HOLSTEIN’S Buns Have Got It Goin’ On

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Just like Stacy’s mom, Holstein’s, the gastro-pub disguised as a big, boffo burger joint in The Cosmo, has got it goin’ on.

House-made charcuterie is only the tip of the iceberg. Six kinds of sausage are made in-house — ranging from Greek touri to French toulouse — and the mini-Chicago dogs are a way to satisfy your Chi-town fix without ingesting a carbo bomb — as long as you split one order three ways.

The dry-aged, “Gold Standard” burger is made with 21 day old dry aged beef from Imperial Meats in L.A. — to which choice chuck and scraps from other prime sirloin and rib eyes are added — bringing forth a clean, bright, rich burger beauty. Some might argue it’s too loaded (with smoked bacon, garlic-chive aioli and aged goat cheddar cheese) to take its place in the pantheon of Vegas’ perfect burgers, but there’s no doubting the quality of the grind and the juiciness of the result.

We also were taken with the pork belly buns — almost as good as Momofuku’s and miles better than what is peddled by certain popular purveyors off the Strip. And the radicchio salad — a big tangle of fresh purple red greens(?) showered with sheets of decent Parm, crawling with croutons, and awash in a strong, sherry-balsamic vinaigrette — might be the best salad ever conceived in a burger joint…anywhere. Even Laurent Tourondel — no slouch when it comes to building a better burger bar — was impressed.

And the desserts were no slouches either. The “Fat Elvis” comes complete with a microwaved brownie and peanut butter pudding, and the fromage blanc cheesecake-in-a-bowl is a gimmick that works….because it tastes so damn good.

Was Executive Chef Anthony Meidenbauer strutting his stuff for us? Of course, but that burger blend is there for everyone, the duck fat fries are a different, richer, and no less addictive take on the potato than Comme Ça’s, and the mini-shakes make a ton of sense for those wanting to indulge, albeit in a more restrained, mini-milk way.

As befitting a joint that hopes to do a thousand covers a day, the menu is broad and long and probably over-extends itself in trying to please everyone. You can get everything from a “New Dehli” chicken sandwich to a kalbi quesadilla here, but for our dinero (and rupees), we suggest restricting yourself to the ground and fermented wonders of this meat-market-par-excellence. But word to the wise: skip the vegetarian “Urth” burger. It tastes exactly like you would expect something to taste which is trying to be (and be spelled) like something it is not.

Other than that minor misstep, ELV must confess he knows it might be wrong, but he’s in love with Holstein’s buns.

LT picked up the check for one meal, and the other was comped.

HOLSTEIN’S

In The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino

3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.698.7940

DU-PAR’S Delights at Lunch

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ELV has great hopes for the future of downtown dining. But keep in mind, ELV has had high hopes for the future of downtown dining 15 times in the past 30 years.

Until a game changer comes along (like The Plaza, we’re hoping), we’ll content ourselves with the meagre pickins available north of Charleston — stone crabs at El Cortez, El Sombrero’s green chile, The Beat’s sandwiches — and the absolutely, positively, no-doubt-about-it-best-flapjacks-and-French-toast available, practically….anywhere.

This pain perdue (“lost bread” as the frogs call it) is so crispy without and custard-y within, one order won’t be enough. For you avid home cooks, here’s a tasty and easy-to-follow recipe that will have your family clamoring for more.

But wait, there’s more!

Not only does Du-par’s do superior breakfast food, its chicken pot pies, patty melt, meatloaf and club sandwiches are also things of beauty….and perfect for a downtown lunch or late-night dinner…especially after pounding a few highbrow libations up and down all those classy joints lining Fremont.

Artful cuisine, this is not. Rather, it is rib-sticking diner food made with good ingredients, and some pride in the kitchen. Something rare indeed along this boulevard of broken dreams.

Mainly ELV’s.

Our lunch for five with food enough for seven came to $81.00, and we left a $19.00 tip.

DU-PAR’S

In the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino

1 Fremont Street

Las Vegas, NV 89101

702.366.9378

Esquire’s Best Restaurant Cities (Vegas is #6)

America’s Best Restaurant Cities: 2010 Edition

A decade ago it was easy enough to contend that if you wanted the best French food you’d go to France, the best Italian food you’d go to Italy, and the best Japanese food you’d go to Japan. But if the last ten years have shown gastronomes anything, it’s that food the equal of any in the world is now to be found in the USA. And not just in New York or San Francisco. Cities like Chicago, Houston, Washington, and Boston have enormous breadth and depth in many ethnic categories.
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