The Veranda is an eloquent breakfast-brunch-lunch type of restaurant located in the Four Seasons Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip that is connected to Mandalay Bay Hotel/Casino. We all know that it isn’t going to be cheap to eat anywhere in the Four Seasons………….I didn’t plan to dine here but got kinda stuck….We were going to the aquarium so I planned to dine in Mandalay Bay at The Border Grill but it was closed for holiday vacation and there are very few choices in Mandalay Bay for lunch. I thought The Veranda offered a nice menu and was walking distance so I gave it a try.

Anyways-

It’s formal inside with a bar and sort of retro seats at the tables. There is a patio that looks nice for when the weather is right.

I ordered an iced tea……I said, “I’d like a plain iced tea.” The server looked at me like I was from Mars and said, “Don’t you want a flavored iced tea?” It took him maybe 15 minutes to bring my ($10.) ice tea.

The highlight of our lunch was the crispy lemongrass cauliflower with sweet chili sauce ($20.).

They do give a generous amount of cauliflower that is breaded and fried to perfection. It lightly laced with lemongrass. It taste good without the sauce……The sauce cancels out the lemongrass taste and you get left with a sort of Chinese Take Out Duck Sauce Taste……This would taste much better with something that compliments like a citrus soy sort of sauce….

I try the Blue Fin Tuna Niçoise salad (I didn’t notice that it is $37…..It’s written real tiny and light on the menu)

To tell The FORKING Truth it’s not awful but it isn’t so great either………Most of it is tasteless. They squirted some tomato vinaigrette on the top that is sort of sweet with very little flavor. The tuna is ok but also with little flavor……..Nothing flavors the vegetables or egg. I almost never add salt and pepper to plates out but had to here. Even the green beans are plain. I asked my husband to taste one……He said, it taste like a boiled green bean. It’s pretty darn disappointing for $37. The blue fin tuna nicoise I had from Matteo’s in the Venetian was only $20. and much better….

My husband tried a Diablo Flatbread ($25.).

He was disappointed because the crust was like a cross between a super thin pita bread and a cracker…..and he thought the surface would have tomato sauce. He said that only around the ends was the tomato sauce topped with cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. It’s also small in size and he left hungry.

I don’t mind paying more for food if it is exceptional but here that is not the case. The most over priced meal of the year was from The Veranda at The Four Seasons in Las Vegas NV.

3960 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas NV

702-632-5000

www.FourSeasons.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Ferraro’s Ristorante is a very nice Italian Restaurant and Bar Located not far from the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. It has a very rice formal looking atmosphere.

Patio dining is also available for when the weather is right.

We went with the three course lunch for $28. (subject to change).

They started us off with complimentary fresh baked rolls with oil that was embellished with balsamic vinegar and PISTACHIOS.

My husband ordered an extra appetizer and tried the Polpette (meatballs) e Polenta.

He said it was delicious and much better than what you get at a lot of OTHER Italian restaurants.

First courses for us were –

A Very Good and modern style Cesare Salad.

And a very tasty.

The Ferraro’s Salad – mixed greens, carrots, tomatoes, Parm cheese, cranberries, sunflower seeds, PISTACHIOS, and balsamic dressing.

Main course were –

Pillowy potato gnocchi in PISTACHIO pesto with tomato and crispy basil.

and-

Salmon Limone – salmon was fresh tasting and prepared with a moist center, yellow & green squash, and asparagus were nice fresh and tender crisp too.

The sweet endings were-

Cannoli

And-

The signature house dessert PISTACHIO Passion.

The Three Course Lunch from Ferraro’s Ristorante ($28. per person subject to change) is Worth a Fork!

Ferraro’s Ristorante

4480 Paradise Rd Las Vegas NV

702-364-5300

www.FerrarosLasVegas.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Distill is a local bar, restaurant, and gaming type of place with close to a dozen locations around Las Vegas and Henderson Nevada. The Centennial Las Vegas location offers a separate dining room away from the bar and gaming. On the menu they offer all day breakfast and a wide assortment of food.

It’s a mix of traditional tables and booths.

We decided to share the buffalo cauliflower with blue cheese dressing.

It has a crispy tempura coating and is fried to perfection. The hot sauce does run spicy and most people out there will enjoy it. I must confess that I am unusually sensitive to certain ingredients. The hot sauce used either contains too much acidic acid or too much condensed vinegar so the sauce is too painful for my palate but won’t hurt most people. Must people will enjoy this buffalo cauliflower.

For my main I enjoyed the Chili Lime Salad with added Salmon. The Salmon came split open with nice grill marks. It’s easy to see that they prepared the salmon sort of medium-ish as they should. The salad is tasty and different with some pico, corn, and avocado with a mild chili-lime creamy dressing.

The build your own burger came out medium-rare as requested with carefully prepared bacon that still had some wiggle and wasn’t dried out crisp like what most places serve.

Distill offers casual food at reasonable prices.

Distill is Worth a Try!

Distill

6430 N Durango Drive Las Vegas NV

702-722-2999

www.DistillBar.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Pho Aimie is a full service Vietnamese Restaurant located in North Las Vegas Nevada. They offer around 20 varieties of Pho, Vermicelli Plates, Rice Dishes, Crispy Noodle & Rice Noodle Dishes, Soft Beverages, Vietnamese Iced Coffee, and Beer.

They offer appetizers like crispy chicken potstickers

You might like to try one of the Pho.

Above is the #17 Pho that is beef broth and rare steak with added meatballs and brisket (contains rice noodles)

This is the #27 Pho. Called Pho Sate. It’s a Spicy Peanut Soup w Rare Steak and Sate noodles.

Below is lemongrass chicken with rice noodles

Below is Shakin Beef

Pho Aimie is Worth a Fork!

Pho Aimie

2696 W Ann Rd North Las Vegas NV

702-522-8988

www.PhoAimieLV.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Little Dumpling is a casual American/Chinese Restaurant located in the North/West part of Las Vegas Nevada. In addition to the usual American/Chinese foods they also offer two pages of Thai Style Dishes.

It’s small and cozy inside. They offer booth seating and half booths.

We started out by sharing the potstickers. (they are chicken here)

They are actually quite good here. These are one of the only places that prepares them as they should with a crispy bottom. Most places in the area just fry them crispy all over.

Little Dumpling offers different spicy heat levels on the dishes. 1-10 and number 20. The server said that number 7 is too hot for her so I ordered number 5 and it was pretty hot. My husband ordered number 7 and it was even hotter.

I tried the spicy garlic chicken (it came with white rice).

It is a very generous serving. It also is packed with a good amount of vegetables (bell pepper, onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, baby corn, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots) and tender white meat chicken. The sauce does run sweet. If I was home I would add a little hoisin sauce to this and maybe a splash of sherry.

My husband tried the Kung Pao with beef.

This dish is also very generous in size. It comes with a nice amount of vegetables and peanuts. The sauce is unlike any I ever tried at any Chinese/American Restaurant. The sauce here is a spicy black bean sauce made with Szechwan Peppercorns.

Little Dumpling is Worth a Try!

6430 Sky Point Drive Las Vegas NV

702-251-9828

www.LasVegasLittleDumpling.com

Every THING is subject to change.

Nom Pang recently opened in the North-West Part of Las Vegas Nevada. This is a casual restaurant that offers Cambodian Dishes. Maybe you are not familiar with Cambodian Foods…No worries because if you eat sandwiches you will find something you like. This Cambodian cuisine is very similar to Vietnamese Cuisine. They offer their version of Banh Mi Baguette Sandwiches but here they are called Nom Pang. Also similar to Vietnamese dishes like rice plates, noodle salad bowls, curry and more is offered here. Soft beverages, smoothies, milk teas, slush drinks, iced coffee and boba is offered here.

It’s casual. You order and pay at the counter.

Then you seat yourself.

The tables are topped with napkins, chopsticks, sriracha, and other hot condiments.

I tried a Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli Bowl (lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, cilantro, cabbage, pickled carrots, dressing, peanuts, crispy shallots)

It’s generous in size and the dark meat chicken is tender and delicious…….It’s actually more flavorful and more spicy than the Vietnamese Versions I’ve tried.

My husband said that the Pork Belly Nom Pang was so amazing he doesn’t know if he can order anything else here (possibly a rice flour baguette or it seemed like, mayo (left off at my husband’s request), cucumber, scallion, pickled carrot, daikon, cilantro, jalapeño, pork belly).

Can’t wait to try more!

Nom Pang is Worth a Fork!

Nom Pang

4275 N Rancho Drive Las Vegas NV

702-268-8288

I have not found a website for Nom Pang. At this time they are open 8am-6pm Seven Days a Week.

Every THING is subject to change.

Da Braddah’s Grindz serves Hawaiian Food from a food truck and also has two locations in Las Vegas Nevada. The North/West Location newly opened in a Sinclair Gas Station. They offer Hawaiian Plate Lunches (enormous amounts of food with rice and macaroni salad served in styrofoam boxes), all day breakfast, burgers, and more. With only two tables inside to sit at so this is mainly a take out location.

You order and pay at the counter.

I tried the Korean Chicken Lunch Plate.

The steamed rice and macaroni salad is very good. The dark meat chicken is very tender and does have good flavors to it but something is wrong with the breading because it is wet and soggy.

My husband tried a two meat plate, (kalua pork & furikake chicken).

He said that the pulled pork, rice, and macaroni salad, was very good. Same problem with the chicken here. The chicken was tender and had good flavors to it but here the breading was wet and more like a paste texture.

Maybe the breading problem is an newly opening hiccup?

For now I’d avoid breaded foods here and the rest is worth a try.

Da Braddah’s Grindz in the Sinclair Gas Station

5700 Skye Point Drive Las Vegas NV

808-895-1745

www.DaBraddahsGrindz.com

EveryTHING is subject to change.