Big Changes Going on at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach - CLOSED

The Californian at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

21500 E. Pacific Coast Highway

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

We rarely get invited to a closing party for a restaurant. In fact, I believe this is the first time during the four-year run of our blog that we have been invited to a restaurant on one of the last nights of service. Most of the time, the closing of a restaurant is a somber affair, a decision that has been long in the making and with great contemplation. However, the good folks at The Californian were downright giddy about the closing of their restaurant.

Okay, they were excited because they are re-branding their dining space at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. As of the 18th of November, the Californian would be no more. On that date, they started a big-time renovation that they hope will only last 100 days. This ambitious concept is the brainchild of John Benson, Director of Food and Beverage for Hyatt. He told us he has been working up to this moment for the better part of two years now. A lot of planning goes into these undertakings.

This is not just slapping some paint on the walls and changing the names of menu items. Instead, the people at Hyatt are developing a new concept for hotel dining. Everything about the Californian will be gone. Instead, they are getting new furniture and a new layout that will feature communal tables, private dining areas, and open kitchens that will be used as buffet staging and chef tables in the evening. Even the wait staff's uniforms will not be spared, as they will have new uniforms when the unnamed restaurant opens in the Spring.

Some of the highlights we got to experience involved the bar area of the restaurant. They are introducing bar jars, which will be filled with numerous items, ranging from almonds, dips, and a variety of pickled things. We also got to try a Pumpkin Martini, which was topped off with cinnamon and really captured the essence of the Fall season.

Bar jars will be a focus, but they are planning on having a very ambitious charcuterie program here. If our samples are an indication, this will be a smashing success. Another hit with the media in attendance was the Pull Apart Bread which will be baked fresh and offered to guests. When we tried this, it was warm, right out of the oven, and addicting. The Potato and Corn Empanada is also worth noting here. When paired with the aji sauce, these packed a significant amount of flavor into them, and I did not even miss the absence of meat. A rare thing for me to say.

Not only is the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach going to have a new restaurant, but they also have a new chef. Executive Chef Manfred Lassahn might be new to this Hyatt location, but he is definitely not new to the Hyatt Corporation. He has been with them for 27 years, his last stint being at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. He and his team wowed us with some great items that might be on the new menu. Highlights for me included one of the best Scalloped Potato dishes I have had. So creamy, with a really homey vibe to it. The Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers gave me a tremendous new appreciation for what can be done with Brussels sprouts. So delicious. The carving stations were not to be missed. The oven-roasted pork loin was paired nicely with an autumn chutney. Very tender. I usually avoid salmon, but this Cedar Plank Skunna Bay Salmon was pleasant and cooked fabulously. The Avocado Gazpacho with Dungeness Crab and Smoked Olive Oil was as delicious as it sounds. Lastly, the Inside Out Grilled Cheese was a little light on the cheese factor, but I enjoyed the prosciutto.

There were three desserts for us to try as well. The Coppa Raspberry and Cream and the Espresso Creme Brulee were good but could not hold a candle to the Six Degrees of Chocolate. I ate two of these desserts and had to be held back from eating a third. So good, without being as rich as I expected it to be. If this is on the new menu, it better come in an extra large slice for me.

Leaving my first farewell party for a restaurant, I was as excited as the Hyatt people about what was coming next for this space at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. If these little sneak peeks indicate, they will have something special on their hands. I will be interested to see how closely they stick to this new concept when the restaurant opens in the Spring. We would like to thank everyone involved in this project for inviting us to this great event and sharing their vision of what was to come. Looking forward to seeing how it all turns out early next year.

To keep up to date with the opening, and all the rest of what is going on at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, go to their website here: http://huntingtonbeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html

Football Frenzy #12 at Clancy's American Grill - CLOSED

Clancy's American Grill

2191 S. Harbor Blvd.

Anaheim, CA 92802

I have been pretty lax about trying to find the best spots to watch football this year. It is not that I do not love the sport, but it is hard to get motivated when you know that your team is going to lose every week. My beloved Jaguars started off the season miserable, and as the year has gone on, they have become even worse than that. Before our recent one-game winning streak, we had lost eight games in a row, and thirteen overall games through the last two seasons. Not enough to get me motivated to roll out of bed on Sunday mornings.

There is, of course, fantasy football, which is my saving grace this year. For the first time in recent memory, all three of my teams are pretty competitive, and one of my teams is actually in the lead this late into the season. Very rare for me, as I usually do not even have to check my teams past October because they are usually decimated by injuries. So we headed to a sports bar that we have wanted to try for some time now. I went to Clancy's knowing that my Jaguars would lose, but I was just hoping my fantasy players would put up some good numbers.

Clancy's American Grill is located in the middle of the Anaheim resort district, just a couple blocks away from Disneyland. Some might think this is an odd place for a sports bar, but after dealing with the long lines, horrible food, and all those tourists at Disneyland, park-goers might just want to unwind from the happiest place on earth by having a few cocktails and watching some sports. I know I'd rather avoid Disneyland, even if I had to watch my horrible Jaguars play.

We got to Clancy's right around 9:45 on a recent Sunday. One problem, they don't open until 10. This is a pet peeve of mine because we like to watch the pregame shows, and scout out the best seats to view the games. Luckily when they did open the doors, we had our pick of places in the dining room, as most people headed straight to the bar. We grabbed a seat in the middle of the room, which had a good view of about seven TVs. Clancy's was never more than half full during our three-hour stay here, and they were very accommodating about switching games on for people, including the one guy that wanted to watch NASCAR. The atmosphere was pretty quiet, which can probably be attributed to the restaurant is only half full. About halfway through the first quarter of the games, we ordered food. I was hoping that Clancy's food could be a distraction from watching my team throw another interception. Let's see how it all worked out for us.

Katie wanted to start out with something light, so she had the Hot Pretzel ($5), which she shared with Richard. This pretzel was served with a cheese sauce for dipping. I'm not into pretzels, but both Richard and Katie liked this pretzel enough that it was gone in a matter of seconds. Katie actually thought this tasted pretty fresh, and it was baked recently.

If there's one thing I have learned while taking pictures for this blog, it's very hard to get a great shot of a burrito. This was the case at Clancy's as well, but at least they cut it in half, so I could photograph what everyone always cares about while eating a burrito, the insides. Both Katie and Richard ordered this Breakfast Burrito ($10) which starts with a base of eggs, potato and cheese, then you choose between bacon, sausage, or chorizo. They both went for bacon. Is there something I should know about you two? They both thought this was a pretty average burrito, which was filling but did not knock their socks off. Richard felt it was kind of boring, which is funny since he loves flavorless Chipotle burritos so much. You would think he would be used to boring burritos by now. Sorry big guy, could not resist taking a shot at your Chipotle fanaticism.

Not content with the breakfast burrito, Richard attempted to awaken his taste buds with the Half Pound Clubhouse Wings ($5). At Clancy's, they offer eight styles of wings, and Richard tried the Mango Habanero version. He seemed pretty pleased with his choice. These started out sweet, but then the habanero kicked in to provide some heat. Not overwhelming, but just enough to make its presence felt. The wings were pretty good-sized, and the fact that these are sold by the weight, you get about four wings per half a pound. Keep that in mind when ordering these wings at Clancy's.

You probably thought I was too disgusted watching my Jaguars to eat, but you would be wrong. I used this Farmhouse Burger ($12) to distract me from the onslaught that the Colts were giving us. This burger came with a lot of my favorites on it; fried egg, bacon, tomato, and mayo. I ended up really liking this burger. The fried egg had a good amount of yolk, which always makes every burger better. The bacon was nice and crisp, the meat was seasoned well, and the bun was pretty soft while maintaining its structural integrity. I would have liked some cheddar incorporated on his burger, but it was a pretty good hamburger. The fries were your average run of the mill style fast-food fries. Nothing too great.

So how does Clancy's rate when it comes to becoming our ultimate Sunday football hangout? If you remember from our other football-related posts, we have three criteria that we look at when judging places for the Sunday football experience; ambiance, service, and food. Clancy's did a great job with service. Our waitress was right on top of everything, and even though she left midway through the games, her replacement filled in admirably for the remainder of our visit. The food was pretty good, but nothing that really rocked our world. My burger was above average, but the breakfast burrito needed help here. They do have a pretty extensive menu, so it might be worth exploring it in depth on future visits. The atmosphere was just okay here as well.  The restaurant was half full, but no one was really making a sound, other than what appeared to be the regulars at the bar. I'm not saying that I want other bar patrons yelling in my ear, but I'd like to have more of a stadium vibe going on. This was almost like watching the game at home. So it's off to another sports bar to see if they can become our ultimate Sunday football hangout. First, though, I need some time to recover from watching my woeful Jaguars.

Out of five police badges, (because of the Simpson's, Chief Wiggum's first name is Clancy), five being best to zero being worst, Clancy's American Grill gets 2.5 police badges.

For more information about Clancy's American Grill, go to their web site here: http://clancysamericangrill.com/home.html

Experiencing the Flavors of Baja at El Torito

El Torito

18512 MacArthur Blvd. 

Irvine, CA 92612

You can add me to the list of people that had probably written off  El Torito. I can't remember what the family gathering was for, but I can remember that we left the restaurant not too happy with how things had worked out for us during that meal. There were dinners that were missing, we had large gaps in service, and the food itself was pretty pedestrian. Needless to say, it was the last time we were at an El Torito for dinner, and that was close to five years ago.

It was sad that El Torito, a chain restaurant that had helped popularize Mexican food in the United States, had seemed to have lost its luster. Started in 1954 by Larry Cano, this seemed to be a restaurant that had peaked in the late eighties when they opened 54 new stores in one year. After being sold numerous times, they now operate 68 restaurants, of which, 12 of those are in OC. At least now they are owned by a company that knows a thing or two about Mexican food, Real Mex Restaurants. Real Mex not only owns El Torito, but they also own Acapulco's, Chevy's, and Las Brisas.

We were recently invited to try El Torito's new Flavors of Baja menu. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about whether I was going to like this special menu or not. I had asked around my work if any of my coworkers had been to El Torito recently, and no one had, except for Sunday brunch and a trip to Taco Tuesday. So I showed up at Katie's work and we took a short car ride over to the El Torito that is right across from John Wayne Airport.

I had expected the restaurant to be slow on this Wednesday night, but they had a steady stream of customers during our visit. The bar area was pretty packed, the large dining room had a lot of occupied tables, and even as we were leaving they had just sat a party of ten. We were sat promptly and met by Manager Ben Morales and Research and Development Chef Loreto, both of whom would be walking us through the Flavors of Baja menu. They both seemed very proud to share this menu with us, so I started to feel like this was not going to be like my last El Torito experience.

Not on the Flavors of Baja menu, but you can not come to El Torito and not experience their Fresh Tableside Guacamole. Sorry for the poor action shot of our waiter, George making this up for us, but he was pretty quick when mixing the avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, onions and Serrano chiles. This was a good-sized portion of guacamole, but Katie and I really put a good-sized dent into this rather quickly. I would have liked this a little spicier, but I knew Katie likes things a little milder. It had a very good consistency, between being too lumpy and too smooth. George must be a real expert at making this after his five years on the job here.

After our little detour off of the regular El Torito menu, it was now time to see what the Flavors of Baja menu had in store for us. First up was the Baja Trio Appetizer ($9.99). Chef Loreto explained to us that he believes that ceviche came from Japanese immigrants who settled on the Baja peninsula. These tacos all had a different version of ceviche inside of them. My favorite of the three was the one with crab, red jalapeno, fennel, and ginger aioli. The crab was very fresh, and the taco heated up as I ate it. Big flavors working here. The halibut taco came with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and avocado. I thought this one was going to be a little boring, but I liked the simplicity of it, and the halibut was done nicely. The spicy shrimp taco was probably my least favorite of the three, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. This unusual taco combined shrimp, jicama, green apple, Serrano chiles, and guacamole. The textures on this taco were the highlight of it for me. A very nice crunch with the jicama and apple.

Our culinary tour of Baja continued with the Mexicali Enchiladas ($12.49). This colorful plate was centered by three enchiladas basted with guajillo sauce and filled with chicken and manchego cheese. The enchiladas in Baja are not drenched in sauce, like other areas of Mexico. The result is a lighter enchilada, with some very tender pulled chicken inside. I also liked the use of the manchego cheese here, which helped to prevent this dish from becoming too heavy. This was served with a very nice roasted corn and pasilla peppers, which added some gradual heat to this meal. A very nice variation from the usual enchiladas served in Mexican restaurants.

Most of the time when people think of Baja, the food that automatically comes to mind is the fish taco. So it's no surprise that Baja Halibut Tacos ($14.99) are on El Torito's Flavors of Baja menu. These come three to a plate, with beer-battered halibut, ginger aioli, cabbage, avocado, and caramelized onions inside of a soft corn tortilla. This was a very solid fish taco. The breading was nicely done, with a pleasant crunch to it, and the cabbage and watermelon radish added some texture components. The tortilla was not rubbery like others can tend to be. El Torito does Baja well, with this rendition of the fish taco. I also must make mention of the Baja white rice that was served with this. The rice had some roasted vegetables and manchego cheese in it to elevate this from your normal humdrum Mexican style rice.

Now we were getting into my wheelhouse. I am a carnitas fiend, so I was excited to see that carnitas was part of the Flavors of Baja menu. These Carnitas en Tablita ($15.49) were a little different from others. The pork here is simmered in garlic, oranges, and other spices. The citrus tinge was very evident. I missed the fried tips of other carnitas, but these were some very tender pork pieces. The pork is served with all of the usual accompaniments; avocado, grilled onions, beans, and warm tortillas. I went without the tortillas and just ate the carnitas by the forkful. A very good version of carnitas.

Even after all of the food we had eaten, I was still excited when this plate hit our table. The Jalapeno Bacon Wrapped Shrimp ($17.99) was fantastic. These shrimp were huge and wrapped expertly with bacon, jalapeno chiles, and manchego cheese. Talk about big-time flavor. The shrimp was briny, the jalapeno added a little heat, and the natural deliciousness from the bacon made this dish a winner. I ate more than my fair share of these, as Katie started to feel the effects of this so far six-course meal. I wasn't complaining though.

Can't make up your mind about what to order off of the Flavors of Baja menu, El Torito has you covered. The Baja Sampler ($15.49) will take you on a trip around the Baja peninsula. This plate starts with a Halibut Taco, then continues on with a Chicken Enchilada, and finishes up with two of the great Jalapeno Bacon Wrapped Shrimp. The dish is then finished off with the addictive Baja White Rice. We had them wrap this up for us, as there was no chance we could have put a dent into this plate. It heated up nicely for lunch the next day, and made my coworkers jealous, while they were stuck with awful supermarket food.

It has been a long time, but we had to try the Deep Fried Ice Cream to finish out our meal at El Torito. This was a very generous serving size for dessert. The ice cream was coated in what I believed to be corn flakes and topped with whipped cream. It was just like I remembered it. I like the contrast between the crunchy exterior and the smooth, cool ice cream inside.

This trip to El Torito has definitely piqued my interest in this pioneering restaurant chain. All of the food we experienced on this night was flavorful, presented well, and satisfied us immensely. A far cry from the last time we ate at El Torito. If you would like to experience the Flavors of Baja menu, you have to hurry and get to your nearest El Torito soon, because this Baja menu is only available until the end of the month, when it is replaced with a menu featuring the food of Mexico City. We are really looking forward to that. Also, if you have no plans for Thanksgiving, or you just don't want to cook, all El Torito's will be open from 11 till 7PM, offering a buffet of turkey, ham, apple jalapeno stuffing, cream of pumpkin soup, Mexican favorites, and plenty more. The buffet is very reasonable, with prices at $17.99 for adults and kids costing only $6.99.

We would like to thank everyone at El Torito who made this visit so enjoyable for us. We were not only impressed with the Flavors of Baja menu, but everyone we encountered really made us feel at home. We would like to thank General Manager Ben Morales and Chef Loreto who took time out of their busy night to share insights about the food and answer our questions. We really enjoyed meeting both of you, and can not wait to see you both again soon. Our waiter, George was on top of his game and made sure our every need was met. Thanks for everything George. Lastly, we would like to thank Nerissa Silao who was kind enough to invite us to experience this special menu at El Torito. Thanks for this opportunity, Nerissa.

If you would like to experience the Flavors of Baja menu or get any other information about El Torito, go to their website here: https://www.eltorito.com/

Ending This Vegas Trip on a High Note?

Mon Ami Gabi

3655 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Our last night in Vegas we usually like to go pretty big, but this trip, we did not do as well as we would have liked gambling wise, so we had to scale back our plans a bit. Not to worry though, we had been wanting to come to Mon Ami Gabi for a long while now. The last time we were in town, there was a big wind storm, and we could not make it in, so this restaurant stayed on our list of places to hit until now.

Mon Ami Gabi is located appropriately enough at the Paris Resort and Casino. This French named restaurant fits right into the French vibe that Paris is trying to accentuate. I was surprised to learn that this is not the only location for Mon Ami Gabi. They have four other restaurants, (two in Illinois, and one each in Maryland and Virginia). In fact this restaurant is run by a pretty big restaurant group, Lettuce Entertain You. They run four other restaurants in Las Vegas as well. They operate the Eiffel Tower, which is also at Paris, El Segundo Sol, Stripburger at El Segundo, and Joe's Seafood, which is at the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Mon Ami Gabi is of course their most well known restaurant in Vegas. They are listed as the number one restaurant in the city on Urbanspoon, a good majority of their 3,000 plus reviews on Yelp are four and five star ratings, and their patio is often mentioned as one of the best places to eat on the strip, with stunning views of the fountains at the Bellagio. It was a cool night, so the patio would have to be for another time, but we did have an 8 o'clock reservation, so we were sat right away.

Whenever we walk by Mon Ami Gabi it is always packed. This particular Thursday night was no exception. We were given a little two person table, backed into a corner next to a large wedding party that spoke with English accents. The restaurant is pretty dark, and loud. It kind of felt to me like a slightly more upscale version of the Cheesecake Factory. Our waiter Francois spoke with a French accent that we could not detect if it was authentic or not. Nonetheless, he was right on top of things, and even though it was busy, we never felt he neglected us. The dinner menu here is not too large, and is mainly dominated by 11 varieties of steaks, with some fish ad chicken options thrown in. I was surprised to see no Coq Ca Vin on the menu of this French bistro, but we had no problems making our decisions. Let's see if Mon Ami Gabi is worth all of the hype.

Right after we were done ordering, they brought out this amuse bouche from the chef. It was carrot and something else that I did not write down in my notes. Not the best thing ever, and it kind of reminded me of this carrot and raisin salad that my mom made when we were little, minus the raisins of course.

At Mon Ami Gabi they do not worry themselves with a breadbasket, they fittingly provide a full loaf of French bread. This bread came out warm, and when combined with the softened butter, it was a winning combination. It had a hard crust on the outside, while the inside was nice and soft. I had a hard time sharing this bread with Katie.

So you hear that this is a French bistro, so naturally you have to order some Onion Soup Au Gratin ($9.95). The downfall of a lot of onion soups are that they can be very salty, which was not the case here. This one had a sweetness to it, which I attributed to the plentiful amount of onions in here. The top of the soup was layered with Gruyere cheese, which was good, but there could have been more of it. Of course I say that almost all the time when it comes to cheese, you can never have enough. This was one of the better onion soups that we have had while writing this blog.

I have become pretty predictable when it comes to ordering salads, so it is probably no shock to loyal readers that I selected the Caesar Salad ($11.95). I liked this Caesar because it had plenty of dressing and cheese, while the romaine was very fresh. I am not a big fan of the large thin crouton they use here, I'd rather have normal size croutons that are easily incorporated into the salad. All in all, a better than average Caesar.

Steaks are featured prominently on the menu at Mon Ami Gabi, so both Katie and I selected one. She opted for the Steak Bordelaise ($25.95) as her entree. This pretty good sized steak was served with caramelized onions and a red wine sauce. Katie likes her steak well done, so I did not really try this, but she felt it was tender enough, and the wine sauce matched up well with the onions and the steak. The steaks here are served with traditional frites, which kind of have a french fried onion quality to them. They are very thin, and they vary greatly in crispness. I would have rather of had regular fries.

I had asked for my Steak Roquefort ($25.95) to be medium rare, and they got it right on. This steak was cooked very well, and was more tender and juicy than I was expecting since it was under the $30 mark. This slab of meat was topped with a dollop of blue cheese sauce, but it need more of it. I also expected the blue cheese to be a little more flavorful, this was a very mild tasting sauce. They really piled on the frites, but if you read the above paragraph, you know I was not too big of a fan of them.

What I was a fan of, was a recommendation from our waiter Francois. He advised us to try the Whipped Cauliflower ($5.50). I will admit that on veggie trays, I almost always avoid cauliflower, but after eating this I might have to rethink the hierarchy of the veggie platter. This was very smooth, with a great creamy flavor. Very comforting, and a must get when coming to Mon Ami Gabi.

Even though we were pretty full by this point, it was our last night in Vegas, so we had to have dessert. There were a good number to choose from, but the Profiteroles ($8.95) really caught both of our attention. These pastries were filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a hot fudge sauce. Kind of like cream puffs, but with ice cream in the middle instead of cream. I liked the ice cream and fudge, but wish the pastry portion a was a little softer. Not a bad finish to the meal.

Mon Ami Gabi was a very nice last meal for us in Vegas. We left the restaurant very satisfied with the food, and the prices were not overly outrageous. I can see why this restaurant is one of the most popular on the strip. We look forward to coming back and sitting on their famous patio next time. Also, we were clued in about their breakfast, and have added that to our list for next time as well. We may not have done so good gambling on this trip, but we hit the jackpot when it came to the food that we ate. Until next time Las Vegas.

Out of five lights, (because of course Paris is nicknamed the city of light), five being best to zero being worst, Mon Ami Gabi gets 3.5 lights.

To find out more about Mon Ami Gabi, go to their website here: http://www.monamigabi.com/home/

Venezuelan Food Down at the End of the Strip

Viva Las Arepas

1616 South Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, CA 89104

I was really looking forward to our recent trip to Las Vegas. We had some great restaurants picked out, we had scheduled our naps almost every day, and we had socked away some money so we could do some gambling, without breaking our bank accounts. The only part of the trip I was not looking forward to was where we were staying. We were arriving on a recent Tuesday, and all of the hotels on the strip were booked or had jacked up prices. I mean really, $200 to stay at Excalibur, or we could get a room for $400 at Caesar's. That would seriously put a crimp in our food and gambling budget. So, I reluctantly checked farther down the strip and found $39 rooms at the Stratosphere.

For the two of you reading this that have never been to Vegas, or have not ventured down the strip past Treasure Island, or TI as it is called now, the Stratosphere is the hotel with the 1,149-foot tall tower that offers stunning views of Las Vegas. It is also a hotel that is off by itself, so if you want to go to another hotel, you definitely have to drive to get there. I know this is a restaurant blog, but my small review of the Stratosphere would not be good. The location is no good, the casino action is awful, and the dining options are nothing to get excited about. If the other rooms in Vegas were not so expensive this particular week, we would have stayed somewhere else. One of the few bright spots that the Stratosphere's location afforded us was that we drove by Viva Las Arepas every time we came back from another part of the strip.

Viva Las Arepas caught Katie's eye immediately when we drove by. The only other time I have had arepas was when I was performing jury duty and walked by Mil Jugos in downtown Santa Ana. I really enjoyed them a lot. I'm not sure when Katie has had them, but she was very excited to come here for lunch. We woke up at our usual vacation time of 11 AM and walked the quarter mile or so to the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Oakley.

This is the second incarnation of this restaurant. The first was a food stand known as I Heart Arepas, which was a block away, in the parking lot of Dino's Coffee Shop. That name was trademarked by someone else, hence they changed their name, and when a stand-alone restaurant became available, they jumped on the opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is very colorful, with lots of yellows and orange hues present. We arrived here around 11:30, and just beat the lunch rush. Viva Las Arepas draws a wide range of clientele, from business people to tourists looking to venture out of their comfort zone with something they can not experience where they are from. We stepped up to the counter, placed our order, and waited for our number to be called. This is how it all worked out for us.

Let's start off with Katie's lunch first. She had the Wood-Fired Chicken Arepa ($4.00), and a Shredded Beef Empanada ($2.50). When I first saw this come out, I did not think it would be enough to satisfy Katie, but the arepas are very filling. An arepa can best be described as a pocket bread made out of cornmeal that is grilled to a crunchy outside, while the inside remains soft. It can be stuffed with either cold or hot meats, cheeses, sauces, and veggies. Her chicken arepa was served cold, with shredded chicken, onions, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and a white sauce that was more flavorful than mayo, and not as heavy. It reminded me of a very fresh-tasting chicken salad sandwich, but with a nice cornmeal cake around it. Sorry I did not get a good shot of the inside of the empanada, as it was gone very quickly. This version had a slightly lighter dough than I am used to, and it was not as greasy. The inside was not stuffed with beef, but there was just the right amount for the almost three-dollar price of this. The beef was flavored well, and pretty tender. Katie seemed pretty pleased with this plate and did not feel overly stuffed with this lunch.

I could not decide between two kinds of arepas, so I just got both. I had the Roasted Pork Butt ($4.00) and the Reina Pepiada ($5.00) Arepa. Let's start with the pork one first. This was some pretty tender shredded pork. It came with tomato slices, which I took off because I am not too fond of big slices of tomato. I also added cheese to this, which really kind of got lost here with the flavorful pork. The outside of the arepa was done well, with a nice crunch to the outside of it. My other arepa is the so-called queen of arepas and came with shredded chicken breast, avocado, mayo, and cilantro. This one was served cold and reminded me again of a chicken salad sandwich, but with avocado added. Our food came with a squirt bottle of a green sauce, which resembled aji, but was a little more on the creamier side. It had a good flavor, but I thought it was going to be spicier than it turned out to be.

I was pretty pleased with our lunch at Viva Las Arepas. These arepas were just as good as the ones that I had back at home during my jury service in Santa Ana. Even though these do not look like they could fill you up, they are deceptively filling. Viva Las Arepas also proves that you can still find good, cheap eats on the strip in Vegas, even if it is right next to the Stratosphere. The service while we were here was pretty good, and they were pretty vigilant about clearing tables after people left. For a second I was almost glad we stayed at Stratosphere, but only until we walked back into the hotel.

Out of five sashes, (because this is a Venezuelan restaurant, and Venezuela is one of the most successful countries when competing in beauty pageants, including the most recently held Miss Universe pageant, where Miss Venezuela won the top spot again), five being best to zero being worst, Viva Las Arepas gets 3 sashes.

For more information about Viva Las Arepas, go to their website here: http://www.vivalasarepas.com/#!