Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

12 Nov 2011

Julian Serrano – Las Vegas (Aria Resort & Casino)

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After three days of reveling like rock stars at the Aria Resort & Casino, the #Foodies2Aria express arrived at its final stop: Julian Serrano. Modern tapas, traditional paella, and Chef Serrano’s favorite breakfast were all on deck before heading to the airport.

Chef Serrano is best known for his Mediterranean-French cooking at Picasso at the Bellagio. The restaurant has received two Michelin stars, as well as the AAA Five Diamond Award for nine years counting.

Here at his eponymous restaurant, Chef Serrano shares the cuisine of his native Spain. From small plates to seafood to charcuterie, I was excited to revisit the flavors and dishes that I fell in love with while honeymooning in the country last year.

To start, a cool shot of gazpacho with a filled sphere on the side. I’ve yet to warm up to cold soups, so I found this dish perfectly nice, but not much else.

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Restaurant Review

09 Nov 2011

Food & Wine All-Star Weekend: A New American Lunch at Sage (Aria Resort & Casino)

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For those who haven’t been following along intently on the #Foodies2Aria tour, let me catch you up quickly. After arriving in Vegas, we supped on uni risotto and white truffled fishes at BarMasa. Day two started early at Jean Georges Steakhouse, where tomahawk chops and roasted bone marrow graced the table. Next, we traveled down the hall to American Fish by Michael Mina, where we were served a suite of dishes prepared using the restaurant’s four signature techniques.

For our third meal of the day, we walked downstairs to Sage for “A New American Lunch” hosted by Chef Shawn McClain and Top Chef season 4 winner Chef Stephanie Izard. This event was part of the Food & Wine All-Star Weekend.

I wasn’t sure I’d be up for a six-course lunch after such a hearty breakfast, but thankfully my appetite was game for more as soon as I sat down.

Prior to the first course arriving, both chefs stood in front of the packed dining room to welcome the crowd and to chat a bit about the food. Chef McClain explained that the first and fourth dishes belonged to him, while the second and third were Chef Izard’s. The cheese course and dessert were anyone’s guess.

Chef McClain started us off with a shaved Brussels sprout salad with Taylor Gold pears, macadamia nuts, and a bacon mustard vinaigrette. The smoky and tangy dressing played nicely with the sweet pears and snappy sprouts.

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Now Closed

07 Nov 2011

American Fish by Michael Mina – Las Vegas (Aria Resort & Casino)

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After polishing off our tomahawk chops at Jean Georges Steakhouse, we walked across the corridor to American Fish by Michael Mina. With ceiling lights emitting a serene oceanic glow over every table, glass, and chair, the setting could not have been any more perfect for a restaurant celebrating the bounty of America’s waterways.

The best part of the dining room was the huge window peering into the kitchen. Every seat in the house offered a perfect view of meals being made from start to finish. Dinner and a show—how very Las Vegas.

American Fish is one of sixteen restaurants owned by San Francisco-based chef and restauranteur Michael Mina. On our tour of American Fish, Chef Mina demonstrated the restaurant’s four signature cooking methods: salt-baking, wood-grilling, cast iron-griddling, and ocean water-poaching.

“I wanted to pay homage to rustic cooking methods from across the country—lobster boils, clambakes and campfire cookouts—but apply them with modern finesse for a truly refined dining experience,” said Chef Mina in an interview with Vegas magazine.

The first technique that he demonstrated was ocean water-poaching. The filet of halibut was packed tightly with water from the Pacific Ocean, kelp, and a pat of butter prior to being dunked in a sous vide bath that the chef designed.

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