Esther’s Kitchen is a locally sourced Italian Cuisine Restaurant located in downtown Las Vegas Nevada in the Arts District. They made their own sourdough, breads, pastas, pizzas, and more. This restaurant recently moved from a smaller location next door. The restaurant is named after the chef’s aunt.
WOW! It’s at least triple the size of the old Esther’s.
Past the hostess desk are dining tables and a large bar with more tables. To the left of the hostess desk is part of the open kitchen where I can see they are making pasta.
This is the dining area and open kitchen by the entrance. You can’t see it in my photo but there is a smaller dining area to the left of this area. Wow it is really loud in here…not music either…just a lot of people in conversation.
We started out by sharing a smoked ocean trout toast.
The made-in-house toasted sourdough is very good and so is the creamy thick cream cheese. Silky fresh smoked Ocean Trout, sweet heirloom tomatoes, onion, and fresh herbs complete the toast.
I tried the Cauliflower Alla Romana because it sounded interesting and not too heavy (anchovy, chili, garlic, fried capers, parsley).
It’s different……..The cauliflower has a starchy coating but the cauliflower is almost raw. The pieces on the top are just hard and starchy. The bottom pieces have a lot of anchovy and maybe capers and some are too salty. This is far more filling than it looks. I brought a bunch home.
My husband ordered one of the dishes that they do best……They called it rigatoni (house. made) Carbonara (egg yolk, house made guanciale & peas….((not sure if it had peas in it?)))
Well whatever this pasta is my husband said that it was very good.
Petite Kitchen was a small French Cafe located on the restaurant row (Craig Road) of North Las Vegas Nevada.
They offered a nice variety of French Style dishes, fusion dishes and a lot of delicious desserts.
It was really small or Petite inside. They only had two tables and a small bar counter by the window.
June 1st 2024 We tried to dine at Petite Kitchen again only to find that the door was locked. Lights were out. The wall menu, tables, and counter things were removed. And a large trashcan was in the middle of the floor.
Besides the friendly faces we also miss the foods we enjoyed at Petite Kitchen.
Croque Madame
Tuna Baguette (This was better than the tuna baguette named best sandwich in the state by Food & Wine Magazine)
chocolate and raspberry beignets
Tuna & Rice protein bowl
Ham & Cheese Baguette (my husband said that this contained the best brie cheese he has ever tasted anywhere)
This was my favorite dessert there – The crepe with pears, chocolate, and cream
Big Dog’s Draft House is a 24/7 neighborhood pub & casino & more in North/West Las Vegas Nevada. The building is barn shaped and inside is a Midwest sort of theme. The specialties of the house are award wining home crafted micro brews with over 50 on tap. Food specialties include cheese curds and bratwurst. A few of the other things that you can find here are a dog friendly patio and slot machines.
Here’s the patio.
When you enter there is a large bar to the left.
To the right is a main dining area with high top bar tables and traditional family friendly tables.
Behind this main dining area there is a small room with some video games.
I’m not a beer person but I tried a Blood Orange Gose.
It’s fruit forward but not sweet. I don’t taste the hops so it’s good for me. My husband tried a brew that taste like coffee to me.
My husband started out with a tasty cup of Wisconsin beer soup.
I tried the Friday-Saturday Walleye Dinner Special. It comes cornmeal breaded, garlic herb broiled, or pecan crusted with two sides. I picked garlic herb broiled with todays vegetable (squash) and cheesy potato cakes.
The vegetables medley is very good but the rest I wouldn’t recommend…..Don’t take this the wrong way…..Everything is edible but it just isn’t good (low quality slightly over cooked fish ((it’s not meaty and sweet like the way Walleye normally is…)), bland tarter sauce, mushy potato cakes). I would come back but I wouldn’t get this again.
My husband tried the Bratzel (cheeseburger, smoked brat, bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried onion, pretzel bun).
Parts of it were very good! The brat, onion rings, and horseradish mustard were very good and delicious. Burger was slightly over done and the bacon and pretzel roll were served refrigerated cold.
Maybe service is usually better but tonight our waiter was too busy to check on us. Someone that might have been a manager asked how things were as my husband was finishing.
Shawarma Vegas is a casual Glatt Kosher Mediterranean order at the counter or take type restaurant with two locations in Las Vegas (Summerlin & near Strip). The Summerlin location has a few outside tables and a few tables inside.
They offer stuffed pitas, laffa wraps, baguette sandwiches, platters, and plenty of side dishes……YOU SHOULD GET THE PLATE HERE.
The plate is one, two, or three proteins….and comes with TONS OF SIDES!
We shared two – two protein platters and everything was amazing!
This starter plates came out first (and tahini sauce and spicy green shrug sauce came out right afterwards)
Hot fluffy pita bread, pickles, cabbage salad, baba ganoush, not sure but I think the red stuff might be muhammara (spicy red pepper walnut dip ….but this one had a lot of tomatoes in it so I’m not sure), and this creamy hummus with the best caramelized onions ever.
Then we get another plate.
Here are a few different slaws, pickled onions, and Israeli salad.
The mains are next with another hot fluffy pita bread.
Above is the shawarma and kabob with fries.
OMG! The shawarma here is turkey and it’s amazing…….It’s the best shawarma that I have ever tried anywhere. It’s very developed with flavor and just melts in the mouth…..
OMG AGAIN – the beef kabob…….not what I was exspecting but also amazing…….It’s more like the most amazing meatball ever…….It’s like a sponge of juice. It’s really great!
We also shared the pargiot (Israeli marinated grilled chicken thigh and falafel plate with sweet potato fries.
The sweet potato fries are fried nicely and aren’t soggy. The falafels have crispy exteriors and are moist and herby inside.
OMG again! The chicken is amazing! Really tender, flavorful, and juicy….This is really great chicken!
I thought pricing was very reasonable for Kosher….Each platter was $28.99 and came with so many sides. We had enough leftovers to get a second meals out of this.
In case you don’t know Kosher Meats on average cost three times the price of non-kosher meats so considering that these meals were very reasonable.
The Millside Tavern is located in North Las Vegas. They offer 24/7 gaming, 24 beers on tap, all day breakfast, happy hour, taco Tuesday, and a full mostly American food menu.
.On one side are high top tables and pool tables. There is a door to a patio but the patio doesn’t have tables yet.
To the other side are more tables and a bar.
And somewhere in the middle is a troll collection.
Happy Hour is very reasonable and 4-7 daily.
Tried chicken pot stickers and a glass of house wine.
The pot stickers are steamed and fried on one side like they should be.
These aren’t very flavorful potstickers and the dipping sauce is unappealing. It taste like a 5 year old mixed up an odd concoction.
For dinner I tried the fish and chips.
The fish is fried to perfection. The fish is nice, mild, and seems fresh. The crust is nice and thin and shattering crisp. Tartar sauce can pass as bland ranch dressing. The fries are ok but only Luke warm. BUT THE VEGETABLE SALAD IS UNPALATABLE…..It’s a mix of all kinds of things that don’t go together.You’d have to pay me LOTS OF MONEY to taste it again so I can tell you more about it.
My husband tried the bacon wrapped meatloaf with tater tots and vegetable. (we were told that it is a beef meatloaf)
My husband said that the meatloaf was ok but the broccoli was plain and unseasoned.
Riva’s Mexican Grill is a fast growing local chain of Mexican Restaurants with around 20 locations in Nevada and they’ve spread out to California, Arizona, and Utah. There are THREE Riva’s locations in North Las Vegas. We went to the 6885 N. Aliante Pkwy location because that might be the only North Las Vegas location with a community patio. This is a casual Mexican Restaurant. You order and pay at the counter or order and pay on-line.
They offer most of your usual Mexican favorites. Some of the offerings are combo plates, soups, salads, fajitas, burritos, tortas, tacos, quesadillas, chile rellenos, fries plates, nachos, Mexican beverages, and water.
We sat on the community patio that this strip mall offers right in front of Riva’s.
My dog looks happy to me here.
I tried a chicken, steak, and a fish taco (so did my dogs).
The soft tacos are double shelled with thicker tortillas so I removed one tortilla from each and they still held together. They are all very mildly flavored tacos. The chicken and steak come with guacamole. The fish taco comes with ranch dressing but was left off at my request. They do give you grilled citrus, a spicy hot pepper, and two salsas for enhancement.
My husband tried a shrimp and a carnitas taco and a Riva’s Burrito.
He said like 10X that the carnitas was really very GOOD! So I reckon that the carnitas is very good!
We also shared a chile relleno. Now this was very good and really cheesy.
We liked some things here better than other things but feel that Riva’s Mexican Grill is Worth a Try!
Tokyo Cafe is a small casual order-at-the-counter ramen & curry restaurant located in North Las Vegas Nevada. Some of the other offerings are appetizers like octopus balls, edamame, and gyoza. They also offer soups, salads, fried rice dishes, and teriyaki. Soft beverages and boba are also available.
The chicken katsu curry is a double serving of chicken breast (in TWO layers) over maybe FOUR servings of steamed white rice with a small garnish of ginger dressed lettuce and a cup of mild or spicy curry on the side.
The tonkatsu ramen is adorned with three half jammy eggs, noodles, pork belly, mushrooms, and more.
The noodles aren’t the chewiest but the rest is pretty good.
Mi Carboncito Peruvian Food is located in Las Vegas Nevada. This isn’t a fancy place but it seems clean and soft beverages are offered here.
I ordered the #27 Pescado Sudado (steamed fish) but they served me the #26 Filete De Pescado (fried fish). I didn’t feel like saying anything so I just accepted it.
It’s a generous portion of mild white flesh fish that is fried nice and light with a thin coating that seems free of oil. Under the fish is a slice of ripe tomato and some onion salsa. There is also a serving of sticky white rice. We were also given two sauces. One was a creamy mild almost pink sauce and the other was a spicy cilantro sauce. Both sauces were tasty with the fish.
My husband tried the Picante Camarones.
He said that the sauce was spicy and delicious and the shrimp were prepared nicely.
Mi Carboncito Peruvian Food is Worth a try!
6679 Smoke Ranch Rd – 702-268-8907
I have not found a website for Mi Carboncito Peruvian Food but they can be be found on Facebook and their menu is on Zmenu.com
The Promenade Food Court is located in Fontainebleau Casino/Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
My first taste came from El Bagel. At the time of this writing this restaurant has an impressive 5 star rating on Yelp. They offer breakfast and regular bagel sandwiches. They also offer sides of matzah balls.
While I was waiting for our order I spotted Chef Aaron May eating a matzah ball from El Bagel but when I got ready to snap his picture he got up to leave (that is him on the right).
The better of the two bagel sandwiches was the Pastrami Classico (18 hour smoked pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, thousand island dressing) on a plain bagel because they ran out of most of their bagels by 11:00.
It’s tender and seems fresh. To us it is smokey but isn’t flavored so much like pastrami….It’s like if you wanted pastrami but with less flavors…..
We also shared a Lox Supreme -Open Faced (cold smoked Nova Lox, plain cream cheese, tomato, cucumber, pickled onions, capers, and a very small amount of fresh dill). On a plain bagel because they were out of sesame, everything, and poppy bagels. They only had plain and salt by 11:00.
The best part of this sandwich are the most flavorful freshest cucumbers that I have tasted in a very long time. These are the best cucumbers ever……The rest is ok…..Not the best bagel…….
Not the best cream cheese….It seems like it was watered down……..
The lox has a nice texture but taste ever so slightly fishy…….
Really don’t like the pickled onions…….because they taste more like candied onions…..Maybe they spoil the balance of flavors and maybe the sweet pickled onions make the lox taste off?
El Bagel – 702-678-9000
Fontainebleau Las Vegas 2777 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
www.FontainebleauLasVegas.com
Moving on……
Next to El Bagel is Capons.
They offer Chef Capon’s custom beef blend burgers and chicken sandwiches on house made potato buns. They also offer chicken tenders, fries, onion rings, house made gelato, and soft serve ice cream.
We shared one of the chicken sandwiches called The Firebird (hot honey glaze, sriracha aioli, spice rub, bread and butter pickles on the house made potato roll.
It’s an ugly duckling (or an ugly capon?) BUT IT’S FORKING DELICIOUS!
It rocks with all kinds of delicious flavors and textures…….Sweet, Tangy, Spicy, Crunch, Juicy, Tasty, Delicious !!!!!
The pickles are BOMB diggity GREAT!!!!! WOW I wish they sold them separably. They have so much going on with them…They can make anything taste great…I wonder how I can make pickles like this? The chicken is marvelously juicy and flavorful with a shattering crisp exterior that Is coated in deliciousness and is embellished with a zingy sriracha aioli…. YUM
THIS IS A FORKING GREAT CHICKEN SANDWICH!
We tried a few scoops of the house made gelato.
The single scoops here are double the size of most places.
Both flavors here are amazing and are top notch.
We tried chocolate peanut butter chunk and pistachio.
They really are as good as can be…..The Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk was made with quality tasting chocolate and DOES TASTE like chocolate but you also get pops of peanut butter cups….It’s just great together. The Pistachio really does taste like pistachio…..and has lots of real toasted pistachios in it……There is a possibility that this might be the best gelato in Las Vegas.
I will add that they are so creamy and rich that I would have guessed them to be ice cream.
Capons was a really great stop.
Capons – 833-702-7070
Fontainebleau Las Vegas 2777 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
www.FontainebleauLasVegas.com
We also got to try Bar Ito. It’s a quality hand roll and sushi bowl stand. The menu is very limited and you can order either 3 rolls, 5 rolls, miso soup, or select one of the few bowls.
We tried three rolls (spicy tuna roll, toro roll, and a salmon roll).
They came in this amazing box with very nice chopsticks.
It’s so pretty (and so wasteful)
You need to read directions on how to unravel the sushi.
It’s very good sushi……and they also fill the sushi with a generous amount of fish…..It is very good….But I feel guilty wasting the magnificent box when I’m done.
Bar Ito – 702-678-9000
Fontainebleau 2777 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
www.FontainebleauLasVegas.com
Roadside Taco from L.A. California has a stand in the food court that we tried.
We shared a mushroom taco and a hot chicken taco. I also noticed that they make margaritas here but it was early so I passed on margaritas.
After the mushroom taco for some odd reason the hot chicken taco is very bland.
The chicken is moist and the breading fell off of some of the chicken. It taste like they forgot to season the chicken……The slaw and chipotle aioli taste kinda more like mayonnaise and lack a chipotle taste……The mushroom taco was far more flavorful and also far more spicy than the hot chicken taco……
Roadside Taco – 702-678-9000
Fontainebleau Las Vegas 2777 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV
www.FountainebleauLasVegas,com
That was a Taste of Promenade Food Court at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Pizza Baby’s origional location is on Craig Road in North Las Vegas Nevada. This is a neighborhood type pizza restaurant. That means you go to it if you happen to be in the neighborhood. They offer 2 sizes of pizzas (large and xtra large) made with 72 hour fermented dough. They also offer salads, cheesy sticks, fried pepperoni Bambino pockets, fries, chicken tenders, chicken wings, kid’s meals, and Blue Bell Ice Cream. Soft beverages are served here.
Looks like a pizza place inside.
You order and pay at the counter and seat yourself.
we started out by sharing an entree sized “Baby Loves” salad.
It’s bigger than I expected it to be. t’s different than the description. They gave us apples instead of strawberries and blue cheese..Without mentioning the substitution………………Anyways…….. This salad also has blueberries and candied pecans in it….It’s pretty good anyway. We both had small salads out of this and there is plenty left.
Here comes the Margherita pizza.
They put lots of fresh basil on it. The crust is light and not too heavy or dense. The sauce is very thick and rich. Cheese is decent…Not bad.
From what I tried so far it seems like a decent neighborhood pizza restaurant.
