Pho Tau Bay in New Orleans, LA

April 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Spicy beef stew

Pho Tau Bay
113 Westbank Expy
Gretna, LA 70053

the front

I’ve heard numerous times that this is THE place for the best pho in New Orleans. Joe is a huge pho lover and so I vowed to bring him here the next time he was in town and boom here we are! My friend Davie N. said that the broth here is like crack and steroids for him.  That is pretty good word of mouth!

condiments

the condiments are crucial! You need to find the perfect balance so that the your broth flavor is enhanced by the hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce.

egg rolls

The egg rolls were delicious! Wrapped in paper thin sheets and then deep fried!

Spicy beef stew

Joe ended up not being in the mood for pho and so he went with spicy beef stew. He was hoping for it to be more spicy than it actually was but the beef was so tender that it fells to pieces at the touch of his fork. He said the broth was delicious too.

beef w deep fried soft egg noodles

These crispy noodles are my favorite! They soften with the temperature of the sauce. The sauce was your typical sweet Asian sauce but the bits of meat was delicious and tender. The vegetables and pineapples were so fresh!

 

Phò Tàu Bay on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: New Orleans, LA, Vietnamese

Bobby Flay’s Mesa in Las Vegas

April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
pork tenderloin

Bobby Flay’s La Mesa
3570 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Dinner at Caesar's palace

Even though we arrived on time for our reservation, we were asked to chill in the bar area. Luckily it didn’t take too long for us to be seated (maybe there were busy? or was it a ploy for us to order drinks?) But nothing could sour this occasion where I get to dine at Bobby Flay’s first restaurant, the one that put him on the radar and jumpstarted his career.  Once we were seated, we were asked about drinks again, I decided to go with a house trademark.

 

House margarita

I ordered the white peach margarita.  I liked that the tequila flavor was downplayed.  Very refreshing.

corn and shrimp tamale

The tamale is a corn-based starchy dough filled with corn and tiger shrimp. I didn’t know that you aren’t supposed to eat the wrapping, whoops! but the rest was delicious. The creamy sauce was so light, I was surprised.

filet mignon

The filet mignon is coffee-rubbed and served with a side of ancho chili sauce. The waiter warned us about the chili sauce and he was right! The filet mignon was cooked to a perfect medium-rare. Seriously, a stupendous cut of meat.

pork tenderloin

I got the famous New Mexico spice rubbed pork tenderloin which was served medium with some pecan butter and sweet potato tamale. The ancho chili sauce was the same as the filet mignon.  So good! I could see why this was hyped up.

 

 

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Latin American

Los Paisanos in New Orleans

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
pork tacos

Los Paisanos
3336 S Claiborne Ave
New Orleans, LA 70125

the front

This authentic Latin American oasis is found at Louisiana Ave and S Claiborne in that little shady plaza with the laundromat. I would recommend going during the day time because this area can get shady at night.

ambiance

You know you’re in for a treat when the workers don’t speak English. It took a lot of pointing to the menu on the wall and hand gestures to get our order in. I was so excited to come here and it paid off! I have a new favorite burrito place!

Jarritos

No Mexican meal is complete without this Mexican sparkling soda. We got tricked tho, we thought we ordered lime flavor but after she had opened the bottle and brought it to our table, we saw that it was grapefruit which was fine just not what we wanted.

pork tacos

Out of all the different meats we had, Joe’s favorite was the pork. It was definitely very flavorful and juicy. The corn soft tacos were delicious! Very fresh ingredients.

beef burrito

My love for burritos began in San Diego and has led me all over the place trying to find one that could compare and I believe I have finally found one. This burrito was just so authentic tasting and bursting with fresh flavors. I will definitely be coming back more often for this burrito! For those who are looking for true authentic burrito might be a lil disappointed cuz this burrito has rice in it like they do in California.

chicken quesadilla

The chicken was probably the most bland of the 3 meats we had. The quesadilla was pretty typical but still yummy as long as you ask for them to bring out those green and red hot sauces!

Los Paisanos on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Latin American, New Orleans, LA

Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas

April 1, 2012 By 1 Comment
eggs benedict

Mon Ami Gabi
3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

lunch at the base of a Eiffel Tower

Mon Ami Gabi is located by the base of the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas. We had heard great things about their Sunday brunch and so we made a reservation. Unfortuantely the patio had a super long wait so we settled for the sun room which was the best of both worlds, air-conditioned room with huge windows letting all the sunlight in.

the front

There were so many people at this place when we arrived. I’m so glad we made a reservation. Eating ndoors along the windows was nice cuz then you don’t get pedestrians stopping and gawking at your food.

fresh French bread

We started off with some delicious fresh French bread, hot from the oven. too bad the butter was frozen solid.

cafe au lait

I needed some caffeine to start off my day and so I got a cafe au lait, some delicious French press coffee with steamed milk. Made me feel like I was at a nice little French bistro, sipping on my drink.

French onion soup

 

The French onion soup was delicious. Loved the melted gruyere cheese and brioche bread on top. I think caramelized onions is one of my most favorite flavors in the world. I noticed that almost every table here at at least one bowl of this soup and when I began to devour mine, I knew why.

eggs benedict

Joe ordered the eggs benedict because the breakfast menu is pretty well known at this restaurant. I liked that the hollandaise sauce wasn’t so thick and heavy like most egg yolk and butter based sauces (anyone else think of Julia Child when you hear those combinations?)

sandwich of the day

I had the sandwich of the day which happened to be duck breast, bacon, lettuce (I opted for no tomatoes cuz I don’t like how tomatoes make my bread soggy), with citrus spicy mayo. The duck breast was tender and juicy and the bacon was cooked rock hard (I love crunchy bacon).

frites

I love these things, it’s like the love child of french fries and chips. The slices of potato were so thin and crispy. I asked for some of the citrus spicy mayo and dipped the fries in it, it was heavenly!

 

 

Mon Ami Gabi (Paris) on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: French
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