Category Archives: Forking Thoughts

Halloween Horrific Food Edition 2024 Las Vegas NV

Halloween is when my claws come out and I complain about some of the lousiest food I tried here. (I drew the picture below for a restaurant I used to work for)

Our local food critic always raves about an Italian Restaurant called Cipriani. This restaurant was also on Eater Las Vegas as one of the best for lunches in Las Vegas so I had to try it. We got the three course menu. The FORKING Truth is that two of the three courses were horrible.

I started with the lentil soup that completely lacked any depth of flavors….For the most part it tasted like a bowl of wet dirt.

Lentil Soup

For our mains we both tried the branzino with pasta. The pasta was perfect but possibly they forgot to season this dish? The only flavor was the fishy bloodline that they might have also forgotten to remove from the fish.

The North Las Vegas Location of Servehzah Bottle Shop and Tap Room might serve good beer but food is another story. All the tacos…even the fried tacos were served cold. The fried meat tacos also were coated in a wet cold (what seemed like thawed from frozen?), possibly raw batter and didn’t taste good. I had a protein bowl that is their signature specialty dish. The chicken was served cold and had this unappetizing taste. The dressing didn’t pour and was hard like cold cream cheese. I think it is possible that it might have been a health violation.

Some things from Izakayo Go were indeed very good but raw fish is usually very good from Japanese restaurants. The big eye tuna steak was NOT EDIBLE. It was raw inside and not tender at all. It was like trying to bite into a raw turkey leg.

I heard mostly good things about Fat Choy. They were even featured on Drive Ins Diners and Dives. The chef also has great experience working at very fine restaurants such as Robuchon. My server recommended the salmon teriyaki so I gave that a try. My fish was slightly over cooked and slightly fishy tasting maybe from being over cooked but my husbands Crispy Korean BBQ Rice bowl was even worst (see it pictured below).

Crispy Korean Beef BBQ Rice Bowl

I tried a small piece of beef. WOW……It’s not developed with any kind of flavor and has a dehydrated beef jerky kind of texture. This is really awful.

We went to MRKT Land and Sea. This is a luxury restaurant at Aliante Casino. I tried the salmon dinner.

Salmon from MRKT

They over cooked the salmon till it was dried out and crumbly.

I sent it back and then they made me raw salmon that was partially over cooked on the ends. They said that they were going to try again but after waiting another 40 minutes we decided that they couldn’t cook salmon. I didn’t have dinner that night.

Incase you don’t know how salmon should be cooked I added a picture from how Bouchon serves salmon.

Salmon from Bouchon

We all should get something like the above from a luxury restaurant.

The Harvest Cafe is sort of a budget restaurant that offers a large menu with lots of variety including breakfast. The prices are very low so you go in not excepting the best. But I made the mistake of expecting the standard or just ok.

This is a very sad plate. I picked the grilled cod because I thought it was the easiest plate on the menu to get ok. I don’t know how they made it but I can imagine frozen fish sticks that got the batter removed and the fish got drenched with four. They grilled it well on one side with the other three sides tasting like raw flour. In the process they over cooked the fish sticks till they were tough and chewy. The green beans were dropped in a nasty tasting oil and served soggy. The rice just tastes gross. You go here when you have a cold and can’t taste your food. Or you go here when you are dieting and are trying not to eat.

And the mediocre or non-honorable mention

Prince’s Pizza

We tried four different slices..None of them looked bad but all four supposedly were made with a different sauce…????……All four were made with tomato sauce that was as sweet as candy.

Uncle Paulie’s

Hated the pastrami sandwich.

Pastrami sandwich from Uncle Paulie’s

Weird tasting pastrami with crunchy ends on not so great bread.

From Greens and Proteins Restaurant –

Just awful tasting and mostly everything was over cooked.

Thai Chicken Peanut Bowl from Greens and Proteins

The Chicken Peanut Bowl was missing the mushrooms and the asparagus. Chicken was dry and chewy. Rice was mushy. My husband’s plate was Chewy steak, hard rice and just didn’t taste good.

Spiedini Fiamma Italian Bistro –

Here almost everything was either over cooked or undercooked. The chicken was under cooked and also had rubbery skin. Dessert there had a frozen center.

Chicken from Spiedini Fiamma Italian Bistro

This was the 2024 Horrific Food Edition from Las Vegas NV.

(below is another one of my artworks)

Happy Halloween!

The Forking Truth

Notable Dinner of the Week – Monzu Italian Oven & Bar $62. Chef’s Table Menu – Worth a Fork!

Monzu Italian Oven & Bar is an Italian Restaurant not far from the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. They offer house made bread and pizzas made with a three hundred year old natural starter that gives the bread and pizzas a sophisticated developed taste. They offer many starters, salads, pizzas, entrees, desserts, bar drinks, and Italian Wines. Certain hours they also have live music.

We always get the $62. Chef’s Table Menu. It’s always different. They do customize for your taste. It’s also way more food than you can eat so you always have leftovers to bring home.

Whatever you order they start you off with their amazing country bread that is served with olive oil and house made ricotta cheese.

Then with the $62. Chef’s Table Menu you might get Antipasti like this….

There was four kinds of Italian meats, four kinds of Italian cheeses, Italian fried breads, pistachio crusted goat cheese, walnuts, and sage fried anchovies. On previous visits I remembered getting a fried artichoke and another time we got fried stuffed squash blossoms.

Next courses were –

Kale salad with pomegranate and fennel salad with crunchy sweet fennel

Crepe lasagna with beef

Potato Gnocchi with walnuts and gorgonzola sauce

This is their pesto multi cheese pizza. I think I’ve tasted the very best pizzas here. They are like no other and “POP” the most. Delicious amazing developed crust and spectacular toppings. Then the pizzas go straight up to the Stratosphere with the crushed Calabrian Chilies and the garlic marscapone condiments….WOW! You won’t get this anywhere-else.

tender Lamb Chops with roasted potatoes

Tender Hanger Steak with herb sauce and roasted potatoes

Citrus Doughnut, pistachio dipped cannolis, nougat, cookies is a sweet ending.

The $66. Chef’s Table Menu from Monzu Italian Oven & Bar is The Notable Dinner of the week and also is Worth a Fork!

WORTH A FORK!

Monzu Italian Oven and Bar

6020 W Flamingo Rd Las Vegas Nevada

702-749-5959

www.MonzuLV.com

The Forking Truth

Showing Off

Showing off is just to show you that I cook stuff. The majority of what you see here can be found as a recipe here www.TheForkingTruth.com Of course I don’t photo everything just the special occasion stuff I make for gatherings. Up above egg salads stuffed into cracker cups I made (cracker cups are just bread crisps that I shaped different).

Below are butternut squash filled fried crepes with 5 spice and some orange ginger sauce.

Honey Apple Cake

An unusual visit from The Giant Aussie Shepard/Cattledog. She seems oddly enchanted with the honey apple cake. Don’t worry I let her have some and she lapped it up. My smaller dog is running around barking right now. If I made something with cheese or chicken he would be here.

Mini Potato Knishes with the Honey Apple Cake

Potato Cheddar Pierogi

Cheesy Potato Filled Potatoes and Wasabi Potato filled Potatoes

Mini Bouchon Bites topped with chocolate pots de creme and a cherry (Bouchon Bakery recipe for really great chocolate cakes)

Plain pizza with a variety of fresh cheeses and with slow roasted tomatoes and home grown basil

Enjoy!!!

The Forking Truth

Forking Thoughts – My Local Supermarket is Always a MESS!

My local supermarket is always a mess.

This you just have to see to believe.

It’s also not as clean as I would like.

I always get blocked off from going down an aisle and forget to go back…..

I hate when the packaged food is also messy.

Sometimes it’s a mess as soon as you walk in.

This is NUTS.,,,,I can’t get to the nuts.

Sometimes things are spilled on the floor.

Instead of mopping the floor they just throw these orange pads on the floor.

Poor dog.

Another poor dog.

Another FILTHY shelf.

Some of the food you buy here has already been on the floor.

My local Supermarket is always a mess!

The Forking Truth

Notable Dish Of The Week – Prime Rib Burger from Carve Prime Rib at The Cannery Hotel/Casino North Las Vegas NV

The most Notable Dish of the week was the ten ounce ground in house Prime Rib Burger from Carve Prime Rib at The Cannery in North Las Vegas Nevada. It’s just so darn flavorful and juicy. The majority of burgers out there just don’t come close to the delicious flavors here in this burger. I prefer my burger without cheese but Swiss cheese is the cheese that is included with this burger. The great BIG burger comes with sautĂ©ed mushrooms, the usual lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, and skinny fries in a heated bowl. Some people will get two meals out of it and some people do eat the whole thing.

The Ground In House Ten Ounce Prime Rib Burger is the Notable Dish of the Week!

Carve Prime Rib at The Cannery Hotel Casino North Las Vegas Nevada

2121 E Craig Road North Las Vegas Nevada

702-507-5777

www.Cannery.BoydGaming.com

The Forking Truth

***Update Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi Recipe

One of the all-time-BEST recipes I ever came across was the Cook’s Country Cheddar Pierogi Recipe. (Published on here but slightly different I think the only difference was that I fried mine). Usually Pierogi are served like ravioli (just boiled) and the next day get served fried but I think pierogi are always tastier fried.

My ****UPDATE**** is that I just learned by accident that the pierogi come out even better if the filling is chilled hard. When the filling is fresh made it is too soft to shape and stuff well…..

I had chilled cheddar potato filling that I made for stuffed potatoes and I thought the leftover I’d make into pierogi. That is how I figured it out.

That is my update to Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi Recipe.

The Forking Truth

Notable Dish Of The Week – Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie from Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian By Emeril Las Vegas NV

This was a better than average week with a lot of great food. One of the dishes that is always incredible is Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie. It’s so life changing that even if you hate banana cream pies you will love this one. My husband HATES banana cream pies but also loves Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie because it really is FORKING AMAZING and like no other. It’s just FORKING DELICIOUS. It is a sin and a shame if you go anywhere where there is a Emeril’s Restaurant and don’t get the Banana Cream Pie.

Available in several states but my last one was at….

Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian by Emeril

3355 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas NV

702-414-3737

www.DelmonicoSteakhouse.com

www.EmerilsRestaurants.com

www.VenetianLasVegas.com

The Forking Truth

Supermarket Discounts are getting harder to do now

Back in the old days……..(not so long ago)…..You only needed your shoppers card to get your supermarket discount sale items.

Besides using your shopper’s card…….several years back they added an annoying digital add on to get discounted sale prices.

Now there is another new choice for discounts.

Now we suffer with Delivery or Drive up and go prices.

UGH!!!!!

And That’s The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Notable Dish Of The Week – Japanese Baby Peaches from – Bazaar Mar by Jose Andres – Las Vegas NV

Bazaar Mar is a Seafood Tapas Restaurant with Spanish Embellishments by multi award wining and Michelin Stared Chef and Restauranteur Jose Andres and Team. This week it was quite hard to pick the notable dish since almost any from Bazaar Mar could be the Notable dish. A close choice for me would have been the mini fish shaped sandwich on a special hallow bread called bagel and lox. It was really exciting but the Japanese Peaches with za’atar were also extra exciting.

Japanese Baby Peaches from Bazaar Mar

The little green fruits are the Japanese Peaches. The plate also contains stracciatella cheese, hazelnuts, little crunchy bites, fresh green leaves, and za’atar.

You are suppose to gather one of each on your spoon to eat it.

It’s so interesting…..So different……It’s also light and refreshing.

The Japanese Baby Peaches from Bazaar Mar is the Notable Dish of The Week!

Bazaar Mar (located in The Shops at Crystals)

3720 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas NV

702-803-1100

www.TheBazaar.com

The Forking Truth

Showing Off

Showing Off is just to show you that I am still cooking or baking things.

Up above is a plain pizza with a good amount of fresh mozzarella on it.

Next is a slightly different onion galette. I used asiago cheese and added seeds and flake sea salt to the ends of the crust.

Below are spaghetti cupcakes

Next are-

Baked Salmon Mousse Balls and I also made a Mandarin Ginger Sauce to go with them and they sit on these cute little cracker bowls.

Sweet Potato Hand Pies

From the leftover sweet potato filling I just added an egg, more sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, pomegranate, and a few chocolate chips, and then embellished the tops.

Sweet potato bites with pomegranate and chocolate chips

Lightly Pickled Deviled Eggs

I packaged them like this.

That was a little bit of showing off.

The Forking Truth