Vegas Trip: Sage @ Aria

2nd night in Vegas we went to Sage at the Aria Hotel. Both of us girls wanted to go there and it was definitely a great choice!  :)

Sage @ Aria

3730 Las Vegas Blvd. South,

Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

(702) 590-8690

http://www.arialasvegas.com/dining/sage.aspx

Price: $$$$+

We arrived on time for our reservation only to find that there was a mix-up and our reservation had been changed to an hour earlier. :/ But they sat us in the bar and said they will see what they could do. We didn't wait very long before they led us to our table.

The decor was very nice. It was dim with rich dark colors, velvet accents, very luxurious feeling but yet modern and hip. It was definitely a younger feeling than Michael Mina. The only complaint is that it's a little too dim cuz it made some of us sleepy. hahaha. That COULD be the lack of sleep too! hehe.

I have to mention our waiter Jason, who was fantastic. I normally don't mention people by name as you all know. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu and preparation of the dishes. The other waiters helping were great as well. Very attentive and aware. When one of my friends went to the restroom, they put a cloche over his food to keep it warm!! Wow. I've never seen that before! And they knew when he was coming back so they could remove the cloche for him. Impressed we are!! haha.

We started off with some bread. I chose the bacon wheat bread which had just a hint of saltiness and the whipped butter was really nice.

Then we were given an amuse bouche. Smoked Pork Pate with Toasted Pistachio.

It was yummy, the pate actually tasted like some sort of Asian sausage I've had in Asia. The flavors were light but well balanced.

So everyone else chose the RW menu and I opted to order off the regular menu since I wasn't very hungry and didn't want 3 courses...

Restaurant Week courses first... All 3 of them ordered the same appetizer and entree.

FIRST COURSE:
Charred Baby Octopus (Smoked Potato Puree, Padron Peppers, Preserved Lemon, Sylvetta Arugula).

They LOVED it!! The octopus was cooked perfectly, not at all chewy... We were all very impressed how they were able to get it so tender. All the elements worked together and the flavors were great. They all said it was probably the best octopus they've ever had.

SECOND COURSE:
American Wagyu Hanger Steak (Crispy Potato Pave, Honey-Glazed Baby Carrot, Black Truffle).

This dish was amazing! The Wagyu stead was cooked to perfection, super tender it was like butter. It had just the right amount of truffle on top and kicked the flavors into high gear! But that's not even the best part. The best was the crispy potato pave. Such a cool technique where they layer thin layers of potato and then cut it into a thin strip and then sear the edges. The crispy edges were amazing and when the flavors of the meat and truffle on top get absorbed into the potato....YUM. That's the best bite right there!

THIRD COURSE:
Blackberry & Chocolate Cremeux (Chocolate Fudge, Blackberry Mousse, Powdered Chocolate).

This was my favorite dessert of the night. The textures of the fudge and mousse were sooo creamy and silky and just a slight difference in the textures to create that layer of complexity to where it's not all mushy. Blackberries and chocolate really are a great flavor combination. And it wasn't too heavy since the mousse was so light. Delish!

Coffee Cream Cake (Caramel & Candied Walnuts).

The presentation was so nice on all the dishes. The coffee cream cake wasn't what I expected since it had a layer of soft caramel on the OUTSIDE of the cake. Really decadent looking. It was a little sweet for me since I'm not a big caramel person but it also had different layers of flavors and textures inside.

I ordered A LA CARTE:
Crispy Rainbow Trout & Green Beans (mustard vinaigrette, farm egg, pickled cauliflower, almond tuile) $15~

I wanted some veggies so I chose a salad to start. It was sooo pretty. I loved the presentation. It was playful and colorful and it was bigger than my entree at Michael Mina!! hahaha. This was an awesome dish. The egg was cooked perfectly on top. The yolk ran out when I cut through it was it wasn't too runny. The green beans were nice and crisp and had good flavor. I find that most times when you have green beans in a salad it's very bland. Not at Sage! The fish was barely cooked thru as you can see in the picture but it was perfect... so tender and I liked the crispy outside they wrapped it with.. my friend thinks it's thin strips of potato. The dressing was just enough and the pickled cauliflower added that touch of acidity which brought out the other flavors. Awesome!

Sweet Corn Tortelloni (lobster mushrooms, pancetta, swiss chard) $25~

This plate was beautiful as well. All the different colors and textures on the plate. Delicious. I loved the chunkiness of all the corn. They also did pancetta two ways. One is cubed and another is thin layers crisped up, both added different textures to the dish. The tortelloni was cooked well and the chard and mushrooms added a bit of earthiness. The only thing is that it was a hint too sweet, with the sweet corn and the sauce which I thought was like butternut squash underneath the pasta or something, not completely certain. All in all, another great dish.

So after the entrees, Jason asked me if I wanted to get a dessert since everyone else was getting one. I said I'd take a look but didn't plan on ordering anything since I was already so full. When he brought the menu he recommended the Peanut Butter Tart. While I was looking over the menu, one of my friends mentioned to Jason that I had a food blog and that led to more chit chat about foods and restaurants and food TV. haha. It was awesome. So I declined ordering a dessert but he brought me one anyways! haha. Now, how did he know he could buy my love with free goodies?!? hahahahaha jk. :p

Crunchy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Tart (Cassis sphere, toasted marshmallow sauce) $12~ 

It was beautifully plated. Very simple and delicate. The chocolate fudge had bits of crunchy nutty pieces in it and was super rich. The peanut butter on top was also very rich and creamy and full of pb goodness. The Cassis sphere was the most interesting. We had forgotten the description on the menu so we were trying to figure out what the fruit flavor was. It was bright red but tasted like passion fruit to me. Other people guessed blackberry and raspberry. When Jason came around, we asked him and he said it was Cassis liqueur and similar to a raspberry. Anyhoo, it was yumm~

They ended our meal with this small Mint Chocolate Drink.

Kind of like an after-dinner digestive or something. It was like rich, warm minty drinking chocolate if you've ever had drinking chocolate it's much richer than hot chocolate. Tasty!!

 It was a fantastic meal. Exceptional food and service. My bf said it was one of the best meals he's ever had in his life and pretty much everyone agreed. This is a must try when you are in Vegas! My friends are already talking about going back for another trip! haha.

Oh.. we were also talking Jason about other good restaurants in Vegas and mentioned we were going to Table 10 at Palazzo the next night. He took our information and said he would call up his buddy there and take good care of us. Sweeet! It's great to meet people that are well connected in the food world. :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

LA Trip - June 2011

I went to Los Angeles this past weekend just to hang out with some friends. And of course travelling means foooood!!! :)

Here are some random food pics for you to enjoy~

My bf has Executive Platinum staus for AA so we got hooked up in first class! Yea baby!!
We get food and drinks in first class..and it's gooood!

On the way to LAX:
Cheese Tortellini with Mushroom Sauce, Caesar Salad and Shrimp Cocktail Chicken with Rice Pilaf & Lima Beans, Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail and Wheat Roll
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Brownie Cheesecake and Raspberry Sauce
On the way back to DFW:
Tortellini (in tomato sauce and melted cheese; served with side salad and shrimp cocktail)
Chipotle Chicken (with a citrus sauce, Rice Pilaf, and Veggies; served with side salad and shrimp cocktail)
Brownie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Also, I got a BIG treat while I was there. A friend of mine invited a group of us over to celebrate on of my friend's birthday. He wanted to cook for us. I went in thinking it would be like potluck-ish style, casual dinner, etc. But nooo...apparently he's some MASTER CHEF in the making! It was soo amazing! I'm so honored that I got to try his food.

We started with Scallops 3 Ways:
Scallop on Avocado and Tortilla with Chimichurri Sauce
Scallop with Mango Salsa
Bacon Wrapped Scallop with Honey Garlic Aioli
OMG! Loved the colors and presentation (minus the plastic plates..hehe). I'm allergic to mango so I had to skip that one. :( But the other 2 were FANTASTIC! The chimichurri sauce had heat from the garlic and was so nice against the tender scallop and creamy avocado. The tortilla added the crunchy element. YUM! And bacon wrapped scallops? Who doesn't like bacon?!?! Delish. Loved the aioli...it was perfect.

Next was Tuna Tartare with Avocado. Fresh, large chunks of tuna paired with the creamy avocado. The marinade for the tuna was really flavorful. Not a dull dish at all!

Lastly, the entree was a Roast Pork with Basil Pesto Spaghetti. This was my favorite of the night, although I loved everything else. The pork was cooked perfectly with just the right bit of fat along the sides. The spaghetti was al dente...perfect! And the basil pesto just brought everything together. The colors were so pretty as well.

OMG. YUMMERS! If he ever decides to open up a restaurant, I'll definitely be there!

Afterwards we had cake for my friend's birthday. This was purchased from an Asian bakery. Taro Napoleon. I don't like taro but I said I would try it. It's basically layers of soft pillowy cake with cream and kind of a taro mousse and then a layer of crispy goodness. It was awesome. The crispy layer is what makes it so interesting. Plus it's not too sweet and light so doesn't weigh you down at all!

Stay tuned for all the other places I ate at!! :)

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Bottega Ristorante

Before the trip to Napa, I did some research and found sooo many amazing restaurants in that area, particularly Yountville. I wanted to go to The French Laundry as well, but it was definitely out of my price range at the moment. I decided to try Bottega, Michael Chiarello's restaurant. I used to watch him on Food Network and also watched him on Top Chef Masters. There's no doubt that he's a great chef and makes some amazing food.

Bottega Ristorante
6525 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599
(707) 945-1050
www.botteganapavalley.com
Price: $$$

An excerpt taken from the Bottega website:
"Bottega means "workshop," a place where we can showcase signature bold Italian flavors with a refined twist. Our menu highlights the bounty of artisanal and house made ingredients, as well as local produce."

I was surprised to find out that Bottega was reasonably affordable so I became more determined to go. We had half day on Saturday to explore on our own so I suggested to my sister and cousins on going there for lunch. Since we didn't make a reservation we got there right when the doors opened at 11:30AM. The hostess was really friendly and informed us that they had some tables available. :)

They seated us right by the kitchen. You could see all the action in the kitchen. Cool! The room we were in was a little too dim for me though. The room next door had sunlight coming through and was much brighter.

They came around and poured us water and the waitress took our orders. I recommended everyone on trying the pasta because Chef Chiarello is always making fresh pasta on his shows. So I thought the pastas would be pretty awesome.

After we ordered we were given some bread. The bread was nice and warm and the garlic olive oil was a great pairing with it.

One of my cousins ordered the Monterey Calamari (crisped with Arborio rice flour and aioli nero) $10~ to start. The portion was pretty small... We were all getting hungry so it disappeared really quickly! It was basically like $1 for 1 piece of calamari...kinda pricey! Although it was really delicious. It was fried perfectly, with the squid still being super tender. The aioli was made with squid ink. It was black and looked really interesting. I really liked it! It was creamy and nothing like anything I've had before. It complimented the calamari very well. I liked it so much I even spread the remaining aioli on the bread! haha.

It was really hard to decide since I wanted to try everything...but for my main dish I ordered the Pan Roasted Potato Gnocchi (early spring vegetables, English pea fonduta & 11 month Valley Ford Montasio) $17~ I'm SO glad I ordered this. Intially I was hesitant because it had no meat in it. But I didn't miss the meat at all! The entire dish was perfect (minus the carrots which I gave away...since I don't like them...). The gnocchi was by far the best I've ever had. It had a great sear and slight crisp on the outside...soft and pillowy on the inside. The sauce/pea fonduta was amazing. The spring veggies were cooked to perfection, all retained a slight crunch in texture along with the soft gnocchi. And the melted cheese on top just added another depth of flavor. Montasio is a cheese made from cow's milk. It's got a hint of sharpness and has bold flavor. Wow! I wanted to lick the plate clean...it was amazing! This was by far my favorite dish of the day. It was even better than I could've expected.

One of my cousins ordered the Calabrian Sausage & Lemon Ricotta Tortellini (spicy broccoli rabe, tomato-pork jus & mosto oro olive oil) $16~ The plate was really colorful and pretty. The tortellini was cooked well and paired nicely with the broccoli rabe. I didn't really get the sausage or lemon in the dish though. I would say out of all the dishes that day, this was probably my least favorite just because it was more normal, not spectacular.

My other cousin got the Black Pepper Bucatini alla Carbonara (with soft cooked local hen egg, parmigiano crema, shaved asparagus & guanciale) $16~ Guanciale is an unsmoked Italian bacon...it's name derived from Guancia which is Italian for 'cheek'. There were so many terms in the menu that I didn't recognize. So I had to look them up! haha. It was really good. The bucatini was cooked perfectly. Al dente! And the cream sauce was nice and rich. The runny egg on top looked sooo good! I liked this a lot.

This was my 2nd choice. My sister's bf got the House Made Rigatoni (tomato braised Sonoma rabbit sugo, wild mushrooms, house made ricotta) $17~ Sugo basically means "sauce". I love Rigatoni so this sounded really good. I was happier with my gnocchi though. haha. This was good as well. There were large chunks of rabbit meat in the sauce and it was really tender. The mushroom sauce was great and the ricotta made the sauce a little creamy. Again the pasta was cooked perfectly. It was a great dish.

My sister got the Red Wheat Linguine Bolognese (veal, pork & porcini mushroom sugo, rosemary, parmigiano reggiano) $18~ Perfect al dente pasta just like all the other dishes. The meat sauce had tons of meat in it. Normally most places don't have enough, this one actually had more meat than pasta! YUM!

This has been an amazing meal. The food was fantastic, with the gnocchi completely exceeding my expectations. The quality of the ingredients were super fresh and I thought the portion size of the pasta dishes were very reasonable. The service was also top notch. Our water glasses were refilled frequently and as soon as we finished the first batch of bread, they immediately brought more. The waitress was really nice and was able to answer some questions I had. I definitely recommend checking out Bottega when you are in Napa!! :)

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