Come join me, my friends, in a Gastronomic Wonderland!
Hello my fellow foodies, bons vivants, gastronomes, gourmets, connoisseurs of the finest food and wine! To celebrate the end of a tasty 2010 and to welcome in a delicious 2011, come travel with us to Las Vegas this last weekend of the year and experience some of world’s best food created by renowned chefs, served in breathtaking ambiance with superlative service. Vegas, it’s a food lovers dream-come-true, a gastronomic wonderland!
An Invitation to Taste With The Eyes:
Twist – Pierre Gagnier
Comme Ca – David Myers
Jaleo – José Andrés
Osteria del Circo – Egidiana & Sirio Maccioni
Mon Ami Gabi – Gabino Sotelino
JALEO
at
The Cosmopolitan
Delicate & Dirty Martini @ Jaleo
The Delicate & Dirty Martini is made with vodka, a spherified ‘olive’ and topped with olive air. The olive air is created by adding soy lecithin to olive juice and blending with an immersion blender until foamy. Let’s try this at home!
“When I was a young boy, I used to help my father cook the best-known dish in Spanish cuisine: paella—a country meal, using ingredients from the surrounding fields and the heat from burning vines. He would put me in charge of the open fire where we would cook for our friends and family. This is where I learned the art of controlling the heat, a skill needed to make perfect paella. At Jaleo, we bring you that same tradition of cooking Spain’s great dish over a wood fire. Our unique paella kitchen is like nothing you have ever seen! It’s the first of its kind in America. Watch my team as they prepare our amazing paellas in the traditional style of my home country. This is the best show in town!”
José Andrés
Paella Valenciana ‘Rafael Vidal’ @ Jaleo
a true classic of chicken, rabbit and green beans
MON AMI GABI
at
Paris Las Vegas
There are few things we’d rather do than sit in the sun on the Las Vegas Strip at Mon Ami Gabi,
watch the fountains dance to music at the Bellagio, and drink a pink French wine. Very few.
2009 Chateau de Campuget Tradition de Campuget Rosé Costieres de Nimes
Sea Scallops Gratinées @ Mon Ami Gabi
caramelized fennel and onion marmalade, mussel cream
Country Style Pâté @ Mon Ami Gabi
cornichons, whole grain mustard, country toast
Lemon-Thyme Seared Salmon @ Mon Ami Gabi
orzo, peas, leeks, spinach, lemon butter
OSTERIA DEL CIRCO
at
The Bellagio
Circo is back on our list. Opened in 1998, it was one of our little darling Vegas restaurants. But in recent years, so many new chefs have come to town, Osteria del Circo (Circus Tavern) took a back seat to the new experiences. What a pity as this gem still rocks. Now she is back on the list, and very near the top!
*Paglia e Fieno @ Circo
green & white tagliolini pasta with diver scallops and eggplant
*our favorite pasta dish in 2010!
IL Branzino @ Circo
pan seared mediterranean sea bass with campari tomatoes and vermentino velouté
COMME ÇA
at
The Cosmopolitan
Comme Ça is two weeks old – and oxtail jam is already a favorite here…
Roasted Bone Marrow & Oxtail Jam @ Comme Ça
with toast, parsley, fleur de sel
Comme Ça – The Classic French Bistro, Re-Imagined
TWIST
at
The Mandarin Oriental
“Cuisine does not measure itself
in terms of tradition or modernity.
One must read it in the tenderness
of the chef.”
*Pierre Gagnier
*our favorite chef in 2010
Prime Filet Mignon @ Twist
roasted, sarawak pepper, pierre’s sweet ‘n sour sauce
braised lettuce, paris mushroom stuffed, pate a choux, chestnut velouté
*Julie Lin
Wine Director Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas
*our favorite sommelier in 2010
Mojito, Foam, Lime & Mint Gelée @ Twist
fresh cucumbers, lime sorbet, granite, sugar
Caramel Apple @ Twist
caramel panna cotta, cinnamon apple paté, calvados ice cream
THANK YOU
Extending our special thank you for the exceptional service to:
Julie @ Twist
Debby @ Mon Ami Gabi
Andrea @ Comme Ca
Alicia @ Jaleo
Jay @ Circo
Happy New Year!
And extending my best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy, photogenic & delicious 2011!
Fondly,
Lori Lynn
Love it!
…and a very Happy new year! Cheers to lifetime friends!
Yum, yum and yum! Everything looks amazing…so beautiful and delicious! And, I love the title of your post…so fitting and adorable. Happy 2011!
Wow – the photos!!! Amazing! Thank you for sharing with us…it’s beautiful. After seeing all this, I am going to plan my next NYE in Vegas!
What gorgeous photos!!! They’ve made me hungry even though I just finished lunch 🙂
I’m not a gambler, but these is so much going on in Vegas culinaryly (is this a word?) that I’m thinking of going and eating my way through it! Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing them!
It’s good to be Lori Lynn! 🙂 That looks like a wonderful experience.
All the best to you in the new year,
Joan
P.S. Your photos are really fabulous.
Happy New Year to you and your family ! May year 2011 bring lots of wonderful thing in life.
Happy New Year ♥
Moltissimi Auguri
per uno splendido 2011
Lori, Thanks for sharing those lovely photos!
Wow…this was stunning. The photographs made me feel like I was at these amazing restaurants, enjoying all the goodies. The filet mignon looked amazing, and I loved the thought of that olive air. Thank you for sharing…and for all your sweet words on my blog. I feel blessed to know you!
Thanks for the culinary tour. Next time I’m in Vegas, I’m bringing you! What a luscious New Year you had! So when do you start making “olive air?” Happy 2011!
thank you for these photos. they are excellent and really made me feel like i witnessed the finest parts of your dining experience. vegas is such an awesome place. its strange how the finest foods are flown into this little desert town, kind of in the middle of nowhere!
The Caramel Apple Twist has my name all over it. The Bellagio and Venetian are my must stay at places when I get back to LV. Now all I have to do is convince my husband that he wants to live there!
Oh my goodness. It looks so decadent. I’m actually a bit afraid of going to Vegas…Moderation would be impossible. Happy new year Lori Lynn — looking forward to another year of your delightful posts.
You are so right, Vegas is a great place to eat experimental dishes! We skip the shows and hit the restaurants when we go! Happy 2011!
Always such lovely eats in Vegas! These meals look excellent for sure! Happy new year!
Wow! Looks like you had a pretty fab New Year yourself! What fun!
Thanks for sharing your delicious experiences and Happy New Year to you!
Leslie
Oh how lovely, I am green with envy.
I hope we meet soon. Happy New Year to you and the family!
Wonderful! A most delightful New Year to you and your loved ones!
Happy New Year Lori Lynn!!
Your Vegas gastronomic tour looks like it was a taste powerhouse, what a BLAST!
That roasted bone marrow & oxtail jam looks so yummy, it ALL looks yummy.
Your pictures and write up are fabulous.
Hoping the best for you in this upcoming year!
Jaleo, olive air, sea scallop gratinees and oxtail jam…oh what a celebration!!
sweetlife
My daughter will be going to Vegas this spring for the first time … I shared this post with her! Hopefully, she’ll have as tasty a time as you have had! I loved the look of those scallops at Mon Ami Gabi! The delicate martini looked pretty tasty too!
Happy New Year, Lori Lynn! I look forward to more excellence from TWTE !
This definitely get me real excited for our Vegas trip in the summer!