Reviews

Grimaldi’s

 
 
The Fashion Show Mall
3200 Las Vegas Blvd. South, #1540
Las Vegas, NV 89109

(702) 778-8777

I ate here the other day on the spur of the moment while I was running some errands with my mother at the Fashion Show Mall, we decided that we were hungry and wanted to give this place a try since it is kinda new to the mall.  They are located across from Nordstrom and right next to the fashion runway.  Upon entering we were quickly greeted by the hostess and one of the on duty managers.  They got us seated right away went over the wine/beer lists and the special pizza for that month.

I have to admit that at first glance at the menu I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have more of a selection.  I enjoy going to pizza places that have a few specialties created for you.  It always seems to help me personally decide what I want on my pizza.  Here you start with your size pizza and go from there.  They have personal (12″), small (16″) & large (18″) then you add your toppings which are priced from $2-5.  You can download their menu here if you would like to see their offerings.  I will admit I had a bit of sticker shock; now as a local in Las Vegas you are aware that prices on the strip tend to be higher than off, it is just part of the territory you go with it.  But for some reason the cost of things seemed a bit unreasonable, especially when you are building your own pizzas, your cost per pie can skyrocket if you’re not careful.  A personal pizza with just cheese is $9, you add 4 toppings your pizza just became a $17 pizza.  Because we were kinda taken aback about the prices we actually considered leaving but had already ordered our drinks and that seems rude to just order a soda and leave, and I am sure this wasn’t the best mind state to be in when you haven’t even ordered yet.

After some debating we decided that we would split the large antipasto & the special pizza which was a spicy buffalo chicken pizza in the small size.  The antipasto came with fresh mozzarella, oven roasted red peppers, Genoa salami, olives & fresh baked bread for $12.

©TastingLV

We did ask if they had butter for the bread, and were told that they do not have butter in their restaurant, kinda disappointing but not something that is really going to ruin my meal.  They did have oil & vinegar on the table, but no additional plates to put it on so I had to poor it directly on my plate which was messy or right on to the food.  To me the best part of this dish was the bread & cheese, but truthfully it was missing something.  We couldn’t quite put our finger on it but something was off.  About half way through the plate our pizza arrived, we were offered clean plates, but decided against it and the waitress served us our first piece.  Which is why the pizza below is missing slices.

©TastingLV

The spicy chicken pizza, had celery, Frank’s Red Hot, bleu cheese crumbles and mozzerella cheese.  This pizza was good, but I have had better, it was bland even with the hot sauce.  You couldn’t even taste a single bit of bleu cheese.  I even asked the waitress if they had some bleu cheese dressing so that I could dip my pizza, she said no the only dressing they have is caeser dressing.  I did like the thin crispy crust, which they achieve from baking their pizzas in the brick oven, the bottom of the pizza did have ash on it so your finders get this gray coating on them and taste burnt if you lick them.  I truthfully have had this same spicy chicken pizza and it was better pizza just across the mall at California Pizza Kitchen.

Overall the food was just OK nothing special, it certainly would not make me want to hunt this place down under the Brooklyn bridge from which they say is what made the bridge famous; their pizza.  The service started out good, but slowly drifted to bad as the meal progressed.  I was not offered a refill of my drink yet my mother’s ice tea was filled without question.  We sat waiting for our bill for awhile because our waitress was having a deep conversation with an on duty manager and fellow waiter, so we had to sit and stare in to the kitchen to get someone’s attention which did not work she just looked around me, and when there is only 4 tables with people at them and they are all sitting in a row does not make it hard to miss that I am trying to get your attention politely.  We eventually had to wave and yell to them for the check because they would not leave the area to come on the floor, which of course immediately brought over a busboy and our waitress and shortly after that the manager with our bill.  I would think the manager would’ve made a slight apology for the wait but nothing he just set the bill on the table and that was that.  Only as I was paying the bill was I asked if I would then like a refill on my soda.

Our total bill was $40 even, were $20 of that was just the pizza.  While I do not mind spending money on eating out I want to feel like I got my monies worth when I do and here I did not.  So truthfully if you are feeling like having pizza while you are in the mall, I suggest you skip this place and head over to California Pizza Kitchen, you will get more choices and flavor for what seems like a better deal or even head to the Nordstrom Cafe where they only have 3 choices for pizza but still seem like a better deal.

Bread and Butter

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10940 S. Eastern Ave.
Henderson, NV 89057

(702) 675-3000

Website: http://www.breadandbutterlv.com

I have to admit from the outside I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we pulled into the small, cramped older shopping center.  It really wasn’t much from the outside and if you aren’t paying attention you could easily miss it.  The interior decor was a little bland with a creamy tan paint all over.  They did have little nick knacks around the place to kinda break up the paint but over all it was just ok, it needed something and I am not sure what that something was.

