Tag Archives: food

Vegas Hit or Miss: Round 2

Posted on by zollipop
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Vegas is like a series of cruiseships that are marooned in the desert and linked by lengthy pedestrian walkways.  Held captive by distance and hunger, you will frequently find yourself wandering around a given casino looking for a reasonable place to eat.  Watch your step. There are charlatans everywhere.

Case in point: Terrace Point Cafe (Wynn) should be MISSed if at all possible.   Adjacent to the Wynn pool complex, I’m pretty sure this place relies entirely on hungry sunbathers wandering in delirious from the heat and the Pina Coladas. The Sandwich ‘Surf and Turf’ ($23), described on the menu as half a lobster roll and half a steak sandwich, was laughable.  The lobster roll was actually mostly crab and shrimp (buffet leftovers?) with a few thumbnail sized pieces of lobster tucked into conspicuous places on top.  The steak sandwich was cooked to a perfect medium.  Six hours ago.  It was barely warm and the juices were congealed.  The steak fries (for which I paid an additional $7), were so salty and overspiced with prefab Old Bay seasoning that they would have been inedible if not for the $4 diet Pepsi I had to wash them down with. Oh, also: it took more than 30 minutes after ordering for the meal to come out, and I had to hail the waiter to ask what had happened to my lunch. The Eggs Benedict ($17) was better, with a housemade Benedict sauce and nicely runny yolks, but the Canadian Bacon was so terribly overcooked I couldn’t even cut through it. The hashbrowns were a weird gummy pancake of grated potatoes that tasted of additives.  For the terrible food and commensurately ridiculous prices, the Terrace Point Cafe is a severe MISS.

Crunch Roll: Wazuzu

I only ate two sushi rolls at Wazuzu in the Encore, which I washed down with a Club Soda.  My bill was almost $60, no joke.  The unoriginal Northwest Roll ($30) was egregiously priced considering it was so entirely medicore. (Anyone about to leave a whiny comment about the difficulty of sourcing fresh fish in the middle of the Nevada desert can save the keystrokes: there is sushi of equal if not superior quality for half the price in the middle of the Canadian prairies.)  Crunch Roll ($21, shown in photo from Encore website) was encased in unnatural little balls of toasted rice flour which absolutely detracted from the shrimp within.  Since the my mother reads this blog, I am going to censor the obvious simile for the taste and texture of the accompanying sauce.  Check the picture and see if you can figure it out.  But while the sushi rolls were really overpriced, there were a number of menu items like noodle bowls and dumplings which seemed more reasonable.  Based on my limited but very expensive experience, I would MISS Wazuzu on my next trip.

Border Classics: Border Grill

Saving the day, though, is the absolutely wonderful Border Grill in Mandalay Bay.  HIT this place for a hangover lunch if you ever visit Vegas. The menu is reasonably priced and everything on our three visits has been fresh and fabulous.  You start with a big basket of complimentary homemade tortilla chips and three addictive salsas.  I have been known to drink the tomatillo salsa. Cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages are seasonal and completely refreshing.

Ceviche: Border Grill

The Border Classics sampler (two panuchos, two empanadas, two tamales – $18) is a great option if you just can’t decide on an appetizer course, but we go back to the Ceviche Duo (Baja and Peruvian – $17) every time.  The right balance of acidic dressing and sweet fish makes this a ‘who-gets-dibs-on-the-last-bite’ sort of dish.  The Quesa Fundido ($13) and Chicken Adobo Quesadillas ($15) are also worthy selections, but don’t order both at the same time.  (Too much cheese). The Carnitas Tacos ($17) are great, but maybe a little humdrum compared to the other menu options like the party-in-your-mouth Fish Tacos ($19) or Chiles Rellenos ($16). A recent special, the Chicken Burrito, was a massive rollup of everything good about Mexican food, embellished with a tart-bitter apple slaw. This is place is a major HIT in Zolli’s books.

Terrace Point Café (Wynn) on Urbanspoon

Wazuzu (Encore) on Urbanspoon

Border Grill (Mandalay Bay) on Urbanspoon

The Food Matters Cookbook: Mark Bittman

Posted on by zollipop
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My charming husband descends from a long line of East Indians who evolved on lentils and chapatis.  Then they discovered that cows and white bread taste good, and they all got diabetes.  So that he may continue to charm me for decades to come, I am stealthily investigating ways to return my husband to his vegetarian roots without him realizing.  In a grand stroke of irony, he bought me The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman for my birthday.

Since I never really adhere to the recipes anyway, I judge a cookbook by how well the recipes serve as a launching pad.  Did I learn something from it?  Did it suggest new flavour combinations?  Did it give me ideas about how to substitute what might be locally available and suitable for my diet?  Is it long on information and short on photoshopped pictures?  Because I can answer ‘yes’ to all these questions, I recommend The Food Matters Cookbook for your bookshelf.

