A tale of two meats
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.