The TED Award Goes To....

I don't know how anyone feels about Jamie Oliver.  Some think he's a great chef.  Some think he's just another TV cooking personality.  Some even think he isn't that great of a cook.  But when I watched the following video, I think we can put our personal feelings aside and whole heartedly agree that food and obesity is one of the biggest problems we have in the fabric of American life.  We need to "re-learn" how to cook in this country.  We need to know that food doesn't always, or even have to, come out of a drive thru window or thrown in the microwave.  The clip in the video below that struck me most are the elementary school kids who don't know what a tomato looks like.  They don't know what a potato is.  It's a real shame.


So, let's do our best.  We live busy lives, but it doesn't mean we have to kill ourselves by eating crap.  As Mark Bittman writes in his book, Food Matters, if what you're buying at the grocery store has more than 5 or 6 ingredients, think about putting it back.  We don't need all that sugar.  We don't need all the additives.  We need to eat right and we need to do it now.

Not My Kind Of Town?

Sinatra sang about "my kind of town", but that was Chicago, not New York, and certainly not Las Vegas. When I think of Las Vegas, I pretty much think of The Strip. I don't think about Henderson or Sumerlin, both nice areas of Vegas that I never visit.  Heck, I don't even think about the Hoover Dam.

So, after the most recent visit to Vegas, I have to say that it's just not my kind of town. The Strip, that is. I don't mean that it's not a cool place to visit, but I guess it's just not for me. I don't gamble. I don't drink. Partying to me looks more like fine dining then throwing back Corona after Corona in the Golden Nugget at the craps table. I guess of all the things that Vegas is known to offer, I don't gravitate towards any of them. And this last trip validated that even though Vegas is a great dining town, I would rather visit those establishments [Fleur de Lys, Bouchon, Bouchon, Craft to name a few] at their flagship cities like Napa Valley, San Francisco, or New York than to go to Vegas each time to say that I've been to a Thomas Keller or Huber Keller restaurant.

Don't get me wrong, we had a good time, but I guess rather than visiting these restaurants in Vegas, I would rather visit different cities where these places originally reside. And if I had to be completely honest, staying at hotels where drunk people rampage down the hall yelling, laughing and screaming at two in the morning, just isn't my thing. Nothing wrong with having a great time, but I guess I'm just too old for it now.

So here's to Vegas. We'll go back one day, but if it were up to me, it'll be quite a while before we go to The Strip again. One fabulous meal doesn't necessarily make me want to head back right away.


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Floored by Fleur de Lys

There's something special about the French.  It's not just that they have a je ne sais quoi about their culture and presence that make us non-French think we're the antithesis of art and culture.  And they're not even trying to be a snob.  As the Merovingian said in the Matrix trilogy:

"I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favourite - fantastic language, especially to curse with. Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperies de connards d'enculé de ta mère. It's like wiping your ass with silk, I love it."

There's a reason why Paris was/is the epicenter of the art culture.  There's a reason why many of the world's chefs base their training on French cooking.  No one is arguing there are more ancient and perhaps even equally great cuisines of the world, but none has transformed our views of food than the French.  And when we visited Fleur de Lys in Las Vegas, it reminded me that cooking is a service.  That service speaks about one's character, one's dedication to an art, and one's passion.  And Hubert Keller, like so many of his contemporaries, wants everyone to know that just because his restaurant is in Las Vegas, there is no compromise on excellence.

Amus Bouche

For those who isn't into eating/dining, this will be an over-stuffy, over-priced, French restaurant that throws its nose up in the air.  But one should only push aside their preferences and enjoy the creation that's coming out of that kitchen.  To only view food of this caliber as a way to sustain life is to look at a piece of art as a mere hobby.  There is real artistry to make a single strand of fettuccine rolled up with duck ragu bathed in warm truffle onion soup that is imaginative and well executed [see below].

I know many food reviewers give this place less than the maximum rating because of the price.  But on the website of the restaurant, it clearly states that for an average check, it will cost $82 per person.  If you are expecting the king's ransom for a meal this good, please just go to Nathan's hot dogs at the MGM food court.  I never understand people who bury a restaurant rating merely because of the price.  Certainly, there are overpriced restaurants who deserve the rating they get, but at Fleur de Lys, I would challenge anyone to tell me their food simply sucks.  I don't believe someone like Hubert Keller would allow that at his establishment.  It's his reputation on the line.  And in the culinary world, if you don't have your reputation to bring people in to spend $100 per person, then you will close down in less than 6 months.


The 4 Course Prix Fixe Menu:

• Amus Bouche: Tempura Cod with Potato Risotto and Creme Fraiche
• Truffled Onion Soup
• Chorizo Wrapped Seabass
• Stout Braised Short Ribs With Guinness Reduction
• Warm Chocolate Fondant Cake

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'WichCraft

A sandwich, apparently, is not just a sandwich.  It's more than just 2 slices of bread wrapping itself around deli meat.  It's not Subway or Togo's, nor is not, good heavens, Quizno's.  It should also be a culinary experience, and Tom Colicchio has given us 'WichCraft, a casual sandwich stop inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. 


Here's my review of 'WichCraft.  Good to the last bite.  I wouldn't drop everything to go there, but we were already staying at the MGM, so it was a good excuse to get on the culinary roller coaster and see what's on the other side.  


What I realized was that no matter how good of a chef you are, you really are as good as the ingredients you've chosen for your craft.  Tom Colicchio would have gone with your typical bread choices [white, wheat, rye, etc.], overstuff it with some Boarhead deli, and charge $15 per and called it a day.  But the skirt steak, fried eggs and oyster mushrooms on a roll breakfast sandwich packed a good punch for $10.  I think we're all pleasantly surprised when we are expecting a run-of-the-mill sandwich, even if it's Tom Colicchio, and we get something better.  To be honest, a sandwich is a sandwich in that the components are basically the same.  2 slices of bread or roll cut in half.  Meat.  Condiments.  But throw in a twist, like the fried egg, and everything lightens up and the sandwich makes more of a statement [below].  

Pleasant surprises are always good.  Like when my wife won $20 on a $20 slot credit for MGM guests on the first pull.  It's not world changing, but for a few moments, life is good.  Same with 'WichCraft.  It's not an earth shattering sandwich, but for the time it took to eat it, life is good.  Life doesn't have to be limited to the passionless, visionary lacking turkey sandwich from Subway [sorry Subway fans - especially Jared, who's their spokesman].  It can be more, even if it's just a sandwich.

What was ordered:

• Skirt steak, fried egg, and oyster mushroom sandwich
• Roasted turkey, avocado, and bacon sandwich
• Toscana soup [sausage, roasted peppers, and spinach]

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