OSCAR’S – Impolitic Eating

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Ahh…the arrogance that only our former mayor seems to be able to get away with. His schtick has worn well with the clown-loving, back-slappers who’ve kept him in office over the the years, and he wears his brazenness like a gaudy necktie, hoping the hoi polloi won’t ask to see what’s behind the bombast and the Bombay. Until now, no one has asked any hard questions of him — no personal ones anyway — as the Smith Center has gotten built, Tony Hsieh has saved Fremont Street(?), and downtown, at its best, is slightly less of a dump than it was when he took office twelve years ago.

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101 Crazy-Awesome Desserts in Grub Street

ELV note: The following article appears in today’s Grub Street, and can be accessed in its original form by clicking here. Or you can scroll down to read it and continue to the slideshow on the Grub Street site. Congrats to Comme Ça, Crystal Whitford (Spago) and Theresa Gwizdaloski (RM Seafood) for their recognition. (Their desserts are numbers 55-57 of the slide show.)

Crystal Whitford’s Amaretto Eskimo Pie at Spago

It’s time to think seriously about sweets: When Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and the doldrums of winter (even one this mild) have taken hold, there’s something about dessert that speaks to everyone. And these days, more than ever, pastry is getting the due that it deserves: Food & Wine is launching a search for the country’s best new pastry chef; Top Chef keeps churning out seasons of its pastry-only spinoff; Johnny Iuzzini and Michael Laiskonis were rightfully heralded as stars when they recently departed their respective restaurants; and every other show on TV is about cake wars. We won’t call it a sugar renaissance, because dessert never went away, but pastry is undeniably playing a larger part in the culinary conversation than it ever has before.

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Confucius Say: Swap Some Saliva on Valentine’s Day

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Bird’s nest soups and desserts (like this one in made with coconut milk), have been eaten in China for hundreds of years.

When you consider that they’re made from the hardened saliva of the swiflet swallow, and have been rumored to be aphrodisiacs, you might consider hopping over to Ping Pang Pong for a bowl or two…

…just to put you in the mood.

You’re welcome.

PING PANG PONG

In the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino

4000 Flamingo Road

Las Vegas, NV 89103

702.367.7111