Meddlesome Moth

Wow... it's already been 2 weeks since I was in Vegas. This month is flying by! And almost Christmas!! :) 

Last week I went with some friends to Meddlesome Moth (in the Design District). They had recently changed chefs...now currently the chef that used to be at Screen Door (which closed). Thought we'd go and check it out! 

Meddlesome Moth 
1621 Oak Lawn Ave. 
Dallas, TX 75207 
(214) 628-7900 
http://www.mothinthe.net/ 
Price: $$ 

We had to sit outside since there was a long wait inside. Luckily it wasn't too cold out... Their patio seating is quite nice. 

We got several dishes to share. 
Pig and Fig (pork belly, blue cheese grits and bbq fig) $12~ 

This sounded so good. But if you are not a fan of blue cheese, this is not for you. I can tolerate blue cheese and it was still a little stinky for me. haha. But the pork belly was fried nicely and fatty. The combination of the blue cheese grits and fig was a bit strange. Personally I wouldn't get this again, but if you love blue cheese and fatty pork, this is the dish for you! 

Nueske's Bacon Lollipops (with funnel cake and maple hollandaise) $12~ 

This was totally yummy. For those who like the sweet and savory combo. The pork belly almost had an Chinese roast pork flavor. YUM! The funnel cake was a bit too crispy but the hollandaise was amazing! Sweet from the maple and paired so well with the funnel cake. 

Zucchini Chips (Mediterranean sea salt) $8~ 

A waiter walked by with this as we were ordering. It smelled so good so we got one too. It was disappointing. The slices of zucchini were so thin that it just felt like we were eating grease. It disintegrated in my mouth as soon as I put it in there and just felt greasy. :( 

Toasted Mushroom Farro (with Grana Padano) $10~ 

I really wanted to try this. I've seen Giada make farro a lot on Food Network but I've never had it. I liked it a lot. It's kind of like a fat brown rice. It's all about the texture and I'm all about that! 

Chocolate Pecan Pie. 

My friend ordered this. I think they change their desserts daily so they didn't have a dessert menu. There was a thick layer of chocolate under the top crust. It was super yummy. I'm not a fan of Pecan pie, but if it's Chocolate pecan pie, that's another story! :P 

It wasn't as great as my first dining experience at Meddlesome Moth. But we also ordered completely different things. So I don't know... might just be hit or miss. 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Vegas 2012: Carnevino

The last night in Vegas I made a reservation for Mario Batali's Carnevino. I watch him all the time on Iron Chef and The Chew! And I've heard amazing things about his restaurant. 

We arrived on time and were immediately seated. It wasn't packed at all while we were there. The place was quite big despite what it looks like from the entrance. 

Carnevino Italian Steakhouse - Palazzo 
3325 South Las Vegas Boulevard 
Las Vegas, NV 89109 
(701) 789-4141 
http://www.carnevino.com/home.cfm 
Price: $$$-$$$$$+ 

We were greeted by our waiter with menus and served some water. He later came back to give us a background of the food and their specialties. He seemed pretty knowledgeable of the food. 

After we ordered we were served compliments from the chef. Three Cheese Zeppoli (Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano). It was light and airy. Not bad, but I wasn't blown away... 

Another waitress came by and served us some Rosemary Focaccia (with whipped unsalted butter and Pork lardo butter with rosemary). OMG. The way she described the pork butter was amazing.. but I was underwhelmed with the flavor. They should put some chopped up bacon in there or something. haha. 

For the appetizer we got the Grilled Octopus (pickled vegetables and limoncello) $25~

This is the main reason I wanted to come here. My foodie friends have told me that they have the absolute best octopus they've ever had. The waiter also recommended this... they've won awards I think? And indeed they should. The most tender preparation of octopus I've had. Tons of flavor... hint of spice, hit of acid, it definitely wakes up your palate. Very very good. 

For the entree I already knew what I wanted. The 2nd reason I chose to come here. haha. I got the Spaghetti Nero (crab, jalapenos, and shallots) $25~ 

I love squid ink pasta and I really wanted to try theirs. I mean Mario Batali is Italian, the pastas HAVE to be good right? hehe. I liked the flavors a lot. The jalapenos added just the right amount of heat. And there was plenty of crab throughout. However, I felt the pasta was a tad undercooked. And I love al dente pasta and this was even a bit under for me. And I'm sorry to say.. I found a few crab shells in my dish. That's a bummer given the caliber of this restaurant, they should be more careful... Other than that I still enjoyed it. But I rather have the squid ink pasta at Spoon in Dallas any day!! 

My friend ordered the Spaghetti Ai Frutti di Mare (slightly spicy with clams, giant shrimp, lobster and calamari) $31~ 

It looked really good with all the seafood on top. The pasta was cooked a little better than mine. But the lobster was overcooked and dry. The sauce had nice flavor though. 

Another friend got the Veal Chop (20oz bone in; Rubbed with special blend of sea salt, thyme and porcini powder) $85~ Natural, pasture raised veal from Strauss Farms. 

He ordered it medium rare but I think it was more medium. Still quite tender but for $85 it should be spectacular. The flavor was light so you can actually taste the meat, which I liked. But all their meat dishes are a la carte which I hate. I think if you are spending big bucks on a piece of meat, the restaurant can at least give you some sides to go with it. We're poor young people so we didn't want to break the bank. hahaha. The $85 splurge was already big enough so it was just basically a piece of meat on a plate. haha. 

We were too full to have dessert. But I wasn't really into trying anything either. I guess I had really high hopes for this place with the celebrity chef I watch all the time plus the recommendations by my friends. I wasn't impressed. I would rather spend my money at John Tesar's Spoon right in Dallas!! And the waiter, even though he was professional, wasn't very friendly. It seemed like he couldn't wait for us to finish and leave just because we weren't dropping bank on this meal. It made me feel like we didn't belong there. Sigh~ The other assistant waitress/waiter were all great though. 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Vegas 2012: Wicked Spoon Buffet

I limited myself to one buffet this trip. I can no longer eat that much!! Hahaha... well I can.. but my body just hates me too much after. :P 

My friends and I picked the Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan. It sounded so fun and the selling point was that they have a gelato bar!! Nice! 

Wicked Spoon - Cosmopolitan 
3708 South Las Vegas Boulevard 
Las Vegas, NV 89109 
(877) 551-7772 
http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection/wicked-spoon.aspx
Price: $$$$ 

The decor is really nice. I really like the art on the pillars at the entrance with the different kinds of spoon. It seemed to go with the fairy tale name. 

There was a huge line already when we arrived at 11:45AM. Luckily it wasn't too long of a wait. But then we saw that there was ANOTHER line on the side to be seated. haha. The first line was only to pay... But still, not too bad. I think we waited about 20-25 minutes total. The buffet is $34.95 a person (including tax) which seems to be the standard rate across the strip. 

And straight to the food! They had a pretty good selection of things from Asian, to Mexican, American, Italian.. Not the biggest buffet I've seen but definitely enough. The dessert section is what I scoped out first, of course! Everything looked so cute and delicious and I can't wait to try the gelato bar! 

Gelato Bar. Get your favorite flavors quick because once one flavor is gone, they don't replenish... 

Desserts: 
Pumpkin Cheesecake 
Carrot Cake 
Chocolate Cake 

Chocolate Croissant 
Pastries 

They had a pretty big Asian and meat selection... 
Asian: 
Sushi. Mediocre...

Dim Sum 

Pork Buns. These went so fast I didn't even get to try them... 

Meats: 
Korean Short Ribs 
BBQ Ribs

Roast Beef 

Chicken, Sausage, Ham, Bone Marrow 

Misc: 
Roasted Sweet Potato with Cinnamon and Marshmallows 
Fried Chicken Wings 

Tacos 

Breads, Butter & Jam 

There were many more stations but I wanted to eat instead of taking more photos! haha. I loved the cute little containers the dishes came in. This made it more fun than just any other buffet. I liked the thought into the presentation as well. 

This is my first plate! 
Garlic Green Beans 
Sauteed Asian Veggies 
Kale Salad 
Curried Cauliflower Salad 
Roast Beef with Chimichurri Sauce. They didn't render the fat enough. It was ok. 
Beef Short Ribs. Disappointing.. Quite tough. 
BBQ Ribs. The best thing on the plate. Sooo flavorful and tender. 
Dim Sum Black Bean Pork. Fall off the bone tender.

Duck Confit Ravioli 
Roasted Sweet Potato with Cinnamon and Marshmallows. Fantastic. 

Asiago Gnocchi 

My full plate of Desserts: 
Molten Chocolate Cake. Covered in caramel sauce. So good! 

Chocolate Cake Ball 
Homemade Marshmallow 
Orange Macaron. Very orangey. I like. 
Chocolate Cone 
Chocolate/Strawberry Tart 
Salted Caramel Macaron 
Tiramisu Cup. Light and pretty. 
Sweet Potato Flan. YUM! 

Almond Joy Gelato 

Oreo Covered and Heath Bar Covered Strawberries 

 So full.. but I had a 3rd plate. haha. Gotta get my money's worth right? I enjoyed it a lot and our main waitress was super nice. All the waiters and waitresses were nice actually as well as the hostess. :) I think it's worth checking out! 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~