Crazy Fun Video Night: Bad Date Night Food

What sounds worse? This...

@BoricuaALaMode – If you think Cheesecake Factory is fine dining #yournotmytype

Or this?





Are you cringing in horror yet? ;-)

Foodie Thoughts: Fleur de Lys Closing, "Top Chef Masters" Fallout, & Everything Is California's Fault

Everything is California's fault. Everything, I tell you. F*CK YOU, CALIFORNIA!

If you follow ELV on Facebook, you know that a week ago he reported that Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay will close in August, to re-open before the end of the year as a casual, small plates, world tapas bar concept.

The good news is: Hubert Keller (and his chefs and crew) will still be running the new restaurant, and are actively working on said concept and menu as we write this. [...]

The bad news is: This closing is yet another step in the dumbing down of Vegas restaurants — to fit a clientele who doesn’t want to pay for anything more elaborate than burgers, sliders, pizzas, and (god help us) more mediocre sushi. The creeping California casualization of American dining continues, and we fear this relentless trend towards small plates and grazing platters, represents a step away from quality and bodes ill for the future of good restaurants in our humble burg.

OK, let me put aside the Kleenex and bon bons to regain my composure. Deep breath, deep breath...

OK, I can speak again. I can understand Mr. ELV's frustration. Fleur de Lys was one of our more underappreciated fine dining gems. And did I mention Hubert Keller is a culinary god?

But hey, even culinary gods can only swim against the trend current for so long. While fine dining is far from dead and moiself will never stop stimulating the economy via the occasional outrageous food splurges, the fact of the matter is that many diners these days are foregoing the traditional fine dining experience for gastropubs, tapas houses, burger joints, and sushi dens. And foodie genius that he is, Hubert Keller saw this coming and decided to go with the flow rather than risk losing it all by keeping Fleur de Lys as is. And with the Mandalay Bay complex already served by the uber-chic Mix and lovely French-American Aureole, they pretty much had their "Fussified Frenchie Food" covered.

It's sad to see Fleur de Lys closing, but I intend to keep an open mind and see what becomes of Keller's new tapas concept.

And speaking of Mandalay Bay, everyone is still talking about the "Top Chef Masters" season finale. Was Jay Rayner being a dick? IMHO, yes. Is cooking and eating sustainably tough? Absolutely. But is it worth it? I think so. And is Rick Moonen doing what he can to practice what he preaches? IMHO, yes.

Again, it's all California's fault. Wait, so Jay Rayner is from Britain? Oh, OK. F*CK THEM! ;-)

And WTF is this sh*t? Oh, it's at Las Vegas Club. That explains it all.

The slogan on the front is "You catch 'em, we cook 'em," but good luck. The price of $2 per play isn't bad if you manage to grab one of the poor unsuspecting creatures within thirty seconds of depositing your cash and manipulating the claw, but unfortunately their are no consolation prizes (I was thinking a shrimp would be nice) and based on what an employee says in this local video, not many people win. If we hadn't just eaten and if the lobsters had been larger, I might have played, yet there was still something unsettling about it. If monkfish is referred to as the 'poor man's lobster,' then the crustaceans in The Lobster Zone must be the 'cheap, drunk Vegas tourist's lobster,' because I'm not sure who else would actually attempt catch one. I suppose it gets one closer to catching their own food than they otherwise would be, but when neither the animal nor hunter have much of a chance of winning, it just seems cruel for everyone involved. Anyhow, if you're really on a budget give it a whirl, and let me know how it goes. My bet, however, is that you're better of going to Red Lobster for the money, where you're also rewarded with delicious free cheddar biscuits!

If something is so bad that one praises Red Lobster for f*ck's sake, it's that f*cking bad. FAIL!

But this is NOT fail, kids. Our BFF Mike D from Tasting Las Vegas, along with Jillian from Frugal Foodie, made the big leagues when they were featured on KNPR's "State of Nevada" on Friday, when Mr. ELV and Mr. Max do their occasional delicious Friday (not really) hostile takeover of the show. It's good to see the food bloggers in this town get the recognition they deserve.

And finally, both Mr. ELV and Sage (Shawn McClain's ab fab restaurant at Aria) get the national recognition they deserve. Well, at least some things are still working out nicely in this town.

OK, I felt the need to catch up on all I've been missing since I left town. And did I mention everything is always California's fault? I need to get me out of this gawddamned hellhole. ;-)

Finally, a "Best of Las Vegas" Poll Worthy to Be Considered "Best"?

Have our prayers been answered? Really, great goddess of the sky? Some Las Vegas publication has actually published a decent "Best Of" list??!!

Yes, my dears, Las Vegas Weekly knows good food... For the most part. What a relief!

Still, there were a few things I disagreed with. Why bother with The Palm for lunch when there are so many more interesting choices? Why give Paymon's ANY "best" award??!! (Best lousy grub pretending to be "Mediterranean"?) Why declare Capriotti's sandwich "best"? (They're good, but nowhere near Earl of Sandwich IMHO.) And why give Dick's ANY "best" award? (Best lame Light Group attempt at a restaurant?)

But yes, their list has far more hits than misses. Bravo to Sage's Shawn McClain for winning "Best New Chef" and "Best Wine by the Glass"! Bravo to Julian Serrano for "Best Tapas" and "Best New Restaurant"! Bravo to Guy Savoy for "Best Wine List"! Brava to Sunrise Coffee for "Best Coffee Shop"! And brava to all the other worthy "Best Of" winners this year!

Oh, and brava to Las Vegas Weekly for actually caring about eating well here in Las Vegas! Tasting Las Vegas is right. Some of the picks seem odd, but all in all they sound like they know what they're doing (as opposed to that other paper that shall not be named).

It probably helps to have great food writers, and good management that lets the great food writers actually do their job. :-)