MESA GRILL – Boy Meets Boredom

We”ve had it. We are done. Finished. Fin. Finito. Kaput. Over and out. Die ende. Sfarsit (Romanian). Wakas (Tagalog) and isigcino (Zulu) with Mesa Grill.

And no matter how many of you tell us how “awesome” or “interesting” or “tasty” it is, we’re never believing you again.

Because you are wrong.

Because we’ve now eaten there at least ten times and never had anything (except the excellent burger and the cornbread pudding) that was the least bit spicy, intriguing, or compelling from a foodie-point-of-view.

And the “spicy” chicken hash was the last straw…containing as it did, minimal “spiciness” and being bereft of chicken.

We know this because we picked through all those potatoes in the hash whilst furiously fishing for flotsam flecks of fowl flesh and infuriatingly finding figments of fugaciously few.

The difference between youse guys and ELV is: we at ELV feel it’s our duty to go back to places that have disappointed us, whenever a friend or colleague (or perhaps just someone with a strong opinion) tells they “really like” a place that we don’t.

So back and back we’ve gone, again and again, hoping against hope that Boy Meets Grill Boy will show us something.

Anything.

And what we always get is a bunch of tepid, uninspired, barely “spicy” “creations” that are bland or boring or both.

If you really want interestingly spiced food, at a fraction of the price, we suggest going to Los Antojos…or Los Molcajetes, or Salvadoreno Cafe, or Border Grill, or Frank and Fina’s, or….or….

Or if you just want to bask in the absentee aura of a Food Network God, and pay $70 for lunch (no booze) like we did last week, keep your trap shut the next time we’re around each other.

Or until Bobby finds some inspiration.

But don’t hold your breath.

MESA GRILL

In Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino

3570 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

877.346.4642

http://www.mesagrill.com/lasvegas/

15 thoughts on “MESA GRILL – Boy Meets Boredom

  1. I actually ate with ELV that day (that’s my burger in the pic).
    The food is pretty good at Mesa, but I agree it is overpriced (surprise surprise, a place on the strip that whacks you on the price for grub).
    I liked what we ate, and ate there before with the wifey and it was good, but I agree the other hash dish was almost devoid of chicken. The burger was tasty and well seasoned, but you can get a good burger at alot of places and Mesa wouldnt be on the radar if I was craving one (BLT burger is #1). I also agree Frank and Fina’s is the shizzle fo sho…..best mexican food in Vegas, and for $70 you can feed al hell of alot more than 2!

  2. Couldn’t agree more, had my worse Vegas meal ever there first week in June, 3rd time trying the restaurant. Hash was awful and definitely without chicken, and my margarita was the nastiest thing I think I’ve ever drunk. Horrible to say the least. The worst part is I’ve had the exact same margarita before and hash, and while not great, it was fairly above average for a lunch. Never again though.

  3. Here we go again with yet another “celebrity chef” restaurant that doesn’t live up to its hype! And the casino execs wonder why tourists are spending less on The Strip? As Abe Lincoln once said, you can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can never fool all of the people all of the time.

    Especially during a recession, the casinos need to give people good reason to spend good money on good food. Do they really think people still want to pay exorbitant amounts of money for subpar food?

  4. I’ve only been to Mesa once before and only had a salad which was very good as was the service. unfortunately the salad was super expensive and because of that I’d probably go elsewhere for a late lunch. Thankfully I was able to use my Total Rewards comps to pay for it.

  5. Although Ive never been much of a fan of Bobby Flay’s persona and I wasn’t blown away by Mesa Grill in NYC, I must admit that I’ve always been pleasantly surprised with the creative takes on standards at the Vegas outlet of Mesa Grill. Never spicey which is the only negative comment I can offer but the creativity of the dishes have always impressed me. Unlike many others I have spoken with (or read hear) I haven’t experienced the inconsistencies at Mesa Grill that are commonly complained about, perhaps I am lucky? Can it be because Ive never had lunch there, only dinner? I ignore the prices on the menu, I am only concerned with the quality of the food.

    special note – Chocolate Corn Bread Pudding Dulce de Leche + Creme Fraiche Anglaise

  6. As a former Caesars Palace staffer, I have eaten more meals at Mesa Grill than I can count, and was pleased with what I consumed fare more often than not. I haven’t been back in about a year, not because I don’t like the food, but because I’m not walking around that corner inside Caesars during lunch or dinner all that often anymore. Is Chef Flay there a lot? Not really, but what celebrity chef is? His Executive Chef Paul DelFavero does a fine job with flavors and recreating Flay’s dishes with consistency. I completely agree that better Mexican food can be found in other restaurants. But this isn’t Mexican food. This is Flay’s interpretation of southwest cuisine, prepared by a guy from New York with a degree from the French Culinary Institute. And I think it hits the mark more often than not.

  7. When reading through these reviews, I was very surprised. Over the weekend we had dinner at the Mesa Grill, and had a completely different experience. My husband and I are fans of Bobby Flay’s recipes on Food Network, and were excited to try his Mesa Grill. I think that maybe some people going to the restaurant were expecting typical Mexican fare, which is not what Flay is known for. If anything, I would say that Flay is a Spanish, or southwestern chef. Our server was prompt and friendly and made some great suggestions (the tuna and salmon tartare and the blue corn pancake with BBQ duck) and both were great. I am not usually a fan of duck, but found that this was very tender and delicious, and that the BBQ sauce had a sweet flavor that complimented the chili sauce and blue corn pancake. For dinner we had the pork tenderloin and halibut and both were cooked to perfection. The tenderloin had a great sauce and was very tender. The halibut was flaky and light with a nice light blue corn crust. Even though we were stuffed we had to try the pineapple upside down cake and all I can say is YUM! The next time we are in I am going to order the dessert first in order to eat it all, as we were unable to finish it this time around. I work in the restaurant industry and can definitely say that this was a well executed meal from beginning to end. I appreciated the service of the staff and management and look forward to coming back again.

  8. Ate with my wife at Mesa Grille Las Vegas Aug. 12th 2009. For a starter we had the tiger shrimp with the corn tamal and the cilantro cream sauce. This was the highlight of the meal for me. I have had very authentic tamales before and this far surpassed any I’ve ever had. For dinner I had the 16 spice chicken. At $36 it was way over priced but tasty and cooked perfectly. With the garlic and cilantro mashed potatoes it made for a good portion. My wife had the bone-in ribeye and was very impressed, but again over priced. Over all, I think it would be quite easy to replicate this meal at home for 1/3 the price and 100% accuracy.

  9. Went to Mesa Grill in las Vegas and got food poisoning. I ended up in the emergency room and almost had to get my stomach pumped. Needless to say I will never go there again.

  10. We just recently experience Mesa Grill in las vegas! Great food but not worth the price! Especially for the margaritas!! Good place to eat but rather spend the money for Emeralds at the MGM!!!!!!!!

  11. I had looked forward to eating at Mesa Grill LV for some time. My wife and I just ate there last week. We were very disappointed. She had a burger. The meat itself was good quality but really not tasty. I had the fixed meal which was the pork tenderloin sandwich. It was definitive not something I would ever eat again. The tomato soup was ok, and the chocolate creme brule was good but not something that would cause me to say wow.
    The worst thing we had was the blue corn muffins. they were extremely dry, which forced us to drink water to avoid choking! We do not plan to go back anytime soon. Bobby flay needs to do a quality control check of his restaurants!

  12. I went to Mesa Grill more than 5 years ago or so. Hate to say it, but it the food was blah!, prices outragous, service, had better. Sorry Bobby, but maybe you should check on your establishments more often.

  13. I went to Mesa Grill more than 5 years ago or so. Hate to say it, but the food was blah!, prices outragous, service, had better. Sorry Bobby, but maybe you should check on your establishments more often. Had to correct my sentence. Can’t comment on a place, if I make mistakes as well. Anyway, hope they can change a few of their problems. We all can use a second chance!

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