Original Pantry Cafe, Los Angeles

We made the drive from Vegas to L.A. in time for dinner. It was a coincidence that Original Pantry Cafe (877 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90017, tel : +213 972 9279) which I had heard about and intended to visit was just a couple of minutes walk away from where we were staying. 

This 24 hour cash only diner had been around since 1924. It was rumoured to never have been closed  since they opened and is one of the sites of Los Angeles' Historic-Cultural Monument. The space hung about a retro charm that cannot quite be replicated and that charm came with the greasy smell of food that clung to your clothes. Haha. 

Whatever we ordered came with coleslaw. It wasn't the healthiest option for vegetables but we didn't come here to eat healthy and we certainly did need some fibre in our diet after the meat heavy meals we've been having.

Toasted bread also came with whatever we had ordered. Much appreciated the chilled salted butter and jam that came with them.

Soup of the day was some chilli bean soup. Tasted like the stuff they ladled over A&W's Coney Dogs. Nice for a cold night.

I had a ham steak with sunny side up. Big assed boned in ham that challenged you to finish them after all the other food that came prior. I recommend it with some maple syrup and if you're wondering if I finished it all, I did. 

That ham steak also came with some hash brown on the side. The crusty parts on the hash brown were disappointingly hard and chewy and not good for eating but the potatoes were pretty good after a few shakes of salt and pepper. We left this place almost bursting at the seams because these guys certainly made sure they fed you well.

Wahlburgers at The Strip

We stumbled upon Wahlburgers while walking around. I've heard about this chain (3635 S Las Vegas Blvd #100, Las Vegas, NV 89109) by the Wahlberg brothers Donnie and Mark (that's Marky Mark if you're old enough) and I thought it might be fun to just check out what they have. 

That's a double decker. It wasn't bad at all if you asked me. The sandwich was a good balance of salty melted cheese, beef patties of their proprietary blend and a bunch of the usual vegetables. Tasted pretty fresh. I can't say that I disliked it. But it doesn't have the hit of crusty umami that Shake Shack does which I believe is what gets them their fans. This tasted more like Five Guys minus the mushrooms and it was also more expensive. So yes, it's Five Guys and Shake Shack over this if I had to pick.

Hot dogs were not bad though.

I couldn't think of much to say about their fries but that they were pretty ordinary.

Shakes were also not as good as....well, the other two. I wouldn't bother with these again if I had the chance. They were served in plastic cups which you could take away though.

A random fast food breakfast in Vegas

I know. Fast food in Vegas. It's hard not to stumble upon a chain or brand name and we were looking for something quick and fuss free. Some would think it's a waste of a meal but it happened.

Taco Bell has breakfast burritos. Small puny rolls but these were just a dollar plus each and honestly, not too a bad an eat for the cost. Filled with scrambled eggs and sausage or bacon bits.

What those breakfast burritos rocked with though, were their hot sauce. If you like spicy, the Diablo was pretty good.

I remember McD serving breakfast biscuits ages ago back home and for some reasons, they stopped doing it. Here's one for nostalgia since I can't get them anymore. They don't seem to taste as good as I remember them, but then again, my taste could have evolved. Or perhaps the memory was a little more romantic than the reality. Who knows.

Bouchon, The Venetian, Las Vegas

Thomas Keller is known for various things. The French Laundry is perhaps the most well publicized followed by perhaps the Michelin stars under his belt and his awards by the James Beard Foundation. What doesn't get mentioned so often is that he's been designated a Chevalier of The French Legion of Honor. The third American to receive this honour and the first male American to do so.

That's like being crowned knighthood for his culinary achievements by the French.

Bouchon at The Venetian (3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109) is run by his group. We were just curious how the restaurant under the name of such accolades would be like.

We had escargots. They were just the regular escargots with garlic parsley butter and some puff pastry from their bakery on top.

What was kickass was their fried sweetbread. Largest hunk of sweetbread I've come across with a delicious creamy potato puree with Madeira and morel mushrooms. This alone was worth the visit.

Roasted leg of lamb was nicely done. Tasty if not outstanding.

The other thing I though was exceptional was their Idaho rainbow trout. This I would guess from the flavour was done with the three secret ingredients of French cooking. Fish was nicely sautéed with buttery haricot verts and fragrant slices of toasted almonds.

A truffled toad in a hole from Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill

This was a random stop. None of us had heard of the place and we just needed some fuel for the morning/afternoon before the rest of the day so we ended up in Sugarcane (Restaurant Row @ The Venetian, 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109). It was later that I found out that it was an outpost of a James Beard award winning eatery from Miami. The food looked....international for the lack of a better word. 

Their truffled toad in the hole with Robiola cheese was not a bad eat. There's bits of jarred truffle and truffle honey involved but it still made a tasty brunch aside from the fact that the brioche was slightly burnt on the edges.

China Poblano, The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas

Whoosh....and it's off to the west coast we go.

It was getting late and we were just wandering around and chanced upon China Poblano (2nd floor The Cosmopolitan, 3708 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109, tel : +702 698 7900) by José Andrés which I had read about. I was surprised by my initial reaction of disbelief but after a while, I thought - this is America. I suppose the accurate description for the restaurant food would be American styled Chinese and Mexican done by a Spanish guy. Makes sense?

Long story short, we decided to give it a go. Both the Chinese and Mexican food are prepared in separate kitchens apparently.

I was curious about their salt air margarita and thus ended up with one while waiting. They had replaced the usual salt rim with salt foam instead. A take on the traditional which I thought was not bad. They made a pretty stiff drink.

Next up was guacamole which was prepared table side. Sans cilantro of course. The suitable adjectives would be tasty, light and refreshing.

There were some interesting tacos which we thought was worth a shot at. That above was cow tongue with salsa pasilla.

And there was an oddly named Viva China with crispy fried beef tendon and fresh oysters. This was pretty good.

Then something called Silencio - fried duck tongue and fresh lychee. This was unusual and also quite nice. I'm pretty sure this was where Chinese and Mexican collided.

To put into perspective, these upmarket tacos were as expensive as the ones from El Mero Mero and were as tasty.

We had a pozole rojo. The menu described it as a soup of guajillo chile broth with shredded pork and hominy. It wasn't as spicy as I thought it might have been. The lime made it refreshing and it came with a plate of chicharron on the side.

The lamb pot stickers (锅贴) were the only Chinese item we ordered. These were small and had quite a bit of cumin flavour in them. Not too bad.

The finishing was some churros. They were okay.