Warning: Food-speak ahead.
Our culinary tour of Las Vegas started with a dinner at Michael Mina in the Bellagio. This was a meal that I had been looking forward to for as long as we had been planning this trip. Not only would it be our first gourmet five course dinner, but it was at a Michelin one-star restaurant and the executive chef is award winning. It would also prove to be our most expensive meal. Ever.
The service was stellar. Our water glasses were never empty (this is very important for my water-addicted husband) and the empty plates and dirty silverware were promptly removed and replaced by fresh pieces. I had wine with each course, and when I asked if wine came with the dessert course (it didn't), the waiter promptly brought me a complimentary glass of a dessert wine (which I really didn't need after the four glasses prior to that).
The first course was a tartare of ahi tuna. The tuna was served with raw quail egg yolk on top, and served with a sauce containing pine nuts, sesame oil, jalapeno pepper, and a variety of other things. This one put fear into Sam, but he was an amazing sport and tried several bites. The tuna came with three pieces of toast on the side, and at the end of the first course, Sam had devoured all of the toast and about three bites of tuna. I managed to eat most of mine. I say managed because, try as I might, I just have not developed a taste for raw tuna. Especially when topped with a raw quail egg yolk. I'm sure some people find the dish fabulous. Not us. But, of course, we're just simple country folk.
The second course was a huge improvement - lobster potpie served with black truffles and huge chunks of tender lobster. For the third course, we were served miso glazed black cod served on a shrimp and scallop ravioli in a mushroom consomme. This was followed by
Kobe ribeye with seared foie gras in a pinot noir sauce. Dessert was a mini rootbeer float with rootbeer sorbet, coconut cheesecake, and a rich chocolate pudding. All of the courses were relatively small amounts of food -
except the tuna tartare, which seemed endless - but we were stuffed when we left.
It took Sam a while to get over the tuna tartare, but I think he began enjoying himself once he got to the bottom of the lobster potpie. When the bill came at the end of the meal, he had sticker shock for a while, but now we laugh about it. I think it was worth it, for the experience and the memory if nothing else. Sam eventually won enough money at craps to make the thought of that credit card charge much more tolerable.
Here are some photos from the Bellagio that evening...
At Michael Mina...
The
conservatory at the Bellagio is filled with beautiful flower gardens. These are some of the flower sculptures in the garden...
The lobby of the Bellagio is filled with a gorgeous ceiling filled with
Dale Chihuly blown glass. It was really stunning.
More tomorrow...