Thursday, October 9th Dinner-Michael Mina at the Bellagio
Service: friendly but not overbearing
Atmosphere: modern but comfortable
Only issue: tables were too close together and there were quite a few people there. The servers often had a hard difficulty reaching us after others were seated next to us.
Cookbook Tasting with Premium Wine Tasting:
**Note: I really enjoyed all of my food in Las Vegas. That being said, the reviews I am submitting lack the exact names of some of the dishes and most of the wines. I would apologize but I am still too full and happy.
Amuse: Butternut squash soup
Creamy deliciousness with a gorgeous color.
I could have eaten an entire pot of this soup.
Bread: Black pepper and red plum roll
Peppery in the front and sweet in the back.
Served with the most airy and delicious whipped butter.
Course 1: Tartare of Ahi Tuna
-with sesame oil, toasted pine nuts, garlic and chiffonade of mint, with a quail egg perched on top and toast wedges on the side
Combined by the server at the table after presentation.
I don't usually do raw fish but I had about half of it. The mint really helped. Marvin, who had the same thing said the tuna was fabulous.
Wine served: a German Riesling
Course 2: The tasting menu called for Lobster Pot Pie and I substituted a Salad with Ricotta Salata dressed with a red wine vinaigrette
Marvin did have the pot pie and said the best part was the pearl onions. His only compliant was for the dish was he wished there was more.
The salad was the least favorite of my dishes. The lettuce was mostly of the weed variety. However, the ricotta was salty and yummy.
Wine served: a white Burgundy from new oak
Course 3: Miso-Glazed Black Cod
-in a Shitake consomme with shrimp and scallop raviolini.
The fish melted in my mouth like butter. The broth was seasoned perfectly and while not a fan of shellfish, I could have eaten an entire plate of the raviolini. They were homemade and laced with ginger. A very satisfying dish.
Wine served: served with a very mild sake and I believe the sommelier used the term "droplets" when describing it.
Course 4: The menu called for a beef dish but I substituted their take on fish and chips. Or as they call it "Chips on fish".
It was a John Dory fish with thinly sliced potato circles, salted and browned to ridiculous perfection.
It was placed upon an onion sauce with a side of tartar sauce. I did not use the tartar sauce at all, nor do I think it was necessary.
This was by far my favorite dish. It is on the regular menu and if I go back I would seriously consider just ordering it on it's own.
Wine served: a red from Washington, perhaps called Sorello
Course 5: Tasting of Michael Mina Desserts:
Mini Root Beer Float, Butternut Squash Cake, Chocolate Pot De Creme
They were all very good. The root beer float was made with a root beer sorbet and the maple cream that accompanied the squash cake was excellent.
Wine served: port
A final treat of ice cream bon bons-one orange and one mint.
Creamy deliciousness with a gorgeous color.
I could have eaten an entire pot of this soup.
Bread: Black pepper and red plum roll
Peppery in the front and sweet in the back.
Served with the most airy and delicious whipped butter.
Course 1: Tartare of Ahi Tuna
-with sesame oil, toasted pine nuts, garlic and chiffonade of mint, with a quail egg perched on top and toast wedges on the side
Combined by the server at the table after presentation.
I don't usually do raw fish but I had about half of it. The mint really helped. Marvin, who had the same thing said the tuna was fabulous.
Wine served: a German Riesling
Course 2: The tasting menu called for Lobster Pot Pie and I substituted a Salad with Ricotta Salata dressed with a red wine vinaigrette
Marvin did have the pot pie and said the best part was the pearl onions. His only compliant was for the dish was he wished there was more.
The salad was the least favorite of my dishes. The lettuce was mostly of the weed variety. However, the ricotta was salty and yummy.
Wine served: a white Burgundy from new oak
Course 3: Miso-Glazed Black Cod
-in a Shitake consomme with shrimp and scallop raviolini.
The fish melted in my mouth like butter. The broth was seasoned perfectly and while not a fan of shellfish, I could have eaten an entire plate of the raviolini. They were homemade and laced with ginger. A very satisfying dish.
Wine served: served with a very mild sake and I believe the sommelier used the term "droplets" when describing it.
Course 4: The menu called for a beef dish but I substituted their take on fish and chips. Or as they call it "Chips on fish".
It was a John Dory fish with thinly sliced potato circles, salted and browned to ridiculous perfection.
It was placed upon an onion sauce with a side of tartar sauce. I did not use the tartar sauce at all, nor do I think it was necessary.
This was by far my favorite dish. It is on the regular menu and if I go back I would seriously consider just ordering it on it's own.
Wine served: a red from Washington, perhaps called Sorello
Course 5: Tasting of Michael Mina Desserts:
Mini Root Beer Float, Butternut Squash Cake, Chocolate Pot De Creme
They were all very good. The root beer float was made with a root beer sorbet and the maple cream that accompanied the squash cake was excellent.
Wine served: port
A final treat of ice cream bon bons-one orange and one mint.
Overall I would recommend Michael Mina to anyone wishing to find a decent tasting menu at the lower end of the cost scale. I did not call ahead for any of my substitutions and they were very accommodating since Marvin wanted to have the regular tasting menu. The only thing they didn't do that the other restaurants did was to give me different wines when I substituted dishes. It wasn't a huge deal, but would have been a nice touch.
More reviews to come...
More reviews to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment