Esther’s Kitchen is a seasonal Italian Restaurant located in the arts district of downtown Las Vegas Nevada. They use local ingredients as much as possible and make their own sourdough bread, pastas, pizza, and more!
At the original location on 1130 S. Casino Center Blvd (soon to move next door) They offer seating at the bar.
They also have a small patio and a dining area with an open kitchen.
We started out by enjoying their house made delicious sourdough bread with sides of house churned butter, cambozola blue cheese, pecans, and pickled grapes, and cannellini beans with lard, speck, and pistachio oil.
Next we share a seasonal salad called Troy’s Peaches and Tomato Salad.
Besides tomatoes and peaches this contained stracciatella cheese, red mustard, and pickled peach vinaigrette.
For my main I tried the seasonal wild Mediterranean Bronzino with harissa farrotto, caramelized squash, and salsa verde that taste pretty much the same as shrug sauce.
This came adorned with tiny squashes and tiny reduced and peeled sweet heirloom tomatoes and everything was prepared to perfection.
My husband enjoyed the house made Bucatini (Amatriciana & Guanciale, red onion, chili, parsley) with the beef and pork meatballs.
We wanted to try dessert here. I took a chance with the blackberry pavlova….(Somethings I hate them when the crisp meringue taste like egg white to me)
This might be the best one I’ve tried. It’s light as a feather. Not too sweet and it doesn’t have that egg white taste…….I enjoy the pops of sweet basil…….REALLY GREAT but could use a tad more lemon or just a sprinkle of lemon zest…….I would still get again.
I have to say……
Esther’s Kitchen is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
Esther’s Kitchen (Soon to move next door to a larger location)*****UPDATE MOVED NEXT DOOR******
1130 S. Casino Center Blvd Las Vegas NV – 702- 570 – 7864
NEW ADDRESS IS 1131 Main St Las Vegas NV – 702-570-7864
The Great Las Vegas Taco Festival was held at Craig Ranch Park in NORTH LAS VEGAS Nevada October 27-29TH 2023. Besides TACOS there were all kinds of things like a car show, carnival rides, margaritas, eating contests, a chihuahua beauty contest, craft venders and MORE! (If you were there the right day and right time)
We tried ………
An award wining mango habanero taco and a bulgogi beef taco from El Chino.
Both tacos are tasty but the spicy chicken taco is the one to get here….It really developed with lots of delicious flavors.
Next we try
the chicken and rib eye tacos from 911 Tacos & Beer.
Both tacos had ingredients in them that wasn’t in their description on their sign…..But still both are tasty and flavorful with tender fillings.
We also tried El Fuego Tacos.
We tried an asada and a chicken taco. These ran extra salty today. I can’t eat either taco.
Moving on
FINALLY fish tacos
From Ole Manny’s Seafood Shack we tried a shrimp and a fish taco and their hot habanero salsa.
Both are good…..The taco shells are the tastiest so far on these. The fish is fried perfect and seems free of oil….It’s tricky figuring out on how much salsa to use here because the salsa is extra strong but the right amount of drops makes it very good.
Going to fit in one more taco.
We tried a chipotle chicken and a birria taco from Slanging Tacos.
These both have extra tasty shells with lots of flavor to them….These both also are larger tacos with lots of filling…… The chicken taco is very tasty but it’s the tasty sauce and tasty shell that is delicious…..The chicken needs those flavors to be good. The birria is good but you have to buy the consume separately.
That was what we tried at The Great Las Vegas Taco Festival
This is a collection of the most frightful horrifying foods served to us in Las Vegas Nevada in no particular order. OK my claws are out and here it is…….
At Casa Don Jaun downtown besides cold chips that seemed purchased and oregano laced salsa I tried a chicken fajita salad. I got an uninspired warm salad that was topped with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and chicken that was drowning in salty soy sauce. Oh and a glob of guacamole. YUK! It tasted like they used half a bottle of soy sauce to make this.
