COMMANDER'S PALACE (NEW ORLEANS, LA)

Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130
Commanders Palace
Tel: 504.899.8221
Cuisine: Southern
$$$ ($30-$45)
Sat, 10/29/2016, 8:00pm reservation
    (3.5 Piglets)

Commander's Palace is an institution in New Orleans. Since 1893, it has been serving up Southern cuisine and winning six James Beard Foundation Awards while doing so. Renowned chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme had made their mark at this restaurant. 

The place itself is pretty awesome. Upon entering, you are greeted by the hostess and escorted through the kitchen to your seat. There is an outdoor patio area where you can dine alfresco or opt to seat indoors where beautiful chandeliers and white tablecloths compose the room. It's a fancy restaurant without being overly pretentious mixed in with some Southern hospitality. I ended up ordering a three-course meal that costed $39.00 with a souffle for an additional $3. 

The kitchen

The interior

COURSE ONE: TURTLE SOUP: A Commander's Classic Finished Tableside with Dry Sherry ($8.50). This soup was actually pretty good. The turtle itself reminded me of turkey. I actually preferred it without the dry sherry, but that's a personal preference because I don't particularly like the taste of alcohol in my food if it's not cooked off. 

COURSE TWO: NEW ORLEANS BARBECUED GULF SHRIMP ($39.00): Wild Gulf Shrimp Flambeed with Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Zest over Chevre Grits with Charred Chilies and New Orleans Barbecue Sauce. The shrimp were nice and big and quite succulent. The grits were good, but a little too thick in my personal opinion. I thought overall the flavor was good but I preferred the shrimp and grits at Cafe de Fleur de Lis over this one. 

CREOLE BREAD PUDDING SOUFFLE ($9.50): All the Richness of Creole Bread Pudding Whipped up into a Light Souffle; Finished tableside with Warm Whiskey Cream. I was actually quite disappointed with this dessert. After traveling to Paris and having the most decadent souffle ever, I was expecting a light and airy dessert. It was a little dense and it wasn't as fluffy as I was hoping. I just needed it to be like this souffle . 

Overall, I loved the ambience and the service was impeccable. It was a tad bit chilly where we were sitting because the air conditioner was blasting at the max. The food was good, but not amazing. For the price, you can probably get something spectacular elsewhere. It's a good place to check out at least once in your life since this place is an institution in itself. And if you get food to-go, they wrap up your food into cute animals made out of foil. 


Notable Dishes: Turtle Soup

CAFE FLEUR DE LIS (NEW ORLEANS, LA)

Cafe Fleur de Lis
307 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70130
Cafe Fleur De Lis
Tel: 504.529.9641
Cuisine: Southern
$$ ($15-$30)
Sat, 10/29/2016, 10:30am walk-in
     (5 Piglets)

It was my first time here in New Orleans and I knew I wanted to eat a traditional Southern breakfast. Here in New Orleans, the food is robust with a "BAM" of flavor (gotta love Emeril). Once we landed and took the quickest nap ever, my friend and I went off in search for the Southern breakfast. 

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, Cafe Fleur de Lis serves up Southern cooking at its best. The place is a quaint, hole-in-the-wall restaurant which I absolutely love. The place is packed with people and if you're smart enough, you can put your name on the "no-wait" app just like we did to avoid the long queue. 

Inside, people are munching on beautiful looking dishes. The decor is pretty simple but who really cares when people are here for the food...

The interior

FRESHLY ROASTED COFFEE ($3.00-REGULAR): Brewed locally, and bottomless. This is some serious coffee. I thought it was good. I needed something strong to keep me awake throughout the day and this did the trick. It's local, which is amazing. Best part, it's bottomless. 

SEAFOOD BENEDICT ($12.95): Our Housemade Biscuit Topped with Crispy Seafood Cakes, Poached Eggs and House-made Hollandaise Sauce. OMG! This dish is absolutely amazing. I couldn't decide if this was my favorite dish, but it definitely was high up there. The crab cakes were fresh and crispy. The biscuit was soft and flaky and went so well with the poached egg, soaking up all that goodness. Seriously, this is a must order if you're a fan of the benedict. 

MY FAVORITE DISH. SHRIMP AND GRITS ($10.95): Fresh Louisiana Gulf Shrimp Sauteed with Garlic, Butter and Shallots Served Over Generous Portion of Cheddar Cheese Grits. I've had grits once before but never like this. The grits was creamy and buttery with so much flavor. It was like a thicker version of Robouchon potatoes but with a little less butter and with an addition of cheese. The shrimp were tender and succulent. Together, the dish was perfect together. It was a match made in heaven. I tried other shrimp and grits at other places in New Orleans, and this was my favorite. 

Overall, for my first Southern dish, Cafe Fleur de Lis delivered on flavor. Everything I had was super delicious and I couldn't get enough of it. The staff had their Southern hospitality game on and I thoroughly appreciated that they used the No Wait app. I would totally recommend this place if you want some good ol' Shrimp and Grits. 

Notable Dishes: Shrimp and Grits and Seafood Benedict

BAZAAR MEAT BY JOSE ANDRES (LAS VEGAS, NV)

Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres
SLS Hotel
2535 S. Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Bazaar Meat
Tel: 702.761.7610
Cuisine: Spanish/Tapas
$$$$ ($50+)
Sat, 10/15/2016, 8:30pm reservation
     (4.5 Piglets)

I've been to the Bazaar here in Los Angeles and the place is actually pretty darn good. So when I heard that there was a Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas, I knew I had to try it. 

Bazaar Meat by Jose Andres is located in the SLS Hotel conjoining a bar/nightclub, which I thought was pretty weird. Upon entering, you are greeted by the hostess and a pretty large bar behind them where you can order from their bar menu or their regular menu. There is an open kitchen with a fairly large dining area with "interesting" decor. A display of meats both fresh and curing are displayed at the restaurant. We ended up getting the prix fixe menu for $100 so we can try a bit of everything...

The bar

The meats

The kitchen

The menu

COURSE ONE: SUPER GIANT PORK SKIN CHICHARRON: Greek Yogurt, Za'atar Spices. I mean, who doesn't love chicharron?! I thought this was delicious but a tad bit over-seasoned. Don't get me wrong, I love salt but too much salt overpowers everything. At least the Greek yogurt helped mellow out the salt. 

COURSE TWO: FERRAN ADRIA OLIVES, MODERN AND TRADITIONAL. Gordal Olives Stuffed with Piquillo Pepper and Anchovy. This was a good olive dish. I thought it was pretty simple, so nothing too special about it. 

COURSE TWO: FERRAN ADRIA OLIVES, MODERN AND TRADITIONAL: Liquid Green Olives. This is molecular gastronomy at its best. Imagine a big popping boba but with olives instead. This is what you get. It was good, complicated and interesting. You can get these at the Los Angeles location. 

COURSE THREE: BAGEL AND LOX CONE: Dill Cream Cheese, Salmon Roe. This was probably my least favorite dish out of all the courses. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty but it was a little too fishy for my liking. The cone itself was deliciously crunchy. 

COURSE FOUR: CROQUETAS DE POLLO: Chicken-Bechamel Fritters. This was one of my favorites. I loved the exterior being super crispy. Inside, it was warm creamy goodness that was perfectly balanced. And who doesn't love the presentation in a glass shoe? 

COURSE FIVE: BEEF AND PARMESAN GRISSINI:  Washagyu Beef, Espuma, Caramelized Onion Puree. I loved this dish as well. It was a crispy breadstick wrapped with some beef carpaccio. I thought it was a little salty but with the sauce, which is similar to the sauce provided with the chicharonne, it mellowed things out. 

A closer look at the beef

MY FAVORITE DISH. COURSE SIX: CHATEAUBRIAND, TENDERLOIN, BRNADT BEEF, CA, HOLSTEIN: Perigord Sauce, Pomme Souffle. How can you not love this beautiful delicate piece of steak?! It's extremely moist and full of flavor. I loved that it was more on the rare side because I feel it packs in more flavor of the meat. It came with a sauce but it was actually good as is. 

