I've been wanting to dine at a celebrity chef's restaurant in Las Vegas for a long time now. Sure, it could be the hype and the "famous people" allure, but it's something on my to-do list that I have to check off! I decided to try Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill because I've never tried Southwestern cuisine before and this seemed like a nice palatial adventure for W and I.
We made reservations for 7pm and we were seated quite promptly. The atmosphere was fairly casual but service was still at fine dining standards.
Complimentary bread basket - sour dough, cranberry walnut, jalapeno corn bread muffins
After we put in our orders, we were given a bread basket with 3 kinds of bread. We both thought the corn bread was the most outstanding selection while the other 2 were ok, just ordinary.
Blue Corn Pancake - Barbequed duck, habanero chile, star anise sauce
W and I both ordered an appetizer to start. Of course, following our usual dining protocol, we switched plates halfway so we could try both dishes. The blue corn pancake sort of looked like a Peking duck wrap meets Mexican taco, southwestern style. The duck was shredded into tender morsels and drenched in a sweet and spicy sauce. There were a lot of filling and sauce so I thought it needed more pancake to balance out the flavours and texture.
Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale - corn, cilantro sauce
The shrimp and corn tamale was, by far, the most delicious dish of the entire meal! There was a perfect medley of spiciness, sweetness from the corn, and savouriness from the garlic and cilantro sauce. The shrimp was cooked perfectly which has just the right snap to the meat and when eaten with the soft corn tamale, everything just melded together!! This was so so good!!
Coffee Rubbed Filet Mignon - Mushroom-Ancho chile sauce
I apologize because I don't even remember if this was the filet mignon! I just remember there was a coffee rub on the steak and it had the same sweet and spicy sauce as the pork tenderloin that we also ordered as our entrée. The steak was tender and it was super flavourful from the rub and the sauce but because there was nothing else on the plate, it got a bit boring eating the same thing fork after fork.
New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin - Bourbon-Ancho chile sauce, sweet potato tamale with crushed pecan butter
The pork tenderloin was cooked to a medium doneness but it seems like the middle was still a too rare. Hence, it was a little tough to chew through. The sweet potato tamale was good with the nutty, creamy butter but we thought it wasn't as good as the roasted garlic corn tamale from the appetizer.
Churros - dusted with cinnamon sugar, star anise dark chocolate dipping sauce, coconut dulce de leche dipping sauce
Ok, I had to end this dinner on a high note. Even though this plate of churros was $11, it really hit my craving and sweet spot. A crisp and sweet exterior and a soft, fluffy center...the churros were already delicious on its own without the dipping sauces. YUM!
*Still, I knew that for $11 I could get 11 churros at Costo =___=
The other thing on my to-do list on this trip was to see the new pedestrian promenade across from Caesar's Palace. The Linq and the new ferris wheel, The High Roller, was revealed in 2014, 2 years after my last visit. With both sides of the promenade filled with bars, restaurants and shops, and the brightly lit High Roller as the backdrop, it's a nice place to take a stroll at night.
W and I weren't big fans of the glitzy nightlife so we headed back to the hotel to get rested for our planned activity the next day: shopping!!
