The first night, we went to Old Homestead Steakhouse in Caesar's Palace. We had been there for NYE this past year when it had only been open for about 3 days and loved it so thought it would be suitable to go back.
Our meal began with martinis and a bread basket which was filled with incredibly good bread. There were cheddar biscuits, french, pumpernickel, and sourdough. For an appetizer, we decided on the Shellfish Tower and half a dozen oysters. The tower consisted of crab leg, lobster, cocktail shrimp, and oysters. We opted for the Kumamoto since they're our favorites. The east coast oysters were not delicious.
Dinner #2 may have been one of the best meals I have had to date. We decided to take dinner to the Bellagio at a place you may have heard of....Le Cirque. Walking into the restaurant, it is already the cutest place ever. I have seen pictures of it but never realized just how adorable it would be in real life.
We decided to opt for the tasting menu just to make it easier to decide and since tastings were for the full table, we all had to do it. My mom and I also decided to go with the premium wine pairings as well. Luckily, Eric and I were able to try everything since there were always 2 options for each course so we could eat half and then switch. I will try to do my best to describe the food and how amazing it was but I know that there is no way I can do any of it justice.
For bread, we got rosemary lemon, and french with bacon.
The Chef sent out an amuse bouche of English Split Pea Soup with baked meringue on top. It was a great savory cold dish and a nice way to introduce us to the amazing flavors ahead. The soup was served table side from small "tea kettles"
For the next dish, I had the sea urchin ice cream. It was present in a sea urchin shell which was a nice touch. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this dish since the idea of seafood and ice cream in one dish does not usually sound good do me but this was amazing. The gelee added a great texture and the coldness of the ice cream really brought out the flavor. It was incredibly savory and I really don't think I would have known I was eating seafood at all.
Eric ordered the Alaskan King Crab. The display of sauces with this dish were great and really added flavor to the crab. The crab was cooked perfectly, not dry and very tender. There was a great hint of citrus that added a perfect lightness to the dish.
With this course, we were served champagne, the first of 5 tastings and some bacon madeleines.
For my next course, I went with the Foie Gras. Being a huge lover of foie, I was incredibly excited about this dish. It definitely lived up to my expectations. It was incredibly savory with great texture that melted in my mouth. The raisin brioche added a great way to "soak" up the flavors from the foie and take away some of the richness which was nice. The rhubarb was also a great kick of change in the dish.
Eric's dish was the risotto with scallops and truffles. This was possible the most truffles I have ever seen in such a tiny little pot. They shaved several pieces of truffle and just placed them nicely on top of the risotto. I almost didn't want to eat it! The flavor of the risotto was great. It was very light for risotto, as most places usually make it so rich it's almost impossible to eat more than 1 bite of. This was not the case here. This dish was dainty and fantastic.
For this meal, we were served a wine that very much resembled a port. It was on the sweet side, as it contained brandy. It was a great compliment to the richness of the foie especially.
The next course was seafood for both of us. I went with the Chorizo Crusted Alaskan Cod. This was probably my least favorite of the group, not to say that it wasn't great. However, it was the first time that I had anything containing squid ink and I must say, it isn't anything I thought it would be! It isn't fishy and it almost has a meaty savory taste to it, in a sauce form. It is almost like..."gravy" to put it simply.
Eric had the Seafood Bouillabaise. I still don't know what kind of fish this is or where it comes from but it was good. I think this may be the least memorable for me, besides the presentation. I do remember enjoying it, but as far as specific flavors, I honestly don't remember it that well. The liquid, however, that the fish was sitting in was great and definitely made the dish. It gave it flavor that I think it mate have lacked, which is obviously why it's present.
With this course, we were given a pinot noir, which usually you wouldn't pair with fish but due to it's lightness, it was a wonderful pairing. I was almost surprised that it was actually a red wine, because it almost resembled white.
We have finally come to the meat of the meal. There were three options here but Eric doesn't like duck so we decided to go with the 2 beef dishes, which was completely fine with me seeing as how they were both made with kobe beef. On top of which, we had just been talking about oxtail and whether or not it really does live up to the hype it always gets on Food Network and other food related reviews.
I don't really remember who got what because they were both great so I will just start with the tenderloin. The tenderloin was great. It was cooked perfectly, on the rarer side of medium due to Eric's preference for medium steak. Since it was a little under, it was good for me since I like my steaks medium rare. The darker ball is almond crusted foie gras which was great however, in the sauce and the lighter ball is filled with béarnaise sauce. When cracked open, a beautiful white sauce flowed out. The sauces that it came in were delicious, but I could have honestly just eaten the meat without them and enjoyed them just as much.
The oxtail was definitely interesting, and very good. It came in a pot and when removed, the dish was definitely not what I was expecting to see. It was almost like a stew surrounded by a spiral of pasta with the oxtail in the middle. You could say it was like beef stew, but better of course. The pasta was a great way to soak in all of the gravy.
An hour and a half later, we returned to the restaurant and finished our meal. For the pre-dessert, we were given sorbet. We had wanted cheese but it was ok. The sorbet was incredibly sour and topped with papaya and I can say that I didn't really enjoy it. I don't really like papaya at all and the tartness was just a little too much for me. However, I can see how it would have been a good break from the meal before dessert since many parts of the meal were incredibly rich.
Finally! We reached dessert. We were allowed to pick our own desserts from the menu which was nice and so we all picked something different.
My mom picked the strawberry soufflé. It had great height and a great texture. It was the perfect amount of "fluffiness", very airy, which is great b/c a lot of times soufflés can be dense. I wish the taste of strawberry was a little heavier but it was still good. I didn't get a chance to taste the sorbet b/c my mom ate it all in about 2 bites.
For me, I had a chocolate hazelnut "ball" which was absolutely wonderful. It was like eating a giant Ferrero Rocher ball but better. When cracked open, oozy goodness of chocolate and hazelnut poured out. Of the three desserts, this one was definitely my favorite.
Eric went with a dragon fruit dessert with sorbet and foam of some sort. I only tasted one bite of this because I didn't really enjoy it that much. I'm not sure if it was the dragon fruit or what, but there was something about it that I just wasn't a fan of. Eric seemed to really like it though so that was good.
With this course, we were served a dessert wine from Bordeaux. It's nickname is "liquid gold" and we could definitely see why. It was rich, sweet, buttery, and amazing. It's something we could have just had bottles of if it were available and not incredibly expensive.
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