Eating Vegas (under construction, sorry!)

An Oklahoman couple on the hunt for their new favorite places to eat now that they've relocated to Vegas. So many restaurants, all the time in the world. How this works: We always rate out of 10--this is an average of how much we enjoyed the restaurant and how much we would recommend it (10 being "OMFG it was amazing and you have to go!") The cost is out of $$$$ (per person)-- $ - <$10 $$ - $10-20 $$$ - $20-30 $$$$ - >$30 We include as much relevant information as we think necessary but if there is something else we should add to each post, please let us know!

[eatingvegas]

db Brasserie

This was the most delicious meal, ever. We just went here this past Wednesday since it was one of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. Restaurant Week is an event put on by Three Square, a local food bank, where participating restaurants give back. You can read more about Three Square and Restaurant Week.

db Brasserie is located inside of the Venetian. Below is the menu they had made for Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, you won't find any of these items on their regular menu but they have similar stuff.

For the appetizers, our friend got the Trio of Fennel pictured below. What a good looking dish! It evidently tasted delightful.

Eugenia and her mom got the Chilled Tomato Soup pictured below. Very smooth with a great balance of flavors from the oils and rosemary croutons. Andy got the Arugula Salad which was simple but good (not pictured).

For the entrées, Eugenia and our friend got the Grilled Flat Iron Steak. It was cooked to perfection; the meat was incredibly tender and flavorful. And those mini-pumpkin looking things are potato cakes. Also awesome.

Andy got the Chicken Paillard - the juiciest chicken, ever.

Eugenia's mom got the Sole Grenobloise. The cauliflower was well spiced but the fish was a little dry and not spiced enough. Not bad enough to ruin the dinner, by any means.

For desserts, Andy got the Trio of Sorbets which, of course, was good. The flavors were watermelon (the favorite), cucumber and cantaloupe.

Everyone else got the White Framboise. This. Look at it! It even has gold flecks on the top. Just layers and layers of amazing.

We cannot wait to go back and try other items on their menu. Just uh...gotta wait for a special occasion because it does cost a few pennies.

Tips: They can get very busy so calling for reservations is recommended. Also, their website says dress code is casual but it is a fancy place. Where what you want but we don't like feeling underdressed so just a head's up.

Amenities: Happy Hour (special menu) from 3:00pm-6:00pm

Rating: 10/10

Cost: $$$$

TL;DR: EAT ALL THE THINGS

Info: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino 3355 S Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89109

[phone] (for the casino)

Open Sunday-Saturday 11:30am-11:00pm

Menu

[eatingvegas]

Big Sur Oyster Bar

The first time we came here, we were blown away. This time, we were a little disappointed...

Below is a little bit of the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and the Crab Cocktail. Both were so yummy and they are serious about the "jumbo" shrimp. Nothing disappointing yet.

This is the calamari. Sorry for the random border, the table was so messy :/ The calamari was a bit bland but the texture was nice and crisp with a soft center. The marinara sauce was too watery though.

This is the bowl (not cup) of New England Clam Chowder. This is to die for. None of us have had authentic, on-location New England Clam Chowder but if it's better than this, we'd be impressed. So smooth. So creamy. So flavorful ^_^

Here is the dish that's most talked about - Cioppino. "Lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, and calamari with linguini in fresh tomato broth." Several years ago, we had this dish when visiting and it was life-changing. This time around, we felt a little bit gypped. The soup to solids ratio was way off from the previous time we had it. Charging $33 for greasy soup is overkill. Maybe they were having a bad day or something but this definitely a red flag for re-ordering.  

Tips: If you are thinking of ordering a bowl of soup, don't think you're participating in sharing any other dishes. That bowl of soup is huge and really filling.

Amenities: inside casino so surrounded by entertainment? Also, there might be a couple of TVs.

Rating: 5/10 (clam chowder and seafood cocktails being the saving grace here)

Cost: $$$

TL;DR: Half good and half bad. They lack consistency in their food but when they're on their game, the food is worth every penny. Just be wary of what you order and don't have high expectations.

Info: South Point Hotel and Casino 9777 S Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89183

[phone] (for the casino)

Open Sunday-Saturday 12:00pm-12:00am

Menu

[eatingvegas]

Soyo Korean Barstaurant

First, "barstaurant" is brilliant. This place is designed to resemble the streets, if you will. Everything is a little rough around the edges, the drink that comes with your meal is served in a metal bowl. The environment is supposed to make you feel like you're getting food from a street vendor. Pretty awesome. Below are just some of the things we ate (ate too fast to document others lol).

This is the Dol Sot Bi Bim Baap (rice with veggies, beef, and a fried egg). Cooked very nicely.

This is the Bi Bim Nang Myun. Interesting dish with decent taste.

And this is the Hae Mool Paa Jyun (seafood and scallion pancake). This was fairly good but there was some weird ingredient in there that wasn't identifiable which made every few bites a little...squishy? more chewy? Small issue in a tasty dish.

Tips: There are so many flavors here, we recommend bringing 3 or more people here so you can share more dishes ;)

Amenities: Late hours, full bar, outdoor patio.

Rating: 7/10

Cost: $$

TL;DR: Very chill place with unique drink choices. Good place for group outings or for being a lil bit rowdy ;)

Info: 7775 S. Rainbow #105 Las Vegas, NV 89139

[phone]

Open Sunday 12:00pm - 1:30am, Monday-Thursday 11:30am - 3:00am, Friday-Saturday 11:30am - 4am

Menu

[eatingvegas]

Sumo Sushi II

We would eat sushi everyday if we could. Really.

All of the following is from the all you can eat menu.

This here is called Monkey Brains. tempura fried avocado and spicy tuna with eel sauce and spicy mayo. Absolute fave!!

Hamachi and mussels.

Here are some of the rolls we had (sadly, we don't have the names for them). They were pretty decent but they seem to put the same sauce on many of the rolls so be careful when ordering to avoid having all the same flavors.

They also have a sashimi roll (no rice).

And this is one of their desserts - tempura fried strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Do. Not. Get. This. The tempura was really doughy and left our mouths feeling chalky and the flavor of the ice cream was just not good.

Tip: As always, pay attention to special items on the all-you-can-eat menu that can only be ordered once per person without additional charge.

Amenities: All-you-can-eat, open late on some days.

Rating: 7/10

Cost: $$$

TL;DR: One of our go-to places for sushi! Just avoid the dessert.

Info: 8795 W Warm Springs Road Las Vegas, NV 89148

[phone]

Hours keep changing so...we recommend calling to make sure.

Menu - this is the best we could find. We assume this is their regular menu (not all you can eat). Their sushi menu is pretty big and apparently unavailable online :(

[eatingvegas]

K-bop

So...we fell off the planet for a second. But we're back with hopes of steady updating :)

Anyway, for a while we were on the hunt for takoyaki and stumbled upon this cute little place. Sadly, they do not have takoyaki but they have ebiyaki (shrimp instead of octopus). The restaurant is modern and cute, also very clean. We've noticed that a trend for Korean-owned restaurants is to have K-pop music videos playing on multiple TVs through the restaurant? Anyway, to the food.

This is the ebiyaki. It was verrrrry tasty and an acceptable replacement for takoyaki (although, if you are a takoyaki fan, the ebi gives it a tougher texture).

Like most Korean restaurants, there are refillable starters that come with yor meal. Seeing how this is a "Korean tapas" restaurant, there is definitely some culture fusion with their food. ...like the macaroni salad below. These were not bad but not mind-blowing.

Eugenia had the Gogi Bento pictured below. It came in an actual "I'm going to work, this is my lunch" bento box ^_^ Rice was cooked so nicely; it was fluffy and moist, like the rice used for sushi. Meats were also cooked well.

Andy doesn't remember what he ate and we didn't get a picture. But for dessert, we shared the Honey Brick Toast with Ice Cream. Pretty good (how can you go wrong with honey, butter, ice cream, and chocolate syrup?) but the toast was pretty unsaturated, leaving it a bit dry.

Tips: GET THE HONEY ICED GREEN TEA. FREE REFILLS AND INCREDIBLY INCREDIBLE. Also, food is good as leftovers.

Amenities: “Happy Hour” from 3:00pm-7:00pm—30% off drinks.

Rating: 7/10

Cost: $$

TL;DR: Great place with chill environment. Eat here for a fun, casual dinner date with fast, fantastic service!

Info: 4235 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite 250 Las Vegas, NV 89147

[phone]

Open Monday-Sunday 11:30am-11:00pm

Menu - it's more than that page - the prev and next buttons are small and at the top.

[eatingvegas]

Sushi Koma

Several days ago, we went to Sushi Koma and had some interesting dishes. They have all-you-can-eat so we obviously did that. The sushi was very fresh and pretty good (no pictures of that because we were so hungry). Below are some starters we had. Clockwise, starting from the top left: Seafood Tostada, Green Mussels, and the Seared Tuna Carpaccio.

The tostada and carpaccio were topped with what seemed like flakes of baked garlic. While the flakes were tasty in tiny portions, it made the dishes pretty salty as a whole. Also, those dishes were mostly toppings and not much of the protein.

The gem of this meal was the Sashimi Roll (pictured above and below). Every element of this dish was so fresh and colorful. The taste was crisp with the perfect amount of sweetness to mesh with the tang and salt of the sauces. Yum!

Tips: Pay attention to the "~" next to items that are not included with the all-you-can-eat (All of the items pictured are not part of the all-you-can-eat. Each tab is allowed one order of each with all-you-can-eat; any more orders, they will charge the price listed.)

Amenities: All-you-can-eat, duh. Open late and they have a fun assortment of alcoholic goodies like fruity, sparkling sake :)

Rating: 7/10

Cost: $$$

TL;DR: The chef/owner likes to create unique dishes that are intriguing. They may be hit or miss but the quality of the food is great--very fresh. Worth a try!

Info: 8665 W Flamingo Rd Las Vegas, NV 89147

[phone]

Open Sunday-Monday 11:00am-3:00am

Menu/Pic - the menu website is kinda messy so there is a link for pictures of the actual menu if it helps.

[eatingvegas]

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza

GUYS, GUYS, THIS IS SO TASTY. Like, ok, we'll start like normal and say the place looked clean blah blah but oh my god, we need to start on the appetizer:

This. THIS! This is lobster mac & cheese. You know those Dove Promise chocolates? Ok, imagine real lobster pieces that size, mixed into this glorious mac & cheese. With crack-breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. We want to eat this everyday of our lives.

Ok for the main course, we shared the Royal Hawaiian Pizza. It was yummy but we should definitely have branched out and gotten something a little more crazy.

And we're back to excitement! This dessert was so. good. Salted Caramel Pudding ^_^ It is served in a wineglass with a sufficient layer of caramel and a mountain of whipped cream. Rich and quite a large serving so we would recommend sharing :)

Tips: The mac & cheese is so good but don't forget that it's real lobster so the money you're paying is for that and not for serving size because it is teeny. The pudding is not pudding consistency--think pumpkin puree consistency (didn't bother us, just wasn't what we were expecting). Most importantly, be prepared to wait a bit for food to come out; we don't know if they're normally that slow but they were for our visit. Our waiter was Casey R--he was really friendly and knowledgeable.

Amenities: decent sized TV. Happy hour from 3:00pm-6:00pm when most appetizers are half-off.

Rating: 8/10

Cost: $$

TL;DR: For sure go here and get the lobster mac & cheese and salted caramel pudding.

Info: (they have several locations; this is the one we went to) 7345 Arroyo Crossing Pkwy, #100 Las Vegas, NV 89113

[phone]

Open Sunday-Thursday 11:00am-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday 11:00am-10:00pm

Location Website

[eatingvegas]

Benjarong Authentic Thai Cuisine

Upon first look, we were a little worried because the place was empty. But after about 15 minutes, the restaurant was filling up. The staff was attentive and nice.

So...first thing. Their menu is HUGE. I mean, gargantuan. They number their main items so I know they have at least 138 items. No joke. Good thing we saw some advertisements of theirs so we went in knowing what we wanted.

We started with Chicken Satay:

Then we (with Eugenia's mom) shared the Pad Woon Sen, Pineapple Curry, and Pineapple Fried Rice (not pictured).

Then for dessert, we had the Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango.

Dessert was for sure the favorite.

Tips: Other than being served inside of a pineapple, the two pineapple dishes barely had actual pineapple in them so there wasn't much of the fruit's flavor. Food is good as leftovers.

Amenities: "Happy Hour" from 7:00pm-10:00pm--buy one Thai Tea, get one free (this may only be for limited time only; it's not on their official menu but flyers in the restaurant). And they deliver--$15 minimum.

Rating: 6/10--menu too large, food is decent but nothing too special. Redeeming qualities--nice staff and they deliver.

Cost: $$

TL;DR: We've been to many Thai restaurants and this is not near the top but it's worth a try.

Info: 7425 S Durango Drive, #101 Las Vegas, NV 89113

[phone]

Open Monday-Sunday 11:00am-10:00pm

Menu - WARNING, THERE ARE VIDEO ADS AND MUSIC -___-

[eatingvegas]

China Mama

Yay, our first post!

This was by no means our first meal after arriving but it was the first documented. When we were in Vegas a few years ago, we ate at China Mama and was pretty impressed so naturally, we had to go back. They have fairly authentic Chinese/Taiwanese food that is well flavored and quickly served. The restaurant itself seems very clean and the staff is friendly.

During this visit, we had the Beef Stew Noodle Soup, Scallion Pancake, Beef Rolls (we think that's what it's called in English--we forgot to grab a menu and the online ones don't list every item), and Shanghai Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao). Keep in mind that this is enough to fully feed three people (we went with Eugenia's mom). Andy's favorite was the soup and Eugenia's favorites were the pancake and the dumplings.

Tips: They are pretty heavy-handed on the cilantro in the Beef Rolls so if you're not a big fan, beware (this may be slightly biased because Eugenia hates cilantro). Also, their smoothies are a bit watery and honestly not worth the money. Food is good as leftovers :)

Rating: 7/10

Cost: $$

TL;DR: Go here! It is good, humble food that is worth the money!

Info: 3420 S Jones Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89146

[phone]

Open Monday-Sunday 11:00am-10:00pm

Menu (remember, this does not list everything they have)