Among our myriad of meals this week (L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Buzz BBQ, Yellowtail, Bistro Divino, RM Seafood, Los Molcajetes, Boulud Brasserie, BLT Burger, Marche Bacchus, STRATTA, just to name a few), these four menu items underwhelmed us.
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“Molcajetes” (mol-ka-HEY-tays) are volcanic rock mortars used by Mexican cooks to pound avocados, chiles, tomatillos, tomatoes, and spices into the coarse-grained goodies the cuisine is known for (the pestle is a tejolote.) Los Molcajetes specializes in bringing bubbling cauldrons of these to your table filled with meat, chicken and seafood (or combinations of the three). The incendiary kick from the chile sauce in those vessels tell you you’re in Taco Bell territory no longer. The lime and cilantro-scented salsa is also a winner, as are the marvelous moles and the perfect pulpos (octopus dishes). The intersection of Eastern and Owens Avenues is not exactly a place where most Summerlin socialites wish to tread, but if you have a hankerin’ for the real deal in South of the Border eats, hitch up that Hummer and get over there pronto. Be ready to drink lots of horchata or cervezas though….you’ll need them to quell the heat.
Muchos gracias to The Food Gal and her co-workers at Las Vegas Premium Outlets for finally sending ELV to a neighborhood Mexican restaurant he can recommend, both to the public at large, and his staff.
LOS MOLCAJETES
1553 N. Eastern Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89104
702.633.7595
Kevin and Carrie Wu’s eateries in the Gold Coast are about the only things that can get us into that hotel. But get us there they do, with not only the best dim sum in town (Ping Pang Pong), but now with Noodle Exchange, his open-kitchen riff on the stuff that Marco Polo made famous.
NE is small — around 65 seats — but even in peak times the made-to-order noodle dishes come out fast and furious, so you won’t wait long. The menu covers most of Asia (excepting Vietnamese pho) with classic renditions of Chinese recipes like Peking Duck, Dan Dan noodles and seafood in lettuce cups, as well as variations on Japanese ramen and even Singapore-inspired noodles. But Asian pasta is only half of the story here. Its hot and sour soup is both (something rarer than you’d think), and The Food Gal was ecstatic over the fresh fruit infused green tea and the superior sorbets that ended the meal.
Prices are amazingly low — the duck is 1/4 what you’d pay on the Strip — and the freshness and snap of the stir-fries, and the treasures within the bento boxes, explains why you’re the only gaijin in the joint.
NOODLE EXCHANGE
In the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino
4000 W. Flamingo Road
702.367.7111
open 3 p.m. to midnight daily