Joining us on our trip to Las Vegas was Food Writer extraordinaire Cynthia Nims and her husband Bob. It was a whirlwind trip of shows, cocktialing and dining!

We did a few lunches and “late” night breakfasts at the Grand Lux Cafe which is always a reliable and tasty mainstay at now both the Venetian and the Palazzo hotels. And did a bit of a show marathon: seeing both Elton John and Bette Midler. And they were amazing - though I enjoyed Elton John the most … it brought back junior high memories  of listening to records in the basement …..yes, I still love that Yellow Brick Road album! (By the way fellow chef friend Bradly Ogden’s restaurant is a great pre or post show dinner or Lux bar snack option - located at Caesars across from the Colosseum)

But on to more dining. It was time to head to old downtown Vegas to go back in time and have a totally retro experience. We ventured to the 4 Queens Casino and checked out Hugo’s Celler – a total throw back in time!

Joining us was chef Charles Ramseyer (previously of Ray’s Restaurant in Seattle for years and now Western Regional Executive Chef for China Grill Management and living in Vegas) and his partner Lisa. Ok - Cynthia had been here before and I had been pre-warned of the super fun kitchyness of it all — but I was not prepared for the most retro bar snack I have ever seen - yes folks it was crocks of Chicken Liver Pate, Pimento Olive Cheese Spread, served with none other than Ritz Crackers and heart shaped water crackers. Might I say ….. a fetching partner for a perfectly chilled gin martini.

We moved to the dining room into our ultra plushy giant booth and started off with tableside salads: each garnished with what ever your hearts desire from the salad cart — anchovies, artichokes, nuts, croutons, palm hearts…. the list goes on. Our entrees included, of course, veal chops and fillet mignon with old-school bordelaise sauce….

And yes our charming waiter was a throw back in time too — he used to work at Fullers Restaurant in Seattle (the nationally acclaimed restaurant where I cut my teeth as a chef in the mid 80’s- now defunct). It was nice to experience formal old-style crisp service with attention to detail!

It was great catching up with friends, hearing from Charles and Lisa how life in Vegas is and just for a few hours pretending we were all living in 1958 - with no worries, a great cocktail and a great steak — and of course all crowned off with chocolate dipped strawberries and a rose for the ladies!

After a night of staying up way to late John and I trekked over to our ” healthy and needing something nutritious” mainstay– the Canyon Ranch Spa Cafe in the Venetian Hotel. We always eat there at least a couple of times whenever we visit Las Vegas. John loves their Thai French Toast with reduced tangerine juice and ginger syrup and house-made lean chicken sausage. I usually opt for their perfectly made egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach, organic white cheddar and fresh herbs — yes it is good!

Vegas is a great place to visit - you can dine at nationally acclaimed restaurants, see shows, do a little gambling and have a LOT of fun all in just one little/big city. We can’t wait to go back.

I’m just back from a fabulous trip to Las Vegas where we stayed at the new posh Palazzo hotel -sister to the Venetian. All rooms are beautiful luxurious suites, with swanky bathrooms and soaps and bath products that smell so good … I almost wanted to eat them!

Speaking of eating, our first night my husband and I dined at Morels restaurant right off the lobby of the Palazzo. The dining room is punctuated with Tiffany blue accents, a touch reminiscent of Prime at the Bellagio. Outdoor seating over the strip- is great for people watching, if it wasn’t 108 degrees!! We opted for cool refuge of air conditioned inside dining. The menu dubbed ” french steakhouse & bistro” had plenty of tantalizing choices and for an upscale Vegas restaurant I thought the prices were quite good.

Excellent for sipping, we started with perfectly-made old classics. Tanqueray Ten Martini, ultra-chilled with blue cheese stuffed olives and a Woodford Manhattan with house brandied cherries. Not wanting to spoil our appetite, we passed on appetizers but they had some fun selections; from Classic Cheese Fondue, $10 per guest, to Halibut Ceviche with roasted piquillo peppers, tomato and jalapeno water $16.

To start off, I had the Summer Baby Spinach Salad, with made in-house duck prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, haricot vert, golden beets and aged goat’s cheese $15.
 

John had the Summer Heirloom Tomato Salad, with oh so fashionable burratta cheese, wild arugula, in-house pickled onions, EVOO and grapemust geduction, $15. Both salads were quite nice.

For my entree I had the “melt in your mouth good” 18-Hour Red Wine Braised Beef Shortrib with morel mushroom cassoulet (morels had to show up somewhere!), summer asparagus and crisp onion rings, $38. John opted for the 16-oz Kansas City Steak, $46, grilled to perfection and served with a yummy au poive demi.

Our super charming waiter insisted (and glad he did!) we have the Truffle Creamed Summer Corn Gratin with roasted jalapenos and Parmesan cheese, $8. It was fantastic - full of flavor but not too spicy - just sexy and decadent!

That was it for us — no dessert - we were stuffed. Morels is a fantastic addition to a wonderful hotel. We’ll be back.

Morels
Located in the Palazzo Hotel
Las Vegas
Interior: Beautiful and tasteful
Service: Professional, crisp and attentive
Food: Delicious
Price: Reasonable for fine dining in Vegas

Today after a business appointment in Manhattan I was close to Les Halles Downtown - Chef-large Anthony Bordain’s home base. Not super busy - but good food and good service. And for Manhattan, very reasonable in price. It was actually really nice to sit at a table and have a little room (Note: all the new hip places have tiny stools at long bars with 1″ in between them — so most times the guy/gal next you is actually sitting on you!)

I started with a grilled vegetable and goat cheese terrine served with a simple salad vinaigrette - very tasty. For my entree I had the Portugues Mussels Frites. It was a huge portion of steamed mussels with garlic, cilantro, chorizo and tomate with perfectly salted crisp fries on the side. Lunch was just under $30. A deal by NY standards.

I interveiwed Anthony Bordain a few years back and he is just as cool in person as he is on TV. I personally love his tell-it -like-it-is style. He is a smart guy and very well spoken. His certainly can tell a great story - be it print, or on air.

If you haven’t read his book Nasty Bits it’s a great read. And if your visiting Les Halles - pick up a copy of Les Halles Cookbook. You’ll want to make those delicious mussels at home …….