COURSE SEVEN: ROBOUCHON POTOATOES: Butter, butter, more butter, Some potatoes. If you love butter and mashed potatoes, this is the dish for you. It is freakin a butter load on a few potatoes. It was rich and creamy and you can probably only have a small amount. I loved it. 

COURSE EIGHT: GRILLED ASPARAGUS: Romesco Sauce. I loved the asparagus. It was nice and tender with a slight crisp to them. The romesco sauce was just ok for me. I prefer if it had more of a tomato sauce to it. 

COURSE NINE: DESSERTS: Cream Puffs, Assorted Tarts, Little Cakes. I thought the desserts were delicious. I didn't think that there were any cakes, which I was disappointed about since it was listed on the menu. The tart was one of my favorites. The only thing is, you have to cut it in half and share it with another person. You don't get your own one, which I thought was kinda hard to do. Seriously, at this point it was a huge deal breaker since I was full by then. 

Overall, I thought Bazaar Meats was pretty darn good. I appreciated that there was a prix fixe menu because the menu was fairly large which can be a bit overwhelming. I was able to try the dishes I wanted to try. The service was pretty good. I didn't like that we had to wait well beyond our reservation and they were about to seat walk-ins who came in after us. Other than that, this is a good option if you want to dine a bit off the strip. 

Notable Dishes: Chateaubriand Tenderloin and Robouchon Potatoes

MESA GRILL (LAS VEGAS, NV)

Mesa Grill
Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Mesa Grill
Tel: 877.346.4642
Cuisine: Southwestern
$$$ ($30-$45)
Fri, 10/14/2016, 10:00pm reservation
    (4 Piglets)

Growing up, I've always been a huge fan of the food network. From Emeril to Ina, I loved the majority of the food network stars. One of the stars, Bobby Flay actually has a restaurant located at Caesars Palace known as Mesa Grill. It is a restaurant that serves Southwestern cuisine, a style that he learned from Jonathan Waxman. After successfully opening in NYC, Mesa Grill expanded to Las Vegas in 2004. 

Located right next to the Omnia nightclub, Mesa Grill is a fairly large restaurant. A glass window allows diners to peak into the kitchen. The seats are comfortable and the decor resembles something slightly fancy but with bright colors that are representative of the Southwest. 

Interior

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Interior

WHITE PEACH MARGARITA: This drink was delicious and made from scratch...none of that margarita mix crap. It was a bit strong and after a few sips, I could already feel the alcohol working (although I am bit of a light weight). It was yummy nonetheless. 

Complimentary Bread

TIGER SHRIMP ROASTED GARLIC CORN TAMALE ($19.00): Corn, Cilantro Sauce. This was a delicious dish and apparently, one of Flay's signature dishes. I love corn and it's one of my favorite vegetables. The sauce was creamy and the tamale was awesome. The texture of the shrimp was succulent and perfectly cooked. A really superb dish. 

MY FAVORITE DISH. NEW MEXICAN SPICE RUBBED PORK TENDERLOIN ($37.00): Bourbon, Ancho Chile Sauce, Sweet Potato Tamale with Crushed Pecan Butter. OMG! Can you say tender?! The pork was super moist and juicy which is something hard to find. The tamale was sweet and the ancho chile sauce was a bit smokey. Together, it was a perfectly cohesive dish. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

MANGO + SPICE CRUSTED TUNA STEAK ($38.00): Green Peppercorn, Green Chile Sauce, Toasted Pine Nut Cous Cous. This tuna steak was actually pretty amazing. It was delicate and flaky and the sauce went well with the fish. The cous cous was cooked perfectly and altogether, it was a yummy dish. 

Overall, Mesa Grill is a really good restaurant. I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites in Vegas, but I wouldn't mind going back if I couldn't think of a place to eat. The flavors were pretty strong and if you're not a fan of sauce, this isn't the place for you. Bold flavors and perfectly cooked food is what you get at Mesa Grill. Go Bobby Flay!

Notable Dishes: Tiger Shrimp Roasted Corn Tamale and Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin