Tonkatsu Kiyoshi @ 7780 S Jones Blvd, Las Vegas

 




It's been a busy month, with two Japanese restaurants in the area that I haven't tried yet, I am thrilled and filled at the same time....

I can always have Tonkatsu for any meal; it's comfort food for me and if you go to Japan, they make it so light and crunchy, you almost can't believe that its fried.  Almost...

But alas, we're not in Japan, and for the most part, Tonkatsu here is a heavier, oilier version of the original, and if you're lucky, the Pork doesn't taste like your belt.. or is as thin...

And then Tonkatsu Kiyoshi come into town, and all is good.  Located in an area that no matter where you live, takes a butt long time to get to, since it's in a residential-ish area with rudimentary access (Vegas, could you hurry up and upgrade the road conditions already)?  I was a little trepidatious at first, I really didn't want to go if it was just another L&L BBQ or Ross J's... (no offense)...

Sage: Braised Veal Cheeks

Braised Veal Cheeks with Blue Corn Hominy Succotash, Pickled Sweet Corn and Black Garlic Glaze 

Manga Burger @ Bachi Burger

Jaleo by Jose Andres @ Cosmopolitan Casino & Hotel

Jaleo has is my favorite dining experience on the Strip; apart form the most excellent food, I love the ambience of the restaurant and service is impeccable.  Chef Jose Andres has a magical take on Tapas, a direct influence from his mentor, Ferran Adria of El Bulli.  His restaurant in LA, The Bazaar, has more of an avant garde conceptual Tapas line-up, while Jaleo has both traditional and contemporary dishes in a stylish casual environment that promotes a convivial dining experience.  It's a great place to take friends and special enough for that romantic evening.

Random Photo: Oxtail Chili Cheese Fries W/ Fried Egg @ Bachi Burger

Monta Chaya @ 9310 S Eastern, Las Vegas

Finally, Monta has opened up on my side of town; no longer do I have to traverse the I-15 and hazard Desert Inn Road with all the wonky crazies that can't drive for squat, all just to gamble on whether I'll be seated immediately (22 seats) or get to wait outside with the throng of addicts like I'm outside a methadone clinic in the Tenderloin...




And to be quite frank, with ALL the Ramen joints popping up like hedgehogs in town, I'm almost over it....almost.  My first love is Monta, and I have a sweet spot for the food and the people who have been terribly authentic and hospitable. I have never had a bad experience there, and the food is on point!

And it's is soo damn close, I could stop by here almost everyday which is all too tempting.  It's right beside my Japanese food store, Japan Creek, (same owners) which happens to be right next to my gym!  Talk about pure evilness...

As of right now, there's no signage, so you'll just have to remember that it's next to Japan Creek; the most awesome Japanese food store in Vegas.  Albeit compact, they have the best produce for Japanese dishes, as well as Sushi grade fish, Pork and Beef sliced for Sukiyaki or Shabu Shabu.  All just another way to sidetrack me off my clean diet, but really, I only really workout so that I can eat the things I love....it's a build/destroy existential quagmire that I secretly believe adds an insensible depth of character...or I'm just difficult and stupid-whatevs...

Burgers vs. Ramen? They're both sooo Japanese: Bachi Burger and Shoku Ramen-ya

VS.

It's a culinary BATTLE ROYALE!!!!

So I dunno if you've ever been in a situation where you're really hungry and you're thinkin, 'Do I want a Burger, or do I feel like a hot bowl of Noodles?'  So typical..... I've been there on numerous occasions and let me tell you, I could ponder that fork in the road for hours...if only there was a place that served both..... Tadaaaa!
Well, it's not exactly one place, more like two places adjacent to each other by chef/owner Lorin Watada; whose fusion burger fame, 'Bachi Burger' has propelled her into Ramen game - the current 'it' food in Vegas.  Not that there can be enough Japanese fare in my opinion!

