Rang’s Cocina Moderne is a full service Restaurant that serves a combination of Spanish, Italian, Asian Foods. Rang herself does most of the cooking and her husband Benedict does most of the serving. I’ve been here a bunch of times and on every visit any dish we’ve tried has been prepared to perfection. This restaurant has been featured in the July 3rd 2024 issue of Las Vegas Weekly and the Chef is also currently nominated for an award by the N.R.A. (Nevada Restaurant Association).
Tonight we had the Dulong.
This is embellished whitebait fish on grilled baguette slices.
My husband enjoyed the Chorizo Potato Croquettes.
Tonight I had the Chilean Sea Bass in a lemon coconut soy sauce.
And my husband enjoyed the real style Carbonara.
EVERYTHING Here at Rang’s Cocina Moderne is always delicious and prepared perfect.
I was searching for a corn cookie recipe because I made that really great Vivian Howard’s Corn Pudding Recipe and it is great but I thought some sort of corn crust might be good with it? I came across a King Arthur Baking recipe for corn cookies that is also based on another recipe…..A recipe by Christine Tosi for Momofuku’s Milk Bar so I thought it had to be delicious. I only made two small changes to the ingredients and one change to the method. When I read the comments for the King Arthur Recipe many people did say that the cookies were delicious but they spread like crazy when being baked. I thought that recipe had too much butter in it so I cut it by two tablespoons. I also cut the amount of cookie dough for each cookie and so they couldn’t spread I baked them in a muffin pan. FIXED THAT! The other small change is that I substituted some dark brown sugar for a small amount of the white sugar because a little bit of brown sugar adds great flavor. I do need to mention that cookies not always but usually do come out better if you make the dough the day before and chill it in the refrigerator so that is what I did……The dough the next day was EXTRA HARD but the cookies worked out well so that is how it goes. This will make at least 24 cookies.
Ingredients for 24 cookies
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup masa harina
1/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter – melted
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 egg
non stick cooking spray
Directions
Ina large mixing bowl mix together the flour, masa harina, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, sugars, and egg. Mix well cover and chill over night.
This dough is going to be very hard the next day.
The Next Day
Set oven to 350 F convection Bake (If you don’t have convection bake I’d suggest 350F) and spray a muffin pan with non stick spray and set it to the side.
Use a small meatball scoop and PACK the dough into it and put one in each of the muffin cups.
This goes on near bottom rack of your preheated set at 350 F convection Bake (that is actually 325 F)
In my oven they were perfect in 21 minutes.
They don’t look special BUT THEY TASTE SPECIAL!
They have a crispy crunchy exterior and the first day have a moist chewy delicious interior with a great corn taste. The 2nd day they still taste FORKING AMAZING but the one I tried was very crispy…..The rest other people ate.
A Special THANKS!!! To www.KingArthurBaking.com so I could do what I got here.
Junior’s Famous New York Delicatessen Has a location on the Las Vegas Strip in the Resorts World Hotel-Casino. Junior’s is well known for their cheesecakes.
Besides cheesecakes you can get all day breakfast, piled high sandwiches, 10 ounce steak burgers, salads, soups, and entrees.
Here’s some of the inside. (Bar area isn’t pictured)
It’s busy and energetic inside.
We shared a corned beef and pastrami combo on onion rolls (well that is what menu reads….) and a Nova lox Bagel.
They ask if you want pickles. We said yes.
WOW! they are extra sour…..OUCH!…..Too sour for me.
Corned beef on the left and Pastrami in the middle. (Onion Rolls?) and unseasoned potato salad. The corned beef is that extra mild type that is sliced so thin that it is almost shaved. The Pastrami is very unusual………It taste exactly like a hot dog……..
They came with slaw (Health Salad) and pickled beets (that are strong with acid).
Nova Lox and Bagel
Kind of below average….The bagel is like a frozen Lenders Bagel. The tomato slice is unripe and the lox is like old supermarket packaged lox.
I decided I’d try a slice of cheesecake since Junior’s is famous for that.
I was going to get the Key Lime Cheesecake but my server was very honest and told me that she is disappointed with the Key Lime Cheesecake because it lacks that refreshing lime flavor…..She thought the best one was the Raspberry cheesecake so I went with that.
In general I’m not the biggest fan of cheesecakes or anything raspberry so this is a leap for me……..Gets an A-OK from me so it’s not bad.
I did notice the majority of people dining here were enjoying traditional breakfast so that might be the other sweet spot here.
That was my trip to Junior’s at Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip.
Mama Surang’s Thai Kitchen is a small family owned and ran Thai Restaurant. They are located in the Spring Valley part of Las Vegas that is also west of the strip near The Gramercy. Their specialty dish is the Wagyu & Holy Crab Curry. Their other specialty is anything made with red curry. Mostly soft beverages are served here but I did notice bottles of beer in their refrigerator.
The Restaurant is “L” Shaped.
I asked about the Crispy Spinach Salad that I saw on their website.
The woman looked at me like I was crazy and didn’t say anything.
A waiter serves us next.
Then I ask what kind of fish is used for the Crispy Fish Dish?
Instead of finding out the waiter just says, I don’t know.
We order.
In reasonable time our appetizer the chicken potstickers come out.
They prepare them crispy all over.
Within one minute my husband’s dinner the Drunken Noodles with beef come out before we even ate any potstickers.
Next we eat the potstickers. They are OK.
He wants to wait for my meal to come out……..
We wait.
I see the owner at a table having a meal. His kids are on computers at some of the tables.
We wait.
Nobody says a word to us and we are the only customers at the time.
Over TWENTY MINUTES PASS. We are upset. My husband gets up and asks to pay for the potstickers and my iced tea. At that point the owner comes over. I told the owner that if they are having a problem in the kitchen that I should have been told. My husband says his meal is old and cold now and he wanted to eat dinner with me. The owner offers to make him a new meal but my husband declines. Then the owner offers us dessert but we decline. My meal finally comes out.
It was the Choo Chee Salmon (red curry based with coconut milk, green beans, bell pepper, ginger, & basil. It was very good.
Mama Surang’s Thai Kitchen – Good Food but not the best service.
Mezzo Bistro and Wine is an Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar located in the NorthWest part of Las Vegas Nevada.
For when the weather is right they offer patio dining.
The patio if you haven’t noticed is dog friendly.
And of course there is indoor dining.
Whatever you order they start you off with a bread basket with olive oil that is embellished with balsamic and lemon.
You might like to try a healthy appetizer like the grilled vegetable plate.
Or try another appetizer that sound healthy called portabella mushroom.
It’s full of lots of cheesy sauce and spinach.
They also offer salads like the beet salad that is drizzled with balsamic and topped with blue cheese and candied walnuts. You can add shrimp, chicken or salmon to the salad. I added chicken. It was slightly dry but tasty.
Some of the dinners offered are –
Sausage (hot or mild) Cacciatore
Below is- Sesame Ahi Tuna with Spinach Risotto and Asparagus
They also offer Veal Parmesan with pasta
Below is chicken riggies
They offer grilled salmon with asparagus and mashed potatoes
This recipe is delicious and really different. It is based on Yotam Ottolenghi’s Recipe for Sesame Date Banana Cake. One of the biggest things I changed was that I used my already frozen bananas because I freeze bananas when they are ripe and on sale and they are more delicious and much sweeter that way. Often I take frozen sweet banana and just whip them up for a sweet no added sugar frozen treat. I changed the recipe only slightly and made it easier to prepare. This will make around 23 cupcakes but I recommend to double the frosting recipe if you want frosting on all the cupcakes. I just froze my leftover unfrosted cupcakes for another time.
This makes about 23 servings
2 oz tahini
3 oz orange juice
10 dates chopped (pits removed)
1 cup sliced bananas (mine were from frozen)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 oz sweet butter cut into small chunks
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 + 1/3 cup flour
2 + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 big pinch sea salt
non stick spray
Tahini Cream Cheese Frosting (double if you want enough for all the cupcakes)
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons tahini
12-22 sweetened banana chips
Date syrup for finishing
Directions
Preheat oven to 320F or 320 Convention.
Spray cupcake pan(s) with non stick spray
In a large mixing bowl add the 2oz tahini, orange juice, dates, frozen bananas, sesame seeds, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well with a fork.
Fill sprayed cupcake tin half way.
Place in preheated oven until done. In my oven this took 20 minutes but your oven may differ some.
Make the frosting. I used a potato masher and mashed together the cream cheese, ricotta, brown sugar, and tahini till smooth and set to the side. Don’t top the cupcakes until they are cool.
Top the cupcakes when cool.
Drizzle with date syrup.
Finish with a banana chip.
Sesame Date Banana Cupcakes
A Special THANKS!!!!! To Yotam Ottolenghi for yet another FORKING AMAZING RECIPE so I could get what I got here.
Most times when something is on sale at my local supermarket it isn’t stocked on the shelf. One of the two main supermarkets also usually doesn’t have a person at the customer service desk so there is also nobody to complain to (at my closer supermarket Smiths). Even if you call to ask for a manager usually nobody answers the phone (Smiths).
Up above potatoes were on sale …….but not for me.
They have a nice BIG SIGN for Brussels Sprouts but there are no Brussels Sprouts.
I also wanted the 4 lb bag of Navel Oranges but none today.
Another pretend potato sale.
Again no potatoes……
Also no carts…..The two pictured are stuck together like they are glued.
Oh and my slighter further other local supermarket Albertsons plays the same games.
They sent me a coupon for a free doughnut. Not a doughnut to be found.
Here are some sale items I didn’t get.
No cucumbers
No Corn
My Local Supermarkets Usually doesn’t Stock Sale Items.
Taj Palace is an Indian Restaurant and Bar located on the West Side of Las Vegas Nevada. They are open daily for lunch (11am-3) and daily for dinner (5pm-10:30). They offer a menu selections of vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and Halal. For lunch they also offer a buffet.
Inside is a mix of traditional tables, booths, and bar seating.
We decided to try the buffet for lunch.
There are four different chicken dishes (Tandori, Tikki Masala, Chile, Curry) Many vegetarian pans, and goat.
We also received hot butter garlic naan bread that is tasty.
Here is my first plate.
I Tried Tandori Chicken, Curry Chicken, Chile Chicken, Tikka Masala Chicken, Chana Masala (chick pea curry), a Spicy Okra vegetable dish, a potato dish, and a vegetable samosa pastry. Just like at any restaurant I liked some things more than other things. I do have to give them credit because all the food seemed fresh (unlike at most buffets) and all the chicken dishes did have moist tender chicken. As far as flavors go the food seemed less Indian seasoned than what I have been served at other Indian restaurants. My favorite bite was the vegetable samosa. Maybe because I used chutneys on it and I should have used more chutney on the other dishes. My least favorite bite were the potatoes….but not because of taste. The texture of the potatoes was very strange and almost powdery inside.
I did take a second plate.
I did take another vegetable samosa and a little more Chile chicken. I thought the vegetable tikka masala tasted better than the chicken tikka masala. Didn’t care for the Medu Vada (lentil vegetable doughnut)
Just like any other restaurant out there you will like some things better than other things.
La Casa De Lucy Mexican Food & Bar is located in downtown Las Vegas Nevada. It’s a smaller restaurant and bar.
They offer a limited menu of breakfast items, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, a carne asada plate, mole poblano, enmoladas, menudo, and pazole.
I tried a three taco plate (one carne asada, and two chicken tinga). The plate came with refried beans topped with mild soft shredded white cheese and some extra sauce.
The best bite of everything is the chicken tinga tacos. It actually might be the best chicken tinga I ever tasted. The chicken s tender in a rich but very spicy sauce. The carne asada is better than a lot of them out there. My husband thinks that the beans are a bit thick.
My husband got the quesabirrias.
The quesabirrias are very well packed.The meat could be a little more tender but is OK. What’s BEST on this plate according to my husband is the really great beefy sauce in the cup.
La Casa De Lucy Mexican Food and Bar is Worth a Try!
61 W Utah Ave Las Vegas NV
702-321-1621
I haven’t found a website or Facebook page for La Casa De Lucy Mexican Food and Bar.
1228 Main Bakery Bar & Restaurant is located in the Arts District of Downtown Las Vegas Nevada. They offer fresh brewed coffee, baked goods, breakfast, lunch, and dinners. !228 Main Bakery & Bar is part of the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant Group.
Below are some of the baked goods.
Here is the bar area.
Below is the main dining area.
Here is a tasting of 1228 Main.
The Menus do often change but here is a sampling of some of the plates they offered.
Cyprus Grove Bermuda Triangle Goat Cheese with House Pumpernickel
focaccia with provolone, and mortadella
smoked salmon latke
Smoked Trout Salad
Italian meat sandwich
pastrami sandwich with fries
Wagyu Smashburger with Fries
Side Order of Corned Beef Hash (corned beef house made)
Grilled Salmon (this one was really amazing)
Pork Chop
Jidori Chicken (This one is spectacular!)
Lemon Cruffin
apple pie
To Go – Amaifi Lemon Cake
Spanish Style Cheesecake
1228 Main Bakery Bar & Restaurant is Worth a Fork!
