Author Archives: The Forking Truth

Hussong’s Cantina Margaritas & Mexican Food – Boca Park Las Vegas NV – Worth a Fork!

Hussong’s Cantina Margaritas & Mexican Food Restaurant claims to have invented the margarita at their original location in Mexico in 1941. The Boca Park Las Vegas location is filled with all kinds of artifacts, photos, and all kinds of things all over the walls.

They started us off with a warm basket of chips salsa, and sweet BBQ sauce salsa.

I tried the Baja chop salad (romaine, tomato, red onion, apple, red pepper, poblano, pumpkin seeds, hominy, tortilla strips, and cumin vinaigrette with added chicken).

It might not look special but it was full of lots of delicious flavors.

My husband went for the mix and match 3 item plate. (he got 2 chicken street tacos, a carnitas burrito, beef barbocoa enchilada with rice and beans).

I did taste a chunk of chicken from the street tacos and THAT CHICKEN was REALLY Great!!!! It was infused with flavors and very tender. the chicken in the salad was also tender but plain breast meat) I hear that the other meats are also very good.

Everything including service was very good!

Hussong’s Cantina Margaritas & Mexican Food at Boca Park is-

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Hussong’s Cantina Margaritas & Mexican Food

740 S. Rampart BLVD Las Vegas NV – 702-778-2160

www.HussongsBocaPark.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen Las Vegas NV

Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen is a Thai Restaurant located in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas Nevada.This is a full service restaurant with a bar and one of the few Thai restaurants with a large outdoor patio. Most of the locals consider this to be the best of Thai Restaurants in Las Vegas.

bar area

main dining area

The menu is slightly different from many Thai Restaurants and much of the menu is full of Thai Tapas (small plates) for sharing.

The one tapas dish that we both were crazy about was the world famous spinach salad.

The spinach leaves are tempura fried and are incredibly crispy and seem free of oil..But that sauce with cashews, heat, lime, and other flavors is incredibly scrumptious!!!!!

We also tried the golden pouches (egg pastry stuffed with potato in curry sauce).

You should try if you never had this dish before……..

For my main I tried the chicken green curry.

They made it a medium hot that was just right for me. This taste similar to green curry dishes from most Thai Restaurants. The chicken was tender and they used the correct amount of basil that infused the dish.

My husband tried the basil chicken.

I usually prefer when they hand chop the chicken like they did here but I think someone new was cooking because some of the flavors are missing today. This just taste like chicken in soy sauce and a little bit of fish sauce….The garlic and heat are missing. Also they used a good amount of basil but for some odd reason you can’t taste it in this dish…….

The MUST GET DISH Here was the World Famous Spinach Salad it was FORKING AMAZING…..and the c=green curry dish is also recommended.

That was my trip to Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen

8427 W Lake Mead BLVD Las Vegas NV – 702-360-8885

www.NittayasSecretKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Lemon Mostarda Glazed Cabbage with Gorgonzola Recipe

Mostarda is a spicy Northern Italian Condiment. It is usually but not always made with candied fruit and mustard syrup. I read at www.LaCucinaItaliana.com that there are SIX basic kinds of mostarda (cherry, apricot, fig, peach, squash, tomato). According to La Cucina Italiana instead of mustard they use something called mustard essence instead of mustard to make mostarda. I used a combination of mustard and mustard powder to make my inspiration. I previously made a FORKING DELICIOUS acorn squash with mostarda and taleggio cheese….so this is a spin off of that. Serving size is always difficult to judge because I don’t know if you want a small or large serving. For me this made 6 side servings so I’ll say 6 servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 cabbage – core removed, rough chopped

1 onion – rough chopped

3 carrots – peel if not organic – slice on a slight diagonal around 1/4 inch thick

1/4 cup chives

4 oz gorgonzola – crumbled (or any blue cheese)

1 cup sugar

1 lemon – zest and juice but separate

2 Tablespoons mustard powder

3 Tablespoons whole grain mustard (I used Maille Old Style)

2 short Calabrian dried chili peppers – crumbled

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

sea salt – to taste

black pepper – to taste

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl (or maybe a few bowls if you bowl isn’t very large) mix together the sugar, lemon juice (zest is for finishing), mustard powder, mustard, oil, Calabrian chili flakes, and sea salt. Mix well. Mix in the cabbage, onion, and carrots.

