Charlie Palmer's, Veranda, D 1, Chada and other musings

I will try to make this a fairly brief review of my recent trip to Las Vegas. I'll start with what I thought was my most surprising dinner and that was at Charlie Palmer's. In the past I have enjoyed the Cut of the Week while finding their regular menu items uninventive, tired, heavy and boring. (Both the CoW and Michael Jackson menus looked good and one person whom I was seated next to at the bar really enjoyed her MJ dinner.) The 1st night I had the Bellwether Farms Ricotta Agnolotti along with the slow cooked veal cheeks. The agnolotti may be the absolute best pasta I have had in Las Vegas. Light, full of flavor and of impeccable ingredients. Simply stunning. The plating of the veal cheeks were a work of art (I wish I took a picture of the plate) with what looked like red paint splattered all over the plate (they called it Beet Variations), some small florets of Romanesco scattered about. There were 3 fairly sized veal cheeks that were perfectly cooked. The only thing a little off was the slightest flavor of bbq sauce on the cheeks. Certainly not bad just was not expecting that flavor and seemed a bit misplaced.

Our next dinner started as what was suppose to be a bit of a food crawl. Agnolotti at CP, a couple of pastas at Veranda ending with some seafood at RM (too full to make the RM leg of the crawl). The agnolotti again were perfect. My dining companion was in the mood for steak (ugh, not what I was wanting) so we decided to stay for some meat. The previous night another friend had the rib eye which was perfectly fine but not the way I liked it cooked (he ordered medium, closer to well) so I really can't comment on it. He loved it. So we ordered the dry aged bone in NY Strip. Simply stated, this may be the best steak I have had in Las Vegas in years, if not ever. Meat quality was stunning (what you can only get when ordering prime beef), the dry age funk was at the apex of perfection and it was cooked perfectly. I found it far better than the steak we had previously at Japaneiro (although not really fair to compare rib eye vs NY Strip IMO). Again…stunning.

I ate 3 breakfasts at the Veranda and all 3 were great. Great setting, great service and great food. Still my favorite breakfast destination in Las Vegas, although pricey. However, dinners at Veranda continue to puzzle me. I have had wonderful meals followed by lapses in execution that ruin the meal. This was present the night of our food crawl. We ordered the Tagliatelle ai Porcini and the Traditional Carbonara. The pastas in each were the perfectly al dente but the carbonara was over cooked to the point it almost solidified while the Porcini sauce was watery and uninspiring. Given the quality that can come out of this kitchen I was completely underwhelmed. As usual the service was wonderful but the lack of consistency at dinner make it a bit of an enigma and hard to return for dinner.

D 1 is a place that gets very little attention on this board and I'm not sure why. Maybe like Japaneiro some may say the regular menu is uninspiring and boring. Personally the limited amount of items I have ordered have been good. However, the special seafoods are in short, spectacular. On this visit we had the sea snails and surf clams. Just for future reference if these specials are on the board and you decide to order them I would strongly suggest that you have the sea snails first followed by the surf clams. The sea snails are a large order (8-10 per order?) in an amazing broth with just the right amount of heat and spice. I could eat these suckers (no pun intended) every day. And the broth…holy cow. Delicious. The surf clams are very large, and like the razor we have had on other occasions, were chopped and cooked with peppers (jalapeño I'm pretty sure) and a not too heavy sauce (think Vietnamese beurre blac sauce) that envelope each bit is a wonderful experience. I can't recommend D 1 enough, although maybe I shouldn't as the specials are generally in short supply and I want them all for myself!!!

And finally, Chada. What else can I say. Each meal I have had here has been perfect and satisfying. What LoS remains my favorite all time LV restaurant Chada is quickly becoming a regular in the rotation and should not be missed. Oh that crab and angel hair…it is a perfect dish.

I would also like to take 5 seconds and again thank QAW. What a perfect gentleman and dining companion. His knowledge about all things Las Vegas is intoxicating as well as his taste for food. He is about as under the radar as a person could be, never trumpeting his arrival for the purpose of gaining attention or favors. Truly a delight. TY QAW for yet another wonderful trip. Can't wait for October!