Eat This Now – Spring White Asparagus at TABLE 10

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…and by now we mean NOW! Because, as you may know, the Spring growing season for white asparagus is extremely short, and Executive Chef Sean Roe tells us these will only be around for a few weeks.

He combines his with wild greens harvested by a native American forager in Washington State, and lightly dresses the whole enchilada with a nutty, hazelnut vinaigrette — making this seasonal concoction just about the lightest, freshest, springiest way to (edibly) spring into Spring we know of.

It costs $14.

Just thought you’d like to know.

TABLE 10

In the Palazzo Hotel and Casino

3327 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.607.6363

http://www.palazzo.com/table10.aspx

There’s a New Sheriff at TABLE 10

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Praising an Emeril Lagasse restaurant is as out of character for ELV as singing along with Celine.

But by crackey if there ain’t a new sheriff/chef at Table 10 who is hoping to crack the whip, whip this place into shape, and turn it into a locavore legend.

His name is Sean Roe, and he’s hardly new to Las Vegas — ELV recalls doing a profile on him for Las Vegas Life over fourteen years ago — but he’s taken the reins at this under-performer and infused its menu with a freshness and passion that has heretofore been lacking from this lackluster kitchen.

You heard us right. Table 10 is now featuring farm products from throughout Southern Nevada and California, the provenance of which are proudly displayed on the regular and specials menu every day. Roe also tells us he’s hoping to soon be bringing his beef in from a cattle ranch in Northern Nevada, after its been slaughtered in a Reno abattoir. (There are no such facilities down here.)

A few apps do not a review make, but from his local radishes to candied bacon (served with some serious maple syrup) to unctuous bits of beef marrow, it’s clear to us this kitchen is making a seriousĀ  attempt to be taken seriously, and not just rest on Lagasse’s laurels.

Nevada beef? Pahrump hydroponics? Fresh goat cheese from California? ELV is in faster than you can say Where Does My Heart Beat Now!

ELV is betting this new sheriff will be kicking some ass, serving some tasty names, and making some truly arresting cuisine. Stay tuned.

TABLE 10

In The Palazzo Hotel and Casino

3327 Las Vegas Blvd. South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.607.6363

http://www.emerils.com/restaurant/11/Table-10/

POSTRIO, DELMONICO, and SPAGO – A Fish, A Steak, And A Choucroute

Yeah, it was just another day and night at the office for ELV, as he traipsed his way across our unassuming village’s better addresses, seeking the best in food and drink. And this is what he came up with in one weekend:

A Fish:

Postrio’s new design is a winner, and the re-designed menu (and smaller, less expensive, more eclectic wine list) should garner raves as well. Here was our modest loup de mer (“wolf of the sea”), grilled to a fare-the-well (by Chef Mark Sandoval) and filet’d tableside with the grace worthy of a Michelin 3-star.

A Steak:

We’ve known Chef Sean Roe since the early 90’s….when he first showed us around Emeril’s Fish House in the MGM. He’s still hard at the stoves, and now does a wonderful job keeping Delmonico near the top of our steakhouse food chain. This beauty was a bone-in rib-eye, dry aged (although not nearly enough to suit ELV), and as full of beef flavor as a carnivore could want. It was the perfect amuse bouche for ELV before he ventured into the netherworld of the Venetian Convention Center — to spend an evening listening to political speeches (and pushing rubber chicken around his plate) whilst pretending to care who was going to win this pesky election thing (that has been distracting us from our food and wine habit for much too long).

And A Choucroute:

After premium fish and a prime steak, sometimes a little pork is called for. That’s when Eric Klein’s choucroute garni at Spago really fills the bill. Choucroute garni stands for the spiced sauerkraut underneath the sausages, bacon, pork belly, chops and potatoes that “garnish” the fermented vegetable. Leave it to the Alsatians to “decorate” their veggies with two pounds of pork products….but the result is just delicious if you ask us…and surprisingly light and digestible.