Tag Archives: #LasVegasEats

Maybe I hit them on a bad day?

I only read positive things about EllaEm’s Soul Food in North Las Vegas Nevada so I thought I’d give them a try. They won a “BEST OF VEGAS” by the Las Vegas Review journal and have mostly very positive reviews on Yelp. On purpose I didn’t use the restaurant name in the title of this posting because it not my intention to bring anything negative to this restaurant. My only mission is to tell……The FORKING Truth.

Everyone was welcoming and friendly when we walked in. Eventually we ordered and they started us off with a warmed up cornbread muffin with soft butter.

The cornbread muffin was very good. Moist but slightly sweet with a good corn flavor to it.

Then the meals come.

I got the grilled red snapper. Today it was a bit fishy tasting and maybe was the best part of the plate. The mixed vegetables seem like from frozen and are laced with water and nothing else. In the middle are sweet potatoes that have a texture like mush and are sweeter than any dessert out there. I have no idea on how they were able to make them sweeter than sugar. The macaroni and cheese might have been good at one time. Today it’s over done and dried up.

The country fried steak was also over done and dried up. My husband said that this isn’t the best……

Maybe they were having a bad day? ……That made my day bad too!

On the other hand it was nice that they let a lady bring in her dog in a stroller.

Awwww the dog owner and dogs are so cute together. She obviously loves her dog very much.

As much as I enjoyed the service, cornbread, and the heart melting dog moment in dining room……

For my taste I don’t expect to be going back anytime soon.

Even if I just hit them on a bad day.

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Pho Mai Mai North Las Vegas NV

Pho Mai Mail Is a Vietnamese Restaurant located in North Las Vegas Nevada. They offer most of the usual Vietnamese foods like banh mi baguette sandwiches, rice plates, noodle bowls also called bun, stir fry and more.

It’s casual with some wait service inside.

We tried an appetizer called chicken egg rolls, and we also ordered iced tea, a rare steak tendon and meatball pho, and a grilled chicken vermicelli bowl.

The first plate out is the pho.

I didn’t try it but was told that it was reasonably good.

Next the chicken egg rolls come out with fish sauce.

These are kinda bland but fried nice………

Next my grilled chicken vermicelli bowl comes out….(I guess I’m not getting the iced tea……)

I used to get this plate often at another Vietnamese restaurant. At the other Vietnamese restaurant the fish sauce was a tasty dip to the chicken……The fish sauce at Pho Mai Mai is very fishy tasting and I can’t use it. The chicken at Pho Mai Mai is developed with flavors but also is a little dried out and chewy. It is flavored different and has a smoke flavor that I’m not used to. Also no pickled vegetables here, no cilantro, no crispy shallots….To me this seems like a more stripped down version than what I was used to.

That was my trip to Pho Mai Mai in North Las Vegas NV.

2520 E. Craig Rd North Las Vegas NV – 702-916-0929

I haven’t found any sort of webpage for Pho Mai Mai.

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

A.Mano Pizza & Italian Cuisine Las Vegas NV – Fatbaby’s, Pizza Pie-Zoni, & Crazy Knots OH MY

A.Mano is a very unique novelty American Style Pizzeria and Restaurant located in Las Vegas Nevada. They offer the usual appetizers pizzas, pastas, salads, subs and more……But they also offer these things called, “FATBABY’s” that are hollowed out loaves of bread sticking straight up in the air filled with your choice of pasta that is topped with a generous amount of cheese. They also offer, “PIZZA PIE-ZONI (1/2 pizza & 1/2 calzone) and PASTA -PIE-ZONI (1/2 pizza and 1/2 pasta in a calzone). They even have CRAZY KNOTS that are different. The knots come in flavors like chicken Alfredo, bolognese and cheese, and mushroom truffle and cheese. Soft beverages are served here.

This is a very small restaurant with only around seven tables inside.

They have cheese related signs all over the walls here.

We decided to try a small plain pizza and a lasagna fat baby.

Here’s the pizza.

The pizza is actually very good. It has a delicious thin crust with a crispy bottom. The sauce is a rich tomato sauce. The cheese is very thick but easy to eat. The pizza is also nicely seasoned and is embellished with fresh basil.

