High Rollin Barbecue in Vegas

Rollin Smoke Barbeque

3185 South Highland Dr.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

Las Vegas seems to have it all. When people think of the great foods in this desert city, they always think of steaks, seafood, and buffets. Usually barbecue does not cross a lot of peoples minds. In fact it's kind of baffling that with all the big hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard, there's not one barbecue restaurant in any of those hotels that really sticks out.

To get good barbecue in this town, you definitely need to get off of Las Vegas Boulevard. Our best barbecue experience in this desert city so far has been at Ellis Island Casino, which is located right behind Bally's on Koval Road. The ribs were good and cheap, and we loved this locals place. Before leaving for Vegas, I had done a little research and found another spot to try, which was also a few streets over from the strip, Rollin Smoke Barbeque.

Rollin Smoke is located right underneath the Desert Inn overpass, in a very industrial, and small shopping center. There are about 20 parking spots, but plenty of street parking. We arrived here just before 11 am, and achieved our goal of avoiding the lunch rush, which we hear can get pretty gnarly. The restaurant is pretty small itself, but there was plenty of seating when we were here, and they also have patio seating out front, along with another room, which kind of seemed like a banquet room.

The barbecue here is brought to you by two brothers, who proudly serve what they call, "barbeque from Arkansas." I learned that barbeque from Arkansas is kind of a mashup of barbeque from all across the US. The menu here is pretty impressive in selection, and will satisfy almost all barbecue fanatics. Their Smoked Meatloaf and Outlaw Burger were both featured on Travel Channel, they have an all you can eat option, which goes for a very respectable price of $34.99, and there are also plenty of combo plates available. We chose the Pit Special, which included five meat choices, and three sides for $27.99, which easily could feed both Katie and I. We ordered at the counter, and waited for the food to be brought out. Here's our take on the food at Rollin Smoke.

Not to ruin anything, but yes this tasted as good as it looks. For our five meats we chose pulled pork, sliced brisket, spare ribs, hot link, and burnt ends, which were a three dollar up charge. There was not a loser in this bunch. The hot link had a great texture and flavor to it, the brisket was some of the best I have had, the pulled pork was moist and delicious, the spare ribs were meaty and fall off the bone tender, and the rib tips are not to be missed. All meats were smoked, but not over the top where it would become overpowering. They smoke their meats over hickory, and it's apparent that they cook their stuff low and slow. I was also pretty happy that they left their meat bare, and allowed their guests to apply their desired amount of sauce to the meat. The sauces were all pretty good, but with meat this great, you don't want to cover it with too much sauce. This easily could have fed another two people, but I was glad I did not have to share with anyone but Katie.

It's been our experience that when a barbecue place has really good meat, they kind of let their sides slide by the wayside. This was not the case here at Rollin Smoke. Each of the three sides we had were excellent. We selected the corn nuggets, bacon potato salad, and the collard greens. The corn nuggets were a surprise to both Katie and I. They were fried nicely, and then you get an unexpected sweetness from the corn inside. Kind of like a sweet creamed corn inside each of these. The potato salad was very good as well. Plenty of bacon topped this, which is never a bad thing. The potatoes were tender, and the dressing covering them was pretty solid. The collard greens were tasty, with some brisket in them, which added even more flavor. They were not as slimy as greens can sometimes tend to be.

I left Rollin Smoke wishing that they were located closer to my house. I could not get this meal out of my head for a long while. This might be the best barbecue I have had. It's right up there with Lillie's Q and Bludso's in my book, and I will be back here for sure when I am in Vegas. There's also another location of Rollin Smoke, which is a collaboration with Rick from Pawn Stars, and it's located right next door to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, made famous by his TV show Pawn Stars. Service was pretty solid on this afternoon, and they checked on us numerous times, making sure we had everything that we needed during our stay. I thought the prices were more than fair for the amount of food we got. Rollin Smoke might just start making people think of barbecue when they think of Vegas food.

Out of five mule-riders, (because the guys that own this restaurant are from Magnolia, Arkansas, and that city is home to Southern Arkansas University, home of the mule-riders), five being bet to zero being worst, Rollin Smoke Barbeque gets 4.5 mule-riders.

For more information about Rollin Smoke, head to their website here: http://rollinsmokebarbeque.com/

Playing With Fire at Gordon Ramsay BurGR

Gordon Ramsay BurGR

3667 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

For the two of you reading this blog that do not know me personally, you might think that food rules my life, and for the most part you would be correct. I do have other interests though. I love watching hockey, I do one Sudoku a day, and since we got Netflix, my TV watching has gotten way out of hand. Okay, it sounds like my life is pretty lame, but this is what I enjoy.

It also might surprise most of you that I am not really into food cooking shows. I have never seen one episode of Top Chef, Cutthroat Kitchen, Chopped, any show about cupcakes, or Hell's Kitchen. I enjoy food shows that feature actual restaurants, places which I can add to my restaurant wish list, and actually visit. These two worlds collided recently though, when we visited a restaurant created by one of the biggest names in food cooking shows, Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen fame.

Located at the Planet Hollywood Casino, BurGR bears the name of the loud and demonstrative chef, who I hear is really quite nice in real life. This restaurant, as the name would suggest, features burgers, fries, and milkshakes, with a special emphasis on using the best ingredients available. Why the misspelling of the word burger? I learned its a play on Gordon Ramsay's initials, which now makes sense.

Since we were on vacation, and had just woken from a two hour nap, we arrived here at the rather late dinner hour of 9:30, and were sat immediately, which I hear is rare for this restaurant. One of the perks of being in Vegas on a weekday. The decor of BurGR brought to mind an Austin Powers kind of vibe. The wait staff wore outfits that you could easily see in those movies, the walls were brightly painted, and in case you forget who's in charge here, there are plenty of pictures of Gordon Ramsay on the walls and menus here. Tables and chairs were uncommonly low to the ground, which seemed odd, until we finally adjusted to it.

This restaurant is definitely geared towards burger lovers. There are 12 on the menu, including a garden burger, one with chicken, and yet another with a turkey patty. Not in the mood for a burger? You are pretty limited here to a fish sandwich, a hot dog, or one of their two salads offered. Katie and I made quick work of selecting our dinner on this evening, and eagerly awaited our food. This is how it all turned out for us.

We had ordered an appetizer, but our food made it out before, so we started in on our burgers first. Katie had this Blue Burger ($14). This was a simple burger, with just Maytag blue cheese and arugula on it. Katie really enjoyed the juiciness of this burger, but found it to be missing something. She thought the meat was good quality, but this really needed more blue cheese, or maybe a sauce to go along with it. She'd get a different burger next time.

Thanks to a recommendation from my foodie friend Daniele, I knew I would be ordering this Farm Burger ($15) at BurGR. The beef, which is cooked over apple and alder wood, is joined between the bun with an English sharp cheddar cheese, duck breast bacon, and a fried egg. I liked this burger at first, and then it really started to grow on me. The duck bacon kind of tasted like unseasoned pastrami, and the sharp cheddar cheese was kind of a nice deviation from the normal old regular cheddar most restaurants use. The beef was juicy, and along with the yolk from the fried egg, negated the need for any other condiments. The bun was sturdy, and I liked the way it absorbed the yolk and the burger juices. A very enjoyable burger.

Burgers come ala carte here, so we opted to try their Truffle Parmesan Fries ($11). We could tell that these fries were very fresh, and fried well. They were topped with shredded truffle Parmesan and truffle salt. The truffle was present, but did not overpower. These were served with two dipping sauces, a curry ketchup and a truffle aioli. The aioli was the better of the two. Thick and flavorful, this sauce went well with the crisp fries. I had no problem finishing these off.

After a few bites of our burgers, our appetizer finally arrived at our table, served by the manager, who told us how sorry he was for the delay, and we would not be charged for these Piggies in Blankets ($12). These were not what I was expecting when we finally tried them. They are described on the menu as pork belly with cheddar sausage, but they are separate. The cheese sausage variety of these were much better than the pork belly ones, and this is coming from a pork belly fiend. Both are wrapped in buttered dough, and then served with a curry ketchup and pickled mustard seeds. They were way over cooked, and the curry ketchup overpowered the rest of this. This is the first time in all these years of doing this blog that I have not been pleased with a pork belly item. I never thought it was possible, until this evening.

Even with the hiccup over our appetizer, we did enjoy our time at BurGR. The burgers here are pretty simple, and do not really have to rely on the toppings for them to be good. Not the best burger we have had, but better than average, and if you're in the mood for a burger on the strip, this is a pretty good choice. Service was a little on the spotty side, as it took a long while for us to be greeted, and there were some long spans of time when drinks sat empty. Something I'm sure that Gordon Ramsay would yell about on one of his shows. Now back to Netflix for me.

Out of five soccer balls, (because when he was a youth, Gordon Ramsay was a highly sought after soccer player), five being best to zero being worst, Gordon Ramsay BurGR gets three soccer balls.

For more information about  Gordon Ramsay BurGR, head to their website here: https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/burgr/

These Tacos are No Mirage

Tacos El Gordo

3049 South Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

I had looked this restaurant up on Yelp before we left for Las Vegas, but kind of relegated it to our B-list, because I did not think we would be in this area to try it. After a very filling brunch, we definitely needed to walk a lot to get the food moving, and low and behold, we found ourselves walking right by Tacos El Gordo, so of course we had to stop for a beverage and a taco.

Yelp reviewers rave about this place, calling these the best tacos on the strip, and there are pictures of the line stretching at least twenty people deep outside the restaurant. Usually I'm a little sketchy about Yelp reviews, but Tacos El Gordo has close to 1300 reviews, and still has a 4.5 star rating. That's pretty impressive.

I'm not sure if this is, or is not part of the same chain that started in Tijuana back in 1972. Their website does not list this as one of their locations, even though they have two other Vegas locations listed, along with two in the San Diego area. They might be part of the same family, or they might have splintered off. This location, which is walking distance from the Wynn, has had a kind of weird history as well. They opened in 2010, then closed in 2014, amid some problems with their landlord. They reopened again in 2015, and have been going strong every since.

The inside of this restaurant kind of brings to mind King Taco, which I have eaten at a few times. Ordering is done at a different window, depending on what kind of meat you want. You tell the guy what you want, and he prepares it for you. The menu here is of course heavily dominated by tacos of all sorts, but they also offer sopes, tostadas, quesadillas, mulas, and one of their most popular offerings, fries, with your choice of meat and toppings. After getting your food, you are directed to the cashier, pay for your meal, and then find a table. A little confusing, but we managed.

Since both Katie and I were still feeling the effects of our filling brunch, we only got one taco each here. Katie selected this Taco de Asada ($2.10) as her afternoon snack. Joining the very good beef in this taco was a very generous smear of guacamole, onion, cilantro, and some mild salsa. This was a delicious taco. The beef had a great flavor, while being tender, and it went well with all the toppings on here. Still a street taco, but they were very generous with the meat and toppings here. Really impressive.

I'm always about the pork when having tacos, and this Taco de Abobada ($2.10) did not disappoint. The guy behind the counter shaves this pork off of a cone, which brought to mind the way they make gyros in Greek places. I was surprised at the lightness of the tortilla here. I thought it was going to break apart, but it held its integrity. The abobada pork was not really spicy, but I did detect a little bit of  heat here. Instead of the smear of guacamole that came on Katie's beef taco, this came with a lighter green sauce, which was excellent. Maybe it was a cilantro lime sauce, but I'm not sure. This taco was finished off with plenty of cilantro and onion.

The hype Tacos El Gordo receives is definitely warranted. These are some legit tacos, and I was only upset that I did not get more to eat here. The next time we are in Vegas, this will definitely be a spot that we hit up. I'm looking at trying their carne asada fries next time, along with some other tacos. So happy that we had the good fortune of walking by this joint.

Out of five pharmacies, (not only because this restaurant started in Tijuana, and that's why a lot of people cross the border into that city, but also because these tacos are exactly what the doctor ordered on this afternoon), five being best to zero being worst, Tacos El Gordo gets 3.5 pharmacies.

For more information about Tacos El Gordo, head to their website here: http://www.tacoselgordobc.com/index.html

A Little Piece of Paris at the Venetian in Vegas

Bouchon Bistro

3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV, 89109

Breakfast in Vegas can be a little tricky. For one thing, you really have to want it. After late nights of shows, gambling, and drinking, you might want to forgo the first meal of the day to get some extra hours of sleep. Then if you really make up your mind to experience a Vegas breakfast, you have to decide where to go. For me, I want something I can't get at home. something special. a breakfast that will be talked about long after I've returned home. I was hoping that Bouchon Bistro would be that place on this trip.

Bouchon is a Thomas Keller restaurant. His restaurants are some of the worlds most dreamed about by foodies, such as myself. A dinner at French Laundry in Yountville would not just be a meal, it would be an experience, and I have it on my bucket list of places to eat someday. Keller's other restaurants are Ad Hoc, also in Yountville, Per Se in New York City, and his line of Bouchon restaurants, which have now spawned Bouchon Bakery and Bar Bouchon. He's written cookbooks, publishes a magazine, been on numerous TV shows, won almost all major restaurant awards, his restaurants have been on more best of lists than anyone else, and his places win Michelin stars like they are going out of style. I'd sum him up by saying that Thomas Keller is like the Oprah Winfrey of the food world. With all of this buildup, I was hoping this was going to be a great breakfast.

Bouchon is located at the Venetian, in the Venezia Tower, which you access from an elevator right next to the hotel's front desk. Take it up 10 floors, turn left, and walk down an impressive hallway, and it'll be on your right. We arrived at close to 11 on a recent Wednesday morning. We did not have any trouble getting a table, and were sat right away. I'm not so sure that this is the norm though, but they do take reservations, but only for dinner.

Opened since 2004, the space overlooks the pool area of the Venetian. With its natural light, white linens, and tiled floor, I'd describe the vibe here as relaxed elegance. I felt comfortable eating here in shorts and a collared shirt, while business people wearing suits were trying to broker a deal at the next table. The brunch menu is decidedly French influenced. Entrees are listed in French, but explained perfectly in English underneath. I already knew what I was going to have, thanks to my habit of looking at menus before we reach a place, and even Katie had made her decision rather quickly. Let's check out the grub at Bouchon.

Katie started things off with the Baguette with Nutella ($5). I had thought that they would make their own Nutella here, but according to our server, it's just out of the jar. The bread was delicious with the jarred Nutella, or the provided butter and strawberry jam. Good crust to the bead, with a soft inside. Everything you would want from bread, and a wonderful start to Katie's meal.

I've been on a real Chocolate Croissant ($4.25) kick lately, so of course I had to try this one from Bouchon. I can definitely add this to one of the better ones that I have had. Very flaky on the outside, with a good chocolate inside. It seemed to have a chocolate ganache inside, with some more solid pieces of chocolate also wrapped up in there. Based on these two bread items, even if you are not planning on eating here, you might want to stop by the Bouchon Bakery located in the Grand Canal Shoppes to experience some of their pastries.

Yes, Katie went pretty basic with her selection here. This Les Oeufs ($14) breakfast included two scrambled eggs, two potato croquettes, toasted brioche, and choice of breakfast meat. Even though this was a pretty basic start to her day, she exclaimed that this was one of the best breakfasts that she has had. The eggs were done lightly, the potatoes were tender and delicious, and they were very generous with the amount of bacon included here, I counted six slices.

My Instagram feed has been inundated with images of Croque Madame's ($18.95) lately, so I had to get in on the fun. This would be my first time having this good looking French sandwich. It's made up of ham and cheese on toasted brioche, then topped with a fried egg and Mornay sauce. This thing was pretty rich, and real stick to your ribs kind of food. The kind of brunch item that you want to consume, and then take a nap afterwards. I could imagine that this is where the basic premise of the Egg McMuffin came from. Even though I was pretty stuffed after eating the sandwich, I could not resist the fries here. They were fried crisp, with a tender inside. A very good meal.

We left Bouchon full and very satisfied. Yes, the prices here are a little on the high side for breakfast, but you get what you pay for at Bouchon. The food is of the highest quality, and this brunch really just whetted our appetite to come back here for dinner on our next visit to Vegas. Service was exemplary during this visit. Our waitress was on top of all of our needs, without being too into our business. Yes, this is the only time I have had a croque madame, but they have set the bar pretty high for my next one. Definitely a breakfast spot in Las Vegas to make an effort to get out of bed for.

Out of five corks, (because I learned that bouchon is the French word for cork, and I'd definitely pop one for this brunch), five being best to zero being worst, Bouchon Bistro gets 4 corks.

For more information about Bouchon Bistro, head to their website here: http://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchon-bistro-venetian

Shacking Up In Las Vegas

Shake Shack

3790 South Las Vegas Blvd. 

Las Vegas, NV 89109

It's funny that whenever a burger concept moves west, it immediately makes people want to compare the invading concept to In-N-Out. People act like it's blasphemy that any burger concept could be better than In-N-Out. They are so protective over this iconic California chain, it borders on the insane. People are somehow offended that another burger concept has the gall to move into In-N-Out's turf.

You can count me as one of the people that doesn't get the fascination with In-N-Out. As a native Californian, maybe I have taken it for granted, but I find In-N-Out kind of plain and boring. Yes, they use fresh ingredients, but that's not enough for me. Their patties are under-seasoned and way too thin, they are way too limited with their menu, and their fries are not very good, unless you ask for them to be well done, then they are edible. So, I guess you can say that I get pretty excited when a new burger spot comes closer to the left coast. We were visiting Las Vegas for the first time in two and a half years, and it's been five years since we have last experienced New York's famous Shake Shack, so a visit was definitely in order.

For the three of you out there that are not aware, Shake Shack is a legendary burger chain, which started in New York City's Madison Square Park as a food cart. They eventually grew out of that cart, and opened a stand in the park. With lines reaching upwards of an hour or more, the owners eventually decided to expand throughout NYC, and finally to other parts of the globe. They now have restaurants in 12 states and five countries. For Southern California burger fans, the good news is our Shake Shack drought is about to come to an end. They have announced three locations so far, Glendale, Downtown LA, and West Hollywood, which should be open in the spring of this year, so the wait is almost over.

Back to this Las Vegas Shake Shack though. We had just got to town, and after eating a big dinner in Barstow, checking into the hotel, and quickly losing $20 in a slot machine, neither Katie nor I was too hungry, but we definitely had to squash our Shake Shack fix. I kind of had a rough outline of where we were going to be eating on this trip, and I knew this would probably be the only time we'd be by this way, so it was basically now or never. Shake Shack is appropriately located in front of the New York, New York Hotel on the Vegas strip. Be warned that there's no access from the hotel, so you do have to enter from the outside.

Even at 11pm, the restaurant was pretty packed. Judging by the way they have their line set up, I can imagine that this place gets pretty packed for peak meal times. Ordering is done at the counter and then you are given a pager and pickup the meal when it's flashing. The menu here is of course burger driven, but there's also one chicken sandwich to choose from, along with hot dogs and their famous frozen custard, which they will make into a cup, cone, shake, or concrete for you. Unfortunately I don't do good with dairy this late at night, (when did I get so old?), so I would have to settle for just a burger and fries. Let's see if this would be the same experience we had when we ate Shake Shack in NYC.

Up first is the burger. They have five different burgers to choose from, but I was no doubt going to have this Double Smoke Shack ($9.64), which I hoped would help me sleep once we got back to our hotel. This burger was great. The potato bun was soft, but still held the contents of the burger together. The all natural Angus beef was juicy, tasted fresh, and was seasoned subtly, allowing the cheese, chopped cherry peppers, Shack Sauce and bacon to shine. The insides of the burger really melded well together. If I had to complain about one thing, it would be that I needed a little more sauce on my burger, but I'm always partial to having extra condiments included on burgers. The burger was not overly huge and I had no problem finishing it. Very satisfying.

Crinkle Cut Fries ($2.99) were up next, and these are made with Yukon potatoes. They brought to mind the old Carl's Jr. fries from when I was a kid. I don't know what it is, but I always enjoy crinkle cut fries better than others. These were fried crisp, and lightly salted. Next time I'm going to be trying their cheese fries.

When I was leaving Shake Shack I was a little sad that I did not get one of their frozen custard treats. I should have bit the bullet and had one, but I wimped out. I did have a little solace that they would be moving into Southern California soon, so I could have one whenever I wanted to head to LA. The burgers here are good, and in my opinion way better than In-N-Out. Yes, you people that are loyal to In-N-Out will knock Shake Shack, and say that it's not as good as your beloved burger chain, but I really enjoyed this burger. To all of you In-N-Out fans out there, don't  feel threatened by a new burger spot opening up. In fact, stay true to your burger passion, it'll be less of a line for the rest of us when Shake Shack finally opens.

Out of five flatirons, (because Shake Shack started in Madison Square Park, and the famous Flatiron Building overlooks the park), five being best to zero being worst, Shake Shack gets 3.5 flatirons.

For more information about Shake Shack Las Vegas, head to their website here: https://www.shakeshack.com/location/las-vegas-nv