Tag Archives: #LasVegas #Vegas

International Smoke Las Vegas NV – Don’t get the Chicken

International Smoke is a restaurant by chef Michael Mina and author and television host Ayesha Curry. This restaurant had two locations. One location is in San Francisco and the other that I went to is in The MGM Grand Resort and Casino on the strip in Las Vegas Nevada. This restaurant offers a global menu. They say they cook with smoke and use bold flavors.

Inside is sort of dark but not too dark (you can read the menu). The decor is masculine and classic. A large bar is almost half the dining area. As you walk in you are greeted with a delicious aroma of smoke……

inside

We started out by sharing the black truffle mac ‘n’ cheese.

The pasta is nice and firm and isn’t mushy. The cheese sauce taste like it was made with real cheese and it is good. The truffles don’t give off much flavors but it is better that than to taste artificial flavors.

My husband tried the Jamaican braised oxtail.

This dish was good. Good flavors, a little spicy…….It was enhanced with red beans, coconut rice, and Jamaican green seasoning. The only issue here was that it lacked enough sauce to really enjoy.

I tried the Sinaldan Style Mary’s Chicken (achiote salsa mache, sauce pastor, sweet potato, avocado).

On the bright side the flavors really were off the charts amazing……and spicy too……………..But on the dark side this chicken was prepared very uneven, mostly DRY and hard to cut, and with rubbery inedible chicken skin. It was hard to enjoy the amazing flavors here. I was asked by someone (maybe a manager? not my server) on how it was but I just started so I didn’t know how it was yet because she asked as soon as I got it. Didn’t feel like complaining after I was done.

Off of one visit I don’t really know how this restaurant is but I would not recommend getting the chicken. Oh I should mention that I have recently enjoyed the Korean Bbq Salmon Sandwich from Micheal Mina’s Bourbon Pub at San Francisco AIRPORT…(yes at Airport) It was so delicious…and amazing….I wonder if chicken is good there?

International Smoke

3799 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV (MGM Grand)

702-891-3922

www.MGMGrand.com

www.InternationalSmoke.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Yardbird Southern Table & Bar Las Vegas NV – Worth a Fork

 

Yardbird Southern Table and Bar is located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Venetian just pass the Casino on what they call Restaurant Row. This restaurant serves Southern American Foods and has been nominated for prestigious awards including a James Bread Award.

The atmosphere is loud and the restaurant is sort of casual and sort of farm inspired like….

I couldn’t get a photo of it but they have a projector that features Southern Singers on one of the walls.

It’s Southern Food Y’ All so git on your stretchy pants and don’t hold back Yaw……. (excuse my bad fake Southern Accent….well I tried)

Started with Deviled Eggs. These are a little different and are made with dill chives and smoked trout roe.

The eggs are very tasty indeed! Flavorful but not too much and are just right!

We had to try the Black Angus Burnt Ends with Blue Cheese Fondue, Tater Tots and Pickled Chili Peppers.

The Beef with Juicy, Flavorful and Crispy. The Tater Tots were nicely seasoned and it all was really great with the spicy pickled chili peppers seem to cut the fatty sauce and meat. It was really great.

My husband had to order the Peppered Gnocchi Pot Pie.

I have NO IDEAL how Gnocchi have made it to a Southern Restaurant but here they are (and they are VERY GOOD)  in a Sage Chicken Gravy with lots of mushrooms and a Biscuit Crust. Somehow it taste like Thanksgiving…..

We HAD to share the restaurant’s specialty plate.

The Chicken “N” Watermelon “N” Waffles.

OMG this chicken is FORKING GOOD. Full of Juice that’s so delicious. The crust is amazing too. Umm the sweet hot sauce is extra yummy with the chicken. This is really good. The watermelon is slightly spiced. I think I got a HIT of Bourbon from the maple sauce for the waffles…The waffles have an excellent texture and do taste laced with cheese. It’s too much food but it is hard to stop eating. It’s so FORKING Good!

The food and Service were Phenomenal.

Yardbird Southern Table and Bar is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork! Winner winner Chicken Dinner!

www.RunChickenRun.com

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

The Forking Truth

Desserts I Forking Tried or Forking tried to eat in Las Vegas

Table 10 Las Vegas NV

Table 10 Las Vegas NV

Let’s face it. Most of us will never live in the most expensive house or drive the best or most expensive car out there but most of us can indulge in the best desserts when in Las Vegas. So here is how it forking went for me. Also there is no need to worry about the calories because everyone knows, “What goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

The first dessert of my Las Vegas trip was the famous Emeril’s Amazing Banana Cream Pie from Table 10 in Las Vegas. It’s so delicious with perfect flavors that even my husband who hates bananas thought this dessert was delicious. Everything about this dessert is perfect. The cake is rich and moist with the right amount of flavor. The sauce is made carefully and has a butterscotch quality to it. The bananas are just delicious. I never tasted bananas that good before and the chocolate curls just add the right texture and accent to the dessert. With out a doubt Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie is one of the forking best desserts in Las Vegas.

Carlo's Bakery at the Venetian Las Vegas

Carlo’s Bakery at the Venetian Las Vegas

I didn’t actually get to try a dessert from Carlo’s Bakery made famous by TV Celebrity Buddy Valastro akaThe Cake Boss. I was forking amazed about the long wait to get in. No matter when you try to get in it’s always half hour or an hour wait just to try one of Buddy’s cupcakes. My photo doesn’t actually show how many people were waiting in the two long lines just to get into Carlo’s Bakery. I’m guessing at least a forking hundred people were forking waiting in line. They even had  forking guards on to keep order. I did peak in to see what was being offered. I saw mainly only three kinds of desserts. Mostly cupcakes, biscotti, and cannoli.

ll Fornaco New York New York Las Vegas

ll Fornaco New York New York Las Vegas

Lemon pecan scone from II Fornaco at the New York New York Casino. This scone had a really nice lemony flavor and the pecans went really well to compliment the flavor. I thought it was slightly dense and dry but had good flavors.

Cafe Belle Madeleine Paris Casino Las Vegas

Cafe Belle Madeleine Paris Casino Las Vegas

The Chocolate Mousse Pistachio dessert sounded very good. Unfortunately it only sounded good. Tasted awful and forking went in the trash. The glaze was an offensive jello like chocolate goo, the pistachio cream was just flavorless sweet green cream and the mousse was too dense and too sweet with not a good chocolate flavor.

L'Atrlier MGM las Vegas Hotel Casino

L’Atrlier MGM las Vegas Hotel Casino

Les Tartes from L’Atelier were stunning and amazing. They were just  little slices of heaven. Cream with high quality chocolate dust, Lemon cheese, Strawberry pistachio, orange meringue, and chocolate pie.

Jean Philippe in the Aria Las Vegas NV

Jean Philippe in the Aria Las Vegas NV

If you like desserts a must go to destination is jean Philippe in either the Aria and also in the Bellagio Casino/hotel. I tried a lemon meringue tart that was a pure perfection of flavors and beauty. The desserts are always over the top at Jean Philippe. The executive Chef Jean-Philoppe Maury is the official Best Pastry Chef in France and holds a Pastry Team Competition Gold Medal. Everything made at Jean Philippe is forking masterful, beautiful and delicious.

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

As you enter Jean Philippe at the Aria you always see a Chocolate Display.

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

It’s forking hard to believe that these are forking chocolate.

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

Jean Philippe Aria Las Vegas

Thought I’d try the Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmopolitan.

Wicked Spoon Buffet Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Wicked Spoon Buffet Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

The Mini Desserts from the Wicked Spoon Buffet in Las Vegas look forking fantastic but I actually was only able to eat and finish one of these desserts. The strawberry and the fancy cone shaped dessert were made with cheap waxy chocolate that’s hard to stomach. The three tarts were ok but not worth eating. The only dessert that was delicious was the tiny lime cream puff.

Decided to go to the Bellagio and leave with a last memory of Jean Philippe desert.

Jean Philippe Bellagio Hotel/Casino Las Vegas

Jean Philippe Bellagio Hotel/Casino Las Vegas

I had a very perfect, very detailed blueberry cupcake. I almost gave up on cupcakes after trying several Food Network award winning cupcakes from various cupcake shops. But this Jean Philippe cupcake was amazing with blueberry flavors and many magical layers. Embellished with a tiny detailed white chocolate and a chocolate dipped and crisp wafered coated blueberry was a cupcake of heavenly moist perfect layer cake topped with blueberry puree, blueberry cream a white maybe slightly cheesed cream and more. It was just all perfect and a sweet ending to Las Vegas.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth