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Burger Bar Redux

November 23rd, 2012 Comments

A few years back, I had a not so pleasant meal at the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay. As luck would have it, a second SharePoint Conference and some colleagues already eating brought me back to the Burger Bar again.

I have to confess that I was quite pleased with the burger I had this time around.

Built my own burger:

The burger in all its glory!

  • Kobe patty, medium rare
  • Pan Seared Foie Gras
  • Sprouts
  • Pepper Cream Sauce
  • Onion Bun

Wow, the burger was at the right temperature and so soft, juicy and delicious! The sauce was served on the side and I’m glad it was, as it wasn’t needed. It turned out to be a great dip for my onion rings though!

Check out the chuck! Nice and juicy!

The only fault was the onion bun could not soak up all the lovely juices and was falling apart at the end.

Check out Burger Bar’s menu!

Categories: Food & Drink

A tale of two meats

October 27th, 2009 Comments

I only had the opportunity to try out a few restaurants in Vegas last week. Here’s are two of them for you meat lovers out there: one good; one not so good.

Let’s begin with the not so good…

Burger Bar

Located at Mandalay Place in the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort, Burger Bar is Chef’s Hubert Keller’s take on the “upscale” burger. You can get burgers made with Ridgefield, Black Angus, American Kobe or even buffalo and they will be cooked to a temperature of your liking. Chef’s burgers range from a classic bacon cheeseburger to the Rossini, a $60USD burger made with Kobe beef, foie gras, truffles and madeira sauce.

So what went wrong? I ordered the Surf & Turf Burger, made with Black Angus, grilled lobster and asparagus. The lobster was overcooked, tough and chewy. The burger itself was done to the correct temperature but completely bland. None of the burger components seemed to have been seasoned in the slightest. I was told when I asked about the lack of seasoning that it was because they wanted to showcase the quality of the beef. I’m sorry, but your beef is bland.

My friend’s had both gotten black pepper corn burgers which they seemed to enjoy, and I would have asked for the black peppercorn sauce on the side. Unfortunately, the lobster was way overdone, so I ended up sending the whole thing back and was done for the night.

I would have liked to link to the official website, but it’s completely in Flash and a mess. Here’s the link the Chef Keller’s main site.

Now onto the good stuff!

StripSteak

Okay, I can’t get myself to capitalize STRIPSTEAK in the heading. STRIPSTEAK is Michael Mina’s steakhouse. It’s located with all the other fine dining establishments at the Mandalay Bay, on the way from the casino to the convention center. I must say that someone could’ve done a better job with that particular section of the hotel as all the restaurants look like they’re in the middle of a food court.

First impressions aside, the food itself was fantastic. We were treated to a trio of french fries, each seasoned differently with accompanying sauces as well as an incredible iron skillet flat bread.

I think we all ordered variations of the sirloin cap steak and I asked for mine black and blue. I have to say that this has to be one of my best steak experiences I’ve ever had. The steak itself was perfectly done, just the right amount of seasoning, completely seared on the outside and a marblely (sic) purple on the inside. Garnishing was simple and elegant, a roasted shallot and a roasted pepper.

The only stumble for that evening was the roasted marrow bones I had ordered. Not enough and it was way too much effort to dig out the marrow. So avoid the marrow bones and order some mac & cheese or creamed spinach instead!

Here’s the menu in PDF format.

I guess this could be called a “Tale of two websites” as well. Mina’s website is much easier to navigate and link to.

Categories: Food & Drink

San Fran Restaurant Mini Reviews

September 19th, 2006 Comments

A big thank you to my cousins Jeff, Kelvin, Lillian and her hubby Rick for taking the time to show me around San Francisco in the evenings.

After the fold are quick recaps of some of the other restaurants that I had a chance to eat at while I was down in SF. It’s unfortunate that I have no photos to accompany the reviews. That’s what happens when you run over your camera and the crappy ISO800 disposable is only good for taking shots in the day.

Read more…

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Raw Fish and Squid

September 13th, 2006 Comments

In San Francisco and staying by the Presidio until Friday for the Carson Workshops’ The Future of Web Apps Summit.

Landed yesterday evening and had nothing to do so I went for a walk down Chestnut Street. Remindes me of Yaletown, boutique shopping and every other place is either a bar or restaurant.

Two foods that I’m a sucker for and will almost always order at a new restaurant are Ahi tuna and calamari.

Read more…

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Cream Soda

September 9th, 2006 Comments

Schweppes Cream SodaEver since I was a kid, I’ve loved the green cream soda from Schweppes. It has this smooth, silky and not overly sweet taste to it. Schweppes Cream Soda’s totally unlike the super sweet radioactive pink stuff that you find in Canadian cream soda.

It’s a good thing I live in Vancouver where it’s found in most asian supermarkets as an import item. A bonus that it’s not too expensive compared to other imports like Calpis.

I was about to ask why this was the case but there’s a wikipedia article on the subject of cream soda and all its different variations around the world.

I love Schweppes Cream Soda and I love this interweb thing even more. Can you imagine trying to find out the truth behind cream soda in the pre-web days?

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