My Time in Vegas (or That Time I Got Married) Part 2

More on the Vegas trip-

Freed's Bakery

Vegas seems to be all about deception. Go on the strip, see the glitz, and be overwhelmed. Go off the strip and see another simple desert city. But while the strip is hiding price gouging and mediocre food, the area off the strip is hiding some just plain amazing restaurants (like The Egg and I or Donna Maria's). Well, we went for the wedding cake off the strip for this occasion. Rachel Ray had visited Freed's a long time ago for wedding cake by the slice, and I figured it was worth a shot. What a deceptive décor though! Located in a strip mall, the sign is simply a banner hung from screws flapping in the wind. No fanfare, nothing. But this place has been Zagat rated and mentioned in all kinds of publications all over the world. Their pastry counter looked amazing, and the éclair my mom tried was outstanding. The wedding cake, as you can see in the picture, was just stunning. A "Mad Hatter" cake with angled layers, beautiful decorating, and so much detail I cannot even begin to explain it all. It was quite tasty too, if a bit heavy on the filling. If you ever have a sweet tooth, I strongly recommend stopping by.

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My Time in Vegas (or That Time I Got Married) Part I

I finally did it. Em and I got hitched last weekend (on Pi Day!) in Las Vegas. I highly recommend it. We even took our parents with us and they had a great time. And of course, as with all of my travels, there was a lot of emphasis placed on food. This is my second trip to Vegas in about 4 years, and I am very happy to say I fared much better this time around. Word of advice, next time you travel, take some time and do a little bit of research. I plowed through a lot of sites, including Frommers and TripAdvisor, and I found a lot of useful information, not to mention ways to save money.

But before I get to talking about food, a wedding picture :)

Yes, we had a lot of fun. It's so easy to get married in Vegas. Now on to the food!

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100 Posts! and The Black Sparrow

Wow, 100 posts! When I first started writing this blog, it was mainly to have some place to put my thoughts and recipes down in a media that was shareable for all to see. Now it has evolved into more of my inspiration to try out new dishes and improve myself as a cook. I have some ideas as for the evolution of this project, and I hope they come to fruition before 200 posts. So thanks to all of you who have stuck with me. I hope you have enjoyed my writing and my recipes!

In light of my 100th post, I present to you not a recipe, but a restaurant experience of my favorite place to eat in Lafayette.

I went to The Black Sparrow for lunch the other day and was appalled that my coworkers who went had never been there. Really? Shoot, I must be slacking on talking up good places to eat in town. It's what I do! So without further ado, here are a few reasons you should go down the Black Sparrow pub for lunch, dinner, or a drink.

First, the atmosphere. The bar is located in downtown and is I believe a refurbished law office. Most of the décor is old 40's and 50's, giving the place a great feel. The bar is really no nonsense. A few meals, some drinks, that's all they do. They have bands on the weekends and have a non-smoking dining room until 10pm.

Next, the drinks. I am a huge fan of beer, and you can get nothing better than the selection at The Black Sparrow. Their theme is "no crap on tap". It's always different, it's always good, and everyone who works there knows all about the beers. I discovered a few of my all time favorites at this place. Their cocktails are also great. They do a lot of throwback cocktails, such as the dark n' stormy, or a New York Sour, made with egg whites. Match that with a great selection of pretty much whatever else you desire and no one should feel left out.

Last, the food. The menu is simple and refined. The vegetables are local, the meats are fresh, and the flavors are modern American meets international flare. Romesco sauce with goat cheese for an appetizer, or a BLTE (the E is a fried egg) with pesto mayo, and delicious pizzas are the highlight. I always try something new and I am never disappointed. Recently they have started dinner specials that showcase steaks or fresh fruits and vegetables.

Now that you have three great reasons to go here, why are you still reading?

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Craftsteak

As I have stated before, I'm a big fan of Top Chef. And the head judge, Tom Collichio. I have his cookbook (extremely tasty) and I identify with his simple approach to food. So OF COURSE I was going to give his new Craftsteak (located at the MGM grand in Connecticut) while on a trip to see Em's parents (side note, Connecticut continues to amaze me with good food and gorgeous weather, I love the place). We showed up for what was about to become quite an experience.

First, something that happened after the meal. While Em's father and I were walking through the bar, we saw some beer taps that we did not recognize. We asked the bar tender about them and he happily explained what they had (Harpoon and some nice local brands) and told us about a coffee stout that a local guy was making and they carried it. He then proceeded to pour us some and we talked about and how it was different and such. All this after the guy knew we had already finished our meal and were on the way out. What great service.

Now, back to the food. It's (obviously) a steak house, and it's pretty much what they do. They do have some pasta, chicken, and fish which I am sure is all tasty, but I came for meat. They provide a nice selection of grass-fed, corn-fed, and wagyu beef. Wait, what? Feedings differ? Oh, yes, dear reader, as we found out they do. The stuff you more than likely are getting in the market is corn fed. Simple as that. Craftsteak ages theirs (28 or 40 days are the options, I think) which gives a lot of beefy flavor. Grass-fed is very lean and pure in flavor. Wagyu is crazy, hand-massaged, beer fed beef. I stayed away from that (it's really good, I know, but one of them was $26/oz). I got a New York corn-fed and was extremely pleased. Others sampled were the grass fed beef, filet, and a hanger steak (a much underappreciated cut). All were delicious and cooked perfectly. I also enjoyed all of the sides we tried, such as piquillo pepper risotto, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and sautéed wild mushrooms. Without risk of talking too much, I will also say that the chocolate soufflé I had for desert was nothing short of divine.

