Here’s what ELV knows about Indian cuisine:
It’s spicier in the South than the North on this sub-continent. But it’s still pretty darn spicy up north. It’s more vegetarian in Goa than in Delhi, but they still eat a lot of tasty vegetables in the capital. The cooking in the north is done with various meats (not beef) done in oil and ghee (clarified butter), and that of the south is more steamed and seafood-y. The rice and flatbreads are wonderful, and the aromatics, the best on earth.
FYI: The link to the ABC News’ Secrets of Iron Chef America article on its website has now been corrected. It no longer connects to an article on Lindsay Lohan’s bi-sexuality (something ELV admits must’ve been a Nabakovian Freudian slip), and now reflects the admittedly less perverse but still viscerally fascinating subject of what really goes on behind the scenes of ICA.
ELV regrets the error….but not that much.
For another view of ICA, check out this link, calling the whole production a sham (Iron Chef America, not the question of Lindsay’s sexuality.) It isn’t. Within the bounds of producing a time-sensitive cooking contest, the production is about as faithful to the end product as it ever could be. The Amateur Gourmet who writes that website is just that.
And muchos gracias, molto grazie, merci beaucoup and xie xie to uber-food-guy Dean Howard for the heads-up on both items.
If you want to read a bad review of a good restaurant, look no further than last Friday’s R-J piece on The Country Club Grill at the Wynn. By “bad” ELV means poorly written…in that the piece fails to mention the chef: Rene Lenger; the designer: Todd Avery; the sommelier who provided such good service to the reviewer: John Paddon; or the fact that the bread is soooo good at all of the restaurants at Wynn because of master baker Boris Villat (something our town’s main newspaper restaurant critic should know).
Other than that, she got most things right. Lenger’s food is wonderful and the steaks are very good (although expensive, and the “prime” designation has been severely cheapened over the past decade, and the Wynn doesn’t dry-age its beef as it should.)
To hear ELV’s review of The Country Club Grill, with pictures of the fabulous design, and written when David Walzog was chef (he’s top toque at SW Steakhouse these days), but still valid today – click here.
The Country Club Grill
At the Wynn Hotel and Casino
3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702.770.3317