City of Excess

Of course Las Vegas caters to the full-blown desires of adults. A grown-up Disneyland, if you will. However I was pleasantly surprised to find the rumors about it's maturity into a culinary mecca entirely true. I'm happy to report the food themepark idea has evolved into a playland of culinary adventures. How could it not with every celebrity chef from Bobby Flay to Thomas Keller establishing an outpost? It could have gone bad, very bad. Egos and the self promotional media machine could have overshadowed the central theme of signature menus. Can't you just see it? Arm wrestle Bobby Flay or See if you can chop faster than Emeril Lagasse.

But it didn't and what you have are sumptuous dining establishments that any Joe Schmo can access. You've got sophisticated menus derived from great chefs unleashing their culinary fantasies to be oogled and rhapsodized over. Think about it. You're a celebrity chef with your own cooking show or at least several cookbooks under your belt. You're well funded by a hospitality empire who asks for the creation of indulgent, over the top menus to be worshipped by every corner of America and beyond.

I was lucky enough to sample just a few of the exceptional foodie offerings. After landing we threw on bathing attire and grabbed a bite at Solaro, a casual outdoor Wolfgang Puck joint. We shared a yellow & red heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette and an Albacore Tuna salad sandwich. Quite ordinary but worthwhile for the simplicity and attention to detail: the tomatoes were ripe and firm, the mozz exceptionally silky. Both at room temperature! Not just pulled from the fridge, overly chewy or cold.

The highlight of the trip was the concierge service at the Palazzo. Not only did the attendants hook us up with club passes and reservations, the concierge lounge provided a relaxing venue for breakfast & cocktail hour. As always, the vacation kicks off with a cocktail, food or both. In this case a very well shaken Vodka Martini without Vermouth. Gotta say, the olives in Vegas were consistently exceptional: big and meaty.

Dinner was at Tao, kickass as a club but mediocre on food. Despite it's lame attempts to mimic the Buddha Bar, Tao's highlight turned out to be the Buddha greeting one at the bathroom entrance.

Culinary surprise of the trip was dinner at Cut - Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse. We kept it simple. Fillet mignon, mashed potatoes and spinach. I was flabbergasted by the steak, a 10 oz medium rare. Select your own sauce from Mustard, Horseradish, Bearnaise. I chose Armagnac & Green Peppercorn which I generously drizzled over the fist-sized steak. Know the much beloved New York expression, "like butter" but this was crazy. I actually cut the steak with my spoon. Just because I could.

Las Vegas mixologists know their stuff. No namby pamby watery drinks overtopped with sugary juices. No way, nah ah. The ingredients are always impeccable; fresh olives, large succulent slices of lemon and limes, juicy fruit garnishes, top shelf liquor. Not once did I see a bottle of Popov. Since the Palazzo lounge proved most convenient, we got a taste of old school and new wave bartending. Jose, a suave traditionalist treated us to treatment befitting a diva (no implications intended).

Brigitte, the platinum pin-curl haired bartender was equally attentive but with a saucy infusion of her own repertoire. At our request for something vodka based, not too sweet and not sour she conjured this 'shot'. Notice it's more like a healthy sized cocktail. She said if I'm going to make this drink you'll have to hear the story. She proceeded to tell us about working a former stint in a dive bar off the Las Vegas strip. Truckers, hookers, construction workers patronized the joint. And in it she devised this shot called: Sex at Gigi's. It's composed of: Vodka, Chambord, OJ, pineapple, a splash Sprite well shaken over ice and poured.

While I didn't get a chance to check out Bouchon, Thomas Keller's Vegas outpost I did hear amazing things about it. One from a young man on the flight back home. A very nice kid still suffering from a Bachelor party induced hangover. Still bleary-eyed he told me of this great meal he had at Bouche something. Bouchon, I queried? Yeah man, I'll never forget it, was his reverent reply.

From the mouths of babes.

Countdown to Vegas

I will be accompanying my friend Mary to Las Vegas later this week. In anticipation of the skin baring, gastro indulging, cocktail swigging I figured I better get in shape; i.e. detox and drop a few pounds. So here's the game plan:

- hardcore exercise 40 minutes every day
- fruit for breakfast
- no red meat
- no carbs (except high fiber products in small quantities - 2 water crackers are permissible)
- greater proportion of shrubbery to anything else
- limit booze to clear alcohol, no mixers, no wine. Which brings me to Vodka Tonics or Martini's straight up. (olives are allowed as they belong to the fruit family)
- no chocolate!

So far so good. For dinner last night I had a fig salad with wisps of proscuitto, 8 button mushrooms stuffed with eggplant, garlic and herbs. For dessert I had one pine nut.

Breakfast this morning comprised of egg whites, a solitary slice of grainy toast and one apple. That's the apple pictured with the NY skyline as a backdrop. My colleague had a plateful of bacon next to his Blackberry which set my teeth on edge. And there's talk of Thai food for lunch; spicy noodles, hot basil oil, stir fried lamb.

The only thing that prevents me from buying an entire bag of Dark Dove chocolates is the thought of my excitingly pudgy love handles squeezing out of a shockingly yellow bikini in the scorching Nevada sun.

Salad it is.

Bourdain - My literary muse for the day

If Anthony Bourdain wasn't already my literary muse he would have acquired the status after the Shanghai episode. Like most of his TV work, it's not always the culinary content that dazzles (French Laundry aside, good God - a tobacco confection?!) More likely the interplay between holy grail destinations (Shangri-La) and jaded but somehow reverent observations.

Not much in this episode induced moans out of me. Quite the contrary, much of the foodstuffs elicited either ehs or eewws. Matter of fact my friend Priya can't even watch the show as most of the consumables causes a gag reflex. I can only assume she happened to catch the infamous downing of a still beating cobra heart. Albeit gross but Holy Fatima how symbolically kewl?

In the Shanghai episode I wasn't overly impressed by the jiggley foods derived from soy or Yak products that would squeam out the most robust stomach (Yak butter tea aside). Far more intiquing was the ragged and uneasy balance between man and nature. Take the beautifully bizarre symbiotic relationship with the fishermen of Erhai Lake and their professional fisher-birds, the Cormorant. A bevy of birds follow the fisherman and his carved wooden boat. A piece of string is tied around the birds' throats to prevent them from swallowing a fish, once nabbed. An amazing act. The birds dive for fish, surface with one wriggling in their gizzard only to be forced to spit out their quarry on the boat.

Cormorants are not the prettiest or most graceful of avians. Blackfeathered, yellow beaked and oily in plummage I've always been amused by their Pterdactyl appearance and ability to swim half submerged. On my morning commute past the Meadowlands - should I say the part that hasn't been sold to the Japanese or serve as a shrine to our gluttony to trash - also doubles as a wetland. Nature's own filtering system providing a transition between salt water and fresh, allowing earth, sand and water to sift toxins from water and return it refreshed to the ecosystem.

I watch for my Cormorant every morning. He is dog ugly, not in the least graceful waving his hooked wings like a bat out of a particularly bad part of hell. My fellow commuters know not to talk to me for I must view upon him for the brief seconds it takes the train to speed by his brackish 'hood. He doesn't socialize much, prefering his own company to that of swans, geese and storks. Although I think he might have a thing for one of the Mallards.

Bourdain seems intriqued by the Cormorants of Erhai Lake, the relationship between fisherman and fisher fowl, the antiquated practice destined for extinction between man and bird. Upon watching the tethered birds return to their masters he observes "they seem to like it."

For devoting a portion of the Shanghai show to Cormorants then proceeding to revolve the largest prayer wheel in Shangri-la and observing the non zen-like joking monks, Anthony Bourdain gets props as my muse for the day.

Picture credited to Gil Azouri

Maestro Dobel - the Diamond Tequila

Highlight of Wednesday was an exclusive Tequila tasting event at the W Hotel (Lex and 50th). Sponsored by Proximo Spirits. Here's their release:

Maestro Dobel the world’s first-ever, diamond-clear, aged tequila – uniquely blends Extra-Anejo, Anejo and Reposado tequilas to create a crispness and complexity that compliments the Martini’s heritage with the finest sipping tequila.

The setting: 17th floor of the newly renovated W Hotel. Two suites with decks served as indoor and outdoor spaces for the event. Waiters laden with trays of tequila martinis strolled amongst the guests. The Beverage Director told me the "martinis" were really a splash of Cointreau swished around the glass and demi filled with Maestro Dobel shaken over ice.

The crowd: a mixed crowd of food and beverage writers, members of an exclusive luxury lifestyle concierge service -
Quintessentially, eye candy boys & girls and folks lucky enough to befriend a guest. My partner in crime was Mariana, you might remember her from my last venture which paired cigars with an Australian Shiraz. We befriended some lovely young girls (I wish my mother knew you!) and two British gents. One who knocked over a martini on my patent leather clad foot and offered to lick it clean.

The drinks: The aforementioned signature Tequila Martini & "Fired Margaritas" with a dash of hot wing sauce. Prepared by two mixologists and stand-in bartenders.

I spoke to mixologist Demetri about the brand and emergence of the "diamond pure" tequilas. See the video.

Verdict: Get yourself some Maestro Dobel if you're a serious tequila drinker. Affordably priced for a high end Agave in the mid $70s, keep this one on hand to serve as an alternative to vodka or rum with cocktails. It doesn't have the smoky bite of amber hued Anejos or Reposados. Some might even miss the warmth on the tongue induced by the previous incarnations. But make no mistake, this bad boy carries all the heft of his softer colored sisters.

Layer Cake Shiraz

Several weeks ago I was able to taste test a lovely Australian Shiraz at Jamie's restaurant in Lyndhurst, NJ. I found it to be: "deliciously deep-berried without harsh spice...finished with a flicker of dark chocolate."

Then this weekend I had a chance to test drive it on my own turf. A couple surprises:

1. The wine is a screw top! Freaked me out when I cut off what presumably was the foil only to find no cork. What the bloody hell? Are the cork trees in such bad shape?

2. Exposure to air dilutes the cocoa qualities.

3. Pairs surprisingly well with herb-marinated meats such as chimichurri.

4. Can substitute as a dessert wine when served with chocolate.

Buy it online Layer Cake Shiraz

Fruits of Summer Labor

Consuming my late evening energy of late has been the contemplation of a gorgeous creeper vine I purchased earlier this summer. Called the Hyacinth Bean Vine, also known as the Indian Bean. Oddly fitting. Mine has been growing for 3 months and while it has sprouted magnificent purple beans, the vine doesn't seem destined to do more than meander slowly up my trellis.

Spurred on by plant food, eggshells and even coffee grounds (I know, too acidic) the little bugger still won't shoot off new tendrils.

So if it won't succeed as an ornamental creeper, I figured it would suffice as sustenance, at the very least art. My Mom tosses it into her brinjal, okra or potato curries. Very tasty, she assures me.

Mid Summer Soiree

During time of emotional distress and financial hardship what does one do? Eat of course. Feeding the stomach can also placate the soul. Precisely why I hosted a dinner party - guest list comprising of my closest colleagues. Here's a rundown of the menu:




Appetizers

Shrimp with horseradish cocktail sauce
Crudite
Chips and Garden Salsa
Samosas and Chutney (compliments of Manali's Mom. Thanks Aunty!)

Vegetable Dishes

Eggplants, yellow & green zucchini and mushrooms marinated in vinaigrette and grilled
Mesclun salad with strawberries, walnuts, crumbled bleu cheese with balsamic dressing (thanks to Manali for that refreshing salad)

Entrees

Skirt steak marinated in an Rekha's Indo-Chimichurri sauce. Scroll below for recipe.
Grilled Turkey and Pork Kiebasi
PEI Mussels steamed over fennel, garlic, white wine and Thai chili sauce. Herbal accoutrements: chopped coriander, mint & basil.

Dessert
Fruit tart (Thanks Sheila for interpreting my request for something fruity & tarty into that fabulous confection)
Watermelon (Thanks Barb and Peter for the mondo melon)
Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake

Beverages
While some of my guests opted for my signature Mojitos, other decided to drink wine throughout the evening. And who could blame them with the luscious Layer Cake Shiraz I served all night? Here's how I would have optimally paired each course.

Appetizers: Citrusy Mojitos (scroll down for recipes) match perfectly with shrimp and make easy sipping with the chips or crudites

Main Course: Because of the heavy herbal ingredients in the Chimichurri and Mussels I would have paired the them with the Chilean Chardonnay. But then the Shiraz proved supple and flexible enough to wrangle with the aromatics with both dishes, especially the steak. Then of course you could have just drunk Mojitos all night like Ping did.

Recipes:

Rekha's Chimichurri marinade

1 cup parsley - roughly chopped
1 head garlic, de-papered and roughly chopped (or as celebrity chef Michael Chiarello puts it - mind numbing amounts of garlic)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (can substitute plain or champagne vinegar)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 whole skirt steaks

Mix all ingredients in a blender till emulsified. Taste should be tangy and fresh. In a large Ziploc storage bag insert steaks. Pour marinade over steaks and massage meat to incorporate marinade. Refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature for 2 hours prior to grilling. Sear both sides on a mid to hot grill for 7 minutes each. Remove from heat and place on a covered platter for at least 1/2 hour. Slice on a diagonal against the grain. I can not emphasize this enough otherwise the steak will be tough and impossible to chew. Serve immediately, but also great chilled and served the next day.