It’s Vegas baby!!

I recently had to make a four day trek to Vegas for a board meeting. I was there last year and ate the most fabulous meal at Bouchon. When one of the chefs made our reservations on line, she mentioned there would be three or four personal chefs for dinner. Bouchon responded by giving us a table by a window and service that would knock your socks off. While I would love to think that we got the service simply by the very mention that we were all chefs too, I could see that service is Bouchon’s “thing”. What a good thing that is. The food was indescribable. I have never eaten a meal that made me so happy in a restaurant. Now that could either be a good thing, or a bad thing. Sadly it was bad.

I know that sounds odd but now my standards are high and I couldn’t shake that experience at Bouchon’s from my head. Again, one of the chefs I was with made reservations at Mesa Grill in Vegas. I had eaten at Mesa Grill in NYC back in 2001 and thought it was a good meal, although I can’t remember what I ate. I was taken aback by the prices, but I live in VA and this after all was THE New York City. So I had to temper my sticker shock.

With hungry bellies, we piled into Mesa Grill and couldn’t wait to get a hold of that menu. I looked at it briefly and my socks were not knocked off. Somehow I felt let down and not even close to wowed. What on earth was wrong with me? I was so not wowed. I had the I ordered the Grill Tuna Steak with Apricot Mustard Mint Glaze with Green Chili Pine Nut Couscous. I was disappointed. One of my other dinner companions was sorely disappointed in her meal too. The other two chefs at the table went with the house specialty; New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin, and theirs was was kicky and spicy. Why or why didn’t I order that? No, I wanted to see each fish. I NEVER eat fish. See what I get for trying something new? Disappointment all the way ‘round. I am sorry the pictures here are so dark. It was really dark in the restaurant and if I had used the flash, I would have blinded the other diners at the table next to us. The funny thing about all of this; the other diners were even less wowed than I was. We all compared our dinners and the only one that got even close to a good review was the pork tenderloin dish.

I am a dessert girl. I love desserts in restaurants and really wanted to try something that would redeem my disappointment from dinner. No such luck. Everything on the menu looked the same as any other dessert I have ever eaten. Blah. I am not a picky eater but this just lacked the luster I was hoping for. Should we have eaten at Bouchon? Hind sight is 20/20. I paid $35 for a piece of tuna that I could have cooked on the grill at home. Mesa Grill in Las Vegas was a disappointment. WOW. I feel like such a heel saying that since I went with such expectations.