Sure some people live in Las Vegas, but to outsiders, the idea of spending more than a weekend in Sin City is usually too much to swallow. Last week, I had the opportunity to spend eight days on the strip as a result of attending a media convention and so try out some new culinary corners that I may have overlooked during past visits.
Planet Hollywood is not a casino I normally frequent, but because we stayed at a time share across the street, it was quick and easy to just pop in a grab whatever sustenance we needed before heading off for another eight hour day pacing up and down the massive convention center.
The first day we stopped in at Dailies – a cover-all-bases cafeteria type affair that I must recommend; from the tangy and spicy Buffalo wings to the very authentic Asian noddle soup (the broth indeed smacked of both duck and pork as opposed to salty Ramen noodle MSG powder) everything we tried there worked out quite well.
After a few days of this, Starbucks and buffets, we needed something close but different. On a lark we slipped into Yolös – the Mexican Restaurant tucked away in a neon pink corner by the restrooms. Normally I wouldn’t go for (yet another) Mexican meal as I live in Los Angeles and there is just far too much of it going around to pique any further curiosity on my part.
What we experienced, however, was so tasty that it merited me sitting down to write this glowing review. Having only eaten there once, I can’t vouch for everything on the menu, but between the Prickly Pear Mojito, the fresh guacamole made table-side by our waitress (consisting of nothing more than chopped shallots, jalapenos, lime, cilantro and a whole avocado) blue corn coconut shrimp with an incredible, very spicy papaya and habanero salsa and the key lime creme brulee that framed my entree, it all seemed consistently excellent.
blue corn coconut shrimp with papaya habanero salsa
My entree was the Pollo Rostizado, (“Roast Chicken” in English) which turned out to be a succulent and perfectly moist quarter chicken that maintained the slightly gamey flavor of a natural bird as opposed to the bland and thready variety found in average grocery stores. The star of the dish was the light pink tequila chipotle cream sauce – not too heavy but just rich enough to bring out the subtler flavors of the chicken without smothering it. Served with wild mushrooms (which is what likely led me to order it in the first place as I am a sucker for non-cultivatable, edible fungi) over a bed of Mexican rice (meaning + Annato) I was perfectly satisfied.
pollo rostizado with wild mushroom and tequila chipotle cream sauce
One of my guests ordered the more cliche Steak Fajita dish and got just that – a sizzling iron plate with onions and green peppers accompanied by some grilled flank steak and three corn tortillas. When he requested an extra pair of tortillas he was charged a dollar, which I found a little miserly considering we were in the heart of a Vegas casino on the strip and the fact that there were, in fact, two less tortillas than there were strips of steak to begin with. I hope they work this out because their chef is otherwise making beautiful things happen in the kitchen.