Scarpetta @ Cosmopolitan Casino and Resort Hotel

As much as I am critical regarding the outlandish folly that which is the Strip, there are, in my opinion, a few exceptional culinary experiences that you can only get here and nowhere else; with breathtaking, majestic feats of visionary engineering, the Strip personifies man's ability to create way beyond his present environment and envision a future filled with unlimited possibilities.  And when a night on the town includes that man-made wonderland, you get magic, an 'Umami' of all the senses.

Scarpetta by Chef Scott Conant encompasses that dining experience, and out of all his venues bearing the same name, I enjoy the Vegas restaurant by far.  Although all the restaurants are elegant with great food, this restaurant takes the Vegas experience and showcases style with understated design gestures.  'Scarpetta' means little shoe in Italian, a reference to the menu's 'soulfulness'...  Guess my mind wandered to other references...like, the foot fetish variety - shrimping anyone?  No? Too far?

Lotus of Siam @ 953 East Sahara, Las Vegas

Alright, let's talk Thai;  I could eat Thai food everyday, for every meal, I literally cannot get enough of Thai food into my pie hole. And I would gladly move to Thailand in a heartbeat if it weren't the sauna sweatbox of tropical equator hell, where  I'd look like a tool that had taken a shower in my clothes pretty much whenever I walked outside....  not pretty.  Although, I could find a job where I'm naked all the time, but then I probably couldn't eat all that food so it's glutton's catch 22.

So as a consolation, I've been terribly fortunate to have the best Thai restaurant in the U.S. right in my own back yard, (well, ten miles away but whatever) within the first week of moving here, I had my first experience at Lotus of Siam and my world has never been the same since.  

And what a surprise that here, in this archaic mish mash of tired trashy tourist sin reeking of cheap vodka and regret, there lies a culinary palace in the most unsavory of places, but a landmark nonetheless, (and ever since it's small cameo on Top Chef, the hoards of tourists have increased tenfold, making wait times to over an hour at peak times).  In a rundown shopping center east of the Strip, Chef Saipin creates some the loveliest, humble yet sophisticated dishes that make up for the lack of ambience.

The following are my favorite dishes at Lotus, although there is so much more on the menu. I get too comfortable in my ways and I'll have to and extra effort to expand my horizons and order out of my comfort zone...

Le Thai @ 523 Fremont St, Las Vegas

I'm a big fan of the Downtown area, it's gelling into an authentic urban streetscape that makes me want to move to the area just so I can see it realtimes...albeit I like it more at night than in the daylight hours... (less visible decay)... don't hate me...

I wanted to get more involved with Downtown, and when The Downtown Project presented a panel series of inspirational speakers, I decided it was time to climb out of my nested cocoon and head on down.  And to piggyback the event, I wanted to try Le Thai, a much raved Thai restaurant that recently opened on Freemont Street.

Japanese New Year's Day Tradition: Osechi Ryori @ Aburiya Raku

Happy New Year!  While the customary tradition in Las Vegas is the influx of yacky tourists on the strip freezing their asses gawking at subpar fireworks, the locales spend it quietly indoors, or on occasion drive out onto a highpoint to see the entire Valley in fireworks (it's a beautiful site). Having been on both sides of that coin (2 hours stuck in traffic on Koval at 1:30am is living hell, possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done.....oh wait) I prefer enjoying it quietly, but not calmly (it was a mad house in the kitchen)...

In the Japanese tradition, there's a little less partying (at midnight, it's a loud gong along with a moment of silence, followed by an early morning rush to temple to give a 2 second clap n' pray and get your year's fortune). You come home to a banquet of food, prepared during the prior week, so that for New Year's and two days after, no one has to cook and the house is at rest, (which is bung anyways, but the sentiment is there).  Which makes the week before New Year's a living hell -so much to be made and usually makes everyone crazy.  

