Friday’s ROTW segment on the KLAS TV Morning News features all the great MGM restaurants in the opening (and the specials they run this week for Restaurant Week benefiting ThreeSquare.) From there we segue into a look at Shibuya, ELV’s favorite Japanese restaurant in town. It may not compete with the finely-tuned sushi and sashimi of Urasawa in Los Angeles, or Masa or Kuruma Zushi in New York, but for what it is — a huge restaurant in a huge hotel — the creations turned out by Chef Stephane Chevet and his raw fish brigade are mighty fine indeed. And there’s no better place to expand your sake exposure than among the 130 bottles offered here. Unfortunately, we found out after the segment aired that Ryan Steimer — Shibuya’s sake sommelier — is no longer with the restaurant. ELV regrets not giving Steimer more attention over the past year, but ELV also regrets that most restaurant employees have wanderlust that makes jazz musicians look like these guys.
Category: Reviews
Authentic (and cheap) Ethnic Eats
This month’s DESERT COMPANION magazine hit the shelves Friday. The cover story (by a certain food writer we all know and love) explores the world of bargain-priced, authentic cuisines available all over the Las Vegas Valley. Here is a reprint of the article for those of you who aren’t members of Nevada Public Radio (shame on you), or haven’t yet cruised by Whole Foods for your copy. Click here to see a PDF of the article in its original format (available later this month), or continue reading for a (slightly revised) version of the same text.
Great Food for Less
Over half of our food dollars go to eating out in restaurants, and you may have noticed lately that those dollars aren’t stretching quite as far as they used to. Along with the explosion of top chefs, high-end design, Michelin-starred fabulousness, and world-class food, have come prices that will curdle your cream and curl your hair. So this might be the perfect time to explore the vast array of serious ethnic eats all over the Las Vegas Valley, that deliver serious bang for the buck, and give an educational peek into some of the world’s great ethnic eats.
LOS MOLCAJETES
“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