Restaurant Rants & Raves. And more exploration into ethnic food variety.

I have to tell you that you must read this all the way through because there are gems throughout. This week’s entry is (in my not so humble opinion) something special.

Let’s start with the rants.

I had already decided to do a New Year rant regarding my usual beefs about restaurants when my wine club had an interesting experience at Envy, the Steakhouse. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Envy did something that was off of my usual radar, and they did it with panache and pure stupidity.

The great thing about Vegas is that there are many restaurants here that offer world-class food and service. The bad thing is that these restaurants do way too well because of the fact that over 30,000,000 people come through here annually, and they don’t have to worry about taking care of locals. This week’s wine dinner was a perfect example of company policy taking precedence over customer service.

Envy advertised their half-price on wine dinner, and my group took advantage of it on Wednesday evening. Perfect. Day after New Year's. The food was great, the service exemplary, and wine list and wines were extraordinary. So what happened that made the entire group decide not to patronize Envy ever again?

It came down the check.

Half price is supposed to be half price, right? Not if Envy is doing fuzzy figuring. With only seven people in the party, *technically* the restaurant was not supposed to add on 20% gratuity. I believe that eight diners is the standard number. But they did. And they added it on the entire balance, and took off the price of the wine after the fee had been assessed. In addition, they somehow neglected to deduct the $50.00 gift certificate. So the group ended up spending 31% gratuity on the meal instead of 20% because of "company policy." The result? Seven angry people who spent $100+ each who will never frequent the restaurant again. With the numbers of people coming through Las Vegas, I'm pretty certain that Envy doesn't care that a group of locals got annoyed. Because this isn't the first time I've heard about Envy's money-grubbing policies, I've decided to forego visiting them at any time.

And now for something much more pleasant! I wanted to talk about one of my now favorite restaurants.

STEAK is located on the far end of Henderson on 76 W. Horizon Ridge near the Horizon Ridge exit of the 95S. Or it may be 515 at that point. At any rate, I had decided that I needed to have dinner there so that I could put a link (or not) on the Blog so that people could find another place to eat.

David Dror is the owner, and he has a wonderful establishment there.

Every Saturday afternoon there's a wine tasting. Extraordinary wines, great tasting. This week's tasting was Four Vines. And nearly all of their portfolio was there. 2006 Naked Chardonnay, Maverick, the Sophisticate, Heretic, Anarchy, Dusi, and a new one for me, the Peasant, which is a Rhône blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Counnoise, and Tannat. What's Tannat? Apparently it has characteristics similar to Cabernet. It all adds up to delicious.

Michael decided to join me for dinner, and were we ever in for a treat! Wow!

The bread appetizer came with Olive Purée, Red Pepper Purée, and Olive Oil/Balsamic dip. It was beautifully presented. The appetizer was beef tartare with an unusual seasoning that hinted of lime.

I had a "Baseball" steak along with grilled asparagus and sautéed mushrooms. Michael had the 18oz NY Strip with steamed veggies (still crunchy!) and the mushrooms.

Dessert was a Chocolate Mousse cake that was almost ethereal. How good was all of this food? There was nothing left over. We were good kids who cleaned our plates! We chose the Peasant as the wine, and it was a perfect match not only with the beef, but there was enough left over to show that it also paired quite well with the chocolate!

The restaurant itself was a surprise. There's a view that will rival Panevino, which is world-famous for its fabulous view. Since it's in Henderson, its view is not as close up and personal, but it's still breathtaking. I will be posting some pictures in the VegasPics section of the website. Take a look, and be sure to stop by one Saturday to enjoy the wines and stay for a great dinner and beautiful view!

Oh. And one more very important thing. David has the same philosophy as Marché Bacchus: Regular retail price for wine and only $10.00 corkage. That alone will have me visiting again and again as my budget allows. No restaurant wine price ripoffs here!

And now for more rants!