Here’s the lasagna fat baby.

Lasagna Fat Baby

It’s a BREAD-ZILLA!

It’s a loaf of bread that is embedded with a cheese lasagna and is topped with a melted cheese tomato sauce. It’s tasty. Not a lot of lasagna in here. It’s mostly bread. Something different. It’s something funny to try.

That was my trip to A.Mano Pizza & Italian Cuisine.

A.Mano Pizza & Italian Cuisine

5601 N Tenaya Way Las Vegas NV – 702-464-5090

www.AmanoLasVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The Pepper Club Las Vegas NV – Worth A Fork!

The Pepper Club is an artsy kind of restaurant and sushi bar by James Beard award wining chef Todd English. This restaurant is located in the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas Nevada.

Chef Todd English – April 2021 – Big Boy Cook Club Cookout at Ocotillo PHX AZ

According to the Pepper Club’s Website they call themselves an Asian Ocean Fusion Sushi Bar and Upscale Beverage kind of restaurant.

This restaurant has an outdoor patio lined with dog bowls. Indoors is a large bar area, some traditional tables and mostly smaller bar tables.

We tried two amazing appetizers. Today (lucky us) they had a $5. special on salmon collars with ponzu sauce.

WOW! This was fresh as can be and prepared to perfection. It just melts in your mouth.

We also tried some sushi. Tried the yuzu hama (yellowtail and yuzu kasha ((Asian condiment of yuzu citrus, garlic & pepper)) )

Unique and delicious! Even the rice is nicely seasoned just so.

For my main I tried the JFC Sandwich (Japanese fried chicken thigh, citrus slaw, really amazing pickle chips, spicy JFC sauce, and truffle fries.

I never had chicken like this before. It’s crispy but is so tender and moist that I can break it up with just my fork. GOSH it’s FORKING Delicious! All the flavors together are delicious. The pickles cut threw and make it pop! The bun is tasty and toasted nice but I need to skip most of it and the fries so I have room to try dessert. The fries today seem kinda average so I’m good skipping most of them. The fries also seem to lack a truffle flavor today…But the chicken sandwich is amazing. It’s hard to see but they also branded the bun.

It reads the Pepper Club by Todd English.

My husband tried the Aztec Turkey Combo (Turkey, Gruyere cheese, baby arugula, Vermont cheddar, and tomato soup)

The tomato soup is rich delicious and also laced with cheese. My husband said that this was the best turkey sandwich that he has ever eaten. The turkey is great, lots of quality cheeses, artisan breads. It’s just the best!

The signature dessert is a French toast ube (Japanese sweet potato) with fruit dessert. I saw them and they look beautiful but are also humungous so I went for the Ube churro.

It came with a little ice cream and was a just right sweet ending.

The Pepper Club is –

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

The Pepper Club

921 S Main St Las Vegas NV – 725-228-2393

www.ThePepperClub.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to China Star Las Vegas NV

China Star is an all-you-can-eat and take out American/Chinese restaurant located in Las Vegas Nevada.

It’s not a fancy place and doesn’t serve upscale food but for what you it’s ok! (not positive but the regular price is low…something like $12…… I came on a holiday so prices were slightly more.)

One word of warning. They did have some of the food labeled but everything seemed inaccurate so you had to figure out what the food was yourself. That is part of the joy of buffets. It’s always a surprise.

Today they actually served the best strawberries that I’ve had in a long time.

I kept going back for strawberries.

A few of the offerings were-

Shellfish and garlic bread.

shrimp and fish dishes

pizza, dumplings and lo mein

beef, chicken, and pork stir fried dishes

sushi, edamame, seaweed salad and more. There also was a soft serve machine.

I didn’t take the fried shrimp but my husband said that they were pretty good today and the cocktail sauce was more flavorful than expected.

They offered two kinds of whitefish today and salmon. I didn’t try the salmon because you never get good salmon on a buffet but did try both whitefish. The one whitefish in the middle of the plate was actually very good. It was seasoned nice and not over cooked. The even milder whitefish (something like swai) to the right was cooked perfect but lacked seasoning. I added Mexican hot sauce to it and it was better. The vegetables were good. Chicken wing looked good. Had a good flavor but also had a spongy unappetizing texture. Went back and tried the teriyaki and that was pretty good.