The chicken ramen was made with good chicken but the broth was below standard. It tasted like some sort of instant broth with added salt. This was absolutely terrible and most of the ramen they offer at this restaurant is made with this too. I had the chicken ramen. Not all but most of the ramen they offer is a combination of pork and chicken broth.
At Victories Cafe in The Cannery besides being served over microwaved rolls that turned hard……I tried the Asian Chicken Salad. The chicken had a weird texture…..It was tender but unusually dry??????But it was the sauce on it that made me gag….It was very sweet…It just didn’t taste good.
The rice was good from Little Hong Kong but everything else was below standard……My husband tried the Szechwan beef that was hard and chewy in a sauce that we didn’t care for….Sadly we tried Mandarin hot braised vegetables and they were in the same exact sauce as the Szechwan beef. Maybe the worst dish we had there was the vinegar marinated milkfish…..I had Caribbean vinegar marinated fish before that was delicious. The fish dish from Little Hong Kong has all dried out and chewy and only tasted like old fish and vinegar…….
Sometimes you get bad food at food festivals.
Recently at the USA Today Wine and Food Festival I tried this piece of beef from Kusa Nori……Somehow they made this saltier than salt….I thought I was going to be sick after tasting it..
Same thing happened at the Great Las Vegas Taco Festival.
I wasn’t able to eat either of these tacos from El Fuego. They were so over salted that to me they weren’t edible.
Back to restaurants
EllaEm’s Soul Food won a Best of Vegas Award so I thought they’d be good. OK maybe it’s my bad for trying the fish…..(not the best) but you can clearly see problems with most of the sides. I had mixed vegetables that look like from frozen that have nothing added to them. In the middle are sweet potatoes that are sweet beyond belief. To the right is macaroni and cheese that is all dried out. My husband also had a very dried out chicken fried steak.
Bob Taylor’s Ranch House might be one of the oldest Steak Houses in Las Vegas. My husband found out that his burger was thrown on the grill from frozen. He asked for medium – rare but he got grey in the center and all dried out. I tried the BBQ chicken salad. They did give me tender chicken but it was covered in a cloyingly sweet bbq sauce and was served over warm soggy iceberg lettuce.
We had a good visit to Secret of Siam Thai Restaurant so I wanted to go back because they offer a lot of different fish dishes on their menu. I tried the green Apple Pompano……The slaw that came with it was delicious……..but……
The fish was horrifying…….It came out like they boiled it in glue. I dug and dug with my fork and it was next to impossible to get flesh to eat….But when I managed to get a small morsel……..ICK!
It’s FORKING gross…..It’s that old fish taste.
That was The Halloween 2023 Special Edition of The FORKING Truth where I shared the most frightful, horrifying foods served to me in Las Vegas NV.
Have something good and don’t go hungry on Halloween.
The USA Today Wine & Food Festival was held Saturday October 28TH in Trivoli Village in the Summerlin part of Las Vegas Nevada. The tickets were general admission and VIP. The VIP tickets got you in one hour early (12:00), a few more tables to sit at and entitled you to more wines to pick from, and two additional tastings.
One tasting was
prosciutto wrapped grapes
and the other was
black Angus filet with squid ink risotto topped with shrimp from Harlo Steakhouse.
Everyone could try the following.
I thought among the best tastes today TWO came from Ichiza……One was an Asian beef dish with rice that was delicious and tender. The other was some sort of layered cracker with two kinds of fish (I think both were tuna) One layer was a fish with a curry sauce. The other was seasoned with rice.
To me the very best bite of the festival came from Anima By Edo.
It was all high quality and unusually delicious together. Wagyu pastrami, torrija, caciocavalla cheese, port balsamic glaze.
One thing was not edible…to me ….and also my husband………
This Angus beef from Kuta Nori almost made me sick from too much salt…….It seemed saltier than straight salt.
There were a few more things that were good or ok.
My husband ate something shrimp from The Crab Corner.
This swai from California Fish Grill wasn’t so good over uninspired rice.
