Previously on Adam Riff™:
Pretzel Bar (The Buffet at Wynn)
—The best buffet item in all of Las Vegas – confectionery crack.
March 2016
harvest / the buffet at wynn / flock and fowl / portofino / sage / the buffet at wynn / other mama / honey salt / gelato messina / cravings buffet / slo-boy food / zydeco po-boys / the smashed pig / glutton / carson kitchen / the buffet at aria / skinnyfats / rm seafood / the buffet at wynn / herringbone / yonaka modern japanese / tacos el gordo / bacchanal buffet
French Toast and Caviar (Other Mama)
crème fraiche
An oddly pleasant combination.
Togarashi Waffle Fries (Other Mama)
—Like full-bodied Cape Cod Waffle Cut Chips.
Turducken Pot Pie (Carson Kitchen)
buttermilk crumble
Ground turkey, grilled chicken breast, shreds of confit duck legs – plus foie gras.
No longer on the menu, though.
Foie Gras Candy Bar (Sage)
salt and pepper peanut butter cream, bourbon caramel, single-origin milk chocolate
I couldn't discern the foie gras. It's seemingly included just so the restaurant can charge $20 for a candy bar.
Chocolate Bread Pudding (Glutton)
chocolate ganache, candy bar ice cream
Candy bar ice cream > a cherry.
Rick's Tasting Game (RM Seafood)
16 flavours of house made ice cream and sorbet, served blind
You are given vanilla bean, and if you can guess the rest of the flavours correctly, this $18 dessert is free.
I guessed nine correctly, so 10/16.
Three tasted like chocolate. Chocolate, carob, and dark chocolate? A: Nutella, Guinness, and chocolate.
Two tasted like coffee. Coffee and…white coffee? A: Coffee and B&B (Bénédictine and Brandy).
One didn't taste like anything. Some kind of cream-flavoured ice cream? A: Extra virgin olive oil.
C.C.S. [Central Coast Salad] (SLO-Boy Food)
market greens, goat cheddar, beer vinaigrette, charred scallions
Whole charred scallions killed this salad for me. This is what salads are like in San Luis Obispo?
I ordered this salad primarily to try its beer vinaigrette, which tasted like honey mustard.
COCKTAIL CORNER
Martini (Harvest)
smoke and blue cheese infused tito's vodka, mancino secco vermouth, rosemary, blue cheese stuffed olives
—Smoke and blue cheese infused vodka.
Abuelita's Remedy (Oak and Ivy)
stone xocoveza, milagro reposado, ibarra chocolate, topped off with crema de maiz and sprinkled with corn nuts
—Sprinkled with Corn Nuts.
Suzuki Shuzouten Hideyoshi Flying Pegasus Daiginjo (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
—Yours for only $555!
Baklava Sliced (Oak and Ivy)
high west whiskeys, honey-nut infused del professore vermouth, amaro di angostura
—"A cocktail inspired by the great taste of baklava."
SkinnyFATS is located in a nondescript office park in the hinterland, but was packed when I visited, presumably with locals.
Its concept is parallel menus – a skinny menu and a fat one. Each healthy menu item has a corresponding "happy" version.
So instead of ordering this healthy sandwich:
Teriyahi (SkinnyFATS)
seared teriyaki ahi, citrus slaw, spinach, and grilled tomato on sesame crusted 9 grain toast
I opted for its "happy" counterpart:
Filet O Fire (SkinnyFATS)
filet mignon, fried jalapeño, avo pico, jalapeño ranch, on cajun garlic sourdough toast
Hainanese Chicken Rice (Flock and Fowl)
house made ginger scallion sauce, house made chile, house made soy, marinated cucumbers, preserved mustard greens
It's not Nong's khao man gai, but it's good. I appreciate that the chicken is boneless.
Butternut Squash Gnocchi (Portofino)
turkey confit, pickled cranberries, thanksgiving crumble
Thanksgiving dumplings.
"Crab Cake" Arancini (Portofino)
lemon saffron risotto, pesto aioli, fresno pickles
—Fried crab risotto.
Crispy Devilled Eggs (The Smashed Pig)
cornichon
They reminded me of eating a po-boy.
Lamb "Tacos" (The Smashed Pig)
sour cream, sweet pepper chutney
The taco shells are fried eggplant discs.
Carne Asada Taco (Tacos El Gordo)
Cabeza Taco (Tacos El Gordo)
I dug the smokiness of the carne asada, and fuckin' adored the beef head. Best thing I ate in Las Vegas this trip.
Tuna Poke (Herringbone)
yellowfin tuna, shoyu, maui onion, macadamia
Worst thing I ate in Las Vegas this trip. A sodding rip-off at $22. I only ordered it because it's poke served with green onion pancakes. Well, [shocker!] they don't pair well.
The best restaurant I ate at in Las Vegas this trip was Yonaka Modern Japanese.
Toro (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
bluefin tuna belly, walnut, cranberry, negi, piment d'espelette
Machi Ringo (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
yellowtail, apple, fennel, sweet chili zu, negi oil
Terrific riffs on sashimi.
Meat Candy (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
twice cooked caramel glazed kurobuta pork belly, kimchee apple, smoked tofu peanut butter puree
Karaage (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
fried chicken, jalapeno, mint, basil, onion
—Fried chicken with Thai flavours.
Choco 10 Ways (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
chocolate, coffee-nutella ice cream, marshmallow
1. white choco-tofu frozen mousse
2. dehydrated chocolate milk
3. cocoa crumbs
4. choco mint oil
5. choco caramel
6. choco marshmallow
7. espresso choco macaron with Nutella ganache filling
8. candied cocoa nibs
9. choco wafers
10. coffee Nutella ice cream
Red Velvet Nutella Pancake (The Buffet at Aria)
Breakfast Calzone (The Buffet at Aria)
I know, I know. Buffet food? From a mid-tier buffet, no less?! I couldn't believe it either.
The Red Velvet Nutella Pancake is a tire-sized [in diameter] layer cake, served in slices.
Elsewhere in Las Vegas buffets…
1. Why am I seeing unpeeled cocktail shrimp?
2. The Buffet at Wynn has the best fried chicken.
3. To my dismay, The Buffet at Wynn discontinued the best buffet item in all of Las Vegas.
4. The new best buffet item in all of Las Vegas is a Made-to-Order Crepe (Bacchanal Buffet) with Nutella and strawberry sauce.
What is that place? I wondered.
OH. That's that Parisian sex shop-themed fondue restaurant that I read about – F. Pigalle.
OTHER MISSED CONNECTIONS
Bacon Pancake Dippers (MTO Café)
peppercorn maple syrup
—In-pancake bacon.
Breakfast Taquitos (Kitchen Table)
chorizo, potato, roasted chilies, pickled cabbage, avo salsa
Hickory Smoked Chocolate Coffee Cake (Yardbird)
smoked coffee cake, house-made coffee ice cream, chocolate sauce
Braised Duck Jam (Inyo)
drake duck leg "pho flavour" with thai basil, mint, bean sprout salad, and sesame cracker
—Deconstructed pho.
Tostada (Kitchen Table)
suckling pig, black beans, cilantro slaw, salsa, quail egg
—Suckling pig tostada.
(SLO-Boy Food)
Calamari Fries (Glutton)
sriracha mayo, eel sauce, crushed peanuts
—Squid as potatoes.
Octo-Cargot (Inyo)
broiled spanish octopus baked escargot style with garlic, shiro miso, and herb butter panko
—Octopuses as snails.
Tate Ichigo (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
scallops, strawberries, strawberry zu negi oil
Caramel Corn Profiteroles (Glutton)
salted caramel, popcorn ice cream, peanuts
—Popcorn ice cream.
Banana Tiramisu (Yonaka Modern Japanese)
fried latte, brown butter-banana crumble, white espresso latte
—Fried latte.
Chow is a combination Chinese and Southern food restaurant.