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
******UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS****Ramen Aku is a ramen and Japanese style chicken restaurant with two locations in Las Vegas. he North location on North Decatur Road is small but is a full service restaurant with a variety of booths, half booths and counter seating.
They serve canned green tea from Japan here.
We started out by sharing the bulgogi gyoza.
The bulgogi (marinated and grilled Korean Style beef) is in crisp fried dumpling with a soy-like sauce for dipping. Have to say that these are very tasty…….I think anyone would like them.
I tried the chicken ramen in their chicken broth (#2 spicy) with added corn and fresh minced garlic.
The chicken is good…………They also forgot the egg that is suppose come with this…..Now The FORKING Truth is that the chicken broth taste like from a dry mix with extra salt. This is very hard to stomach. This is substandard in my opinion.
My husband tried their Ultimate signature ramen with fried chicken, fried shrimp, and pork belly.
The proteins and the hot sauces are good. This broth isn’t as bad as the chicken broth. This one is a combination of pork broth and the chicken broth. My husband doesn’t know why but he didn’t enjoy his ramen either.
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
Casa Don Juan is a full service Mexican Restaurant in Las Vegas Nevada with three locations. The Main Street location in the Arts District has an out side patio. Inside this location has a Frida Kahlo theme with many pictures of her on their wall. Incase you don’t know Frida Kahlo is considered to be Mexico’s most important artist and is part of Mexico’s culture.
Whatever you order they start you off with complimentary chips, salsa, and bean dip.
To me the chips don’t taste freshly made. The salsa is spicy but taste mostly like oregano. I didn’t try the beans.
I tried a chicken fajita salad (with the jack cheese on the side) that is called ensalada de fajitas here.
Soulbelly BBQ is an artisanal central Texas inspired kind of BBQ restaurant by seasoned chef (James Beard Nominated, Food Network Chopped Champion, and Bravo Top Chef) Bruce Kalman. The Las Vegas Arts District location offers outdoor seating by the smokers.
Indoor seating in the bar and take out area.
And main dining area where the live music happens.
The tables are set up with carriers of sauces that include the house made Jiggly Meat BBQ sauces.
I wanted to try the tri tip pastrami but they were sold out of that today……so I went with Caesar Salad with their BBQ Smoked Turkey.
The turkey is tender, moist, and delicious………The salad taste far different than it looks…….It’s kind of deconstructed……..The black pepper cornbread croutons in there are really amazing and contain some of the flavors of Caesar….It’s different…but all together delicious. But might be even more delicious with a few drops of house BBQ sauce….. The vinegar sauce only a few drops kicks it up a level.
My husband tried the sandwich called, The Belly of The Soul (smoked brisket, fried egg, cheese sauce, pickled onions, spicy BBQ sauce, and crispy BBQ onions).
He said that this was really great. I tried a small bite of the BBQ Brisket and I have to say it was really perfect today.
On a second visit my husband had to have the Belly Of Soul sandwich again but with beans this time. He said it was just as good as from last time.
This time I got to try the tri tip pastrami sandwich – topped with slaw with a side of watermelon-cucumber salad.
It’s pretty good but isn’t cured with nitrates……the special dangerous pink salt that turns the meat pink…… resulting in a different taste. It’s beefier and less corned……..Well it’s healthier than what I’m used to and is pretty good. It seems like you won’t go wrong with the brisket, and the turkey. I want to try the fresh ground in house smoked brisket burger next time.
So we went back.
We started out by sharing their fried macaroni and cheese balls special.
Ummmm! and the pepper puree dipping sauce is unique and delicious too!
This time we both had their amazing smoked ground in house brisket burgers that are finished on the grill. They suggest to get them medium rare so we both did.
My husband got his with extra American Cheese and Soul Belly made Bacon with a side of potato salad.
The burger is really great. For my taste the potato salad is too smooth and has too much mustard in it….I can’t eat it but I do admit that I am sensitive to mustard.
I had my burger without cheese but with with slaw, pickles and special sauce with their cornbread on the side.
WOW! this is a really great burger! Juicy, smoky, flavorful. It really doesn’t need anything else. It is large. I thought it might be 8 ounces but our server said it’s a 7 ounce burger. The cornbread also is very good and really doesn’t need the honey butter since it is so rich, moist and with crunchy ends. It’s not too sweet or too savory. It’s just right!
On another visit we had some repeats that were just as good as before. We also relied the BBQ mushrooms with chimichurri.
They might be the meatiest mushrooms ever….but…they are very strong with the smoke today.
I also noticed that the menu has changed a little bit. The pastrami sandwich and the watermelon salad are no longer on the menu. Also the macaroni and cheese balls are on the menu now.
I have to say Soulbelly BBQ is Worth a Fork!
Worth aFork!
Soulbelly BBQ 1327 S. Main St Las Vegas NV – 702-483-4404