Hussong’s Mexican Cantina made pretty good Margaritas. I didn’t try the Duck appetizers but I heard that they were pretty good.
Goufrais Southern Californian Chocolate taste like thick chocolate frosting to me.
My husband tried a tiny pulled pork slider. He said it was ok. I didn’t catch where it came from but I think it was from Project BBQ.
In The Black Cookie Company made a variety of cookies….With nuts, nut free, and gluten free varieties…….Tried a few that were ok.
Crossroads Kitchen offered plant based meat-like cigars that were tasty and a pastry with onion, almond, and a vegetarian egg.
If you are here at the right time you might catch some demos.
Crazy Pita arrived late. I tried part of a pita with hummus spread on it. They told me that they were preparing meat dishes that will be ready later.
Evel Pizza offered BBQ beef pizza
Soul Foo Young was a no show.
Refrigerator chilled pork sandwiches from Sr Frog. And something crab in the other cups.
Lots of sliced meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers and more at Boar’s Head.
And some of the cheese comes with rind.
That was a little Taste of USA Today Wine & Food 2023 Las Vegas
Public School 702 is a casual full service American Restaurant and Bar that is laced with a little bit of global inspirations type of Restaurant in the Downtown Summerlin Part of Las Vegas Nevada. This restaurant offers lunch, brunch, dinner, and recess ( a cute name for happy hour).
You ride up the escalator to the entrance.
Inside is spacious and is decorated with planets from science class.
There is also lots of books and encyclopedias all around (not pictured). Inside they offer a variety of different seating. They have traditional tables, community tables, and booths. There’s a bar area and an outdoor patio.
We started out by sharing the five onion and cheddar dip with house prepared potato chips.
The chips are shattering crisp and are very good! The dip is very creamy……today it taste more like cream cheese than cheddar cheese……. I also don’t taste five onions in it but it is mildly onion-ee and still tasty.
For my main I tried the bourbon & peach glazed salmon.
Today this one is slightly disappointing because the fish is overcooked and this dish also ran very sweet and lacked a bourbon taste. However the fish sits in a bed of quinoa that is embedded with tomatoes and peaches. I do have to say when I mentioned the overcooked fish to my server they did offer a remake…But I usually refuse re-fires (especially when I can’t look into the kitchen) Because I have worked in restaurants and have witnessed things that I don’t want to speak of that happen in the kitchen when customers send food back.
Anyways- The Shrimp and Grits are better than the salmon.
My husband tries the shrimp & white cheddar grits. This dish is a little different than what you get from other places. (bacon, tomato, corn, kale, in a creamy beer blanc sauce. Also the grits are pre-made and sliced and browned)
He said that the shrimp were cooked nicely.
Not perfect but some things are tasty……..You might do OK here…….
Geisha House is the first Japanese Hibachi Restaurant of Las Vegas Nevada. They offer sushi, sushi rolls, Japanese cuisine Japanese Fusion cuisine, and Teppanyaki.
I noticed that they offer weekend lunch specials so we thought we’d give them a try. One of the specials is called the hibachi lunch special. This one includes a 4 ounce New York Steak, 5 shrimp, 3 ounces of chicken, strawberry rice, vegetables, salad, soup and sauces.
It’s a ton of food for around $25. and it includes a soft beverage.
We also shared the Sushi Lunch Special. This one is one or two sushi rolls and choice of salad. (the prices differ depending on the rolls you pick from around $11-$20)
I picked the salmon and asparagus salad.
It was made with crispy rolls of salmon and tempura asparagus and covered with drizzles of the teppanyaki sauces.
The regular spicy tuna roll was very good.
For our second roll I picked the spicy tuna tempura because it was one of the only rolls that didn’t contain crab mix.
Those are the lunch specials at Geisha House.
Geisha House
6572 N. Decatur Blvd North Las Vegas NV – 702-399-3329
MRKET Sea & Land is a quality steakhouse and seafood restaurant located in the Aliante Casino Hotel in North Las Vegas Nevada. They have a lounge and bar.
But it’s in the main dining areas where you can try a couple’s special.
Every month the couple’s special changes. We hit them when they were offering the chateaubriand (filet of tenderloin) with salad, two side dishes and dessert for $125. subject to change)
First we were greeted with a bread basket with a sourdough loaf of bread, some baked pretzels and some pink salted butter.
The next course were Caesar salads…..
Next was the main event.
We got chateaubriand with an herbed sauce, grilled asparagus, and macaroni and cheese. To my surprise everything was delicious.
The filet tenderloin was also a very generous portion (20 ounces before cooking) so we had leftovers for another meal.
This even came with a choice of dessert. We went for the special dessert. It was a mixed fruit chocolate tart with banana ice cream.
I have to say-
MRKT Sea & Land’s Couple’s Special is Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
MRKT Sea & Land Restaurant at Aliante Hotel Casino
Bun Bun Chicken is a casual order at the counter type restaurant in Las Vegas Nevada on the north end. Most likely you will order something chicken here and it will probably be messy but very tasty.
This restaurant specializes in serving breaded chicken breasts that they call fingers but are bigger than fingers in very messy but extra flavorful sandwiches, salads, and more. A few of the appetizers they offer are cajun fried corn, buffalo cauliflower with feta cheese, and brussels sprouts. They also offer wings, 16 varieties of chicken sandwiches. One sandwich is vegetarian cauliflower and the other is a burger. All of them come mild, regular or hot and come with fries and a drink. They offer what they call chef’s specials……that are entree salads, deluxe French fry plates, a nacho plate, waffle plates, a kids menu, soft beverages, desserts, and MORE!
Recently the ownership changed and the new owners added MEXICAN FOOD.
We started out by sharing a small order of macaroni and cheese.
It’s not so small. I’m surprised that the pasta has some bite to it. The cheese sauce taste like it actually has real cheese in it….This is very seasoned and is slightly smoky.
On a second visit we tried the buffalo cauliflower with feta cheese.
It’s fried nicely and doesn’t seem oily at all. It’s tasty. My husband loves it. I like it but the buffalo sauce is very sharp to me (but I am very sensitive). Most people will love this.
On a Third visit we tried the Brussels sprouts. They are fried with garlic and parmesan cheese….tasty.
For my main I tried the Ace of Salads (breaded chicken, romaine, tomatoes, pickles, corn, onions, shredded cheese, crispy onions, sauce) in regular heat.
I taste one piece of chicken first…..I thought it was tasty but mild…I thought mild but all of a sudden I’m getting this building heat….and it stays hot……..I think the heat is from the sauce that is sprinkled …….also THIS ISN’T A LIGHT SALAD…but it is tasty and packed with flavors. The lettuce is surprisingly extra crispy too. This salad is extra generous in size and depending on your appetite you might only be able to eat half.
Under the NEW OWNERSHIP the Ace of Salads was different this time.
The chicken is still good but they forgot whatever made this salad spicy…Oh Well
If you can’t take heat and all those textures maybe the bun bun salad (chicken, romaine, tomato, onion, pickles, and sauce) is for you?
I accidentally ordered the regular chicken thinking that was the medium spicy since my last salad seemed so spicy to me….Turns out that regular is no heat at all and is milder than mild…Oh well live and learn. It’s tasty but the Ace of salads had a lot more going on with it and a delicious hot sauce on it.
I had to finally try a sandwich and went with what they call – Guac Bun (2 fingers, avocado, tomato, grilled onions, jalapeños, and sauce) in “hot”
It’s massive…I have to cut it in half.
I have to say that this chicken is really delicious and moist……At first I thought it was too hot but latter figured out that the jalapeños were SCORCHING HOT and the sandwich was actually quite delicious but messy after removing the hottest jalapeños ever.
My husband tried the Sunny Bun in “HOT”(chicken sandwich with cheese, sauce, sunny side up egg, and pickles and requested sauces on the side ((a ranch style sauce and bun bun sauce like special sauce).