Things that restaurants do that irritate me to no end:

• When I pay my bill, don't ask me if I want or need any change back. Hell yeah I want my change back! If I give you a $50.00 bill for a $12.00 check, you can be SURE that I want my change back. Don't even ask. Just bring it.
• With that being said, I want ALL of my change back! Whoever came up with the annoying (and larcenous) practice of giving me only my bills and keeping the coin? Pisses me off and that is reflected in the tip I leave. Or not.
• Don't give me a bunch of singles! Sheesh! Give me my change in large bills. As far as I'm concerned, if you left me a ton of one dollar bills, then you aren't expecting much. Instead of the $5.00 I was going to leave, I guess I'll just leave three.
• While I appreciate wine service, somebody has to learn how to pour wine into a glass correctly. I prefer a tasting or short pour -- about two to four ounces -- because I'm a swirl fiend. Can't do it with the wine halfway (or more) up the glass.
  

And, yes, I do have rants about us customers.

• Leave a tip. If you had good service, then leave a good tip! This is assuming that you aren't being gouged as the Envy incident above indicates.
• Ask the sommelier for help, and for goodness sake, don't drink Chardonnay with your steak or lamb! Retch.
  
• Learn how to use chopsticks!! Nothing says *I'm ignorant* more than using a fork in an Asian restaurant. Chopsticks are easy, and the first awkward attempts are appreciated more than insisting on using a fork no matter what.
  

I have more somewhere in the transoms of my mind, but I didn't want to use all the space in rant time.

And now for my fun adventures in exploring cuisines of other cultures. If you've been following my food adventures, you know that I have little shyness about trying new cuisines. Well, I've discovered Vietnamese food. More accurately, I've discovered Pho, a Vietnamese staple that is broth-based. It is a wonderful soup, and the broth is so fragrant that you can't help but to drool. I found a little restaurant along Spring Mountain just east of Jones called Pho Sai Gon 8, which is Vietnamese. Is it good? I've been there a couple of times and it's been packed with Vietnamese! I think you can't find a better compliment than that of any ethnic restaurant!

Pho consists of fragrant broth and rice noodles. You can then add just about anything you want and it is a filling, long-lasting meal. Because in another life I was related to Andrew Zimmern, host of Bizarre Foods, I went all out and had the Pho Chín Nąm Gâu Gân Sách, which along with the broth and noodles, also contains lean meat, flank, brisket, soft tendon and tripe. It also comes with fresh basil, finely chopped green onlons, bean sprouts, hot peppers, hot sauce (house-made, I believe), and fresh limes. Because I did takeout, I was in for quite a surprise, because all of the ingredients are separate from the broth. Once home, I found a big bowl, put in all of the ingredients (except for the spicy items), and then poured the broth over. Incredibly good, filling, and so satisfying as to last for hours. Delicious. I am now addicted to this wonderful soup and will be there regularly! Fresh ingredients, tasty food, all for about $7.00. Can't get better than that.

Have a great week! We'll be talking about classes, Wine Down Wednesday, and Paso next time!

Vegas Wineaux Tastes on The Strip!

A brightly colored email caught my attention, and I decided to follow up on it even though it was located on The Strip, the bane of the locals. Not really – after all, the Strip is our economy’s bread and butter – but in order to be a “true” local, hating the Strip is an intrinsic ritual. For those of you who are not locals, the Strip is Las Vegas Boulevard, which provides the money shot of the casinos in most documentaries/movies/tv programs/Travel Channel, etc., about Las Vegas. But I digress.

Onda Restaurant at the Mirage, as it turns out, has a great wine tasting especially for locals every three/four Wednesdays or so. At $15.00, it is quite the steal.

The wine at Wednesday night’s tasting was Sonoma-Cutrer and a couple of its second labels. Terri Stamp, the On-Premise Market Manager of Brown-Forman, did the pouring honors.

The first wine was Bonterra 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, made from 52% Lake County and 48% Mendocino County grapes. Very fragrant, it has notes of citrus, lemongrass, cat pee, and some grassiness. On the palate, it is fresh and vibrant, with tropical fruit, grapefruit, and melon, and has a more assertive mineral backbone than most New Zealand Sauv Blancs. The happy part about this wonderful combination is the fact that the grapes are organically and sustainably farmed. Shame on me, I didn’t get the restaurant price, but it retails about about $13.00.

The next wine was Sonoma-Cutrer 2004 Les Pierres Vineyard Chardonnay. Even though the literature doesn’t state it, I’m guessing that it was aged in French oak due to the subtle creamy nature that has an overlying mineral backbone and good acid (that means food-friendly) core. Characteristics of Granny Smith apple, lemon, cream, and lime zest race across the nose and palate. In my opinion, it is a good balance between the attributes that oak imparts and the clear aromas and flavors of an unoaked Chard. It’s relatively austere compared to the “regular” Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay, but I feel that it’s much more suitable for pairing with a wider variety of food. Nice effort, enjoyable wine. Once again, I don’t know the restaurant’s price, but it retails at about $40.00.

Pinot Noir. Yum. The 2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was my favorite. Not because it is an earth-shattering, life-changing wine, but because it’s so, well, *Pinot*!! What can I say? A quick sniff had me saying, “smells like Pinot.” Berries, cherries, strawberries, cola, earth, smoke, and more on the nose. On the palate, it had all the berries, with subtle earthiness and smoke. A good acid core guarantees that this wine is perfect with turkey (dark meat), as well as the usual food suspects. Yummy. If you can find it, it retails at about $25.00, and is comparable (in my opinion) to many higher-end Pinots. I understand that this vintage will only be available to Sonoma-Cutrer wine club members and restaurants. If you’re a Pinot Ho like me, it’s worth the effort to search for it.

The last wine tasted was the 2004 Mariah Zinfandel, Mendocino County, which was my first experience with a Mendocino County Zinfandel. On the nose there were berries, dark fruit, coffee, a touch of cocoa, and some pepper. It is a rustic type of Zin, with the typical Zin dark fruit and earthiness and a surprisingly smooth finish. It still does not come up to my standard (hey! I’m into Paso Zinfandels!!), but it is very tasty nonetheless. It retails at about $25.00 or so.

Now for the real fun part. The food! Along with the wonderful wines come appetizers. The first course is a breadbasket with a rustic bread, a baguette-style “regular” bread, and some delicious Gorgonzola-laced breadsticks. The individual appetizer plate was beautifully presented and consisted of Genoa and Cotto salamis, Manchego and Gorgonzola cheeses, marinated olives, and candied walnuts. OF COURSE there had to be further food experimentation, so an additional meat and cheese platter was ordered. The cheeses were Tête de Moine, a cheese that can only be described as ethereal; Idiazabel, a Manchego-style Spanish cheese; Morbier, the French ash cheese; Duck Prosciutto (!!!), which is rich and wonderful; Quince preserves, and Cabernet and Shiraz jellies. Jeff Braun, the Assistant Executive Chef, came up with the idea to provide the Duck Prosciutto. He felt that people who patronized the restaurant would like something a little different. The Duck Prosciutto most deliciously fills the bill.

I have to mention Danny Smith, who was the server at our table. He was familiar with all of the items on the menu and the service was impeccable.

I had an opportunity to speak with Randy Zammit, the Manager of Onda. The staff came up with the idea to have wine tastings for Las Vegas locals in order to attract those of us who generally avoid the Strip. It was admittedly a gamble, but bit by bit, the number of customers grows at every tasting. I will admit that even though I’m also a Strip-phobic local, the lure of a periodical wine tasting at the Mirage is hard to resist.

Randy pointed out that Onda has “Rush Hour Wines” wine tastings every Friday night from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The wines are complimentary, and while they get a few tourists, they have the red carpet laid out for us locals. That is, if we’re brave enough to confront the wilds of the Strip on a Friday night! It’s a great after work wind-down time.

So if you decide to go to Onda one Friday night, find Randy and tell him that Irene from Vegas Wineaux sent you. You won’t get anything other than what they have on the tasting menu, but, hey! He’ll know that there’s a network of locals who are willing to go to the Strip to take care of their wine Jones! And, yes, I plan to visit one Friday night and will definitely go to another Wednesday tasting. It’s a great value, especially considering the location. Four wines and world-class appetizers at the Mirage for $15.00. A deal in anybody’s book!

As I write this early Thursday evening, I’m also getting ready to go taste some Beaujolais Nouveau tonight at Khoury’s. This is going to be a BN fun run for the next few days/weeks, and I’ll be more than happy to share my opinion of this year’s vintage.

Stay tuned!