Description: Our vacation budgets do not usually allow for more than one expensive dining experience. I will do research on the restaurants in an area and print out their menus. Mike and I will then decide which restaurant we want to try. Mike will usually concede to what I want as long as they have a steak for him to eat. When we started planning our trip to Las Vegas I had a few restaurants in mind. It is the largest collection of famous names in the food business in such a small space. Bobby Flay is one of my favorite TV chefs and I love Mexican food, I really wanted to treat ourselves at the Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace. It is recommended that you make reservations at least 24 hours in advance and I’m glad we did because people were being turned away because they were full. When you make a reservation you will need to give a credit card number to hold the table, and if you don’t show they will charge your card for a certain amount depending on the number of people in the reservation. For us it was $150.
I love getting dressed up and going on a date with my husband at a fancy restaurant. It makes me feel very loved and special and this night was no different. When you arrive at Mesa Grill you are greeted by a smiling face and taken to these luxurious sofas and wait to be seated. This was a new experience; usually you stand in the hallway with everyone else waiting for your turn but this way you feel like one of the rich and famous. The restaurant tables are arranged on tiers overlooking the kitchen. We were seated on the top tier overlooking both the restaurant and Caesar’s Palace. I quickly discovered Mike could see the football game on the big screen in the bar across the way. I didn’t have his full attention all night but it was all good anyway. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive.
The menu of Mesa Grill is gourmet Southwestern cuisine. It is full of flavor and color. For our appetizer we had the Goat Cheese "Queso Fundido" served with blue corn chips. I loved the creaminess of the goat cheese married with the heat of the peppers. A very different kind of queso but it was lovely and delicious. For my entrée I ordered the Cornmeal crusted Chili Relleno made with an ancho pepper filled with roasted eggplant, cheese, sweet red pepper sauce and corn. Mike ordered the New York Strip steak marinated in the house sauce. I thought it was very tender and flavorful but Mike thought it had too much chili in the marinade. For our sides we chose the roasted corn and the mashed potatoes. Everything was just wonderful but each dish did have a hint (or more) of chilis. I have always wanted to try a mojito and I thought this would be the place to drink it, but I soon found that it wasn’t a bad drink just a taste I don’t care for at all.
When you go to a gourmet restaurant in a big city you expect to spend a bit of money and Mesa Grill is no different. We used every bit of the $150 I had budgeted and it was worth every penny. I would love to go again and try the pork tenderloin or the tuna. Bobby Flay is a master in the kitchen and Mesa Grill proved it that night.
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