino's food and beverage department, that is).
Might this be a model for Strip casinos and restaurants in the future? We'll have to wait and see. Venelazzo and Palms have done this for some time, but it hasn't seemed to catch on yet.
Honestly, there are upsides and downsides to splitting the casinos from the restaurants. We'll see where that goes.
But believe it or not, that may not be the biggest change coming with Cosmo. Mike Dobranski could hardly hide his excitement on Monday about this. While he originally expressed doubt about Cosmo being all that much of a game changer, he's been warming up to it since.
Finally the resort us fans of food have been waiting for, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, will be open to the public on Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm. If I had to pick the three or four restaurants I’m most looking forward to, I’d have to tip my hat to both of José Andrés’ places with Jaleo and especially China Poblano, David Myers’ Comme Ca (pronounced ‘come saw’ for We-The-Frenchy-Deficient) and Block 16 Hospitality’s (folks that brought us LBS Burger) Holsteins.
Jaleo is Chef José Andrés’ Spanish tapas emporium, so obviously the tapas slut in me is excited about that. For me, the most exciting restaurant in the building is Andrés’ China Poblano, and original concept of his that will be a Mexican / Chinese fusion. Sounds good to me…and oddly logical considering I don’t know of that combo being done anywhere else. While Comme Ca is an import from Los Angeles, it will be nice to have an accessible, centrally located French Brasserie in town to go to. Last, but not least, Holsteins will be the requisite burger joint, but feature natural and organic ingredients and house-made sausage.
While most of Cosmo's "new" restaurants are either LA or NYC imports, they are from chefs who have not been exposed to Vegas before. And some of what they're offering, such as Milos' fine, authentic Greek food, hasn't been experienced here before. Hopefully, we'll be in for good eating.
However, what's even more exciting is that Jose Andres and Scott Conant will actually bring original concepts to Vegas! Andres will open China Poblano this week, which will be a very unique Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant... Talk about "East Meets West"! Meanwhile Conant will open DOCG, and Italian wine bar and small plates joint that's coming first to Vegas. Not since Steve Wynn hand-picked previously little known chefs to come to Vegas and become culinary superstars (such as Julian Serrano, Alex Stratta, and Jet Tila) have we seen a Strip casino bring such exciting new concepts to town.
For such a long time, Vegas' culinary star-power has relied on New York, San Francisco, and Paris superstar chefs bringing "photocopies" of their restaurants here. And while just this alone has helped improve fine dining here, it's nonetheless no substitute for real, homegrown talent. Thankfully we are starting to see more homegrown talent emerge, but they've yet to achieve the sort of "critical mass" of attention that celebrity superstar chefs regularly get when they import more restaurants here.
Maybe one day in the not-too-distant future we'll finally see this happen, but in the mean time it's encouraging to see some new culinary ideas shine through at Cosmo.
