I’m really lucky, and get to go on a lot of fun trips for
work. At the beginning of this summer, I
got to eat and drink for a couple days and nights in Vegas, baby! Somehow, I
didn’t leave with a stomach the size of Caesar’s Palace.
The first night I was in Vegas I got to meet up with a
friend from graduate school who was in town for a work trip as well. We thought it was so funny that after months
of trying to meet up for brunch or dinner- this is where we were finally able
to make plans together! She knows I love food, so she was kind enough to let me
take the lead on choosing a restaurant.
(Finally reunited, on the other side of the country!)
I was so overwhelmed with choices. There are seemingly endless dining
possibilities on the strip. Although I had eaten at Mesa Grill in New York many
years ago, I couldn’t really remember it, I love margaritas, the menu looked
delicious, and Bobby Flay is usually pretty good in my book (I had also just
been to Bar Americain with my parents in New York, so I thought it would be a
good comparison!) Mesa Grill in Caesar's Palace it was.
(Winner, winner!)
Of course, I started with a margarita. It wasn’t a standout, but it was a pretty solid
marg.
(You needed this picture, right?)
I had read a lot online about Mesa Grill’s blue and yellow
corn muffins (QU Bobcat colors!) and was super excited for them after the corn
bread at Bar Americain. After eating
them though, I think I liked the corn bread at Bar American better than these
muffins! There was some other delicious bread in that basket though and I am
guilty of doing a little carbo-loading pre-dinner.
(Go bobcats!)
For an appetizer, I ordered the tiger shrimp and roasted
corn tamale with cilantro sauce. Oh boy was this good. Anything with corn is a go-to for me when it
comes to Bobby Flay (the corn cake my dad had at Bar Americain convinced me of
that). This tamale was delicious. I’m
not a tamale expert- in fact, this may be the only tamale I have ever eaten…but
it made me a fan of tamales!
For an entrée, CORNmeal crusted chile relleno. Stuffed peppers are kind of an obsession of
mine. My dad makes a mean traditional
stuffed Italian pepper, I make a mean quinoa black bean stuffed pepper, and I’m
in love with the stuffed pepper from V-Note that I ate earlier this year. That being said, Mesa Grill’s chile relleno
stuffed with roasted eggplant, manchego cheese, sweet red pepper sauce and
balsamic vinegar held its own! It was a little overly cheesy for me (I know, I
know- there’s no such thing as too much cheese) but the cornmeal crust added an
interested touch to the dish and I was certainly digging the eggplant.
(Presentation points, big in my book!)
While I was a fatty and ordered an appetizer and entrée and
devoured every last bite, my friend ordered the chicken and black bean
quesadillas, barely touched them, and I helped her ensure they were
finished. They were a pretty basic
quesadilla.
Overall, I really enjoyed this meal. My mom’s complaint after eating at Mesa Grill
in NYC was that everything was too spicy- and our waiter did say that the menu
items in Vegas had to be taken down a notch for that reason. So I am happy to say that my mouth wasn’t on
fire after my meal.
I also liked that this menu had TONS of things I would love
to try- so I may be back for more one day!
(Goodnight, Las Vegas)
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