Las Vegas Dining Guide

Tapas are quickly becoming the rage, and this place does them very well. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with what tapas are, they are small plates (think appetizer-size) that are meant to be shared and savored. I have been told that that tapas originated in Spain. The great thing about them is that you can try a variety of things and not get too full for dessert. FireFly’s food is excellent, and the menu is varied. They have a full bar that includes sangria (which they marinate for 3 days), 25 wines by the glass, and (my favorite) mojitos served infused with different fruit flavors, such as passion fruit or mango (of course, the classic is available too). This would a great date place or a place to hang out with friends, since it isn’t too loud to carry on a conversation (unless the DJ is there). Best of all, it is open until the wee hours of the morning, making it a great place for a midnight snack. It is a really cozy but hip atmosphere. A few nights a week, they even have a DJ, and the place turns into a club. Check their website for a list of events or a look at their menu: http://www.fireflylv.com/. Now onto the food; my sister and I had the following: Red snapper cerviche, Tuna carpaccio, Warm spinach salad, Camarones a la diabla (shrimp in a spicy sauce), and warm chocolate cake for dessert. The cerviche was a little to heavy on the lime for me but my sister disagreed with me and said that it was perfect. The tuna carpaccio was my favorite. It had three thin slices of seared tuna surrounding a mound of tuna tartar with taro chips. We used the taro chips to eat the tuna tartar and thoroughly complimented the taste. We later had a similar dish at a high end restaurant at MGM. Not only did their dish cost more it didn’t taste anywhere near as good as the dish we had at FireFly. The warm spinach salad was also very tasty and made a good accompaniment to the tuna carpaccio. The shrimp was very rich and flavorful. I wished that they had put more slices of grilled bread on the plate so that I could mop up the delicious sauce. The evening culminated in a near orgasm over the chocolate cake. It was slightly crusty (in a good way) on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. It wasn’t too sweet and was perfectly complimented with a dollop of ice cream. We spent about $60 including food, drinks, tax, and tip. One more note – if the food isn’t enough to make you drool, the waiters are!

I am curious to know if the translation for Shibuya is "rip-off." My sister and I ate at this Japanese restaurant inside the MGM Grand Hotel with the expectation of treating ourselves to a really nice dinner. Now, the prices were sort of high, but we assumed that the taste would make it worthwhile. Let me also say that Japanese food, sushi in particular, is our favorite, and we are used to the fact that Japanese food has smaller portions.

Our waiter asked us if we wanted some edamame. We later discovered that they charged us $5 for this! I thought that was kind of ridiculous considering that the edamame was not on the menu as an appetizer, therefore leading you to assume that it was free, as it usually is. We ordered tuna tartar and kampachi (young yellowtail sashimi). The tuna tartar was okay but not anywhere near as outstanding as what we had at FireFly. I thought that the kampachi was sort of bland. We then ordered the Hawaiian snapper. When we placed this order, the waiter asked us if we wanted white rice. They charged us $3 for a small bowl of white rice (again, this was not listed separately on the menu). Every Japanese restaurant I have been to has served rice as an accompaniment with their dishes! You would assume that, at $27, our entrée would include more than a small slab of (bland) fish with a small amount of veggies as garnish, right? I have eaten at upscale restaurants before but never felt so taken advantage of, and by no means did the taste of the food at Shibuya warrant the price they charged. I will say that the ingredients were of a high quality and fresh, but no more than places that charge a reasonable price. We hoped that the dessert would redeem our impression of Shibuya. Unfortunately, while the chocolate trio sounded impressive, it was not. The chocolate tart was too heavy, the white chocolate item (not sure what it was exactly) was tasteless, and the best of the three was a small shot glass that had a small scoop of sugarcane ice cream on top of fudge sauce. We also ordered the yuzu brulee, which was not really a crème brulee, as we had expected, but more like a cake with a mandarin orange mousse on top. It had a small area that was burnt like a typical crème brulee, but I think that they did not flame the whole area. Again, the best part of this dish was the side of ice cream which was served mochi style.

All in all, we were very disappointed. However, we loved the atmosphere of the restaurant; the decor was dark, sleek, and modern. They also have the most extensive offering of sake that I've seen. We spent just over $100 for this meal (we only had one entrée), including food, soft drinks, tax, and tip.

Mesa Grill is a new restaurant at Cesar’s Palace. According to a waiter, it has been open for about 4 months. It is Bobby Flay’s first restaurant outside of New York. My sister and I went for lunch and were anxious to try the cuisine of the two-time winner of "Iron Chief." For starters, the restaurant is very bold and modern, with a Southwestern flair, much like the food. It is open and airy and done in lots of colors, especially reds and oranges. The kitchen is fully viewable, which I always like because I think it makes it harder for them to hide things.

I’d also like to say that the wait staff was very helpful and chatty. My only complaint was that they did not have three dishes that were on their menu, which to begin with, was not overly extensive. Of course, it was my luck that my top two choices for my entrée were unavailable, so I settled on the blue crab and cod cakes and my sister took the blue corn-crusted snapper. We also took our waiter’s suggestion to try the shrimp and roasted corn tamale appetizer. The bread basket included three types of bread: yellow and blue corn muffins; cranberry bread; and a plain, crusty French bread. The first two were very unique and tasty. Our appetizer was delicious; a just-right blend of spice to go with the sweat corn tamale. My crab cakes were okay; I’ve had better, as these didn’t have much flavor. This could have been due to the fact that I substituted the red cabbage slaw for regular greens (I don’t really like coleslaw-type foods). My sister’s fish was a much better choice; we both really liked it. I think that the blue corn crust really kept the fish moist and flavorful.

We weren’t going to get dessert since we were stuffed (must have been all the bread), but I wanted to look at the menu anyway. The waiter suggested the coffee and vanilla bean flan, and we couldn’t help ourselves. He was right - it was unlike any flan we had had before. The flavor was subtle but very creamy. It was more like the inside of a crème brulee than a flan. I would highly recommend this for dessert; I’d visit again for it alone.

Just as a side note, we heard two of the tables near us comment favorably on the soup (I think it was roasted squash or pumpkin) and another table was quite taken with the steak.

El Coqui Caribbean is a small hole-in-the-wall off Paradise and Sahara. Like the small strip mall it is located in, it is rather nondescript, both in the way it looks and the food. I had been craving some Caribbean food and thought it would be great little find. We ordered the Tostones (fried green plantain with garlic sauce) as an appetizer. This was probably the best dish that we ordered. I used the garlic sauce to liven up the pechuga encebollada (chicken smothered in onions) that I ordered. My sister decided to try the Puerto Rican tamale as an appetizer and the pollo guisado, which was like a chicken soup/stew with white wine and carrots and potatoes. She didn’t care too much for her food, which she said was too bland. Our waitress was slow and didn’t really seem to understand English that well. Oh well - at least it was cheap. Thirty dollars covered two appetizers, two soft drinks, and two entrées

This is my favorite buffet in Vegas. Sitting in the dining room makes me feel like Belle from Beauty and the Beast; it’s very Disney-like. The food is just as appealing. It has a French flair and the servings are kept small to ensure that it stays fresh. They have a grill station with your typical chicken and beef, but it also includes duck and lamb. They have quite an extensive and unique menu posted outside with daily specials included. There are also your typical buffet dishes that may or may not be done with a French flair. They also offer crab legs, clams, and shrimp cocktail during dinner. My favorite part is the desserts. They have made-to-order crepes and also a killer chocolate mousse. The staff has been very attentive every time I have visited. It is on the high-end for a buffet but well worth it since I think they keep their food much fresher than most buffets.

This is a walk-up counter that serves the best crepes I have ever tasted. They average about $6 to $7 each, and they have both savory and sweet crepes on the menu. They are pretty large, so I'll usually split a savory and a sweet one with someone for a perfect-sized lunch. I'll usually get the fruits de la mer, which has baby shrimp and crab is a white cream sauce and the "favorite" (with mixed berries), but they are all good (yes, I have tried them all). There have been times that they have a huge line, but I wait it out every time.

This is our best find yet! It is a little off-the-Strip but definitely worth the trip. I came across their website by accident one night, and after reading that they were named "Best New Restaurant of the Year" by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, I knew that we had to try them the next time we went to Vegas.

We almost missed it, since it looks pretty plain from the outside. It is in a strip mall, but once you step inside, you will see an elegantly decorated restaurant with wonderful artwork on the walls. The food and service are even better. It is a heavenly mix of French Bistro and down-home New Orleans-style fare. During lunch, you can enjoy a 3-course prix-fixe meal for only $20.05! In my opinion, this is a steal! I had the warm spinach salad with smoked duck, soy-marinated beef kabobs, and Dorothy’s lemon sponge cake, and my sister ordered off the daily specials list that included a salad with grilled shrimp, a super-moist and tasty sea bass, and crème brulee. All of it was out-of-this-world! I almost forgot--the complementary bread is also worth mentioning. There were two different types: a biscuit with cheddar and chives and multigrain bread with cranberries and walnuts. The service was wonderful, as well. They provided white-glove service (complete with the waiters making sure that each course was placed in front of each member of the table at the exact same time) without being stuffy and were right-on when making suggestions on what to order (since we couldn’t make up our minds).

We cannot wait to go again and try more dishes. My sister and I have decided that we will make Rosemary’s a Vegas ritual. I also think that they would make a great evening out for a special occasion, and I noticed that they also have a separate banquet room. We were there for lunch during the weekday, and it was pretty busy, so you may consider making reservations.

Well, I used to love this place before they remodeled it. What used to be a cozy, “down south” type of place that showcased Emeril’s flavorful “BAM” style of cooking has turned it to an overdressed, foo-foo spot that has more style than it does flavor. The décor is very nice and upscale but I really miss the old restaurant with the oyster bar and where the staff was fun and friendly. I really didn’t taste any of Emeril’s New Orleans flavor or flair. The food was OK but pretty bland. The crab cakes ($16 for two) were delicious and the best thing that we had. They were jammed with crab and while I am accustomed to dipping them into some sort of sauce, I was glad that it was served with only a little drizzled on the plate because it allowed us to really taste the sweetness of the crab. My sister had the grilled shrimp appetizer over angel hair pasta ($14). It was so bland that she had to ask for some sort of sauce. They gave her a Parmesan Cream sauce but that was bland too. My mother had the Sesame Seed Crusted Shrimp with corn and sweet onion Chow Chow. The shrimp was OK but the Chow Chow ($24) had a weird sweet vinegary taste. I had the fish special which was a seared Loup ($26) which seemed similar to a trout. It was served with chive mashed potatoes (again, kinda bland) asparagus and a light brown sauce. We all agreed that mine was the best entrée out of the three of us but that wasn’t saying that much. We ended the meal by sharing a Crème Brulee ($8). It wasn’t the best that we’ve tasted, it was more dense than creamy and the sugar coating was quite thick in comparison to the shallowness of the dish. The staff’s service was impeccable although a little stiff. I’m sad to say that I won’t be going back. I really used to like this restaurant but it seems to have changed too much.

Mmmmmm. This place is good. First they give you a complimentary array of what else…OLIVES. There are marinated green and black olives and also an olive tapenade and a basket of bread (but this is not ordinary bread!) to start with. Yummy! I have heard that you can request a table on the patio and have an excellent view of the Bellagio’s famed fountains but we’ve always gone without a reservation and can’t wait for the patio to become available. We had the Tuna Carpaccio to start and it was really fresh. I had the Jumbo Sea Scallops that were also really fresh. They were huge and served with a great risotto. My sister had the Salmon Flatbread (like a really thin pizza) which she loved. We were treated to excellent service and can’t wait to go back.