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Friday, September 16, 2011

Vegas Trip: Holsteins @ The Cosmopolitan & Top Chef Just Desserts - Part I

So this next entry is actually going to be 2 parts because there's just sooo much and sooo freaking AWESOME!!!!

Where do I even start?!?

After I booked my trip for Vegas I started looking up great food places to check out. One place that caught my eye was Holsteins, a burger and shake place in the new Cosmopolitan Hotel. The main reason it stood out to me was because they make spiked milkshakes! And they sound amazing!!

Holsteins Shakes and Buns @ The Cosmopolitan
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
2nd Floor
(702) 698-7940
http://www.holsteinslv.com/
Price: $$

But the cool part is when Top Chef Just Desserts Season 2 started I noticed that Holsteins' pastry chef, Carlos Enriquez is one of the contestants!! Sweet! That just made me want to go to Holsteins even more!

As the season went on, Chef Carlos quickly became one of my favorites. He's mellow and drama-free and makes some great looking stuff!

Anyways, on Saturday in Vegas we were going from New York New York to Bill's Gambling Hall and decided to walk through Cosmopolitan since we haven't seen it yet. I took the opportunity to stop by Holsteins for a shake to go. While waiting to flag down the bartender...I see Chef Carlos walking out from the back. OMGGGGG!!! I was hoping I'd see him but didn't really expect to. So I stopped him and asked if I could get a picture with him and that I was a HUGE fan! Of Top Chef AND him! He was SUPER nice, very down to earth and easy going. We chatted a bit and he told me that he actually hired Chef Craig Poirier after the show wrapped up. That's so cool!


So he had some business to attend to so we went back to ordering our shake. My bf was like "you should give him your blog card.." And I was so nervous to... I was still in shock that I got to meet him. haha. Finally, after I paid at the counter, I saw him walking back towards us so I approached him with my card. He thought it was great! :D It made me a little less nervous. hehe. Then he was like "you got some time? Do you want to tour the kitchen or something?" Of course I'm not busy!!! I've got all the time in the world!!! hahaha. OMG. OMG. OMG!!! This is by far the coolest thing to ever happen to me.

He was so easy to talk to and gave us a whole bunch of information about the restaurant and some upcoming projects he's working on as we toured the kitchen. I also got to meet Chef Craig in the kitchen. He's super sweet~ It was so cool getting to go behind the scenes in a restaurant. But it didn't end there. He continued the tour to the other kitchens in the entire hotel!! We went up and down elevators, met other chefs and kitchen employees, saw different kitchens for catering, pastry, etc. Went into large freezers and saw the produce and already made desserts and soo much more. We even got to sample some of the desserts that were already made! YUM!

We learned so much that it was a little overwhelming, just trying to take it all in without having this shocked look on our faces. haha. I saw that they use super fresh ingredients, all their buns are specially made just for them as well as the ice cream for the milkshakes. Blue Bunny makes a special vanilla ice cream just for them. How cool is that?? As we were wrapping up the tour, Chef Carlos had the kitchen make 2 shakes for us (even though I only ordered one earlier). Yay! :)

Bam-Boozled Shakes:
Drunken Monkey (Reese’s pieces, banana, malt, Frangelico) $11~ This was the one I originally ordered. It was awesome! The shakes were thick and frothy. The banana flavor was so prominent and fresh since they use fresh bananas. The peanut butter added a bit of saltiness and nuttiness. It was a great flavor combination and you get chunks of reese's and banana every few sips. :) And you totally wouldn't know these were alcoholic...you don't get the bitterness of alcohol at all. It was just pure deliciousness.

Cereal Bowl (Cap’N Crunch, Absolut Vanilla) $11~ The Cap'N Crunch shake is also one of their top sellers. It was yummy as well. The vanilla flavor was bold with a slight roasted nuttiness from the cereal. If you don't like chocolate, this is definitely a great alternative. I liked both of them but the Drunken Monkey just a teensy bit more.

As we were leaving, Chef Carlos said that if we had time to go back and eat, to text him and let him know. :)))) I told him FOR SURE we're going to go back.

This is definitely the highlight of the trip AND probably this year! haha. Not only do I get to meet two Top Chef Just Desserts contestants but I also go to tour the kitchens of Holsteins and Cosmopolitan AND sample food and shakes!!! What a great moment. After we left, my bf and I just looked at each other in disbelief and then I started jumping up and down. hahahaha. I'll never forget this awesome experience.

Oh. and the shakes were really really really good!!!!  




Definitely go check them out!! :)

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

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