This goes on baking sheets with rims in an even layer.

Add a light amount of fresh crushed sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

This goes in your preheated 400 degree F oven for 30-50 minutes or until lightly charred.

Finish with lemon zest, gorgonzola, and chives.

Lemon Mostarda Glazed Cabbage with Gorgonzola

It came out DELICIOUS!!!!! Even my dog thinks so!

The Forking Truth

My FORKING Thoughts on Calbe My Pote White Truffle Premium Potato Chips

I found Calbe My Pote White Truffle Premium Potato Chips at my local Seafood City (A California-based Filipino Supermarket Chain) They caught my eye and the ingredients don’t look too bad so I thought I’d give this small bag a try.

Oh WoW! They are made with French Grey sea salt. That salt is very expensive….Ummmm don’t really know what the truffle flavor really is…..Usually artificial is called truffle essence…..maybe they are being tricky here? I’ll try them anyway.

I open the bag up and take a whiff.

I don’t get truffle but I do get a really strong but good potato smell that I don’t usually get when I open a bag of chips…….Like a smell I get when I make mashed potatoes.

I try a chip…They look a little different and seem to have a little bit of skin on them. They are also small, extra thin, and seem free of oil.

Now I taste one……….They do have more potato flavor than what you usually get in a potato chip that are laced with a little bit of truffle taste and are extra lightly salted. But they also seem extra dry. They are different.

Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Calbee My Pote White Truffle Premium Potato Chips I do note that your FORKING Thoughts may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

Makai Pacific Island Grill North Las Vegas – Newly Opened Hawaiian Casual Restaurant – Worth a Try!

Makai Pacific Island Grill is a casual Hawaiian Plate Lunch type restaurant that will soon be in seven locations in Las Vegas Nevada. A Hawaiian Plate Lunch is usually generous portions of meat or meats, some sides and rice that is usually served in a styrofoam box (here they use aluminum pans). The North Las Vegas Location on Losee Road is located in a shopping center with plenty of parking.

It’s casual. You order at the counter, pay, and seat yourself.

Here are our plate lunches. (below is a regular and large size)

I got the regular size that is TWO meats, TWO sides, and RICE.

JEEPERS I got THREE meals out of this and it only cost a little over $10. It’s cheaper to eat here than to cook at home.

I got Mochiko chicken (fried on the bone), Teriyaki chicken (moist dark meat), tasty kimchi slaw, TWO scoops of brown rice, salad with a tasty dressing, and yaki sauce. It was all tasty and good!

My husband got a large.

He got THREE meats, THREE sides. Kalua pig, katsu chicken, teriyaki beef, macaroni salad, corn, and two scoops of rice.

All good but the beef was a little dry today.

Makai Pacific Island Grill is Worth a Try!

6520 N Losee Rd North Las Vegas NV

The phone number is not listed on their website (or my receipt) as of this posting.

www.MakaiGrill.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The Magic Noodle Las Vegas NV – Worth a Fork!

The Magic Noodle is a Chinese Hand Pulled Noodle Restaurant located in Las Vegas Nevada. You get either skinny chewy noodles or fat springy noodles here. You get the noodles either stir fried, in soup, or with sauce. This is a tiny popular restaurant so you add your name to the wait list to dine here. The food comes out as it’s ready.

Our first dish out was my fish noodle soup with pickled vegetables.

The fish is mild and tender. The fat noodles are springy. This is full of lots of flavors and also is a bit spicy. This is delicious I’d get it again!

