Michael Mina’s American Fish {Las Vegas}featured
Michael Mina’s latest Las Vegas venture is American Fish, a celebration of the bounty of America’s great lakes, rivers and oceans. The design of the space impossibly melds soothing nature with Vegas glitz. Displayed behind the elevated bar is an infinity forest of birch trees, a blue-lit installation in the ceiling brings to mind salmon running upstream, copper and wood tones glow throughout the dining room, and a gleaming showcase kitchen spans the length of the room.
The menu features regional products prepared in four signature cooking methods: poached in ocean water, griddled over cast iron, baked in sea salt, and wood grilled and smoked. I sampled a dish prepared in each style.
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FOOD & WINE All-Star Weekend {Las Vegas} + Giveawayfeatured
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the FOOD & WINE All-Star Weekend hosted by Gail Simmons at the sleek new ARIA Resort & Casino and the classically luxurious Bellagio. I knew it was going to a helluva weekend when this pulled up for me at the airport. Well played, ARIA, well played.
While any FOOD & WINE event is sure to promise a flurry of star chef sightings and delectable tastings, I had a feeling that this would be particularly memorable given the impressive line-up of chefs involved.
Vegas has become a veritable foodie destination as the Michelin-starred, James-Bearded, and Zagat-rated flock to titillate the taste buds of high-rollers, rock stars, and culinary devotees of Sin City. ARIA alone is home to world-class chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Masa Takayama, Michael Mina, Julian Serrano, Shawn McClain, Jean-Philippe Maury, and restaurateur Sirio Maccioni.
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Grilled Cheese All Grown Up {Honeycrisp Harvest Melt + Ginger Molasses Bread Recipe}featured
The beloved grilled cheese. There’s really nothing like it. Simple and comforting, it’s amazing how satisfying this holy trifecta of bread, cheese and butter can be. The grilled cheese of my childhood was far from gourmet – Wonder bread and Kraft singles – but truth be told, it soothed my young soul. When mom placed a grilled cheese sammie in front of me, gooey American cheese oozing from two slices of crispy, buttery white bread, cut into triangles, all was right in the world.
Today, the allure of this nostalgic sandwich is sweeping the country and people are falling in love with the grilled cheese all over again. Whole restaurants are devoting their menus entirely to the glorious grilled cheese, food trucks are popping up in every major city, there’s even a highly competitive and well-attended Grilled Cheese Invitational, now in its 8th year. This isn’t the grilled cheese of your youth though. No, she’s all grown up now, with artisanal bread, high-quality cheese, and gourmet toppings.
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Harry & David: the People Behind the Pearsfeatured
Ciao Ragazzi! I am back from an incredible stint in Italy, Greece, and France and have not even cracked the tip of the iceberg on all the stories, amazing food, and gazillion photos I’d like to share with you all. So…please bear with me, I promise I’ll be rolling these out as soon as humanly possible!
As you can imagine, I’m slowly but surely reacquainting myself to reality. To help move things along, my first week back, I was whisked off to the beautiful Rogue Valley in southern Oregon by the lovely folks at Harry & David to join a fabu group of fellow bloggers in a mission to learn all about the famous Harry & David trademarked Royal Riviera Pear and meet the people behind the pears (not to mention the Moose Munch, chocolate treats, baked goodies, and perfect hand-tied, 7-loop bows.
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