Made a desert bomb!

Strawberries, vanilla soft serve, coconut pudding, and a doughnut.

It’s ok for what you pay.

China Star

4595 W Charleston Blvd Las Vegas NV – 702-870-1888

www.ChinaStarLas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Beef BRAINS, Beef EYES, & Beef GUTS OH MY – Tacos El Gordo North Las Vegas NV

Tacos El Gordo is a family owned Mexican Restaurant with three locations in California and four locations in Las Vegas NV. The North Las Vegas location is extra casual. Most of the seating is inside but they do have a few tables outside for when the weather is nice.

On the menu they offer around a variety of beef fillings such as (carne asada, suadero-brisket, cabeza- head meat, lengua-tongue, tripa-guts, Azteca-grilled beef and cactus, masiza, ojos-beef eyes, sesos- brain) or pork (adobada-spiced, bouche-stomach, chorizo-spiced beef & pork, boche-maw stomach), for your tacos, mulas, tostadas, sopes, vampiros or quesadillas.

Ordering at the North Las Vegas location is slightly awkward.

Oh my what to get and where do I go?

When you take a closer look you can see that they have certain meats at the four stations. You might need to go to all four stations depending on what you are ordering.

You move down the line like you are at a cafeteria.

You can get some complimentary fried onions and jalapeño here.

Next you get your beverage, pay, and seat yourself.

cabeza and chorizo tacos

carne asada taco

If you eat beef or pork Tacos El Gordo is Worth a Try!

Tacos El Gordo 3260 Losee Rd North Las Vegas NV – 1-702-641-8228

www.TacosElGordoBC.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Lotus Of Siam Red Rock Restaurant Las Vegas NV

Lotus of Siam is a James Beard Award Wining Northern Thai Restaurant with a James Beard Award Wining Chef Saipin. Lotus of Siam has three locations in Las Vegas Nevada.

The Red Rock Casino location is very opulent and lavish with hanging lanterns, bamboo and lots of foliage.

just past hostess stand and part of bar area

Bar area

Dining room with open roof

We decided to try an appetizer of chicken wontons.

They are crisp with a small piece of plain chicken in them. They were served with a sweet sauce.

The last Thai dish that I was crazy about was pad prik king so I tried it here with salmon.

It looks similar but taste completely different. I don’t know what to think…I know the base of this dish is red curry so that means the formula here is very different………But the salmon was nicely grilled with char marks and is very moist and flakes.

My husband tried the drunken noodles with duck.

The duck is good but this also taste very different and much milder with flavors than we are used too. I do need to mention that the duck was prepared especially well.

That was my trip to Lotus of Siam Red Rock Restaurant Las Vegas NV

620 East Flamingo Rd Las Vegas NV – 702-735-3033

www.LotusRedRock.com

www.RedRockResort.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

SNS Diner & BBQ North Las Vegas NV – Worth a Try!

SNS Diner & BBQ is located in North Las Vegas Nevada. This restaurant is also known as Southern Nevada Smokehouse. They offer breakfast, and a lunch/dinner menu of comfort foods, daily special and bbq. This unique restaurant offers traditional seating, bar seating, an outdoor patio, counter seating, and a drive thru. Maybe if they seem familiar you might have seen them on Food Network’s Diners-Drive-Inns and Dives.

We started off with corn bread and honey butter.

The cornbread is moist and not too sweet. It also has a nice corn flavor to it.

They had a smoked pastrami sandwich on the menu so I gave it a try.

The smoked pastrami has a nice texture. Not too much fat but just enough. It’s nicely seasoned on toasted marble rye. There is also a small amount of kraut and Swiss cheese on the sandwich and it came with this really great Carolina type mustard. One side comes with the sandwich and this macaroni and cheese is actually good!

Below is the three meat plate with rice and beans.

Today nothing was bad but some things were better than other things. I heard that the pulled pork and hot links were good. The rice and beans were very good. The brisket was very lean and wasn’t bad but was the least flavorful and on the dry side. It is important to know that all barbecue does vary by the hour. They have to prepare the meats in advance and the tricky part is timing it for you. Also with brisket the lean and fatty parts differ and also taste different so what you get can differ on every visit.

