We’re not saying Sara and Olivia are mas diablo…

….but all the chef had to do is pass this….

…right by them on his way to ELV’s table, before it became this…

…in short order.

For you cynics who carped about the $89 Joel Robuchon menu, try finding fault with Gregory Gorreau’s $19 Blue Plate Special at Payard Bistro.

Yes, for less than an Andy Jackson, you get a finely-tuned couscous or heirloom tomato salad, a nice block of snow-white, perfectly cooked halibut or a marinated skirt steak with foie gras jus, and a martini glass of the freshest strawberries topped with a chocolate tuile and pistachio ice cream.

Compare that to the fifteen buck microwaved mess you shoved down your pie hole at Marie Callender’s the other day, and you’ll see my point….

….This is the best deal in town right now.

Although it’s only available at lunch.

In Caesars Palace.

At a restaurant that’s admittedly tough to find.

But worth it.

Oh yeah, the banana-Nutella-chocolate crepe is….how has ELV and his staff said it in the past?….So good it will make you weep.

But it costs extra.

And is also more than worth it.

PAYARD BISTRO AND PATISSERIE

In Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109-8924

702.731.7731

http://www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/restaurants-dining/payard-patisserie-detail.html

Click here to listen to ELV recite some of his recent, favorite Bangs For The Buck on Nevada Public Radio in the lush, lascivious, languid, leering and laconic tones for which he is known.

Or read the script, if you will, after the jump.

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This sizable plate of cold Szechuan noodles at Yun Nan Garden…

…. is a Szechuan pepper-filled, lip-numbing, piquant delight.

The dish looks harmless enough upon arrival, but begs to be stirred up so all of the chile oil, green onions, red and green chiles and cracked peppercorns are properly attached to each incendiary bite.

It costs $6.

Just thought you’d like to know.

YUN NAN GARDEN

3934 Schiff Dr.

Las Vegas, NV 89103-1852

702.869.8885

Dear Readers, We usually don’t post comments as LOTW, but when an esteemed, national food writer weighs in with a comment about being mentioned in one of our posts, we thought it best to highlight (and correct) the record.

Re: Seymour Britchky and your referral to me in: How To Be A Restaurant Critic

To Eating Las Vegas,

Someone asked me if I said this about Seymour and–no! Impossible that I could ever dismiss him. I also treasured my battered copy of his collected reviews, in the old (ie original) New York Magazine typeface, and wrote him a fan letter in college, and had the pleasure of meeting him on numerous occasions, and actually got to edit him (on a jazz piano bar) at my first job. He was certainly singular, and worth both remembering and reading.

Corby Kummer

Atlantic Magazine

Dear Corby,

Je m’excuse! So glad you share the same opinion of SB as I do…..And you got to work with him! I’m broccoli-green with envy.

It was unfair of me to lump all of you in the same basket, but I distinctly remember someone (I think it was RR) completely dissing the poor attendee who wanted to discuss Britchky’s prose/approach to the craft of restaurant writing. At the time, I remember thinking some kind of professional jealousy is at work here, but it’s probably a New York thing that we in the hinterlands can’t penetrate.

Regardless, he was left out of the conversation that day and I thought it was a disservice to The Great One, and to the audience.

But no words of dismissal or derision came from you, and we shall post a correction forthwith.

Sincerely,

ELV

Somewhere long ago, in a land far far away, when things like restaurant awards were being handed out by publishers looking for ad revenue, someone saw fit to describe ISLA Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar as one of our top Mexican restaurants.

It wasn’t and isn’t.

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(Russia) is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. - Winston Churchill (October, 1939)

Speaking of enigmas, is this place a night club or a restaurant? More importantly, will it ever get enough customers to justify whatever expense it took to convert the space from the Thai Room II, and is the food worth a trip to Las Vegas Blvd. South (beside The Bootlegger) to supp on some serious Soviet sustenance? Read the rest of this entry →

Dear Readers, Yours truly has a book in him he will probably never write. But we do have a few chapters in the can, so occasionally, we will share them with you. Below is one such installment, submitted for your approval:

HOW TO BE A RESTAURANT CRITIC

In the beginning there was Lucius Beebe and Duncan Hines. Then came Clementine Paddleford and Craig Claiborne. And finally, there was Seymour Britchky — the man who made restaurant writing entertaining on its own terms.

Read the rest of this entry →

It’s a steal because the bread and cheese cart selections alone are worth at least half that, and the accommodating staff let’s you chow down on those as much as you want. (FYI: you do pay a $15 surcharge for the cheese cart, but that’s an even bigger bargain if you’re a certified Franco-philic fromage forager like yours truly.

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If you’re lookin’ for a fancified take on an egg sandwich….look no further than this offering from BLT Burger…

…offering as it does, a house made maple sausage patty (tasting strongly of good pork and maple syrup), jalapeno-flecked eggs (just spicy enough), and the softest muffin you’ll find this side of homemade.

Think of it as an Egg McMuffin with a higher education.

It costs $11.

Just thought you’d like to know.