High on the Hog in Las Vegas

Where can you find a wedding chapel in a food court? Las Vegas, of course! This summer, we headed to Sin City for a mini vacation. Sure, we went to a show (Tony and Tina's Wedding) and did a little gambling, but the part I was really excited about was having a good meal in one of the many fancy restaurants on the strip. In order to fund this extravagant meal, we ate at fast food places for the rest of the trip (hence the nifty wedding chapel trivia) and bet $50 on red (and thankfully won), but in the end it was certainly worth it.

After much deliberation, we decided on Michael Mina for our big night out. I am almost embarrassed to admit how much effort went into this decision including extensive online research and a walk through of each of the restaurants on our short list, but MM won out because it was in the Bellagio and the tasting menu looked amazing.

It was the first time I have been in a restaurant that was quite so upscale and I was surprised by how diligent the wait staff was. I was impressed when they put the napkin on my lap when I sat down, so you can imagine how blown away I was when I came back from the washroom to find a brand new napkin neatly folded and a waiter that swooped in from the periphery to put it back on my lap. And they have a crumb sweeper for between courses. That's right, a dedicated tool. Just for sweeping crumbs.

Our tasting menu started with ahi tuna tartare with ancho chili, mint, pine nuts, and sesame oil. They prepared it table side by mixing it all together while explaining the components. I wish I had taken a picture before they mixed it all up, but I thought a restaurant with a crumb sweeper probably was the kind of place where my Canon point and shoot would be judged. All of the pictures I did take were a bit on the down low.



Next was a lobster pot pie with summer vegetables and brandied lobster cream. The pastry was delicious and the filling had so much lobster in it.



Then came the American kobe rib eye which was porcini butter poached and was served with creamed corn. It wasn't as good as our Japanese Kobe experience, but it was a good steak. It was my first time eating creamed corn and I actually really enjoyed it.



Finally, the dessert course came. I felt full at this point, but somehow managed to make room for the glazed chocolate brownie with cocoa nib ice cream, a root beer float (with homemade root beer!) with warm chocolate chip and nut cookies, brown sugar wafers, and chocolate bon bons. Luckily, we could take a couple of the cookies to go.









We didn't have any alcohol with dinner, but I don't remember how I got back to the hotel that night because I had slipped deep into a food coma.

In the end, the research paid off and our night at Michael Mina was worth every penny. Some people go to Vegas for the girls. I go for the food.