They had a few tables set up outside which was great especially on our nice spring days here in the valley and because the inside was crowded so it allowed there to be enough seating for everyone.  I would definitely suggest going early if you are going for lunch, we got there a little before 11:30 and the line was almost out the door.  It did move quickly so that says something about the service, the staff was friendly and they were moving through the guests in line seeing if anyone needed help with just pastries or bread to keep the line moving.

Now on to the food I had the egg, ham & cheese waffle sandwich with a rosemary béchamel sauce on top.

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©TastingLV

This was so yummy and very rich, the eggs and ham paired very well with the waffles and béchamel.  This rosemary béchamel sauce was absolutely the star of the show on the plate.  The only downside was the sauce could’ve been hotter.  It was luke warm once it got to me, so it quickly became cold which I didn’t really like but truthfully powered through because the flavors were all there.  I think this would be a great dish to share with someone, because it has two giant waffles a hearty helping of eggs, ham and cheese.  Then after sharing you could get one of their delicious pastries.  The sharing of course takes away calories so the pastries will be less guilty.  I unfortunately did not have any of them even though they looked just divine.  I was just so full on this sandwich and I didn’t even finish all of it.

My mother had the BLT grilled cheese with a side salad.  I unfortunately did not try this sandwich because of the tomatoes (I am allergic), but my mother said it was delicious, the fresh tomatoes, sun dried red peppers and fresh greens all combined with melted cheese.  She was pleasantly surprised that she got a side salad with her sandwich, because originally she debated on getting a salad.  But she did say that side salad was a little heavy on the oil, next time she would order the dressing on the side.  The table next to us did have a table full of salads and they all looked delicious.

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©TastingLV

The downside to this place being so busy when we got there it did make the wait for our food was a bit long.  Especially for a lunch break from work.  I think it is possibly the reason my sauce wasn’t hotter when it got to me maybe it could have been sitting waiting to be delivered.  I am not sure if this is the reason or if it just wanted heated up all the way.  As much as I dislike slow service I can understand that there is only so much they can do when they have a restaurant full of hungry people.

I would definitely say if you are in the neighborhood or just looking for a change to make the trek to Anthem and give this place a try. Just don’t be shocked if you you walk in and are greeted with a line, it will move quickly and it will be worth the wait.

Ron’s Steak House

 
 
Arizona Charlies Decatur
740 South Decatur Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89107
(702) 258-5201
 

I got the opportunity to go to Ron’s Steak House for Mother’s day this year.  My parents and I try to go to some place that none of us have been before when we are going out to celebrate, so this year my Mom was all about trying Ron’s, based purely off of their commercials.  If you live in Las Vegas you have without a doubt seen an increase in advertising for this restaurant.  And you can’t blame them for wanting to get their name out there, when you think of fine dining the first place on your mind is not Arizona Charlie’s Decatur.  This is one of the older casinos in Las Vegas and off the strip and from the outside doesn’t carry all the glamor and glitz of the strip.  I should apologize upfront that this unfortunately is going to be a photo-less review of the food, since the restaurant is quite small I didn’t want to disturb the neighboring tables with the flash on my camera while they are enjoying their meal. (I promise in the future I won’t care…well I’ll care a little just not so much that I don’t snap a couple pictures of the food)

Walking through Arizona Charlie’s to Ron’s you are able to see that this place does stand out from the rest of the casino, from outside it has a very new & modern feel compared to the rest of the place.  You enter through a door into the restaurant which is very nice, because it is like stepping away from the casino, which in Vegas doesn’t always happen.  Here is a shot of the interior of the restaurant, we sat at the table on the bottom right of the photo.

Photo courtesy of Arizona Charlies (http://www.arizonacharliesdecatur.com/Gallery)

While we looked over our menus my mother ordered a Manhattan, which she said was stiff but good they did not scrimp on the alcohol.  My step-dad ordered Borgo Conventi Pinot Grigio which was quite tasty and smooth.  Later in the meal I ordered the Kendall-Jackson Cabernet which was very smooth and would recommend it.  But in ordering this glass of wine it was the first sour moment at the restaurant, because the waiter brought me the Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, and when I asked about it he actually argued with me saying that I ordered the Chardonnay.  Now Chardonnay and Cabernet do rhyme so I can see how it could easily be misunderstood, but instead of just saying I am sorry I misheard you or something to that effect, he actually insisted that I ordered it and for a moment gave me the impression that he was not going to correct my order, of course after a couple times of saying I wanted the Cabernet he did correct it.  So I was a bit disappointed in his attitude towards the whole thing.

My mother and I each ordered an appetizer to start, she had the stuffed mushrooms; they are stuffed with sausage topped with melted mozzarella cheese and served with a spicy tomato sauce.  She really enjoyed this appetizer, for me it just didn’t hit the spot, they seemed a little one note.  I ordered the crab cocktail, because I haven’t seen that offered on a menu before and I really wanted crab that night but I always feel weird asking what Market Price is that day.  Well they did not disappoint when it came to the crab cocktail, it was a martini glass filled up with fresh lump crab served over ice.  Here is a picture of the glass so you can see how much of it was crab.

Photo courtesy of Crate and Barrel

The top glass part was filled all the way up with fresh crab and on the side it was served with a spicy cocktail sauce just like normal shrimp cocktail.  Also on the plate was orange salt, so don’t be shocked when you accidentally drop a piece of crap on to the plate and then eat it and you get bombarded with salt, which is exactly what happened to me.

After appetizers we were served our salads, they come with your entree order.  The salads were mixed greens which were placed inside of a cucumber wrap and we chose blue cheese dressing.  I loved the presentation of the salad and my mother even commented how she would love to do this for the next party she has.

For the main course my step-dad ordered the New York steak and it came out cooked perfectly and melt in your mouth tender.  He chose not order any of the sauces on the menu, these are offered for an additional charge, and his steak did not need anything.  So that is a good sign for a steak house if the meat can stand on its own.  My mother order herb encrusted half rack of lamb, they were cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful.  She did not try her meat with the mint demi-glaze that is served with the dish because she prefers her lamb without mint.  I ordered Charlie’s Steak Au Poivre which is filet mignon medallions coated with cracked peppercorns topped with a sauce of shallots, Dijon & cream.  My steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and again was melt in your mouth tender.  I will admit I could have used a little less peppercorns because on some bites it did over power the rest of the dish when you bite down and all you get is pepper.  But overall it was very delicious and I got two very nice size medallions so I ate one and took one home for left overs, and even with reheating it still tasted just as good.  Because the menu is al a carte we ordered a couple side dishes to share. The first one was the mac & cheese gnocchi which was to die for, so creamy and smooth I wanted to order a second dish to take home. The other side dish was the Au Gratin potatoes, which were just so-so, nothing special about them next time we would choose something different.

Since it is a celebration we did order dessert, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake and the new york cheesecake.  Both were very good but the stand out to me was the chocolate cake it was one of the better flourless cakes that I have tasted.  It was moist and chocolatey and it sometimes is hard to achieve that with flourless.  The cheesecake was good but nothing to outstanding, I would order it again but I have also had better ones.

So overall I would recommend this steak house if you are looking for a place off of the strip and you want to get some melt in your mouth steaks.  The food for sure is why I am giving them 4.5 stars out of 5, I am taking away 1/2 a star because of the wine incident with the waiter.  While I understand it was an honest mistake it could have been handled a bit better.  But I did not let this moment ruin the delicious food.  Our bill came to around $160 without tip, which breaks down to a little over $50 a person, which is pretty good for what you get and our bill included alcohol and we had a total of 4 drinks.  In Las Vegas that is a pretty good per person price for a fine dining experience.

LBS: a burger joint
Red Rock Casino
11011 West Charleston Boulevard
Las Vegas, NV 89135
(702) 835-9393
 

I ended up at LBS on a whim, my friend Jayson & I had originally planned our evening at the Yard House but the wait was almost an hour long for the two of us. That is when we remembered we both hadn’t been to LBS yet and so off we went.

The restaurant has a grudge bar feel with a mix of lace, exposed brick and a license plate flag on the ceiling. The menus are nicely designed, one page attached to wood almost like a clipboard. What is offered is exactly what you would expect burgers..mini burgers, build your own & signature burgers. Below is a photo of the take out menu which is a copy of the original in the restaurant.

I went for the bleu burger without tomato on a wheat bun (you get a choice of white or wheat) and shoe string fries. You can upgrade to onion rings or sweet potato fries for an extra $2.50 charge. Jayson had the classic burger on wheat with shoestring fries.

The burgers were nice and thick, a good 1/2 inch at least and oh so juicy. I could have used more bleu cheese because I could barely taste it, but I love blue cheese so for me I want to taste it. The fries where nice and crispy and were served with LBS burger sauce which tasted like a spicy ranch. Jayson said his was just as good and that the meat was seasoned well, which for him is important when eating a burger.

My burger on top & Jayson’s on the bottom.

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The service was a little spotty our waitress seemed to have better things to do than actually interact with us. The place isn’t that big and the other waiters seemed more friendly than ours. But I wouldn’t let this hold me back from coming back, over all the food did out weigh our waitress’s bad mood. And this is why I gave them 4 out of 5 stars. If you are in the red rock casino and craving a burger I would definitely recommend the place.

Our total bill was $39.43 w/out tip and this included 2 blue moons @6.50 ea and our 2 burgers. So based on an average dinner out this wasn’t too bad. Especially since the burgers were very tasty.