The premise of the book is that by cutting back on animal protein and fat whilst increasing your consumption of whole grains and vegetables, you will benefit both your health and our ailing environment.  The recipes range from vegan to meat-centric, but are all designed around this fundamental premise.

Highlights: Novel healthy ideas for dressings and sauces, new and convenient twists on staples.  Prep time information was accurate and Bittman gives many helpful tips about methods, substitutions, and making dishes ahead. Beer-Glazed Black Beans with Chorizo and Orange, Corn-Avocado Salad, and Lamb Burgers with Brown Rice were all Top 10.

Lowlights: On occasion, Bittman’s recipes promise something that they don’t deliver.  Creamy Cauliflower Mac tasted more like cauliflower baby food than like anything creamy, and Cabbage and Sauerkraut with Sausage tasted like a big Porky Fart.

If you want to know more: Refer to my detailed recipe notes: Food Matters

If you want to buy it: Click here for McNally or here for Amazon Canada or here for Amazon US

Dal with Lots of Vegetables (Never Photogenic)
Chopped Asian Salad
Scallops with Noodle Cake

Vegas Hit or Miss: Round 1

Posted on by zollipop
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Fabulous?

Ah, Vegas. So unabashedly supertacky. Formerly the land of the cheap buffet, Vegas is now the place to indulge your appetite in, well, anything. But with their wallets loosened by free casino cocktails, are consumers really getting their money’s worth from the parade of high end eateries?

Zolli was forced to spend a week at the Wynn to find out.

Wynn Buffet

The Wynn Buffet: MISS.  The problem with buffets is that foods meant to be solid are often semi-liquid, and foods that are meant to be liquid are often semi-solid. I generally avoid buffets.  But famished after spending the day travelling with only airline pretzels for sustenance, the Wynn Buffet lured me in.  It is, along with the Bellagio, reviewed as one of the best in Vegas.  Nonetheless, sauces had films.  Lettuce wasn’t pert.

Granted, I didn’t try any of the ‘live action’ stations.  I find them awkward.  On the bright side, the white anchovies, lightly pickled, were quite nice, and the shrimps were acceptable.  I had some chicken medallions in a white wine sauce that were tasty.  But a roast vegetable preparation had undercooked (read: crunchy) turnips, and the baba ganoush was all garlic, no eggplant.  The alfredo sauce reminded me of  a yeast infection and its host pasta was gummy. The sushi was meh.  Worst of all were the much lauded Alaskan King Crab legs:  they were overboiled then chilled to near-frozen (again). Every bite delivered a squish of cold crabby water. They were sliced exactly in half in a rather amputational sort of way, presumedly to avoid litigation over splinters, chipped fingernails, excessive-effort-required, and the like. (Isn’t half the fun trying to get the meat out of the shell?).  But the warm butter was good.

Because I think you would be better off spending your $40 on one nice entree elsewhere, I give the Wynn Buffet a MISS.

Table 10 (Shops at the Palazzo/Venetian): MISS.  This outpost of the Lagasse empire is tucked in among the high end shops of the Palazzo. After you’re done with your meal, you can go look at shoes which cost more than your mortgage payment.  The decor is ‘Dark Speakeasy’ with a touch of ‘Disneyland Gift Shop’.  They should turn up the light in the bathrooms – I over-lipsticked and it was only after I had emerged into the glare of a Manolo Blanhnik store that I realized I looked like a Eastern European prostitute.  The tables were uncomfortably high – in fact, when I was seated in the booth the level of the table was mid chest.  If it weren’t for  the excessive lipstick the waiter probably wouldn’t have noticed me there.

Anyhow, about the food:  I smelled the Scallops Crudo with Pickled Watermelon Rind ($17) when it hit the table, which is never a good sign for raw fish.  Only one scallop was wonky, and the rest were fine.  (Was this a contributing factor in Zolli’s ensuing diarrheal onslaught?  We’ll never know.)  But there was too much coarse sea salt on the delicate flesh, giving the impression of grit and not of seasoning.  Besides, the pickled watermelon rind was salty enough – extra salt wasn’t necessary.  The Fettucine with Veal, Asparagus, and Truffle Butter ($18) was decent: the pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce was just rich enough.  The asparagus was tender-crisp.  But the veal was bluntly chopped up into little bits and had a rewarmed-meat sort of texture, making me wonder if I wasn’t dealing with the creative use of leftovers from yesterday’s dinner service.  So for the so-so food and for making me look like a hooker, I give Table 10 a MISS.