We also shared an onion pancake.

It’s ok but would be tastier with a sauce. Maybe I’m suppose to dunk it in the soup?

My husband tried the Szechuan Beef Brisket noodle. It’s also spicy.

He thought it was very good.

Food was very good, prices were low, and service was speedy friendly and efficient.

The Magic Noodle is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

The Magic Noodle Chinese Restaurant

5165 S Fort Apache Rd Las Vegas NV – 702-873-0888

I haven’t found a website for this restaurant but noticed that you can find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

HaSalon – Las Vegas NV – Modern Israeli Cuisine – Just Opened

HaSalon is a Modern Israeli Inspired high quality Restaurant located in the Venetian in the Palazzo area on The Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. This restaurant is by seasoned chef, restauranteur, and Masterchef Judge Eyal Shani who has over 40 restaurants around the world and also opened Miznon (a casual counter Israeli Street Style Food Restaurant) in the same hall in the Palazza recently. HaSalon translates to dining room. You are suppose to feel that you are dining in the chef’s own dining room. The menu is daily changing of fresh harvested meats, daily flown in fresh fish, vegetables, and hand made pastas. The early seating is normal and tranquil and the late seating the restaurant transforms to a supper club and is vibrant, loud and maybe wild and crazy. Dancing is encouraged on top of the tables.

We tried the early seating that starts at 6pm.

Whatever you order that start you off with complimentary delicious focaccia and sour cream that was embellished with tomato guts and Chile peppers.

Thought the six pepper appetizer called spicy instrument would go well with the focaccia and other things so we gave it a try.

Everything on the plate tastes different. The dark green is the spiciest. The darkest red is the smokiest and everything else is in-between.

This plate was interesting…..The beet carpaccio was so light it was almost like air. But had lots more flavor than air. It was very earthy but melted in the mouth. It was embellished with creme fraiche and horseradish snow.

Ricotta clouds were highly recommended by our server. She said they make the ricotta in-house.

To my surprise they differed from what I imagined and were actually gnocchi made with whey.

My husband added another plate to our order and we got the eggplant melanza.

It’s four very thin slices of sweet eggplant in a rich but light tomato sauce with cheese.

We shared what they call melting spinach.

It’s a mound of spinach cooked with butter and topped with grated cheese and grey sea salt.

For dinner we shared the hraine (striped bass in spicy tomato sauce).

This was my personal favorite of the dishes. No BAD DISHES were found here but this fish was very DELICIOUS and prepared perfectly. It’s also a large portion (I note that I don’t know if they gave me extra by accident) and feeds two people. The fish is also embellished with tahini, cilantro and scallions. My husband’s favorite dish was the eggplant melanza. It was sort of a sophisticated style of authentic eggplant parmesan. Another special dish to me was the beets carpaccio. The beets were very earthy and almost really did seem like meat.

That was my trip to HaSalon – Newly Opened

HaSalon

Venetian, Palazzo 3325 S. Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV

702-607-7777

www.HaSalonVegas.com

www.VenetianLasVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Focaccia style Bread with Onions, Tomatoes, and Grana Padano Recipe

I was reading a recipe for Focaccia and I was very surprised that it had an egg and heavy cream in the dough. This recipe I would have not read but it was by an Italian Chef from Lombardy so I guess it’s for real. I didn’t have heavy cream at home but I did have a French cheese called Fromagerd d Affinois with herbs (basically Brie). I used that in the dough instead of cream and I changed up the flours due to what I had in my pantry. I also changed up the liquids slightly. I also had to figure out the oven temperature and timing. But WOW! It came out FORKING DELICIOUS! Serving size is always difficult to determine because I don’t know if you want a small serving or a large serving. This made 6 small breads……so that means between 6-12 servings depending on if you want a half bread or a whole bread…..so I’ll say 9 servings. That is my guesstimate.

Ingredients for around 9 servings

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon water warmed up to 110 degrees F

1 pack active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon honey

1/4 cup brie cheese or something similar

1 egg – lightly beaten

1 teaspoon course sea salt

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

5 Tablespoons 00 flour

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + more for spraying the dough

4 Tablespoons water

6 pinches flake sea salt

1/4 red onion – sliced extra thin

12 sweet grape tomatoes – sliced thin

3 oz Grana Padano – shredded

3 small pinches rosemary

3 small pinches Italian seasoning (This is what I used…..I tablespoon sea salt, 1 Tablespoon black pepper, 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder, 1/2 Tablespoon onion powder, 1 Tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 crushed small dried Calabrian Chile pepper)

non stick spray

a few pinches of cornmeal or semolina

Directions

Set oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine yeast, 110 degree water, and honey in a large bowl. Mix and wait about ten minutes till you see a foamy surface. Whisk in cheese, egg, and salt. Add flours, water, and olive oil. This mixes together very well. Knead it some and make a ball and put it in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. In around an hour divide the dough into 6 balls. 2 sheet pans get sprayed lightly with non stick spray and then spray the lightly with olive oil and add a light sprinkle of corn meal or semolina. Shape each ball of dough into a flat pancake. Three pancakes will fit on each sheet tray. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap. Let them rise 30-60 minutes.

Spray them with olive oil. Sprinkle them with a light sprinkle of sea salt flakes and rosemary. (Optional….you should make the dimples in the dough….I did but they didn’t stay dimpled)……Add a sprinkle of raw onions slices and tiny sweet tomato slices. Add a sprinkle of Grana Padano. Finish with a LIGHT sprinkle of Italian seasoning and another sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil.

This goes in your preheated 425 degree F oven till slightly browned. Ovens do differ. This took around 25 minutes in my oven on a middle rack. In my old oven I think this only would take around 15 minutes.

Anyway it really did come out FORKING DELICIOUS! (Below is one of the 6 small loaves sliced up)

Took some to a party I went to with my FORKING AMAZING chocolate chip cookies.

Focaccia Style Bread with Onions, Tomatoes, and Grana Padano

I didn’t make chef Mattia Agazzi’s recipe for Focaccia (only because I didn’t have the ingredients) but it inspired me to make what I got here so a Special Thanks!!!! to him!

The Forking Truth

NEW WEirD DiffERNT Limited and Special Edition Foods Out There July 2023

There is always some new, weird, different, limited, or special edition out there in the wonderful world of food. We never know WTFork we’ll find when we shop for food.

Up above is –

NEW – Kellogg’s Cinnamon Sugar Rice Krispies – It’s a morning RICE and Shine flavor….Great cinnamontography on the box!

DIFFERENT and maybe NEW? – General Mills Trix minis……..I think the cereal machine that makes this stuff got clogged and could only squirt out minis……..It sure looks like you are going to poop mini rainbows if you eat them.

LIMITED EDITION – Cap’n Crunch’s Red, White, and Blue star shaped cereal….Ok this one is going to make you blast fart fireworks !

Maybe DIFFERENT? Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch…….When I ate Raisin Bran it was just called Raisin Bran…….but that was a very long time back……….Raisin Bran Crunch must be something different?

More Crunch? Or maybe the factory is just old now and the crunch is actually cockroaches?

DIFFERENT – General Mills – Cheerios Cinnamon Oat Crunch…..Sounds good but I don’t know….(Could be the same OLD factory with roaches now?)

DIFFERENT – General Mills – Trixs Gardens of the Galaxy naturally and artificially flavored corn puffs….. Ok or are they playing Trix on us?

DIFFERENT – General Mills Gardens of the Galaxy Mega Size Lucky Charms….??? OK Mega Size means mega gut and mega Butt! HA!

NEW – Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes naturally and artificially flavored Strawberry Milkshake flavored corn cereal. Berry funny!

DIFFERENT – Cap’n Crunch’s Artificially flavored Berrytastic pancake mix…? How good can that be? Very berry funny!

DIFFERENT – Hostess Crispy Minis Cookies & Creme ……?…..Do you have to wait to be seated to eat them?

DIFFERENT – HERR’S – Fore Roasted Sweet Corn Flavored Popcorn…WOW Popcorn that taste like fire roasted sweet corn! I hope it’s corny!

DIFFERENT – HERR’S – Jalapeño Poppers flavored Cheese Curls – Sounds hot..but might be a chile pepper?

DIFFERENT – HERR’S – Carolina Reaper Flavored Xtra Hot…Cheese Curls…OUCH that might hurt? Is that a crunch with death?

DIFFERENT – Blue Diamond Almonds XTREMES Carolina Reaper HOTTEST Nuts………Not sure if this is actually a smart snack or another crunch with death?

DIFFERENT – Nice Whole Cashews that are Everything Seasoned…..? Do I wrap lox and cream cheese on them? At least they are nice.

DIFFERENT & HOT! – Del Monte Blazing HOT Ghost Pepper Pickle chips…..That sounds too hot to eat? You could use this instead of a baseball bat by your door for protection. Maybe ghost pepper pickle chips make you go BOO hoo?

DIFFERENT – Kraft Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette …..Might be good on ice cream?

DIFFERENT – Odang roasted red pepper Hummus Dressing????? Maybe this really is smooth red shrug sauce? (incase you didn’t know sometimes hummus is topped with a green shrug sauce (spicy green Chile -garlic or it can be red from red chilies but shrug is usually chunky. Or maybe it’s just dressing that didn’t make it for salads?

DIFFERENT – Wildflower Shatta sauce. It’s an Arabic hot chili sauce. Some variations are fermented.

DIFFERENT – Native Forest – Organic Young Red Curry Jackfruit…….You just don’t see that all the time!

DIFFERENT – Tzatziki Triscuit. ???? Not sure if I want tzatziki on my tzatziki Trisket?

DIFFERENT – Real handmade Za’atar flavored Pita Chips…..Need hummus with them!

AND there is usually something Oreo……….

LIMITED EDITION ARTIFICIALLY FLAVORED (Oh yum!) Cotton Candy Oreo Cookies. JEEPERS Those Oreo People are so creative to figure out artificially flavored sugar instead of using real sugar for cotton candy!

Well that was the NEW, Weird, Different, Limited, and Special Edition foods for July 2023. Who knows WTFork we’ll come across next month?

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Little Hong Kong Chinese and Filipino Favorites Restaurant North Las Vegas NV

Little Hong Kong Chinese and Filipino Favorites Restaurant is located in North Las Vegas Nevada. It’s a small casual restaurant with some wait service Filipino Food, American Chinese Food, soft canned beverages, and bottled water. They only have a few tables in this restaurant and I noticed most customers do take out here. This restaurant has an impressive 4.5 star average on Yelp so I thought it would be very good.

This dish is hard to find on menus so we tried vinegar marinated milkfish that is fried crisp with black pepper.

We also tried Mandarin hot braised vegetables to share.

and Szechwan beef. Both dishes are made with nice variety of the same fresh vegetables (bok choy, broccoli, red bell pepper, mini corn, carrot, onion, green pepper) But…….Both the Mandarin vegetables and the Szechwan beef taste exactly the same and are both in a sweet flat sauce that doesn’t even have a hint of heat.

Also the fish and the beef are not cooked properly. Both are dry and chewy. (It’s unusual to be served chewy dry fish). Sadly this is substandard. We also were the only table dining in and weren’t checked on. We even had to ask for the bill.

I don’t know what happened to this restaurant today so I can’t say…………But today sure wasn’t worth a try and certainly WASN’T Worth a Fork!

That was my trip to

Little Hong Kong

445 West Craig Road North Las Vegas NV – 702-643-3601

www.LittleHongKongVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth