Monthly Archives: April 2024

DW Bistro Las Vegas NV – Good but not perfect

DW Bistro might be considered to be a New American Bistro that offers some foods laced with Jamaican flavors and some foods with subdued flavors of New Mexican cuisine and other surprises. They are open for weekend brunch, and also offer a weekday menu. On both menus you can find things like salmon bowls, salads, jerk chicken, vegetable or chicken curry, and New Mexican red Chile pork.

Most of the seating is indoors but they also offer some outdoor seating.

I tried the jerk chicken and waffles.

For me this is a very large serving that I got two meals out of. Fresh grated orange rind was a nice added touch to the chicken. I got a breaded breast and thigh that are moist and lightly seasoned with jerk seasoning. The only down side is that the crust falls off. The waffles are good and the syrup is good.

I did take home a chicken curry meal for the next day.

It’s made with lots of fresh vegetables like two squashes, broccoli, carrots, red onions, and most chicken. I had my choice of rice or couscous and went with couscous that was good. I think most people would like this.

My husband tried the New Mexico red Chile pork with locally made tortillas.

The eggs came out unseasoned and the meal came out cold. My husband got really grumpy. He said the pork was cold all stuck together and wasn’t succulent like it should be. Eventually we were checked on and they tried to make things right with us. Then this plate was removed from the bill and they surprised us with a key lime pie that was tasty.

They also accidentally charged me $5.00 for an iced tea I didn’t get but I didn’t want to complain about it since they gave us the red Chile pork and the dessert for free.

That was my visit to DW Bistro.

Good but not perfect.

DW Bistro – 702-527-5200

9275 W Russell Rd Las Vegas NV

www.DWBistro.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Rang’s Cocina Moderne Las Vegas NV – Still Worth a Fork! PERFECT FOOD & SERVICE – Everything Delicious!

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 haricots
Slow Braised Beef Cheek
Lemon Meringue Tart
Opera Cake

EVERY FORKING THING WAS PERFECT and DELICIOUS!

Rang’s Cocina Moderne – Still Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Rang’s Cocina Moderne

5900 W Charleston Blvd Las Vegas NV

725-214-1188

www.RangsCocina.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Bomba Scalloped Potatoes Recipe

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

2 1/2 ounces parmesan cheese – grated

8 ounces fontina cheese – grated

10 ounces ricotta cheese

3 Tablespoons Bomba Calabrese – preferably Coluccio Brand

1 teaspoon course sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a large baking dish or 1/2 buffet pan with non stick spray.

In your largest bowl mix together the parmesan, fontina, ricotta cheese, Bomba, salt, pepper, and oregano. Then mix in the potato slices.

This mixture goes in your non stick sprayed pan.

You pat it in the best you can in an even layer and then cover it with foil.

The covered pan goes in the middle rack for about 90 minutes.

You can serve it this way or put it back in till it’s as crispy as you like.

I left mine in another hour…

Your oven might differ so timing can differ…….But I thought that this was nice a little crispy.

Enjoy!!!!

The Forking Truth

Recipe Ideal – PESTO POP TARTS!

I came up with a creative idea! Pesto Pop Tarts.

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.

Pesto Pop Tarts

Tasty and easy!

ENJOY!!!!

The Forking Truth

Gorditas El Fogon North Las Vegas NV – Worth a Try! Inexpensive & Tasty!

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.

Their menu is on www.Seemless.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Narong’s Thai Kitchen Las Vegas NV – Very Good unless you order the beef

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.

Narong’s Thai Kitchen – 702-643-3440

4889 E Craig Rd Las Vegas NV

www.NarongsThaiKitchen.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Safta 1964 By Alon Shaya – Las Vegas NV – WORTH A FORK!

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

702-770-5310

www.WynnLasVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Kimchi Carrots made with Red Boat Salt Recipe

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

ENJOY!!!!!!

The Forking Truth

Something Different Pumpkin Pizza

I make pizza and focaccia pretty often and everyone loves them. Today I made something different. PUMPKIN Pizza….to be exact Kobocha Squash Pizza. \

The topping went something like this-

1 roasted kobocha squash – skin, seeds, membranes, removed and the flesh mashed

2 tablespoons butter -mashed into the squash

2 tablespoons honey mixed into the squash

a pinch of iclmi togarashi mixed into the squash (this is very strong make sure you only use a SMALL pinch)

one apple sliced with core removed (maybe slightly less than a quarter inch thick Roasted with 2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons butter for roasting the apple.

pinch ground cinnamon to season the apple

a wedge of Appenzeller Cheese (a Swiss type cheese…looked like 5-6 ounces) cut in 1/4 inch slices

sage leaves

sprinkle olive oil

A little sprinkle of gruyere and parmesan for finishing

sea salt

pepper

Just bake this on to your pizza dough I did mine at 550 F for around 6 minutes but that was on a crust I just baked.

Even my husband said that this was very good.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Pizza
The Forking Truth

Zen Curry Dining – North Las Vegas – Japanese Curry and Ramen – Worth a Try!

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.

Zen Curry Dining – Worth a Try!

225 W. Centennial Pkwy North Las Vegas NV

702-202-4420

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth