Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Vegas!

In a few hours we'll be taking our final trip of the year - heading to Vegas! We'll be there until Christmas day.

We don't really gamble (other than slots), so the main attractions for us are the shows and food.

Tonight, we're going to watch . Tomorrow night, I've got reservations at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Sometime during our trip, I want to check out CityCenter - the new megadevelopment.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Vogue Bistro - a flawless dining experience?

For dinner tonight, we tried Vogue Bistro. Vogue opened in 2008 and is located in the far northwest Valley, in Surprise, at the intersection of Waddell Rd. and Reems Rd. The restaurant is a bit hard to spot - it's at the far end of strip mall - look for the Bashas.

Here are a few shots of the interior:

To start things off, we had a special seasonal drink - a "Peppermint Pattie Martini" ($9.90). The drink was excellent - basically a chocolate martini w/ a hint of peppermint. The rim of the glass was dusted w/ cocoa powder, which I thought was a nice touch. One for one.

On to the food. Here's what we ate:

Vogue Onion Soup - "So good! Quite possibly the best onion soup in the Valley" ($8).

Agree! I'm not a huge fan of french onion soup, but this soup was fantastic. It was delivered piping hot (a MUST), topped with a flaky pastry crust and baked parmesan cheese. Quite often, french onion soups are way too salty, but this was just right. Two for two.



Vogue Escargot - "Delicate Burgundian Escargot baked in a puff pastry with herb and garlic infused butter. Escargot has never tasted better!" ($8).

Clean, light, yet full of flavor. Three for three.



Vogue Salad - "Strikingly Original! Frisee, arugula, Gorgonzola blue cheese, dried cranberries, pecans, pumpkin seeds and bits of applewood-smoked bacon tossed in warm Sherry vinaigrette" ($9).

This was a great salad. The combination of ingredients was perfect. Four for four.



Special of the day - Lamb two ways: Roasted rack of lamb and lamb meatball w/ coconut couscous, roasted squash and shitake mushrooms, and baby arugula ($32.95).

The rack of lamb was perfectly cooked. We also both loved the meatball (you can see it peeking out from under the arugula in the second picture). This dish had a bunch of individual components (almost too much), but everything on this plate was excellent. The only downside was the plating - the arugula scattered on top was a bit of a mess. Oh well, minor detail, so still five for five.

We were so stuffed that we didn't have any more room for dessert.

The service throughout the meal was excellent. Six for six!

Total meal cost: $74.30 (excluding tip)

I thought this was a superb value, given the quality of the food. This was definitely one of the best meals we've had in 2009, and maybe one of the best ever. The only downside to Vogue is its location - it's way out there...but definitely worth the drive. We're actually thinking of going back for New Year's Eve (menu). I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Mission accomplished: Stomach expansion

Mission accomplished: Stomach expansion in preparation for the next holiday...on hiatus for the next 3 weeks or so.

My stomach is about to explode!

We've eaten so much food over the past few days. Good thing we're heading home today.

The weather has been much better than expected - a bit cold, and a few gray days, but NO RAIN! (for six days)