Random Photo: Mandarin Oriental - Twist by Pierre Gagnaire Entrance

Random Photo: Mandarin Oriental

Random Photo: Mandarin Oriental

Japanese Curry Zen @ 5020 Spring Mountain Rd, Las Vegas

Curry!  OMG do I love Curry... Indian Curry, Thai Curry, Japanese Curry-it's all good.. The amalgamation of spices, creating that distinct, deep, rich, umber slurry, with heavenly wafts filling my nostrils; you literally taste it through your olfactory senses like an emotion or a memory (Curry is my Pavlov's dog)..

Curry is a favorite from my childhood; just before spending the Summer vacation in Japan, My Mom would make batches of Curry and hundreds of Fried Dumplings for my Dad to eat while we were gone.  I loved hanging out in the kitchen, helping her cook these dishes, and it is distinctly home cooking.

The video below best shows what I feel inside when I'm near Curry.....just think of me as the cat.....

SmashBurger @ 9101 West Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas

Okay, so let's be honest here; I've pretty much f*^ked my diet and thrown in the garbage..... then taken it out of garbage, shoved it down my throat then crapped it down the toilet.....okay scratch this introduction......start over...

On my occasional sojourn towards the Western hemisphere of Sin City, I have a list of places where I want to eat to review, but about the time I've reached the front doors of those yet-to-be-ventured dining establishments I scrap it, turn myself around and go to Smashburger- the best brick and mortar burger joint in town.

Fukumimi Ramen @ 4680 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas

So another Japanese Ramen-Ya has graced this city and this time, it ain't in Chinatown! (in mini-mall Tokyo)  No this one is on East side by UNLV, where most of the students hang out. In any case, it just opened and once in a while, it's good to break away from the usual haunts (I still love you the best, Monta, but I wanna see what the others have to offer). Monogamy has no place in the F&B world when it comes to this glutton.

Fukumimi means 'Lucky Ear', and when I arrived at an off peak time period, the place was crawling with Japanese people (first good sign).  And the interior had a cheery and warm environment (aka, it actually looked like someone put some thought into it's design...I appreciate that)....good sign #2


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Meat and Three @ 10940 Eastern Ave, Henderson

Whenever there's an opportunity to support a local business, I'm all in...and in this case, it's a no brainer; Chef Chris Herrin who has blessed us with 'Bread + Butter' has recently rolled up his sleeves and produced another F&B concept that is culinary dynamite.  'Meat & Three' is his latest creation, a new take on an American classic: Barbecue and sides, a concept resembling a modern gourmet picnic spread, evolving traditional comfort food with sophistication and quality (it reminds me of the food I used to get from my hometown NYC).  I couldn't be more excited about this new arrival for locals community!



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Cosmopolitan Food Crawl @ Cosmopolitan Resort, Las Vegas

Being a resident in this surreal city, (think adult Disneyland) we have so much available at our fingertips; it can be overwhelming and after a while, one can get jaded over the constant barrage of overstimuli pounding at you like a sobakawa pillow repeatedly beating your face.  But, you gotta take advantage of what's available to you, so we regularly don our armor, spray ourselves with tourist repellent and trek on over to the strip (consequently we have to burn our clothes from all the smoke)... We don't normally drink so we come up with other amusements...
So instead of a Pub Crawl, we do a Foodie Crawl; where we go to several restaurants, dine on their signature dishes and enjoy multiple ambiences... which turns out to to be an entertaining nite!!

The Cosmopolitan is the perfect destination for such a night; there's dedicated restaurant floors so each venue is in close proximity, they are as diverse in cuisine as well as ambience and there's exists a perennial, 'hipper than thou' vibe that makes it conducive people watching and casually hopping in and out of venues sans guilt...

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Downtown3rd Farmers Market + Great Bao Food Truck @ Casino Center, Las Vegas

We've reviewed Downtown3rd Farmers Market before and it's worth repeating, mostly because it's another integral component of revitalizing Downtown and bringing a sense of community to the area. The Farmers Market is housed in a former Bus Station, an ingenious recycling and reuse of existing structures making it all the more reason to go and check it out.  In addition, there's a slew of food trucks parked outside for lunch and nibbles.

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