2016 Trip 2 is imminent!

It's almost here.

Which means, things are JUST about to pick up.

Stay tuned.

MiniHam is ready.

Spring Trip 2016: Dinner at Craftsteak

When we were planning the trip for my Mom she had two requests:

1. She wanted to see the Bellagio (Ocean's 11 being her favorite Vegas movie)

2. She wanted to eat at Tom Colicchio's Crafsteak (Mr. Colicchio being one of her favorite chefs)

Taking the 2nd item 1st, here is the recap of our dinner at Craftseak. (In MGM Grand)

First, MiniHam decided to stop for a picture in front of Caesar's. Then he tried a little gambling at Whiskey Down prior to dinner.

MiniHam and My fat arm in front of Caesar's

No pockets, this is a problem.

After a trip down the Strip to MGM, cocktails (not pictured, although on my next trip I'm going to write more about Whiskey Down which is a great place) We finally settled into our table.

MiniHam checks the menu

He liked Whiskey Down quite a bit.

Now that we had the menu, it was time for appetizers.

The wife's: Caprese salad with hazelnuts

Mine: Warm Firsee salad with duck egg

Mom's spinach salad.

Once done with the salad course we moved on to Entrees.

The wife: Strip Steak

Me: Braised Short Ribs

Fingerling potatoes and gratin potatoes

Creamed pea tendrils and mixed carrots.

Then on to dessert..

Monkey bread - House signature dessert

Coconut and orange basil gelato

Not too bad for 4 people.

For our wine selection I ordered a Tenuta San Guido, Guidalberto 2012 which was priced at $125, when he brought the wine the sommelier brought out a 2002 Tenuta San Guido which retails at $550. When I pointed out the error to him he was more than polite.  I've had that particular wine and find it lackluster for the price. All in all I prefer the Guidalberto which is a much better wine for value.

Now that the pictures are done let's talk about it just a bit.

The best meal that I've ever had was eaten at Craftsteak a few years back. That meal included the same short ribs, but prepared as raviolo in a brown butter sauce. I also had the braised prime New York Strip and creamed spinach. That was the first time that I've ever had the Monkey bread and it's so good that I'll never really enjoy a cinnamon roll again. During that meal we had the perfect combination of waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier, it was the most enjoyable dining experience of my life, that I did not cook at home.

Fast forward to this trip and it was just as enjoyable. The wife and I have eaten at restaurants all over the world, from 3 Michelin star palaces to glorified dives. We've found outstanding food in all locations. Saying that I realize that there are more accomplished chefs in Vegas (Robechon anyone?) or restaurants with more status (Nobu, and several others) but when you consider service, food quality and value for money Craftsteak is just about at the top for me.  All of the appetizers, especially my warm frisee salad with duck egg, were excellent, the entrees were outstanding, Colicchio's short ribs are a destination meal, and oh that Monkey bread.

Next time you're in Vegas I suggest you get a reservation (strongly recommended, it's always busy for dinner) dress up (dress is business casual) and give it a try.

Don't forget the monkey bread.

Spring Trip 2016: Pizza Rock

I had seen pictures of Pizza Rock Las Vegas pretty much everywhere online for the past few months. Specifically, good things written about their meatballs. Since I was going to be in Downtown Las Vegas with no plans for dinner I figured why not give it a try.

First, some background.  When I eat Italian food it's typically with my wife, and my wife has Celiac disease which I can tell you, in opposition to what Ted Cruz thinks about the matter, is a real problem.  If you've never been around anyone with Celiac (as Mr. Cruz clearly has not) then you've never had to deal with the issues that result from accidentally ingesting a belly full of gluten.  As an aside, Mr. Cruz, I can assure you that we will not have the strong military that you are advocating if even 1% of your soldiers is spending half their time doubled up in the restroom throwing up.

But, back to Pizza Rock.

First, the pictures:

Quail Egg Guanciale California Style Pizza

Meatballs

As you can see I did order the meatballs.  And, yes, they were very good. I did find that mine seemed to be slightly heavier sauced than the other pictures that I've seen of these, and that did throw off the balance just a bit.  I could have used with possible 1/4 less of a ladle of sauce and these would have been outstanding.

For the main course I had the Quail Egg Guanciale pizza which comes on a thin, California-style, crust and is topped with mozzarella cheese, potatoes, Italian chorizo, calebrese peppers, pork cheek and quail eggs. The menu also claimed that the pizza was seasoned with "Rosemary and Lavender sea salt" but it was in quantities small enough that I didn't notice it.

Despite missing the aromatics however the pizza itself was great. Especially the bites where I was able to bite into a quail egg. The warm, runny egg yolk added a LOT to the pizza. If you've never had quail egg, or chicken egg for that matter, on your pizza I highly recommend you consider it when available.

I had a Dogfish head 90 minute IPA which was good (of course) although they did have some local Las Vegas beers on offer I had been Vegasing pretty much all day and just wanted something old and comfortable to sip on while I ate. Next visit I plan on paying more attention to the drinks list.

As far as ambiance?  Pizza Rock is rock and roll, and pizza. The walls are black, the carpet is gray (I think) the music is loud-ish, but not too loud. There's a take-out counter at the front of the restaurant, a giant semi-truck sticking out in the dining room and what appeared to be a stage.

The bathrooms were dirty, one was broken, but the food was good and the beer was cold. Considering we walked in after 9PM, the service was friendly, although not overbearingly so.  The food order for 4 people came out quickly, and my wife had no issues with her celiac. (She ordered white wine with clams and the pancetta and arugula salad. My father had the lasagna while my mother had her first Calzone (The Manhattan) ever (FYI: she loved it but she couldn't eat it all).  Because I'm not a fan of reaching over the table, I only took a picture of my food. (I also let everyone else in my party eat. This is something more food critics need to realize, people are hungry)

Overall that's a pretty solid visit IMO.

Summary:

Food:  A  The meatballs were good, though slightly over-sauced. The pizza was excellent.

Service: B- Overall good, but the lady that ran us our food (not our waiter) almost threw some of the plates at us rather than setting them down.

Ambiance: B+  For a place called Pizza Rock you pretty much get it as advertised. If you're looking for fancy this place ain't. It was passably clean however, which was a plus.

Overall: A- I liked Pizza Rock, a lot. Broken stalls in bathrooms, provided they are properly marked (and this one was) are not a big deal to me.  Some customers can't hold their liquor.

Price: $$ A party of two should be able to eat at Pizza Rock, including appetizer, main course and drinks, for well under $100 unless you really go extravagant. 

Value:  4/5 - Given that this is Las Vegas, land of high prices, I thought Pizza Rock was a very good value for money. The best deals were the Calzones ($13) which could easily feed two people or the meatballs (3 for $6 or 6 for $9) which could be a meal in and of themselves if you choose the larger order. Ironically, it's the pizzas that prevent PR from receiving 5 out of 5 for value. Not that they're over priced, but they're not exactly a bargain at their price points either. In other words, I think they are priced fairly.

Chance of returning: 100% If and when I get back to Las Vegas that is.