Saturday Pot Luck (ELV Gets His Kabobs Konfused)

ELV update: Due to circumstances beyond our control,* we inadvertently called Flame Kebob the Kebab Palace when we posted this on Saturday. We also put the wrong address down. Too many kebab restaurants is our only excuse…making the distinguishing of them difficult when looking through a directory. Complete sobriety would also help when doing such research. ELV regrets the error.

You won’t find a better cocktail in Vegas than the deceptively simple Comme Çi (“like this”) at Comme Ça (“like that”).

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Despite the name, what it really is is a daiquiri with a higher education — it’s baccalaureate coming in the form of a cucumber and fresh ground black pepper garnish. It is elegant and refreshing and oh so sophisticated coming as it does in a very civilized cocktail coup….the sort that Nick and Nora Charles used to imbibe from. While you’re sipping, be sure and order one of Brian Howard’s charcuterie platters, his potted steak tartare (love the raw egg garnish), and an end of the season heirloom tomato salad with tomato sorbet that looks like a tuna tartare and tastes like a wistful, last sense of summer.

If you’re looking for smoky, house-cured pastrami, you won’t find any better than at ZooZa Crackers (stupid name that) at the Wynn.

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They also make their own corned beef here, and it is redolent of spices (allspice was what we were picking up a lot of), but the second-tier Reuben we had was layered with good looking, but tough and stringy meat. Another 30 minutes in the pot was something some cook clearly didn’t want to give it. (Cutting corners again, Mr. Wynn?) The barely rye bread didn’t bring anything to the party, nor did the skimpy amount of cheese. The lack of Russian dressing made me want to grab a cook (or an F & B exec.) and march them over to Capriotti’s to examine the ingredients in a real one (albeit a “real one” in a bun). Forty bucks for two sandwiches of this quality and two sodas provides further evidence, if any were needed, that Wynn/Encore continues leading the Vegas eating league in the most expensive/least worth it dining out category.

No fault could be found, however, with our thirty dollar lunch for two at Flame Kabob:

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…good, long-grained rice (ELV note: we love Persian, long-grained rice), the kubideh kabobs (properly-spiced ground lamb and beef), the fresh pita and the fact that everything is cooked to order and doesn’t taste like it was made yesterday.

Speaking of ground beef, we were pleasantly surprised by the $15 steakburger at The Barrymore — tasting of top-shelf, tender beef grilled with a light hand and coming on a super-soft, yeasty bun. We thought we were through with burgers for a while, but this one deserves immediate enshrinement in the pantheon of great Vegas burgers.

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COMME ÇA

In the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino

3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.698.7910

www.CommeCaRestaurant.com

ZOOZA CRACKERS

In the Wynn Hotel and Casino

3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

FLAME KABOB

8665 West Flamingo Rd.

Las Vegas, NV 89147

702.431.0677

THE BARRYMORE

In the Royal Resort Hotel

99 Convention Center Drive

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.866.2159

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* An excess of arak the night before.

6 thoughts on “Saturday Pot Luck (ELV Gets His Kabobs Konfused)

  1. Whoops! Scratch that comment. I see this isn’t the old Afghan place on Rainbow at all, but a new Persian. Guess I put my foot in it. Well, I’ve done it before.

  2. The cocktails at Comme Ca are divine (and strong!) My favorite is the Queen’s Park Swizzle (similar to a mojito but not as sweet because it has bitters.) Comme Ca one of my favorite bar-hopping stops. :)

  3. It’s criminal what has happened to the food/bev @ Wynn….worst part they still think they can charge the same insane prices…sad, sad….

  4. I’ve had the pleasure of dining at Comme Ça with my beloved on our anniversary in April. It was such a wonderful experience for both of us. We sat by the window, had great wait staff, enjoyed the-always-delicious-Jayson(Pahlmeyer)-red. (Unfortunately, his home in Napa burned on Thursday, just days prior to his daughter’s wedding at home. Nobody was injured, thank goodness!). Comme Ça is always a recommendation for our out of town guests.

  5. When a hotel, aka Wynncore, charges $18 bucks for a glass of orange juice and a piece of toast via room service-plus a room delivery charge, plus a built-in gratuity (which most unsuspecting guests don’t realize and add another tip), it’s no suprise they’ll sell a crappy Rueben for an astronomic price. It can’t be a matter of a properly-made Rueben costing big bucks. As ELV points out, the Rye bread wasn’t, the Russian dressing wasn’t, and the kraut, who knows? The cheese? Meh. Look up any recipe for a “real” Rueben and it’s not a matter of expensive ingredients. It’s a matter of taking the time to offer your customers a good sandwich made right.

    To put a crappy Reuben on the counter, (and to knowingly charge the price the Government pays for a military toilet), is simply criminal. Worst part of this travesty-the Wynncore does it with a smirk on their face!

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