Whoop whoop! Vegas time!

Ok, we now take a break from our regularly scheduled (or not scheduled at all) programming to talk about food! Specifically, the magical meal journey I just had the pleasure to embark on while in fabulous Las Vegas.

I seriously love going here, just for a weekend, just to eat all the ridiculously amazing cuisine. No joke, I've had some of the best dishes of my life here (and I've eaten at Animal and Ink for comparison) and food is probably what boyfriend and I spend the most money on. 

So allow me to guide you through this Vegas trip, mostly highlighting food excitement. 

We were staying at the Signature at the MGM Grand, a really nice non-casino hotel we've enjoyed before, complete with balconies and one bedroom suites as large as my whole apartment. It's connected to MGM which is super convenient, and I love the food options here! 

bathroom selfie/balcony selfie from our nifty hotel room

Definitely better than the options at Mandalay, SLS, Palazzo, Luxor, Excaliber, and NYNY. When we go, we try to eat somewhere different each time, but we've explored the places named above, Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, Caesar's Palace, and now Aria. And that being said, we've found some top notch places, specifically Shibuya, the sushi place at MGM, Gordon Ramsay's Burgr, and now, Sage at the Aria. And Sage wins. 

picture before the meal at Craftsteak

But let me back up, we started this particular trip with dinner at Tom Collicchio's Craftsteak in MGM, and were Extremely disappointed. Like disappointed doesn't even cut it. We ordered the Rib Eye and Short Ribs, with puréed potatoes and roasted cauliflower as sides. And it's a sad day when the side dishes are more of a standout than the main course, but the sides were fucking amazing. Like, really nice potato dish and great cauliflower dish, but let's be clear- they're by no means revelatory or any great work of cuisine. They're just really good potatoes and veggies. And there were some delish dinner rolls, but I'm not going to a goddamn super highly rated restaurant for some MF dinner rolls. But let's get to the meat, I had a nice short ribs dish. I'll also mention that I've eaten at the restaurant Crush, also in MGM, and had some actually amazing phenomenal short ribs with gnocchi. So, just saying, their competition in the same damn casino is killin it. And the Rib Eye admittedly looked beautiful, but it didn't taste like a damn nice steak, it tasted like Outback. And was about just as chewy. The best part of the whole thing was the wine (totally fucking rad recommendation from the Sommelier) and the sides. A $250 meal and the claim to fame was side dishes and wine. Fuck that. Also, boyfriend had one of the saddest old fashioned's and I would never expect that kind of place to deliver such an uninspired cocktail. I'd much rather go to Vesper at the Cosmo, and order a much better craft cocktail for half the price. 

So, in conclusion, one really disappointing meal from Craftsteak. I really expected better. 

But omg our next dinner TOTALLY FIXED IT. Omg. Omg. Sage at Aria. Uggghhhh it was perfect. Literally one of the best meals of my life. OF MY LIFE. 

But before we made it there, we stopped at the Mirage to look at kitties 😻

Such big paws! Ugh. Big kitties are cute kitties too. 

But ok, food time. 

Sage. 

This is the menu. It's motherfucking shiny. Fucking iridescent. And it's a pretty rad system they've got for ordering, you can choose 2 dishes -an appetizer and an entree- 3 dishes -2 appetizers and an entree- or 4 dishes -2 of each so one item from each of the four sections. We chose to do a 2 dish meal and a 4 dish meal so we could split 3 appetizers and 3 entrees. And trust me, every dish was a damn masterpiece. 

We started with a couple of cocktails, which were delicious. And they brought some bread to our table, a French type and a fricken bacon bread. I don't even like bacon and it was delicious.

This is the little butter stack and sea salt that came with the bread. Goddamn delicious. Next, they brought us these adorable Amuse Bouches

It's a strawberry mint cilantro gazpacho. I don't even know how those things go together, but they fucking do. 

Next we had our appetizers, starting with the salted beets. 

Read all the dish descriptions in the menu, cuz they're something wonderful. This was a work of art visually in and of itself, let alone how light and tasty it was. I never would have guessed chocolate and beets went well with yogurt. 

This masterpiece. This was heaven. This is the Wagyu Tartare. It is pure magic and spread on the toast that came with it like goddamn butter. It was so smooth and creamy I don't even understand how raw beef can be creamy, but it was. Also another thing I didn't know would go well with a slow poached egg and chocolate. 

This is the Fois Gras Brûlée. It was one of the richest dishes I've ever experienced, but also stupid delicious. It cracked like a Creme brûlée and had strawberries, which weren't sweet, just added this amazing acidity that really balanced out the intensity of the custard consistency. 

Ok, entrees. 

Welp, this is one damn good lamb dish. I isn't know lamb could be even more delicious than I already knew. It was so tender, and the neck so tasty, and those snap peas! Sweet and crisp and spicy all at once, with pickled eggplant, this dish was amazing. 

Scallops. What is better than scallops. These were served with oxtail, mushrooms, broccolini and a salted caramel reduction. Again, something we expected to be super strange, but the sauce really added something special and heavenly. These are what inspired dishes are made of. 

Finally, the Wagyu Filet. 

So good. But definitely heavy and we were getting damn full by he time this beauty came around. So so so tender. Phenomenal. And the fennel and dill salad was great. Really something to make the trip for. 

Finally, dessert. 

Meyer Lemon Cake. With lemon curds and elderflower pearls. Too damn good. So worth the food baby. 

There's also an absinthe tasting menu.  

Oh, and they also served a little something for after the meal. 

This little biscotti delight with a delicious little drink that almost tasted like an after dinner mint mixed with cereal milk. It was a very refreshing end to a fantastic meal.

and my feet were killing me so hard from walking in heels, a truly ridiculous bath was necessary

all of this fanciness from Nectar Bath Treats

O r e g o n

Man, turns out I'm bad at this again. But I've been super busy with stuff (super descriptive, I know) but I will def work on it some more. Still want to do lipstick comparisons and such but I'll get there.

So anyhow, I went to Oregon last weekend to spend some time with family and play in Portland, and even though it was a short trip I had a pretty good time in the city. It didn't even rain very much!

Got to see some cool street art, had some tasty food and drinks, are some more food, had ice cream, ate some more.... And went to Powell's. I literally came home with a stack of books and like a zillion calories. 

This was literally the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. Hands down. I would eat this as my last meal. And every meal. And I also got to visit the holy land, Solestruck. It was just a showroom, but it was so pretty. I pet all the shoes. 

And cuz obviously clothes are pretty much my favorite thing (after ice cream, obvs) here's what I wore my first day there

My new fave top- Steampunk Steel wifey top from Blackmilk, miista Rachel platforms, and The Vamp Jacket (also BM). Oh and this rad white leather cuff from Jakimac. 

I also went blue with the hair. And pink. Cuz why not right? Tried out Arctic Fox hair color and I'm definitely a fan. 

But for serious I will totally work on being more consistent. 

Tastegasm. Tastegasms, Really.

Omg. Omfg. I think my tastebuds had the most epic of tastegasms this world could have provided. EVER. There's this little bakery place at Fashion Island that has stolen my heart away and I will never look at sandwiches the same ever again.

Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian chain with 15 locations in California, is a delightful organic bakery that offers fresh bread, pastries, and an assortment of delicious entrees all created in-house. The quality and freshness of ingredients alone sets this place apart, but that combined with the atmosphere, ridiculously amazing flavors, and reclaimed wood with energy efficient lighting makes for an eating experience unlike any other.

I orded this fantastic Prosciutto & Mozzarella di Bufala 'tartine', which comes with sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto (I also added avocado), along with the most divine mint lemonade I've ever had. It was pretty much a lemony mojito minus the rum. Nomnomnom. But the tartine is basically an open faced sandwich so I ate it like pizza. When I mentioned quality before, I don't think I made it clear enough– these ingredients are legit. The Belgian Wheat bread is the softest, most deliciously perfect bread I've ever had, the avocado was fresh and ripe, and everything else was fantastic. How could you go wrong with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella?? You can't. And the prosciutto wasn't even overly salty. Too fricken good. I even had a bite of my friend's Grilled Chicken & Smoked Mozzarella tartine and it too was fabulous.

This was my second experience at the bakery, and I can promise you I'll be back (and back again and again). The atmosphere is so open and clean, they even have a community table in the middle so people can sit together, encouraging people to remember that even in cities where everyone's in a rush and impatient, it's good to keep in mind we're all in this together. Between that, the friendly chalkboard signs everywhere, and the fresh loaves of bread and pastries on display, it's hard to say no to just a taste of this lovely place, even if it's on the run and has to be ordered to go. With locations all over the place (not just in Cali) go to their website and find one close to you. NOW. Do it. Your tastebuds (and stomach/heart/overall health) will thank you.

Oh, and they even offer baking classes. Divine.

Super Antojitos

When looking for some decent Mexican food, few things come to mind more so than little hole-in-the-wall places, and on Fairview in Costa Mesa one stands out: Super Antojitos.

A tiny restaurant that’s one of 3, the other two locations being in Santa Ana and Tustin. This easy to get to eatery gives the family owned atmosphere with quick service and moderately priced meals. What this little restaurant lacks in menu options it makes up for in taste and customer service. 

I ordered two chicken tacos, which involved shredded chicken, cilantro, onion, and salsa. While incredibly spicy, there was plnty of flavor and the soft shell served to balance some of the intense heat. The chips of the complementary chips and salsa were crisp and thick with just enough crunch, and while the salsa had great flavor, I would have appreciated it more had it been just a touch less spicy to enjoy the flavor more. My experience at the restaurant itself was fairly impressive all around. I sat down at the bar and was almost immediately greeted with a menu and glass of water, and very shortly after brought chips and salsa. The service was incredibly prompt, and after placing an order waited perhaps eight minutes before being brought my food. When readying to leave, my check was brought immediately, then just as quickly when I paid, and returned just as quickly. The service was so attentive and quick that combined with the moderately priced food, it's definitely a win.

Adventures in Pho!

When your new quarter of classes starts out with a field trip, you know it's going to be a good term, and when that field trip involves delicious Vietnamese cuisine, count me in!

Little Saigon Noodle, located on Newhope in Fountain Valley is an affordable little eatery where one can find pho in abundance, and even leave with meals for days. This trip being a group outing and all, we were actually accommodated pretty quickly with seats and waters even though the small restaurant was fairly full. We ordered a few minutes later, and were rapidly presented with heaping plates of large spring rolls. While Vietnamese is not often my first choice for meals, I do enjoy some spring roll from time to time and these definitely didn't disappoint with the crunchy carrots, shrimp, spice, and all wrapped up in an aesthetically pleasing little transparent wrap. Next came out the bowls of pho, and I must say I was a touch intimidated.. 

Pictured above, you can see the "small" bowl a friend and I shared, though there was nothing small about it. Packed with huge chucks of chicken, a veritable salad, and pho pho pho, it was certainly an impressive amount of food for the meager price. I'd never actually partaken in pho before, but my tastebuds were fairly pleased. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the chicken and veggies were quite tasty, and despite being large chunks of everything it was surprisingly easy to eat– you just have to dive in double-fisting utensils with chopsticks in one hand and a fork in the other (with the occasional spoon thrown in). 

We were there long enough for the lunch crowd to slowly dissipate, staying well over an hour, and had ourselves a nice little lunch with decent service. I won't say it's the greatest meal I've ever had in my life (nothing beats a perfect filet mignon), but for the speed and price, and even the glittery business card that tickled my fancy, I'm sure I'll head back this way next time I get some Asian cravings.