Okada. Credit: Vegas.com

Okada (Wynn): HIT. Even though it’s half artificial, the view out the window at this Japanese eatery is almost worth the price.  It’s all waterfalls (fake) and bamboo trees (real) waving in the wind (real) and casting reflections on a rippled pond (fake).  It is worth noting that the portions are quite small, and they will burn a serious hole in your wallet (real).

I started with Japanese Oysters with Ponzu Sauce ($26).   These little bivalves were typically Japanese: small, but full of substance.  The ponzu ‘mignonette’ was the perfect condiment, with more umami lipsmack than the standard version.   The Variation of Tartares ($20: ahi, salmon, yellowtail) was precisely executed and plated in little taro chip tacos – and I appreciated the fact that the tartare wasn’t mucked up with a million other flavours.  Beautiful fish.

Now. The Foie Gras with Japanese Eggplant ($26) was an absolute mouth-gasm.  While the texture of the two components was similarly silky smooth, their discrepant richness made for the perfect pairing.  Smush it all around in some balasamic and mustard sauces.  Brilliant.  Robata Grilled Alaskan King Crab was perfectly tender ($25), and its accessory vegetables were seasoned so as to not overwhelm the subtle crab flavour.

For expertly executed food in a beautiful setting, I say save up ahead of time and HIT Okada at the Wynn.


Buffet (Wynn) on Urbanspoon

Table 10 (Palazzo) on Urbanspoon

Okada (Wynn) on Urbanspoon

Elman’s Kraut

Posted on by zollipop
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When my grandfather was growing up in the North End, shortly after World War I, neighborhood bullies called him Krauthead – in a sort of homage to his German descent.  Consequently, whenever he and my grandma made their homemade sauerkraut – in big clay crocks that would sit and sit in the cold cellar – they treated it like a covert grow-op.  No one could come over, no one could know, plausible deniability at all times.  Concurrently, American sauerkraut makers renamed their product “Liberty Cabbage”.

Such sheepishness clearly did not plague the Finkelmans, who started a pickling business behind their house on Jarvis Avenue around the same time that my dear grandpa was being relentlessly teased. Horseradish appears to have been their original claim to fame, but their expanded product line includes mustards, pickles, and old-style kraut. New offerings include salmon pickled in dill and single serve dill pickles.

How was it, Zolli wondered, that her Gramps was able to keep entire tubs of off cabbage in the basement without the whole house smelling like old socks?  Well, basically, as the cabbage ferments, the kraut mixture becomes so noxiously acidic that most stink-causing bacteria die.  Near the end of the curing process, Lactobacillus takes the reigns, lowers the pH even further, and the “Liberty Cabbage” is ready for your Winni-Reuben.

Get ‘Choked Next Winter

Posted on by zollipop
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Edible Garden Weeds

Because I probably have a mild case of Asperger’s, I enjoy reading weird niche publications such as Edible Garden Weeds of Canada. I love the hopeful picture of a Dandelion on the front cover.

I purchased my home from an equally weird woman who had a Masters in Agriculture and spent the whole summer gardening, in a hoodie.  Hood up.  Upon purchase, I took out 30% of the garden and yet I still have to hire someone to help me weed come springtime.  See where this is going?

Turns out, many or the plants I mowed down were indigenous to Manitoba, planted by the charmingly crazy previous owner.  Or so says the book of Edible Garden Weeds of Canada. One plant remaining in the back yard, a tall spindly thing with yellow flowers, has a habit of spreading into my peonies, so for the last five years I have yanked it out by the neck.  Each year, for the past five years, I have marvelled at the neat-o tubers attached to the ends.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Then the revelation came, courtesy of my esoteric library:  Jerusalem artichokes, aka sunchokes, are not some exotic food born out of the lush lands of southern California.  Sunchokes are true blue prairie food, harvested by First Nations people for millenia, and unknowingly by Zollipop for the last five years.

In fact, as it turns out, these little cuties are best harvested OUT OF THE SNOW, in the winter.  If that’s not bad-ass prairie, I don’t know what is.

The requisite Google cross-check of my findings unearthed another delightfully nerdy read:  The Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification 2008 Annual Report, published out of Carberry, Manitoba.  They found that sunchokes grew quite well in Portage and Carberry, and were a feasible alternate crop for prairie agriculture.  Sadly though, they state, “No further work is planned with Jerusalem artichoke until market demand increases, although it is adapted to grow in this area.”.

So, chefs, put sunchokes on your menus.  And eaters – the next time you are going through the Safeway checkout and the cashier asks you if you found everything you were looking for, say, “Why no, actually – I couldn’t find any local Jerusalem artichokes.”. Smile at her look of befuddlement, then proceed along with your day.

(NOTE: Apparently all you need to do is stick some tuber fragments in the ground come spring, but most sources indicate that sunchokes are pretty invasive.  If you try this, do it in a contained garden bed. )