Reviews Archives — Page 92 of 366

Fat Choy: the Skinny On Sheridan Su’s New Digs

February 14, 2013February 14, 2013

Adherents to Sheridan’s previous venture in the Great Bao food truck and 4-seat salon Bao counter (famously dubbed the Worst Location in Town) may already know about the barely-month-old FAT CHOY. The man has a following in the throngs of dedicated food lovers, adeptly tuned to the frequency of our town’s unique blend of street food-style eateries. Here’s the word on Fat Choy: It’s not all Baos (though they have two), it’s in the Eureka Casino (more on that later), and there has been something like a 1000% increase in seating.

Take heed: there are some hold-overs from the casino diner that inhabited the space before Fat Choy that can bamboozle a less skeptical eater. The cheesesteak, the buffalo wings, salads, and the breakfast menu (excluding the Kalbi steak and eggs special on the chalk board) are NOT any kind of deconstructed/asian-fusion/re-imagined/[insert buzzword here] version, they are crowd favorites that just need to be there. The desserts chiller is also mainly items from the casino’s main service, not unique to Fat Choy. The Eureka casino is definitely a haven for the “regulars” surgically grafted into the slot machines, but honestly I can’t in good conscience (and as a Las Vegas native) complain about them. Besides, if you want to look at it Machiavelli-style, the means of a small locals casino and a couple of bar food items certainly justifies the ends of Fat Choy. Besides, there’s a certain novelty to seeing basic hot wings next to menu items like, for example, roasted bone marrow. A halved beef femur, roasted with just a little bit of salt and pepper, topped with tangy and sweet onion jam and served with grilled sourdough. Of the few places in town where fans of this buttery rich delicacy can order it, this is easily the easiest way to get your fix.

Maybe Sheridan can do a "Great Bone" food truck.

Continue reading “Fat Choy: the Skinny On Sheridan Su’s New Digs”

Yonaka: Modern Japanese, Even More Modern-er

February 9, 2013February 19, 2013

So, dig on this new restaurant, friends: YONAKA. It’s been open for less than a month, but already it’s starting to beat out a lion’s share of the hip Japanese-fusion restaurants on the strip by a country mile, in my opinion. Granted, we are plagued by those paint-by-numbers sushi joints in disguise, two or three to a casino property (hopefully a tide to be turned by the recent Palazzo top-tier sushi announcement), but honestly the quality and downright artistic creativity I’m seeing here is SHOCKING.

The meal starts out with an Amuse-bouche, mine was a little square of edamame tofu with just a dab of yuzu tobiko roe and maldon salt. The nuttiness of this, I assure you, groves of nut trees would covet. Nice to see this small but appreciated wink-and-nod to the coming meal can be practiced off-strip without being contrived. It’s fun, it’s simple, and the creamy/nutty tofu with just that tiniest bit of citrus and fish comes off pitch-perfect. Hopes, consider yourselves raised. Looking back, this was going through my mind.

A cursory glance at the menu won’t give any real indicator to the food to come, but once you start noticing menu descriptors like “apple chips” and “kafir lime vinaigrette” and “preserved lemon”, one does begin to wonder. Mainly choosing with my empty stomach, I got the item with two types of fishes (my stomach is not logical…), Konpa: Atlantic Salmon and Hamachi, with yellow bell pepper, almonds, tiny slices of preserved apricot, super thin jalapeno wheels, and almost transparently thin dehydrated tomato chips, all in an orange ponzu. Whew, that’s quite a list of elements, but it really is a bit of a salad in and around and highlighting some extremely superb fish. The duo of rich, fatty fish cut into sashimi bits contrasted well with the bright, tangy ponzu (like all their sauces, made in-house), sweet preserved apricot, and surprisingly addictive tomato chips. Perhaps most surprising was palate of textures presented, making each bite a fun little game of “find the best combo” (although, if that puzzle was solved for me and topped neatly onto the sashimi, I wouldn’t complain…).