Most of us are very familiar with the Gordon Ramsay’s TV Show called Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay is an actual Michelin Stared Celebrity Chef that is well known for yelling, insulting and cursing at his crew on the Hell’s Kitchen TV Show.  It was sort of fun when I heard about this new Hell’s Kitchen Themed Restaurant by Ceasar’s Casino/Hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas. They announced on the News that this is the most booked restaurant in Las Vegas at the moment. I made my reservation months ago actually before they opened when I knew I was going to be in Las Vegas. I’ll be honest here….The food menu isn’t cutting edge in any way……it’s pretty much old school……….. Well here I am. I had no idea of what it was going to be like…..I was kind of imagining Gordon Ramsey’s voice calling people Forking Fork Face Donkeys ………after all that’s how he is on TV.

When you enter the restaurant you see this projected Gordon Ramsey image that walks around the front of the restaurant and sort of greets you when you walk in and he tells you to order the Wagyu meatballs.

Then it looks like this. You see an open kitchen with this years winning contestant from Hell’s Kitchen on the line.

The main dining room with a sort of fiery wall and pitch forks with lights hang from the ceiling.

I got seated just past this…….. With a view of the Flamingo Casino  is across the street. (Soon to become a different Casino…….bye bye Flamingo)

It’s very noisy in here and they are playing some sort of music I can’t identify. I think it’s techno….??? No singing just sounds that seem random and move fast.

What to order…?

The Wine List runs very expensive.

We’ll go with Cocktails. My husband gets some sort of interesting cocktail called a Smoke on the Blvd. It’s Rye, Aperol, Amaro, Averna, Sweet Vermouth with Smoked Cherrywood presented in a smoking box with a branded orange twist……Eeks! It’s way too smokey for me……. I just had a Negroni. It didn’t photo so well…It’s a clean tasting not sweet red drink with a single ice cube with a HK on it.

I thought Gordon Ramsey made an appearance tonight at Hell’s Kitchen. They had a look-a-like make an appearance and it looked like Gordon Ramsey was supervising the line. I don’t know if he is a paid look-a-like or if one of the chefs there just has a strong resemblance to Gordon Ramsay.

We shared a Caesar Salad and a Red Quinoa Salad.

We both really enjoyed the Red Quinoa Salad. It was different and interesting with little chunks of apple, dried apricots, hazelnuts and goat cheese. It was tasty and different. We both were slightly disappointed with the Caesar. It was just very average for a Caesar and was ok but tasted more like vinegar lemon dressing rather than balanced flavors should include garlic ,anchovy, Worcestershire, Parmesan and Black Pepper. Despite the small amount of Cheese Frico in the salad it was very bland…..

I was hoping for John Dory here…….Isn’t Ramsey calling out on Hell’s Kitchen, “Where’s the Forking John Dory?”  “Can someone get me a John Dory?”    …….. I didn’t see John Dory on the menu so I settled for the Crispy Skin Salmon. Bye the way…….earlier I was checking out the lunch menu…(****this is only slightly amusing if you watch Hell’s Kitchen)….I didn’t notice any “Idiot sandwich” on the lunch menu either.

The Salmon Skin is indeed Crispy and seasoned well. It actually stayed crispy from start to finish. The fish flesh was moist and cooked to a perfect medium. On the side was a lightly pickled fennel salad and everything was on top of seasoned Beluga Lentils (the little black ones).

My husband went with the Beef Wellington.

The Hell’s Kitchen Beef Wellington is a Filet Mignon, medium rare  coated with prosciutto and mushrooms in a crispy pastry. It was served with potato puree and root vegetables. I didn’t try this but my husband said the beef was reasonably good but for him it could have used more seasoning. He also complained to me that the potatoes were cold. I then tried a taste and I would say room temperature at best.

Neither of use ever had Sticky Toffee Pudding before……It came with my husband’s meal so I tried some.

It’s a wet very soaked cake that has a slight molasses kind of taste and is topped with an unfamiliar lightly spiced creamy ice cream called “specious.”