The bun is lightly toasted and the well seasoned egg is fried nicely. You can’t see it in this picture but there is a LOT of cheese sauce on this sandwich.
You can’t pick this up so you have to use a knife and fork. I tried a small piece of chicken without any sauce……It is hot. Hotter than the regular but if you eat it in the sandwich…..According to my husband it is far less hot and just tasty. The fries are also very well seasoned.
On another visit I don’t remember what sandwich my husband asked for but we think they gave us a buffalo chicken sandwich without the buffalo sauce (chicken, bacon, crispy onions, pickles, cheese sauce, bun bun sauce (on side at request), and ranch sauce (on side at request) in spicy hot.
Whatever it was my husband was very happy with it. He wants to go to Bun Bun Chicken regularly. The fries were hot and fresh and seasoned nicely.
He got this Buffalo sandwich with the NEW OWNERSHIP.
When my husband complained they latter brought him the fried onions, cheese sauce and bacon…….
On another visit my husband tried the MONSTER BUN (2 fingers, mac & cheese, jalapeño poppers, pickles and sauce. He enjoyed it!
We also tried two tacos.
Fish Taco
Chicken Taco
Both tacos come double shelled on white corn tortillas. We both thought the fish taco had more flavor than the chicken taco. The chicken was moist but didn’t seem seasoned. The salsa seemed good.
That was a little taste of Bun Bun Chicken – Worth a Try!
Still a bunch of stuff we haven’t tried yet.
On all the visits the chicken was moist, tasty, juicy, and very good.
Vegas Unstripped is about 30 of Las Vegas’s most acclaimed and creative chefs. This is an “OFF THE STRIP EVENT” downtown in the Arts District on California Street Between Ester’s Kitchen and Garagiste Saturday October 14 2023 7pm – 10. Tickets were $150., They include unlimited tastes and also include cocktails, and are non profit.
www.VegasUnstripped.com listed the chefs that are expected.
Nearly all the foods that we’ve tried was next level FORKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! There was more food and drink than I could do but all but one thing I tried was over the top amazing! Also not all of my photos came out but here are most.
frogs legs
Asian style chicken
Tuna pasta adorned with burnt kimchi aioli
guacamole and salsa macha tostada – YUM!
tuna tostada – YUM!!!
Really complex flavors from this chicken wrap
vegetarian African food – delicious
That Korean fried chicken really just melted in your mouth. The hamachi was also delicious.
I didn’t try this one but my husband said that this was very VERY VERY Good!
I have to say that this was the very best barbacoa I’ve ever tried.
Amazing flavors here.
LOOK at the way they melt that incredible cheese on their amazing bread.
I was looking forward to this..because this is from a Bravo Top Chef….but passed because the short rib was rabbit. My husband did try it and said the flavors were very interesting.
Very good food from another Bravo Top Chef.
We both thought that the potato was super amazing!
Those Guys Pies is a pizza and cheesesteak restaurant with a location in North Las Vegas Nevada. If they seem familiar then maybe you caught them featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fire. Those Guys Pies is one of the few dog friendly restaurants in North Las Vegas Nevada and the they were open and set up for us unlike another restaurant we were thinking about trying……. Those Guys Pies also might be the only restaurant with a Craft Dog Biscuit Vending Machine too!
So today my dogs got to try Sniff Pistols Craft Beef Dog Biscuits.
Both dogs enjoy the beef dog biscuits.
I didn’t give the dogs any of the diablo fries because they are FORKING HOT!!!!! I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone because they are TOO HOT for anyone to enjoy. I’m surprised that they make them that hot.
Everything else was good.
I had a house salad with grilled chicken.
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken from my salad.
The dogs also got to enjoy some sausage from my husband’s sausage sandwich.
That was Dining Out With DOGS at Those Guys Pies. We Hope you’ve enjoyed!
Those Guys Pies
5585 Simmons Street North Las Vegas Nevada – 725-251-5826
www.ThoseGuysPies.com
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
