David Burke Modern American Cuisine

I have been inspired by this years Top Chef Las Vegas and my acquisition of the beautiful Bouchen cookbook by über chef Thomas Keller to finally get my act together and post about a recent trip to sin city.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, but the food needs to talked about. I had a quick weekend in sin city with the girls, and we did what we do best… shop, drink, and eat!

Tracy Glenn, Kim Gerkin and me starting dinner with Kamakazi's!

My BFF Kim had been working in Vegas for 6 months. She was closing banks, not stripping! Tracy and I decided to keep Kim company for a weekend. We stayed at the Venetian, in a gorgeous suite, and had a great time. On our first night, we decided to dine at David Burke’s, located in the Venetian. Good choice!

I loved the basil oil

As in all the best and yummiest restaurants, the chef, Dan Rossi, sent out an amazing amuse bouche of cream of leek soup with basil oil. Delightful!

Crisp and Angry Lobster Cocktail

Kim and Tracy shared the scary sounding, but amazingly tasty Crisp and Angry Lobster. This sucker was seasoned up and deep-fried and then impaled in spikes. No wonder he was so angry! Served with crispy basil and lemon, the juices on the bottom added a little more heat. They loved it.

Goat Cheese Agnolotti

I went with the Goat Cheese Agnolotti. Agnolotti is a pasta pocket, in this case filled with goat cheese. They were served with crispy chicken “oysters”, arugula, wild mushrooms, and a Parmigiano butter. The crispy chicken “oysters” come from the back of the chicken. They are two little pockets of dark meat, shaped like oysters and very moist. This salad was great, one that I will try to duplicate at home.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

For the main course, we picked from all over the menu. I had the Braised Beef Short Ribs, with corn and lobster risotto, and a black truffle mousse. This was a very large portion. The ribs were a little on the sweet side. I enjoyed the risotto, but it was very rich. I can’t imagine anyone being able to finish this dish. My entree was nothing compared to what Kim ordered.

Bronx Style Filet Mignon of Veal

Kim tried to scale the Bronx Style Filet Mignon of Veal. This piece of meat is huge! Very tender, it fell right off the bone. It was served with  a creamy mascarpone polenta, chipollini onions, with a tarragon jus. Kim was able to save the left overs for lunch for the next week!

Mustard Crusted "White" Tuna

Tracy stayed with the seafood and enjoyed the Mustard Crusted “White” Tuna. The tuna, that I think was yellowtail, was rolled in a mustard crust and seared and cut to look like a sushi roll. It was served with bok choy, sticky rice, and Napa cabbage. Tracy was very happy with her choice also.

Smoked Gouda Croquettes

The side dish that we choose to share was a decadent smoked Gouda croquette. Who doesn’t love fried cheese? This was several notches above your basic state fair cheese curd. We loved them.

Popovers with sweet butter on Pink Hawaiian Sea Salt

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the hot, flaky popovers that come to your table straight from the oven. Served along sweet butter, presented on a pink Hawaiian Sea Salt slab, you feel very guilty eating the whole thing, just like you should- this is sin city, Baby!

A Cheesecake Lollipop tree

We decided on the cheese cake lollipop tree for dessert. Who could pass up a lollipop tree? Chessecake dipped in strawberry, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate, served with a bubble gum whipped cream. Very Fun!

a nice choice for dinner

Oh, yeah, we paired all this sinful fun with a bottle of Shea Vineyard’s Pinot Noir from Oregon. Good choice, great pairing for all. We loved our staff, who were very playful and knows that people are there for a good time. All around, a great first night for our girls weekend.