That was my Trip to Hell’s Kitchen……I guess it’s fair to say it’s Worth a Pitchfork!

Worth a Pitchfork

www.Caesars.com

The FORKING Truth is that every FORKING Thing is subject to change and YOUR FORKING experience may or may not Forking differ.

The Forking Truth

The Carnegie Deli was one of the most famous iconic Delis in New York. They were famous for over stuffed sandwiches and over sized slices of cheesecake. The big selling sandwiches were pastrami and corned beef. Many celebrities were known for dining at Carnegie Deli.  There is tale that the waiters were surly.

I’ve been here to Carnegie Deli in Las Vegas years ago before the real Carnegie Closed and we thought a re-visit might be fun.

You enter and see some autographs from celebrities.

You order at one of the counters and then take a number.

If your at this counter you try to ignore the picture of the cow so you don’t feel guilty with your corned beef, pastrami or brisket.

Then you seat yourself.

Hope you are hungry and brought a few friends……one sandwich is enough for FOUR hungry people.

Oy VEY! There is too much meat for me. I remove about 70% of the meat for a normal size sandwich.

That’s better.

The Pros-

You get a LOT of food for your money in Vegas. This sandwich can easily feed four people. The food runner is happy to bring you extra bread to make more sandwiches.

The Cons-

This sandwich really is ok but it’s not the best……I really don’t think this is similar to what the real Carnegie Deli Served.

To start with real New York Style Deli Places give you a bowl of assorted pickles (not just one pickle) to get your stomach ready for a big sandwich.

The bread is wrong. The correct bread for a New York Style Sandwich is double baked Rye and not squishy weak tasting rye.    (But hey we are in Las Vegas….It might be a west coast thing…NOT  ALL but most bread in Arizona, Las Vegas and California isn’t so great)

The meats (pastrami and corned beef) are ok but not succulent like they should be. I don’t think the flavor is right either. The pastrami is unbalanced with flavors with too much added smoke flavor and not enough black pepper.

Corned beef isn’t bad corned beef but is weakly flavored…..also not succulent like really good corned beef.

We also tried a potato knish.

The knish is also extra large. It’s about four servings. I like that the knish isn’t wrapped in puff pastry like many places are doing these days because to me knishes should be made with knish dough. The potato filling inside is ok…..better than some I’ve tried but not as flavorful as others. Good places with serve a knish with gravy. They didn’t offer gravy here.

The Las Vegas Carnegie Deli is quick and value priced if you are alright with sharing and have the chutzpah to ask for the extra bread you will need to make more sandwiches. ($25.00 at this time can feed four people on the strip)

I started to wonder…..on the menu it reads that the corned beef and pastrami come from the Carnegie Deli in New York…How can that be if the Carnegie Deli is closed?

I called to find out.

A Carnegie Warehouse is still in business and supplies the Corned Beef, Pastrami and Cheesecakes to the Carnegie Deli in Las Vegas. I don’t know but I am guessing that the Carnegie meats are the ones produced for the masses. I know I come across Carnegie Deli meat maybe once a year at Costco. It might be a similar thing that wine companies do… like the major wine companies make high end wines that are very expensive and lesser wines for the masses.

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

Ok food reasonably priced on the Las Vegas Strip located in the Mirage.

www.Mirage.com

The Forking Truth

Table 10 in Las Vegas has always been among my favorite restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip. This is a Celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse Restaurant. Chef Lagasse has several restaurants on the strip but I’ve been liking Table 10 the best. Table 10 is located in the Palazzo part of the STUNNING Venetian Hotel/Casino Mall with gondola rides, high end shopping and many other fine restaurants.

Inside the beautiful Venetian

I’ve always enjoyed Table Ten because it’s more quiet than the Emeril’s Fish House and it’s not a mostly steak menu like his New Orleans’s Steak House, Delmonico’s. I like Table Ten for the variety menu…fish, steak, chicken, veggie plates…whatever I want.  I’ve been here many times and I counted at least 18 different plates I tried that were all excellent. The atmosphere is a little dark and filled with dark wood and leather with pops of bright colors from fixtures.

I decided to try the Scottish Salmon over Red Quinoa with Ramps and Spiced Apricots.

This was the one dish out of many we tried that wasn’t good….. 🙁 Service was also a little off that night….and nobody asked me how it was…..

There are Nearly a THOUSAND photos from this restaurant’s food on the internet and this particular dish isn’t among any of the photos so far. I am only guessing this is the restaurant’s least popular dish and nobody knew how to prepare it…………..????

My husband enjoyed his usual bowl of Gumbo.

He said it’s the best Gumbo outside of New Orleans.

He also said the Skirt Steak Special with Chorizo Hash was amazing.

We always enjoy Emeril’s Famous Banana Cream Pie.

I don’t know how they make this cake so delicious. The bananas taste better than regular bananas. There is sweet but not too sweet cake. Shavings of high quality chocolate, cream and caramel. It’s just pure bliss.

I still love you Table 10.

At least 19 out of 20 plates were amazing!

www.EmerilsRestaurants.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

*******UPDATE NOW CLOSED BUT EXPECTED TO RELOCATE*****Ocean One Bar and Grill is located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Miracle Mile Mall.I’ve discovered the $4.99 lunch by accident. I’ve planned to go to Todai Korean Buffet that I enjoy but sadly to my surprise all the Todai Buffets in the United States are closed for remodeling according to their website. 🙁        🙁      🙁

Back tracking a bit…..

We just landed in Las Vegas and were very tired and hungry after our 41 minute flight from Phoenix. We just walked over to where Todai was and….

.

I was standing there in disbelief. Here Todai gone tomarrow. Well it was time to move on and go someplace else and Ocean One is only two restaurants down from were Todai was. I’ve passed this restaurant by for at least ten – fifteen years now every time I came to Las Vegas. I was thinking how good can a $4.99 lunch be? But the place was packed and on a wait………Still I’m a little upset…I just don’t think a $4.99 lunch can be good?  I’m thinking the portions must be tiny. The meats might be all dry and nasty…..I doubt anything will taste good….but I don’t have the time to go somewhere else as it’s getting late for lunch and I don’t want to miss my dinner plans.

Here’s the menu……what do you think? The menu states all sauces and dressing are made in house…???? Drinks are cheap too…?

Well we decided to give Ocean One a try and got seated on the patio in the mall.

Thinking the portions had to be tiny we started by sharing an order of wings.

This plate won’t win a beauty contest but the Glazed Wings were super moist and flavorful. I thought they tasted sort of Teriyaki like. They really were pretty good. This dish wasn’t so tiny either.

I ordered the Island Salmon Salad. After I ordered it the waiter runs out from the kitchen and alerts me that they ran out of salmon and suggest substituting chicken so I did.

To my surprise it’s a pretty nice Forking Salad for only $4.99. The grilled chicken is moist and nicely seasoned. The mixed greens are fresh. The salad contains delicious pistachios, orange supremes, pickled onions and a delicious house made mango vinaigrette ties the whole thing together. Good and Cheap never happen.  Am I dreaming?  This is good and also Forking cheap! This salad is FORKING CHEAPER than from a Forking Fast Food Drive Threw.

WOW! That’s a WTFork!

Not too long back I had a Chicken Salad that I paid about THREE FORKING TIME MORE FOR and This $4.99 salad is a MILLION Times better than this salad I had someplace in Phoenix.

$13.99 Salad from a Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix AZ

My husband ordered the Orecchiette.

The pasta is cooked nice and is in a lemon garlic sauce tossed with parmesan cheese. The dish also contains artichokes and a small amount of spinach. Not bad…and certainly pretty good for $4.99…

******UPDATE NOW CLOSED BUT EXPECTED TO RELOCATE******

The $4.99 Lunch at Ocean One Bar and Grille in Las Vegas NV is A-OK in my book!

www.MiracleMileShopsLV.com

Remember…Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is located in the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino and Shops on the Las Vegas Strip. This is a Fine Dining Michelin Star Rated Restaurant by Chef of the Century Joel Robuchon. The dining experience is friendly up close but casual in a classy, stylish environment. The restaurant is mostly a counter that circles the kitchen so diners are to view the kitchen wizardry. The food is prepared with all French Techniques and every dish is a masterpiece. Most of the plates are small plates……..Get ready to enjoy and Expect the unexpected everything is FORKING AMAZING!

They started us off with an amuse bouche – a Foie Gras Parfait. I didn’t try mine but I was told it was luscious and warm.

We also get a basket of amazing fresh baked breads and rich French Butter.

L’Atelier MGM Las Vegas

My first course is Smoked Salmon, Potato Waffle with Dill Whipped Cream and French Pepper (Piment d’ Espelette). They also gave me a piece of toast with fresh tomatoes and basil.

The salmon is so buttery and seasoned so perfect.  The potato is very flavorful. You gotta get a closer look at the painstakingly beautiful detail on the cream. Really delicious…I wish I could eat this everyday.

My husband’s first course was Iberico De Bellota Ham. This is a very special ham that comes from special Black footed pigs that eat nothing but acorns. this kind of ham is expensive. I mail away for this kind of ham sometimes for a present for my husband and it runs around $60.00 for only four ounces and it’s not as good as the ham from here because here it’s fresh sliced. I am told this ham melts in the mouth and has slight acorn to it.

Second course for me was Beet Valoute (soup) with Green Mustard SORBET and salad.

It’s not like anything I ever had before. The flavors go together like magic. Beets, a little richness and laced with a pleasing amount of mustard. I hate to use this word over and over again but it’s amazing.

Second course for my husband was Red Snapper Carpaccio with lemon Gelee, French Pepper and Turmeric Vinaigrette. I didn’t try this dish today but I had it before….It’s as great as it looks.

Dinner for me was the Yuzu Caramelized Salmon with Sriracha Aioli,  Japanese Nameko  Mushrooms and the Famous Joel Robuchon Potatoes. (this is considered a large plate)

My plate is very detailed and stunning. It’s almost to beautiful to eat and looks like it should hang on a wall in a museum. I don’t know how they make the tiny onion rings so flavorful. The small Nameko Mushrooms are also unique and have a strong mushroom flavor. The fish is so succulent, buttery and lucious and has a caramelized wonderful citrusy flavor from the Yuzu. The potatoes are magical………..so buttery and rich….no other potatoes are like these. This dinner is sooooooo fine, it’s superb!

My husband is open to try most things and goes for the Veal Sweet Bread with Bay leaves and Stuffed Romaine. He had an interest in Sweet Bread and thought if he is ever going to try it he must try the best. After trying it he said to me that I would really enjoy it if I tried it. For now I’ll just have to take his word on that.

We split our dessert courses and went for a cheese plate and the Les Tarts.

Assorted Cheeses, some were very stinky (in a good way). Never had raisins on the vine before. All the flavors were interesting and yummy!

Behold…..The Slices of Heaven Plate………Les Tartes!

Passion Fruit, a flat cinnamon, Lemon Meringue, Chocolate Carmel Nut and Apple……

Insert Angels Singing here…….

Just heavenly and certainly WORTH A FORK!

Then they gave us an extra little treat….

Tiny bite size things like tastiest crumpets filled with raspberries ……so melt in the mouth delicious! Just Fabulous!

A sweet ending to the most incredible meal ever! Surprisingly reasonably priced for the quality it is. The 2017 pricing for three courses is less than $100.00 a person.

www.MGMGrand.com

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Dinner in Las Vegas was Forking Amazing!

Worth a Fork! You’d drive 4 hours or hop a plane to dine here. If you truly do enjoy fine food you should dine here.

I strongly doubt you will have a problem here but everything and menus are subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Gordon Ramsay Burger is located in Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip. This restaurant has had a logo and name change as it opened a few years back as Burgr. This is a casual restaurant with a full bar and wait service. This restaurant specializes in Burgers. They also serve appetizers, snacks, milkshakes and a few other items. There is always a wait to get in and the atmosphere is loud and energetic and sort of fiery.

Our waiters were very friendly and excited about the menu and offered to answer any questions we had. We asked for a wine list and it was computerized.

We decided to start things out with the Truffle Parmesan Fries that were served with truffle aioli and a house made ketchup that tasted heavy with a worcestershire kind of taste.

The portion is very large but the fries are really great. The interiors are very creamy and soft but the fries aren’t soggy. The top fries taste the best because as you go down the salt collects and they get saltier.

Soon I receive my Tandoori Chicken Burger ( with the feta on the side).

The chicken is really different and I’m sorry I didn’t ask about it. It’s has a well seasoned exterior and is extremely moist and flavorful. The meat almost seems chopped.

Whatever they did it is really delicious. The Tandoori Chicken Burger is dressed with Tabbouleh, Tahini Vinaigrette, bitter Frisee, Mint Vinaigrette, seasonings and Feta. All together it’s pretty darn amazing! The rich roll is also grilled and is very tasty.

My husband went with the Hell’s Kitchen Burger with the jalapeño aioli on the side.

The beef is fresh ground daily in the main Paris Kitchen. The burger is 7 ounces and is adorned with Asadero Cheese, Roasted Jalapeño, Roasted Tomato and Jalapeño Aioli. I didn’t try it but I was told the burger was very flavorful.

They serve a “Hell” of a Burger here!

Gordon Ramsay Burger is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.Ceaesars.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Chica is located in the Venetian Hotel/Casino and Shops on the Las Vegas Strip. The exact location is off the casino floor on what they call restaurant row. The menu at Chica was created by Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia. The food is her spin on Classic Latin Dishes. My photos don’t do justice on the restaurant’s atmosphere but here is what I got.

We were seated near the open kitchen by the Rotisserie Chickens spinning around. The aroma from the spinning marinated chickens was intoxicating.

The other end of the restaurant looked like this from my seat. Off to the sides that I couldn’t photo the place has more colors with interesting pictures and colorful pillows.

We started with a Wild Mushroom Quesadilla. It was filled with wild mushrooms, Oaxacan and blue cheeses, huitlacoche, jalapeño pesto and pickled onions. The quesadilla quarters were served stacked and were cleverly held together with guacamole. It was a tasty and interesting start to our meal.

Our server brought us some delicious Arepas to try with Argentinean Butter and a dusting of a fruity mildly spicy pepper. I don’t think everyone gets these ?………Our waitress told us the Chef gave us them because we mentioned that we picked this restaurant because we were a fan of Chef Garcia.

I’ve only had arepas a few times before but these certainly were the best I’ve ever had with yummy bells and whistles. They were fresh hot and flavorful. A yummy treat!

I had to order the half Meyer Lemon Marinated Rotisserie Chicken because the aroma was speaking to my stomach.

The Chicken was INCREDIBLY Moist and Flavorful and delicious! Even the breast almost fell apart from moisture. The herby chimichurri was a nice accent. The Potato Salad made with Peruvian Purple Potatoes and Hearts of Palm was wildly flavorful with cilantro and spicy with jalapeño. It had the right amount of cream to cut the heat.

My husband went with the Porchetta with Crispy Yucca Hash.

Slow roasted tender and flavorful Porchetta. The Crispy yucca hash also contained crispy brussels sprouts and pearl onion escabeche that accented the succulent pork and didn’t cover it up. Everything was well cooked and well seasoned. It was enjoyed very much!

I was pretty full so I passed on dessert but the waitress surprised us with an elegant little chocolate and espresso layer cake resting in raspberry sauce.

The Food was great! I felt like I was treated like a VIP maybe because I said I was a fan of the chef or maybe because they caught me snapping some photos…I don’t know…but I enjoyed and I had a great time.

Chica in Las Vegas NV is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.ChicaLasVegas.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth