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NoMad Library – Not Your Average Chicken Dinner

NoMad Library, Las Vegas
NoMad's Roast Chicken

NoMad Library, Las Vegas

Dine among scholarly opulence…all the books on all the shelves are real, and you are encouraged to take them off the shelf to peruse…while sipping on your favorite beverage or waiting for your dinner courses to arrive.

Monday nights are for library dining. The NoMad Roast Chicken is offered as part of a generous three-course curated dinner for two for $100. And if that isn’t enough of a great value, Mondays also feature half price select bottles from the wine cellar. (not valid on holidays)

Note that this NoMad roast chicken recipe is not the same as the famous New York original developed a decade ago by Chef Daniel Humm stuffed with foie gras and black truffles. It’s not nearly as fancy, it’s more rustic – with chorizo, saffron rice, and mushrooms – but still really quite exceptional!

The NoMad Library is a soaring space, inspired by the iconic Library of NoMad New York. NoMad is named for the neighborhood NOrth of MADison Square Park. The robust Las Vegas menu celebrates American classics in a grand and continental way. In addition to the chicken, another Specialty of the House for Two is an American Wagyu Prime Rib rubbed with porcini and black garlic.

Situated on the top four floors (29 through 32) of the former Monte Carlo Casino Resort building, the NoMad Hotel shares the space with its sister property, the Park MGM Las Vegas.

From the beautiful, luxurious ambience – to the impeccable, genial yet professional service – to the impressive dishes that well exceeded our expectations for a humble chicken dinner – the entire experience was fun, cool, and accessible. And those fabulous popovers were an outstanding surprise to boot!

NoMad Library Chicken Dinner – For Two $100

Gruyere Popovers

unsalted butter

Truffled Deviled Eggs

crispy chicken skin & chive oil

The Roast Chicken

stuffed with lemon, rosemary, parmesan & brioche
served with chorizo, saffron rice & mushrooms

Chocolate

malted-milk ganache with chocolate fondant & malt ice cream

NoMad Library Dinner

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RE-Creating Joël Robuchon Las Vegas

Joël Robuchon - MGM Grand Las Vegas — A Table at Joël Robuchon – MGM Grand Las Vegas

RE-Creating Joël Robuchon Las Vegas

The past month has been very special. We were celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, 15 years of Taste With The Eyes, 3 years of living in Las Vegas, and the Platinum Jubilee of the Queen (remembering my mother’s trip to London for the Coronation in 1952).

The highlight of our celebrations was an exquisite dinner at Joël Robuchon’s eponomous Three Michelin Star restaurant at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. The entire experience ranks as one of our finest meals, ever. It was French Perfection.

The “Chef of the Century” sadly passed away in 2018, but his restaurants certainly keep his artistry, passion, and spirit alive. A single framed photo of the late Chef graces the credenza at the entrance to the restaurant.

The world-class restaurants, with a concentration of the world’s best chefs, were one of the many reasons I was excited to move to Vegas. They are now just 21 minutes (get it?) from my house! Of all the great ones, Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand is the crown jewel.

The Pierre-Yves Rochon art-deco Parisian apartment décor is swathed in plush hues of purple. The space exudes the same type of elegance found on the plate — we were inspired to savor every moment with all the senses. Trolleys were overflowing with breads and cheeses and mignardises. The impeccable service, opulent décor, unparalleled brilliant dishes….all made for a truly unforgettable evening.

RE-Creating Joël Robuchon Las Vegas

One of my most cherished creative outlets is to re-create historical events through food. Presidential Inaugural Luncheons in 2013 and 2017, Julia Child’s First Meal in France in 1948, and Dinner in Julia’s Cambridge Kitchen, are a few examples of many of my favorite re-creations. (See all the links below).

For this celebration, I am RE-Creating the restaurant in my home atelier and preparing a Salmon Crudo in a style in which I think the Chef would approve.

RE-Creating Joël Robuchon Las Vegas

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The Room Where It Happens (my kitchen)

“No one really knows how the game is played/
The art of the trade/
How the sausage gets made/
We just assume that it happens”

from Hamilton the Musical

A picture of my Boston Terrier “Oscar Goodman” posted on Facebook while he was hanging out in the pantry evoked some cute comments and questions about my Las Vegas kitchen… so I decided to share the whole enchilada here on Taste With The Eyes.

My house was built in 2018 on what, not so long ago, was a piece of dirt in the Mojave Desert. Now it is a wonderful thriving community called Inspirada, one of the top-rated master-planned communities in the country. As a bonus, Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area is an easy walk from my front door. And The Strip is a mere 21 minute drive away… It’s the best of all worlds.

Here’s Where The Sausage Gets Made

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3 Restaurants on The Vegas Strip in 3 Hours

Restaurants on the Vegas Strip

3 Restaurants on the Vegas Strip in 3 Hours

Three foodies enjoy a grazing lunch at three restaurants on
The Las Vegas Strip in three hours.

We were looking to graze on The Strip, to try lots of dishes in a fun and relaxed manner. We were looking for inspired original innovative tastes, famous chefs, trendsetting ambiance, within walking distance of each other, menus that would fit harmoniously with each other, with items that we could all share. (And they had to be open for lunch, as many high-end restaurants are not).

Turns out we chose 3 very different and exciting restaurants with mostly Asian fare: Momofuku by David Chang with a menu that draws influence from the US, Korea, and Japan. China Poblano by José Andrés with dishes encompassing a global voyage that has connected the cuisines of the East and West. And the new Din Tai Fung, a world-renowned Taiwanese restaurant that specializes in soup dumplings and noodles.

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Nashville Hot Chicken in Vegas

Slater's 50/50 Nashville Screamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich — Slater’s 50/50 Nashville Screamin’ Hot Chicken Sandwich

Nashville Hot Chicken in Vegas

Last weekend my brother Don and nephew Stone came to town to watch the Chicago Bears play the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. With the super popularity of Nashville Hot Chicken in Vegas, we thought it would be fun to do a “hot chicken tasting” the day before the game.

Belly Bombz Special Fried Chicken Sandwich Nashville Hot

We chose 5 popular restaurants off The Strip that serve Nashville Hot Chicken, all on the south end of Las Vegas. We ordered one sandwich, with a side, to split between the three of us. If there was a choice of degree of spiciness, we chose the medium spice to be consistent.

The sandwich was rated on a scale of 1 to 10 in five different categories: chicken, spices, bun, presentation, and toppings. At the end, we reviewed our ratings and we each gave the sandwiches an overall ranking.

Houston's Hot Chicken Sandwich — Houston’s Hot Chicken Sandwich

“If fried chicken lore is to be believed, Nashville hot chicken was created by a woman scorned. Sometime in the 1930s, there was a handsome man named Thornton Prince III living in Nashville. To put it in polite terms, Thornton was…active…on the dating scene — so active in fact that one of his girlfriends decided to seek revenge on his two-timing ways by cooking him some fried chicken with a little too much of a kick to it. The plan backfired; Thornton loved the chicken. And thus, Nashville hot chicken was born.” (from Eater Las Vegas)