All the very best restaurants are in Las Vegas. All the chefs you see on TV. And many more you don’t. Las Vegas has become a culinary mecca. On Monday night, we ate at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. To be honest, I’ve never liked him as a TV chef. He always has seemed to be a little too much of a know-it-all. But after eating at Mesa Grill, I think he knows a lot.
First of all, there is a fine wine list. We had separate glasses since everyone was eating something different. The Talbot chardonnay was especially good. There’s also a long list of margaritas. One was much like the wondrous Earl Gilmore Memorial Margarita that I’ve mentioned in the past except with Cointreau instead of Triple Sec. The four of us ordered a combination of appetizers, sides and main courses. Here’s what we had.
Romaine salad – excellent, a background spicy taste with anchovy overtones and a frico.
Sophie’s chopped salad – good, although something you could make at home.
Tiger shrimp and roasted garlic corn tamale – good, although the shrimp and the tamale seemed like separate units.
Blue Corn Pancake with barbecued duck and habanero chile sauce – exceptional, sweet and pungent.
Smoked chicken and black bean quesadilla with avocado and toasted garlic crème fraiche – very good.
Sweet potato gratin and smoked chiles – Cosmic!
Brussel sprouts – I know you can’t believe it but it’s a toss up between this and the sweet potato gratin for highest honors in my book. Simply prepared, butter and spices and unbelievably good.
Grilled venison chops with crushed blackberry/red wine vinegar sauce and sweet potato gratin. Really good with the sweet potato gratin stealing the show again.
Table consensus for Mesa Grill – A