My report will serve as a nice adjunct to Mr Happy’s, since I didn’t eat a single morsel on the Strip! All in all, I found the food in Vegas to be very good to superb.
Abels’ Bagels: This was a great start to the eating. The bagel was literally just baked.
Burgundy Cafe Lovely little cafe with traditional french savories and pastries. I got a croque monsieur and a pain aux raisins.
Suzuya Patisserie Pretty amazing Tokyo-style patisserie.
La Strega, Summerlin The first of my two nice dinners and easily the better. In fact, one of the best meals I have had in a long time. Drinks, food, service all superb. And the basil panna cotta was – to use a word I generally despise – revelatory. Pictured: Irma and Hugo cocktails, peruvian scallops, kanpachi crudo, squash and burrata, grilled artichokes, and the aforementioned panna cotta. Sorry for the poor pics – the low lighting didn’t help.
Gabi Boutique Donut & Pastry, Henderson Holy hell, this thing was good. “Tiramisu cup donut” Just awesome. It’s not often you get a participatory donut but here is one.
Baguette Cafe Another lovely little French spot with classic offerings. I got a very hefty bleu cheese omelet croissant.
Lotus of Siam Perhaps my expectations were too high but this place fell a tad short for me. I stuck to the front of the menu – the back being stuff I can get anywhere. The Northern Larb was the clear winner, nice heat and sauce for my sticky rice. Issan sausage was pretty good, but sort of an austere plate. Finally, Nam Prik Hed – a sort of mushroom thing – was, in a word, weird. Lychee Blossom cocktail was excellent at least.
Cafe Laon The first place I tried for a croffle didn’t have any yet so I found this place. It’s pretty much state fair food. Not bad, but nothing I’d rush back for.
Jessie Rae’s BBQ, Henderson Another superb find. My two meat combo plate was massive and excellent. For about $20, a great value too!