Overall the dinner was fantastic. I appreciate the simplistic, almost rustic approach to the food, all the while maintaining meticulous detail with how everything was prepared. Nothing was too fancy, and everything tasted and melded well together. If you are in the area of one of these restaurants, I can think of very few better ways than to spend an evening meal.

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Trattoria No. 10

In addition to my New Year's Revelations, I have spent a good amount of time traveling over the past month. This has resulted in a good amount of restaurant experiences, which I am more than happy to put up on the blog.

First up, Trattoria No. 10, a Chicago fine eatery specializing in Italian cuisine. I think. Thing is, I never tasted the food. I walked in at about 6pm and was promptly turned away. There was a light buffet in the bar which I figured would be a great meal before heading out on the town. The bar was mostly full, and the hostess so kindly said to us "the bar is full and so is the dining room, sorry". Wow. Score points for hospitality! I was dressed nice, but apparently did not fit the stuffy, rich type that they are looking for.

This leads me to a slight rant. I am so over stuffy food. I have no problem wearing a collar to dinner (I was that evening), but in our food-appreciating society, there is no place for crap like turning away a customer with such disdain. I'm pretty sure I was higher educated than either of the people I spoke to there, but I did not ramble on about the polymorphic complexities of amorphous dispersions to them. Food is good and should be kept simple and available to everyone. Treating someone like they are unworthy to eat their food only says to me that the food is not worth eating.

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Thai Essence

With the holidays in full swing, I will be posting probably once a week until I head for vacation the last week of December. Anything I post after today will be geared towards the holidays and some great recipes I love to make.

As promised, another restaurant review. This time of Thai Essence, the new restaurant that opened near where I work. I went in a few weeks after it opened, and I think since then I have been back 5 or 6 times. It's that good.

First, as seems to be a requirement, I have to talk about the setting. Simple, nice art, quiet place (It is considered upscale, though kid friendly), and they have comfy chairs. I do not like the new trend of uncomfortable seating in places to eat, so this was a welcome change. The staff is also super friendly and service is great. They also do takeout (usually in less than 10 minutes).

I have sampled various dishes in my visits to Thai Essence, and I cannot quite pick a favorite. They have the usual fare of noodles, satay, and curries (side note: I love that Thai restaurants have curries that are different than their Indian dish cousins. Yet funny enough, curries are English because of the availability of dried spices from English colonies. Cool!) Their pad Thai is excellent with a good simple sauce and lots of veggies and peanuts. My fiancée gets it every time, and raves about it just as much. Their pad see ew is freaking awesome, and I tend to get that almost every time I go there. A thicker noodle that is cooked in a pan almost to a crust, I could eat it three times a day. I have also tried their soup, which is a ridiculous amount of food and broth goodness. Any time I have gone to eat here, everyone in my party has loved their dish. The food is always fresh and hot (and spicy if you want it) and they have a great variety of dishes. It is also really good bargain, with lunch being an absolute steal.

So the end point here? Go eat there. Now. You will not find better Thai food within 50 miles.

Thai Essence

1534 Win Hentschel Blvd
West Lafayette, IN 47906

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Dinner at the Blue Fin

I dined at the newly minted (well, it's been open since July) Blue Fin Bistro last Friday evening and wanted to present my thoughts below. The place had a lot of buzz about it and I was truly looking forward to dinner.

The ambiance is nice enough; I guess you would call it fine-modern or something like that. Blue Fin spins itself as an upscale joint, offering fresh fish, sushi, and a pan-Asian take on dishes. This was countered by the nice woman singing Alanis Morissette and the "pick a song" request lists on the table. Kind of a contradiction if you ask me. But you didn't, so I should continue.

Service? Terrible. After the meal I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I was quickly (and properly) corrected that it stunk. When it takes 20 minutes to get a bottle of wine, you have to ask for bread even when you bring it to other tables, and there is little flow in your approach, it just comes back as bad service. Not a good start to the night.

The wine and drink list was nice enough, and I give major complements to a place that has a page of blue drinks to compliment its name (not enough places do things like this). The wine list, albeit a bit pricy, was nice, and the Argentinean white we selected was good. The food, not so much. The menu was expansive and expensive. Very expensive. They offer a large variety of seafood, sushi, steaks, and other Asian inspired dishes. I chose a spicy seafood noodle dish, while my other half chose a lobster and mushroom ravioli (let's face it, the fish dishes and crazy sushi were a little out of our budget range). We were then given the gift of no bread on the table and a 45 minute wait for our food. When it arrived, it was pretty tasty, but I have to main beefs with the meal. First, don’t call something on your menu "spicy" and then have it be as tame as a piece of chicken. I want some heat in the back of my throat. Second, overcooking your shrimp, slicing a scallop with some onions and peppers, adding chile paste with garlic, and tossing it all with noodles does not constitute an interesting or inspiring dish. If I can pick out exactly what went into it, why wouldn’t I just make it at home?

All in all, I cannot say I recommend this place. Because the experience was pretty shoddy (company was good). I really expected a bit more out of a hyped up, fine dining restaurant, but what I got was instead a poorly serviced mediocre experience. To top it off, the coffee they served me post meal (they proudly brew Starbuck's) was lukewarm. Not Han Solo-hot, but lukewarm. Bah.

Now that I have been a negative Nancy, I promise to post some positive thoughts next restaurant writing (I have a good one).

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