SNS Diner & BBQ is Worth a Try!

3229 Losee Rd North Las Vegas NV – 702-269-9696

www.SNSDiner.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Chengdu Taste Las Vegas NV – Worth a Fork! Spicy Szechuan Food

Chengdu Taste is very well received for Szechuan Food and by some this restaurant is considered to be one of the best Sichuan restaurants in America.

You see a wall of colorful swimming fish with rhinestone eyes on the entrance wall.

The Las Vegas location in China Town isn’t a fancy place and it’s very small. You also need a cellphone to see the QR menu.

We started out by sharing the cucumber salad.

It’s light and refreshing. It is also a very large portion.

We ordered two entrees not realizing each entree is more than one serving.

I got 4 meals out of the boiled fish with green pepper sauce.

The mild white fish seems very fresh and is prepared to perfection. The broth is very mild and is embellished with crispy cucumbers, Sichuan peppercorns, serrano peppers, and bean sprouts. This dish is spicy and mouth numbing. Most of the dishes on the menu were marked with one, two, or three Chile peppers to let you know the heat level. This dish was marked with one Chile pepper and it was very hot.

The boiled beef in hot sauce was made with expertly tender beef. It was marked two Chile peppers but was tame compared to the boiled fish in green pepper sauce. We also got a bowl of steamed rice.

Everything was good and service was efficient. It also was a very good value with all the extra meals I got out of it.

Chengdu Taste is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Chengdu Taste

3950 Schiff Drive Las Vegas NV – 702-437-7888

www.ChengduTasteVegas.com

www.ChengduTasteLasVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Basilico Ristorante Italiano Las Vegas NV – NOT Your Grandpa’s Italian Restaurant – Worth a Fork!

Basilico Ristorante Italiano is a modern high quality Italian Restaurant located in southwest Las Vegas Nevada.

They have an indoor-outdoor bar and a patio for when the weather is nice.

They also have traditional seating with classic Italian movies minus the sound playing.

Recently it was restaurant week (extended to June 23 2023). So we got a nice sampling of things. We added on the bread basket olio d’oliva +balsamico with buffalo ricotta because it sounded really great and it was……

We got more goodies than we could eat here but it all was very good. My favorite bread were the herbed bread sticks. The cheese tasted like it was fresh made and was really different. It had shaved bitter chocolate on it that added a really different complexity to the bread. It was a great surprise I never had anything like that before. I bet your grandpa hasn’t had anything like this either.

My first course was the burrata.

It was an artsy rainbow carrot salad with sorrel pistachio pesto. It was tasty and not too heavy.

My husband went for the gnocco fritto.

It was a nice Italian Nosh plate. It had stracciatella cheese, adobbo di parma, red onion, arugula, hand made crackers, and Lambrusco jam.

Next were the pasta courses.

I had the spaghetti.

I do have to say that this is the most perfect spaghetti that I have ever had. It’s a little too much food for me so my husband steps in to finish this for me. After all I still have dinner and dessert.

My husband had the cavatelli norcina.

It’s a fennel seed sausage ragu with sottocenere cheese. I heard that it was very good. I never heard of sottocenere cheese before have you?

For my main I tried the branzino. It’s fancy and colorful. It’s embellished with micro greens.

The fish is surrounded by Meyer lemon nage sauce and a squash blossom and some unusual but delicious caponata complete the plate.

My husband had the short ribs.

This came with a really deluxe maitake mushroom and was also was made with impossible to find castelmagno cheese. My husband enjoyed this very much.

We also had parmigiano gelato for dessert. They serve the gelato table side here because your server preforms molecular gastronomy here.

They sure don’t do this at grandpa’s Italian restaurant.

Actually this is very complex and detailed and delicious.

The fresh made parmigiano gelato is served with lemon ginger pound cake, some poached sliced pear, and Saba. It’s all delicious together.

I have to say…….

Basilico Ristorante Italiano is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Basilico Ristorante Italiano

6111 South Buffalo Drive Las Vegas NV – 702-534-7716

www.BasilicoLV.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth