Rang’s Cocina Moderne is a small Mom and Pop Restaurant located in Las Vegas Nevada not too far from the Strip. They offer a very unique menu that is a Modern Mix of Italian, Spanish, and Filipino. They offer soups, salads, small plates, pastas, entrees, sides, and desserts. Soft beverages and wine are served here. Rang herself does most of the cooking and her husband Benedict does most of the serving. The food and service is always perfect! The food is always FORKING DELICIOUS!
We tried not all but many of the menu items.
Sweet Potato Carrot Ginger Soup Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese on Baguette Mushroom Ravioli Dulong – Whitebait, olive oil, garlic ,lemon, caper, red pepper on baguette Bacalao – salt cod potato croquettes
Truffle Mushroom and Asparagus Pasta
Chorizo bolognese Pesto crusted Salmon
3 Cheese Garlic Salmon Haricots Mashed Potatoes
Fish Florentine with Spinach and Potatoes Anna
Binagoongang Pork Belly with Coconut Risotto
NY Strip with citrus, soy sauce, caramelized onions, rice haricotsSlow Braised Beef CheekLemon Meringue Tart Opera Cake
A few weeks ago Albertson’s gave me a coupon for a FREE 10 pound bag of potatoes. They were getting old so I had to make a big pan of something potato. I got the idea of doing something like a Scalloped potato but with a twist so that is what I did. Scalloped potatoes are thinly sliced potatoes in a creamy sauce. The sauce I made is so darn tasty that I’m going to make it again as a dip. I made the creamy part with ricotta cheese, fontina cheese, parmesan cheese, a little oregano, salt, pepper, and Coluccio Brand Bomba Calabrese. Bomba is a hot pepper condiment. Each brand does taste different so if you use a different brand it will taste different.
Here’s the bottle of Coluccio Bomba Calabrese.
Here are the ingredients.
Serving size is always difficult to determine because I don’t know if you want a tiny serving or a whole meal serving. Based on the amount of potatoes I used I will guesstimate this recipe to make around 12 servings.
Ingredients for around 12 servings.
non stick spray
3 pounds starchy potatoes – peeled and sliced very thin
I make these bread crisps often (recipe on site…just plug in bread crisps)
EZ Bread Crisps with Blue Cheese Butter and Herb Sauce
I just rolled 1/2 the thin for the bottom layer. Then I just added a layer of my fresh pesto. Topped it with a thin layer of the other 1/2 of dough. Then I squirted it with olive oil added sea salt flakes and sesame seeds. This went in my preheated 475 degree f oven for around 20 minutes. (your oven might bake faster…mine leaks but is getting fixed)
I cut it into squares while hot. Note that they don’t come out crisp like the crisp bread. Instead they come out more like a pop tart.
Gorditas El Fogon is a small very casual restaurant that offers gorditas and a lot more. Incase you don’t know……Gorditas are yummy masa dough fat pillows that are grilled and are stuffed with cheese and other fillings.
Besides over a dozen different gorditos this restaurant offers a bunch of other things. They offer breakfast, tacos, burritos, tortas (sandwiches), a kid’s menu, and what they call plates. Soft beverages are served here.
We had to order a Gordita so we went with a jalapeño and cheese Gordita.
It came with a lemon wedge, pickled red onions, a little lettuce cucumber and two salsas and was only $3.25 (subject to change). The Gordita is very tasty, cheesy, and not too spicy. It’s just tasty I think anyone would like it.
The green sauce seems like tomatillo based and is medium spicy. The slightly smokey red sauce is much spicier.
We tried a Gordita beef asada taco and a Gordita chicken taco. Inside is seasoned meat and cheese.
Both are nicely seasoned. We both prefer the chicken over the beef here. The chicken is finely shredded and is moist and tender. The beef is fine chopped but is a bit chewy. Here the rice is tasty and kinda fluffy. The beans are loose just like from most Mexican restaurants. $9.49 subject to change.
We also try the Culichi fish filet (fried tilapia $11.99 subject to change).
We got a meaty filet of mild tasting white fish topped with a green sauce that might be tomatillo and lots of mild melted white cheese. To the side are generous amounts of Mexican style rice and refried beans. This also came with white corn tortillas.
They also only charged $1. for a bottled water (subject to change).
It sure doesn’t cost much to eat here and the food is tasty!
Worth a Try!
Gorditas El Fogon
445 W. Craig Road North Las Vegas NV
702-405-9614
I haven’t found a working website for Gorditas El Fogon but you can find them on Facebook.
Narong’s Thai Kitchen is a very small casual Thai Restaurant located near to North Las Vegas Nevada.
See it’s very small…..Only 5 or 6 tables.
We started out by trying the potstickers (they are chicken here).
The potstickers have a nice crispy exterior and are garnished with scallions, a two sauces. They are tasty. If you eat chicken you will like them.
I tried the green curry with chicken with number 6 level heat out of ten.
The sauce is aromatic and delicious but slightly thinner than from other places. The number 6 heat is plenty hot here. For me it’s perfect. The chicken is masterfully tender and is infused with the basil. In here are plenty of bamboo shoots, green pepper and a few amazing pieces of DELICIOUS SWEET EGGPLANT……I wish this had more eggplant because it really is usually great. Next time I’m getting the spicy eggplant dish.
My husband got the Spicy Basil with chicken and beef.
I tried a small bite of the chicken. OMG it’s amazing! So tender ….like butter and sooooo delicious with a great basil flavor……My husband ordered number 8 heat out of ten. It’s a bit too spicy but still delicious. He offers some beef to me but warns me that it is tough…I decline. In a few minutes I hear someone from the next table complaining about the tough beef. I heard her say that this beef is so tough that you can’t cut it with a knife….
Anyways- For a Thai Restaurant the portions are large and pricing is low. The chicken in the dishes we’ve tried was delicious and masterfully tender but the beef was tough.
Safta 1964 By James Beard Award Wining Chef Alon Shaya recently opened in the Encore part of the Wynn in the Jardin on the strip in Las Vegas Nevada. This restaurant offers Mediterranean Style Cusine. Some of the dishes offered are new versions of the Michelin – Denver Safta Restaurant. A few of the Las Vegas offerings are – small plates like falafels, sablefish paprikash, duck matzah ball soup. They also offer a chef’s tasting salatim platter (dips, spreads, vegetables, pita). A few of the entries are harissa roasted chicken, Dover sole schnitzel, and a New York Steak with hazelnut muhammara and za’atar chimichurri.
You enter here….For breakfast and lunch this restaurant is Jardin, For dinner it becomes Safta 1964 By Alon Shaya.
As you enter you pass wall of flowers.
You pass the outdoor garden patio.
There is an interesting small bar area with bottles that stay on top of the ceiling.
And of course the main dining area with comfortable chairs that is bright, airy, and accented with foliage.
We started out by sharing the Salatim Platter (a bunch of detailed dips, spreads, vegetables, and fluffy pitas).
WOW! There’s a lot here and it’s all DELICIOUS!!!! In the middle is a variety of pickled vegetables……Around 1:00 is Labneh (sort of like yogurt dip), next are Moroccan carrots, babaganous (eggplant), harissa olives, trout roe with cream cheese, za’atar oil, and our favorite the lutenitsa (eggplant, pepper, tomatoes) Everything was delicious!
We had to try the classic hummus.
It has a creaminess that is very rare to come by……….I’ve only had this kind of hummus once before at Zahav in Philadelphia. The flavors do differ some but both are amazing hummus. My husband normally hates hummus but only will eat this hummus and the one from Zahav. We were blown away with this hummus.
We also had to try falafels.
The falafels are also amazing. These come surrounded with mango sauce, herby zhoung sauce and tahini. The falafels have shattering crisp exteriors and fluffy herby interiors.
We do pack up some pitas and dip to bring home so we can try some more.
For dinner we shared the Dover Sole Schnitzel.
It sits on top of creamy tzatziki and is garnished with a few dots of tzatziki with fresh dill and pickled onion petals. The fish is mild and seems fresh and was fried to perfection….It is good but not exciting with exotic flavors like everything else……
I was full but tried a dessert anyway….and I’m glad I did because it was EXTRAORDINARY. It was called Safta’s Delights.
We got three each of FIVE teeny tiny mini desserts. We got pistachio baklava, marble halavah, something with a little coffee coated in chocolate, a blueberry rugula, and our favorite the mini lemon tart.
Service was amazing. Even the chef thanked us for coming and even asked for our feedback.
Safta 1964 By Alon Shaya is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
Wynn Encore Las Vegas 3131 Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
I had some Red Boat Salt that I need to use up so I got the idea in my head to make up Kimchi Carrots with it. In case you don’t know……Kimchi is a traditional Korean Dish of Fermented Vegetables. I read bunches of recipes on how to ferment vegetables. I got an idea on how I want to try it. My way is unique and not like another out there. Serving size is always difficult to tell because I don’t know if you want a very small amount or a bigger amount. I’m guessing that this will make between 4-8 servings so I’ll estimate it at 6 servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 lb. carrots – sliced thin
4 oz. radishes – sliced thin
3 oz. Red Boat Salt
2 1/2 cups water
2 Tablespoons Gochugaru flakes
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 oz. grated ginger
3 garlic cloves – ground to paste
2 teaspoons sugar.
Directions
Boil the water with the Red Boat Salt.
Pour the boiling salted water over the vegetables.
This needs to sit on the counter two hours.
While this is sitting make the pepper paste.
In a small mixing bowl mix together the gochuharu, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and sugar. Put this to the side or in the refrigerator.
After the carrots sat out two hours you need to drain them.
Mix the pepper paste into your drained carrots.
This goes in a ziplock quart bag with all the air squeezed out in the refrigerator for 3 days up to two weeks depending on the taste that you like.
Nice and tasty but it’s kimchi on the milder side. Not too strong or too spicy.
I think most people would like it. I think this goes well with marinated eggs or something beef.
Kimchi Carrots and Radishes made with Red Boat Sea Salt
Zen Curry Dining is a full service Japanese Curry and Ramen Restaurant with a location in NORTH LAS VEGAS Nevada. The Specialty of the house is the Curry that is made of vegetables and lots of spices called Garam Masala. You have the options to add many toppings to the curry dish. The also offer appetizers like fried octopus balls, ramen dishes, Japanese Beer and Saki.
It’s not a fancy place but seems clean.
All the tables are set with spoons.
I tried a medium sized curry with chicken katsu (breaded chicken), rice, vegetables, and a potato croquette. I ordered #7 heat out of ten….I was surprised that they charge extra for each heat level….#7 is 30 cents extra. The #7 heat is pretty darn hot but not scorching hot.
The curry is aromatic, flavorful, and rich. The rice is fresh and perfect. The chicken is kinda plain and a little dry today. Maybe on another day it’s better? The vegetables are a mix of broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes. The potatoes and mushrooms seem from fresh. The rest might be from frozen. I like that the potato croquette is fried to perfection. It’s light and crispy with a fluffy lightly scented interior.
My husband tries a medium sized curry but with Spam, sausage, and a fried egg. Heat level #8 out of ten 35 cents extra.
He was surprised that the Spam was fried…..He thought that the sausage taste like spicy hot dogs. The egg came out unseasoned so he helped himself to salt and pepper that sat on the counter. He liked heat level 8.
Pollo Camero is a small casual restaurant that specializes in serving marinated, bold flavorful chicken since 1971. This restaurant started out from Guatemala. Pollo Campero is now in over 15 countries and has around 400 locations with around 70 of them in the United States. Two locations are in Las Vegas. They offer bowls, a salad, chicken sandwiches, 2, 3, 4, piece platters, empanadas, nuggets, family meals, side orders, desserts, and soft beverages.
The North Las Vegas location of Pollo Campero looks sort of like most fast food restaurants. you order and pay at the counter.
Grab your beverage and a number and seat yourself.
This is more than fast food.
Your meal comes to you on real plates with real silverware and they give you plenty of napkins.
We both tried a 4 piece platter.
I tried 1/2 grilled 1/2 fried dark meat chicken with macaroni and cheese, plantains, and tortillas.
I dig into the grilled thigh first. WOW! It’s juicy, tender, flavorful, and delicious. This is much better than most chicken you get at not all but many restaurants. I try some macaroni and cheese……This is reasonably good. It’s made with real cheeses and has a good flavor but is the mushy style…still pretty good. I try a plantain. The plantain is really GREAT! It’s wonderfully caramelized and is sweet and not too starchy or oily. It might be the best plantain that I’ve ever tried anywhere. The fried chicken thigh is amazing with a delicious shattering crisp skin and exterior. Inside is dripping juicy tender delicious chicken. The white corn tortillas was heated nicely. For me this is more than I can eat but my husband was able to eat his whole plate. He got the same chicken but tried the beans, rice, and roll.
He loved the chicken as much as I did. The roll was average. He didn’t hate the beans but they weren’t his favorite but he really enjoyed the rice and of course the chicken, Mac-n-cheese, plantains, and tortillas.
Pollo Campero was VERY GOOD and sure doesn’t seem like fast food.
