Author Archives: The Forking Truth

My Summer 2019 Trip to L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV – Magic still remains after The Master is gone – Worth a Fork!

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L’ATELIER by Joel Robuchon is a high end exhibition French/tapas restaurant located in the MGM Casino/Hotel on the Las Vegas strip in Nevada. The late chef Joel Robuchon was the most Michelin stared chef in the world and was also known as the chef of the century.

This is FORKING NICE PLACE

They changed the menu slightly since my last visit last year and now the three course special menu ($85.00 subject to change) is only offered as an early bird special 5pm-6pm.

You get seated at the high top counter with view of the exhibition kitchen.

I don’t know what you have to do ……….or how much money you have to lose in the casino to get one of the few tables in front of the bar.

Anyways-

For the last several years they start you off with an Amuse Bouche foie gras with parmesan foam shooter.

Or a vegetarian Amuse Bouche if you ask.

Then you get a basket of the most amazing breads and delicious French Butter.

My first course was an Eggplant/Avocado Fondant with pixie sized turmeric croutons.

This was powerfully flavorful……you go wow! How did they do this?

My husband had a polenta, egg and ham starter…….(well not just any ham………actually ham that was kissed by Jesus Ham……….that comes from pigs with black feet and eat nothing but acorns ham……….Ham that cost like $25-30 an ounce ham)

For my main I had Halibut Flakes with Lemongrass Foam and Robuchon Potatoes.

Everything is so Forking perfect……………The micro herbs are so flavorful and go so amazing with the tender mild fish and lemongrass……..The French Pepper is perfect…it’s just the right amount of flavorful mild heat. The potatoes are amazing.

My husband had the Beef Short Rib.

He said it was the best short rib that he has ever had……I had a tiny taste…….WOW! I never tasted beef that was that beefy before.

For dessert we both picked the tarts….called Les Tartes.

This dessert plate just might be the most fabulous dessert in the country. Every tiny tart is so detailed and delicious…..Each tart is perfection……..This plate doesn’t just knock it out of the park…..It knocks it out of the galaxy!

Then they surprised us with these FORKING INCREDIBLE hazelnut madeleines.

Oh GOD I wish I could buy a sack of them!

The master is gone but the magic still continues.

I thought I’d post a few of some of the previous stunningly beautiful plates we’ve enjoyed here.

Worth a Fork! Worth buying a plane ticket to try!

www.MGMResortsInternational.com

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

The Forking Truth

2019 Visit to Gordon Ramsay Burger – Las Vegas NV

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Gordon Ramsay Burger Restaurant is a slightly upscale full service burger restaurant in the Planet Hollywood hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The burger meat for these burgers is fresh ground in the main kitchen in the Paris hotel/casino. The burgers served are 7oz burgers. The atmosphere is accented with flames, pictures of chef Gordon Ramsay and the British Flag. There are several big screen TVs on the walls and most were tuned on to sports stations.

We started out by sharing an order of plain fries called “Just Fries” (last time we had the Truffle Parm Fries and all the stuff was heavy on the top and was too salty and had nothing under the top layer).

These fries came out hot and most under the top were the small ends that were slightly over cooked. We received curry ketchup and chipotle ketchup as dipping sauces.

This time I tried the Fish and Crisps Burger.

I received a thick large piece of thinly but crisp beer battered coated cod. It was drowning in about a 1/4 cup of citrusy yuzu dill mayo with a big handful of salt and vinegar potato shreds on a fluffy buttered and toasted sesame bun………..The flavoring wasn’t too exciting here……and……..This was far heavier than I was expecting it to be…..I enjoyed the Gordon Ramsay fish and chips from his casual fast restaurant but this fish sandwich could use something ………….or some sort of change……..maybe something to freshen and lighten it up some. I fixed that by removing one bun, scraping off most of the heavy creamy sauce and scrapping off half the crisps. I added some of the curry ketchup and it was lighter and much better tasting to me.

My husband tried the Mangalitsa Pork, Bacon, BBQ Pork, white cheddar, pickles, crisp onions and slaw burger. (requested slaw on side)

I should have taken a photo of the pork……It was a solid dense disk of pink dry meat. Topped with bbq pork, bacon, cheese and fried onions. My husband wasn’t happy with this burger but didn’t tell the waiter while he was eating.

Last time our burgers were FORKING AWESOME!

I had this Tandoori Chicken Burger that was screaming with all kinds of delicious flavors. It was so amazing that my husband also enjoyed it too and he usually doesn’t like these flavors….but this really was amazing. I can’t believe it’s no longer available.

He had the Hell’s Kitchen Burger and thought it was excellent.

That was my 2019 visit to Gordon Ramsay Burger………

1/2 a Fork…Could be great! Could also suck!

www.Caesars.com

Every THING…EVERY FORKING THING is subject to CHANGE and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Lima Beans with Tomatoes and Tomato Bomba Vinaigrette Recipe

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I had about two pounds of tomatoes and a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Premium Lima Beans hanging around so I made this.

Ingredients for around 10 servings

28oz dry lima beans (or one 28oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Lima Beans) – soaked in water last night for today

1/2 oz fresh oregano sprigs

2 Tablespoon dried thyme

4 bay leaves

1 onion – cut in half

1 banana pepper – cut in half (not the sweet…the regular that is actually hot)

2 carrots – cut in half

14 oz Italian crushed tomatoes (or tomatoes that you removed skin and roasted at least 4 hours)

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 lb assorted heirloom tomatoes – cut in bite size pieces

2 Tablespoons bomba calabrese (I like the Coliccio brand even though it’s very inconsistent….sometimes it’s mild, sometimes it’s a bomb of fiery heat…but it usually is full of flavors)

fresh torn basil to taste (about 10-20 leaves depending on size)

sea salt to taste (up to a Tablespoon added near end)

Directions

Drain and rinse the lima beans and add them to a large pot with water to cover the beans about two 1/2 inches on medium high heat. Add the oregano, thyme, bay leaves, onion, banana pepper and carrots. When the beans start to boil turn down the heat to a slow simmer and cook till the beans are tender…….(about an hour).

While the beans are cooking make the tomato vinaigrette. In a medium bowl add the crushed Italian Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, garlic, vinegar and bomba and mix well and put to the side or in the refrigerator.

When the beans are done you drain them. (***you might want to save the flavorful bean water for a soup…later in the week you can turn this into a bean soup) Toss out the bay leaves, oregano stems, onions and carrots. When the beans are cool carefully mix together the beans with the tomato mixture. Taste and add salt to your liking. Serve with fresh torn basil.

Lima Beans with Tomatoes and Tomato Bomba Vinaigrette

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Mian Sichuan Noodle of Las Vegas NV

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Mian Sichuan Noodle is a small casual restaurant that specializes in serving Sichuan Noodles. They are located in the Las Vegas China Town in a two story strip mall next to the China Town Plaza.

This isn’t a fancy place.

The tables are set up with placemats that give you instructions on how to eat the food.

They start you off with sweetened mung bean water called soup that you drink after eating mouth numbing spicy food to cool you down.

We started out by sharing the Spicy Radish ($1.99) and a small bowl of complimentary sweet, sour slightly spicy cabbage was served almost instantly.

The radish is crunchy, interesting and also spicy. I’ve never tasted anything like this before. They transformed a radish into something completely different. It got me really excited to try Szechuan Cold Noodles!

My Szechuan Cold Noodles Arrives ($7.99).

I mix it up like I’m suppose to do. The noodles are silky, sturdy, smooth and long with nice chewy texture. The noodles are cooked to perfection. This dish too is not flavored like anything I ever had before. It has a slight sourness to it, some other flavors with slight amount sweetness. It is strange and unusual to me…….It’s not very spicy…..it’s actually almost not spicy….Maybe more like the cabbage. I am slightly disappointed because I was expecting fiery mouth numbing food.

My husband got Za Jiang with Peas (basically Pork Spicy Noodle $9.99).

This is a more detailed plate. I’m a little jealous and his plate is at least twice as spicy as mine. Although this plate is twice as spicy as mine it’s really only as spicy as the radishes. Spicy but not real spicy….like not even close to a jalapeño ……less than sweet/hot cherry peppers. (My husband asked for as spicy as you make)

Maybe the waiter thought he heard us say mild instead of spicy?

I haven’t found a website for Mian Sichuan Noodle but they are on Facebook.

That was my trip to Mian Sichuan Noodle in Las Vegas NV

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

The Forking Truth

Weird Food Snacks and Candy I saw in Las Vegas – It’ Sugar Store

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LOOK! It’s Elvis Crespo and Madonna…..Oh my! ……No it’s Elvis Costello and Blondie……..Only kidding… my bad! …………It’s Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe made out of FORKING JELLY BEANS! ………..Aren’t they great!

The It’Sugar Store sells so many silly things…….Some things are unique to the Las Vegas location.

Remember Bob Ross? I used to paint along with him and made “Happy Little Trees.” There is Bob Ross Energy Drinks and Happy Little Trees Mints.

Here’s one of my Bob Ross paint-a-longs with some happy trees.

There’s Candy Noodles and Candy Sushi.

WOW they look real…..Candy Tacos!

LOL Elvis PEZ-Ley Limited Edition Pez……lol!

Make a gummy wall out of gummy blocks made in China. Hope you don’t feel all blocked up after you eat them!

I never thought I’d come across pickle cotton candy……..

Frosted Donut Cotton Candy makes more sense…..I wonder if it really taste like a frosted donut?

They offered a bunch of unusual chocolates.

World’s best farter crossed out and made into father….lol

Hot salted Sriracha milk chocolate…ummmmmmm….???? might be tasty but not in pho……

On the left is marriage is sweeter the second time around….Great dessert for second weddings!

Second bar is the Mensch Bar. …..You’re as sweet as chocolate….This is a bar you hand out to someone more like Batman. Someone who is a person of integrity and honer.

Then there’s Rock’N Chocolate bar with popping candy….

They offer many gummy candies

A gummy breakfast with bacon, an egg and detailed buttered pancake. There are gummy donuts, gummy cupcakes, gummy burgers and even a gummy pickle.

What do you call a bear with no teeth?

A GUMMY BEAR! They got gummy bears in diabetic size and diabetic coma size.

They also milk chocolate cover the gummy bears and call them dingle bearies……..

The high fiber cereal Colon Blow and to the right are little yellow jars of Urine for a treat

Then they also offer Welcome to Sour then Sweet LAS VEGAS Nevada.

Those were some of the WEIRD Food, candy and snack I saw in Las Vegas at IT’Sugar.

www.itsugar.com

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Chica Restaurant Las Vegas NV – Still Great Food – Service hit or miss

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Chica is a Latin Restaurant located in the Venetian Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant is located just off the casino floor. The menu offers Chef Lorena Garcia’s spins on classic Latin Foods and flavors.

The atmosphere is on the dark side.

They have a ceviche bar in the middle of the restaurant and a rotisserie in the back. Our server suggested that we need about two plates a person so we ordered two appetizers and two dinners.

Both of our appetizers were brought out at once. We decided to start with a Peruvian Snapper Ceviche.

It was bright from citrus, spicy from chili, sweet from sweet potatoes and crunchy from Peruvian corn. It was served with crisp thin sliced plantains that were very tasty.

We almost got to the Trio of Picos we ordered…..At the time we were still in the middle of the ceviche and our dinners arrive.

We pushed our dinners to the side and tried the arepas because they were warm and fresh made. One was corn flavored, another was cilantro flavored, we had a beet root one and a purple corn arepa. We had the rest packed up but we didn’t get to eat it so this appetizer was just wasted.

It seemed like the waiter was trying to rush us out. I don’t know why because there were hardly any other customers at the time.

I had the Pacific Striped Bass. It came out with a crispy skin that turned soggy fast but the fish was tender and perfect. It rested over Peruvian Corn Succotash and a guajillo chili sauce and corn salsa that was delicious.

My husband had the Slow Roasted Suckling Pig Porchetta.

It sat in a pool of pork jus and was topped with spiced plantains, pickled onions and water crest. He enjoyed it very much. He said it was even better than the one he had last time here.

The manager did apologies to us for all our food coming out at mostly the same time. She did offer to re-make our dinners so we could enjoy the appetizers. I declined because I know what not all but what some cooks do to food when they have to re-make it. She also offered a complimentary dessert that I declined because I was full.

Last time I had the rotisserie chicken.

My husband had a different plating of the Porchetta.

All the food we tried was Worth a Fork!

I tell The Forking Truth and this is how it was.

Last time we received very good food and they treated us like VIPS here.

This time the food was still very good but the service was more like from a diner.

That was my trip to Chica in Las Vegas – Still very good food but service can be hit or miss.

www.ChicaLasVegas.com

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

The Forking Truth

Indian Inspired Beets Recipe – based on Beet Poriyal by Dassana Amit

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I recently went to an Indian Restaurant near me called Vaigai and I enjoyed a South Indian Beet Dish called Beet Poriyal. I never had beet poriyal before and didn’t know how to make it so I looked up a few recipes for it. I thought Dassana Amit’s recipe of www.VegRecipesofIndia.com sounded the most delicious of the recipes I found so I sort of followed along…but made just two changes. One I wanted another vegetable in it besides beets so I thought onion would be ok since the dish is savory. I didn’t have urad dal……so I looked it up and it was described as an Indian Lentil that is used for it’s earthy flavor so I substituted pink lentils but tripled the amount because I didn’t think the pink lentils would be as flavorful. Anyway it came out delicious…….This dish uses two hard to come by ingredients. One was called asafoetida. They sell it in tiny green boxes at Whole Foods and I bet you can find it at the Asiana Market. The other ingredient I happened to have was curry leaves…..I buy them and keep them in my freezer. I think if you leave out the asafetida out your dish it will NOT have the right flavor.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

2 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 lb beets – peeled – cubed

1/2 large sweet onion – cubed

1 hot pepper – (today I used a chili guero and it was just right) – chopped

12 curry leaves fine chopped (this herb is controversial and some people use it like bay leaves and remove when done….. I fine chopped because I felt the dish needed the flavor and the Indian Cook on Food Network chops and puts curry leaves in dishes so it’s ok!)

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 Tablespoon lentils (or the real recipe calls for 1 teaspoon urad dal)

good pinch asafetida

salt to taste

1/3 cup water

4 Tablespoons grated coconut

Directions

Get a pot on medium heat with the coconut oil and the black mustard seeds. Heat till you hear the seeds popping and then add lentils, pepper and onion. Cook till onion is soft. Add curry leaves, asafetida, beets and water. Cover with foil and cook till beets are tender. Top with coconut. (add salt to taste)

Enjoy!

A special Thanks! to Dassana Amit of www.VegRecipesofIndia.com for sharing a delicious recipe!

The Forking Truth

My Trip to The Creek Patio Grill in Cave Creek AZ

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The Creek Patio Grill is located in Cave Creek Arizona. This is a casual full service American Neighborhood-Type Restaurant. They offer TWO patios (one patio is dog friendly) and indoor seating with personality.

The dog friendly patio
This patio entrance is from the inside of the restaurant

The middle of the restaurant has seating around a pizza oven.

There’s curved bench seating that circles the pizza oven and bar seating is located behind the pizza oven.

There are multiple dining areas and levels. (not pictured)

Glowing rock decor

My husband started with a cup of chili.

It was meaty with lots of beans and a generous amount of cheese. My husband said It was a little spicy and could taste cinnamon in it.

I had the walleye.

It wasn’t the meatiest walleye but then again this whole dinner only cost $21.00. The last time I came across walleye at AJ’s Fine Foods if I’m not mistaking the walleye was going for $40.00 a pound. This isn’t the same but was prepared reasonably well. It was covered in a lemony bur blanc sauce. Blistered tomatoes, fresh sweet basil and rice pilaf completed the plate.

My husband had the shrimp Alexander.

The grilled lemon elevated the dish. My husband thought the dish was good but could have been seasoned a little more for his taste.

The menu that The Creek Patio Grill offers is large and has a lot of variety. They offer many appetizers such as multiple sliders, kung pao chicken, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and entrees.

That was today’s trip to The Creek Patio Grill in Cave Creek. It’s a nice neighborhood type restaurant. You visit it if you are in the neighborhood and not from across town.

www.TheCreekPatioGrill.com

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

The Forking Truth

Hattie B’s Las Vegas NV – is Worth a Try but doesn’t seem the same to me as from Nashville

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According to the Nashville Hot Chicken Coalition ( www.Hot-Chicken.com ) – Nashville Hot Chicken is only Authentic and is a specialty of Nashville Tennessee. Only 6 restaurants are certified to be authentic Nashville Hot Chicken. They are Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish, Pepper Fire Hot Chicken, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, 400 Degrees and Deezies in Murfreesboro.

Nashville Hot Chicken is marinated, floured and fried. It needs to be sauced either before or after flouring or breading with what they call a dry sauce or paste (wet sauces are NOT Nashville hot chicken). Nashville hot chicken is HOT because the paste is suppose to be 1/3 fat and 2/3 cayenne pepper that gets cooked and reduced till thick. A few other seasonings may be added. Nashville hot chicken is also about flavor. It should be flavorful as much as hot. Authentic places will serve the chicken with dill pickles and white bread to catch up the juices nd flavor.

Hattie B’s in Las Vegas is located in the Cosmopolitan Hotel Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in a food court area. You order at the register and you pick up your platter at the end of the counter when it’s ready.

I ordered a small dark HOT with pimento macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. I ordered HOT because that is the same I had from the Nashville location.

This Las Vegas chicken lacks the cayenne aroma that the Nashville one had. I take a bite. The chicken is tasty and moist but doesn’t start you off with a sting like the Nashville one did. This one is also sweeter. This one is much milder……I thought it seemed greasier…..I thought it had even less crunch to it…….It’s tasty and is GOOD chicken but it’s not the same.

My husband got the same platter and a side of the hottest chicken strips they offer called, Shut The Cluck Up. I taste one.

This chicken is dry and it’s not stingingly hot either…….It’s not mild but it’s not like what came from Nashville….Even the Shut The Cluck Up isn’t as hot or delicious as Hot from Hattie B’s in Nashville.

Here are some pictures from Nashville.

The Hattie B’s in Las Vegas is Worth a Try! but to me doesn’t seem the same as from Nashville. Could be an off day????

www.HattieB.com

www.CosmopolitianLasVegas.com

Every FORKING Thing is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

True Food Kitchen Phoenix AZ – Tried a Healthy Summer Special – Worth a Fork

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True Food Kitchen is a full service casual restaurant located in Phoenix at the Biltmore Fashion Plaza in Arizona. They have another location in Scottsdale Arizona and around forty locations in the United States with the largest amounts of restaurants in California and Texas. The foods offered at True Food are based on the science to maintain your best health by choosing foods that don’t contribute to chronic inflammation by celebrity doctor Dr. Weil. He is famous for his alternative medicine. True Food Kitchen offers vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and they are happy to customize meals for you. A few locations of True Food Kitchen also offer healthful yoga brunches.

The Phoenix location of True Food Kitchen offers a foliage accented front patio.

A side patio.

Indoor is bright, woody and accented with green. There are large modern light fixtures. They offer seating at traditional tables, bar seating, half bench tables –

and by food preparation tables. The restaurant is busy and noisy. Music also fills the air.

Today I tried the Limited Summer Red Fish with sweet corn, edamame, onion, scallion, achiote and cilantro. (480 calories, gluten free and $26.00)

The red fish is very soft and moist and seasoned in a delicious way with achiote and other spices. The corn just might be the most delicious corn I ever had in a restaurant. It’s like you bought it from a farm and just grilled it. The corn is so sweet and so flavorful. Everything they mixed into it is delicious….I mean it really delicious!!!!! I liked that it seemed like the perfect amount of food too and it’s really rare that a 480 calorie plate is so satisfying.

My husband tried the Limited Summer Spinach and Mushroom Pizza. (970 calories vegetarian and $15.00)

This pizza was made with mushrooms, organic spinach, garlic, onions, lemon almond ricotta and seasoned with Aleppo pepper. The mushrooms are very flavorful but the spinach is just wilted. The cheese has a really light but grainy texture. My husband is slightly grumpy now and scraps off the lemon almond ricotta cheese that he mistook for regular ricotta with added lemon and almond. I told him to leave a small amount of the cheese to use as glue to hold some of the delicious corn to help remedy the taste and the corn is so good it makes the pizza delicious. He said, FORK some more corn over.”

I thought our server was trained particularly well. She had a great attitude, was helpful about the food, checked on us at the perfect time, offered desert and when I declined she dropped the check. That is perfect service.

I thought the healthy Summer Special of Redfish with the Corn Mixture was Worth a Fork!

www.TrueFoodKitchen.com

That was my trip to True Food Kitchen in Phoenix.

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

The Forking Truth