barMASA, Las Vegas NV

For our last dinner during Girl's Weekend in Las Vegas we chose barMASA in the Aria Resort & Casio. Masa, the famously expensive big brother restaurant in NYC has long been a topic of discussion. Should we go? Can the food actually be worth the enormous price fixed bill that comes along with the reservation? To date, we've passed it over. But it still holds some intrigue to me - and since Patty & Gianne were game and at this casual little sister we could order ala carte we decided to give it a go.

As you can see from the picture - this is a cavernous space. Super modern and spread out, you would never use the word intimate to describe the ambiance. We have an early reservation and were one of only a few tables eating in the beginning of our meal.



Comfortably seated by the bar we settled in and ordered a bottle of Collet Rose to start. With a beautiful color, great floral nose and a nice medium finish, this was a great bottle of NV champagne that

Now for the food: I can't remember all of the dishes because we did go with most of the evening's specials - think this might have been the Sea Bream or Fluke with black truffle (oh hell yes) and the second dish was the sizzling,k spicy octopus.

We also tried the Peking Duck fried rice with foie gras. What can I say - it's one of the best ways I've ever had fried rice.

Everyone next went to sushi, rolls and a second bottle of champagne: Guy Larmandier MV Brut. From the sushi selection, all of the pieces you see below were my order - yes, I went back for seconds. I tried the Wild Bluefin fatty tuna, lean tuna; Sea Bream, Young Yellowtail, Island Jackfish, Horse Mackerel and the Fatty Deep Sea Snapper. Patty & Gianne went with a specialty roll.

This was the best meal of the trip - the sushi was stupid good - so fresh; fishes that you can't find regularly at home so experiencing something new was great. Really loved this entire meal - every bite. I would go back in a heartbeat. The champagne list was one of the more extensive and reasonable ones to be found in Las Vegas. Great evening overall.

Zagat: 26-23-24
Jenn: 90

Blue Ribbon Sushi, Las Vegas NV

This March I did a girl's weekend in Las Vegas with Patty & Gianne. One of the places we unanimously voted to go for dinner was Blue Ribbon Sushi in the Cosmopolitan. This would be my second trip to this Blue Ribbon outpost - one of a collection of restaurants in New York City and Sin City. We had a long day by the time we sat for dinner (plus drinks and appetizers at Hyde in Bellagio); ordering sushi and the famous fried chicken.

Patty & Gianne chose to start with the Hamachi Tataki (Yellowtail tartar with quail egg) while I went with a simple house salad with watercress, avocado and ginger dressing. Both were quite good even if mine seems like a boring choice...I needed something green.

Next were the sushi selections: while P&G decided to split a specialty roll, I ordered a selection of fishes including Yellowtail, Amber Jack, Tuna, Eel and Albacore. Tasty but nothing to knock your socks off.

And to finish the meal we got the Blue Ribbon Style fried chicken with Wasabi & honey dipping sauce. Now I've had this dish three times prior - the first time it blew my mind ~ so unbelievably good. The second time it was just okay but we were with a huge group of people and I only had one bite so chalked that up to poor circumstances. This time I was hoping for a repeat of that magical first encounter. But alas...it wasn't to be. Too dry, bland even with the sauce that this time felt that a mask and not a compliment. Disappointing to say the least.

While the ambiance is fun and casual and the location in Cosmopolitan is great, I think I'm done with Blue Ribbon Sushi. Too many other places that still bring the WOW factor. But that being said, if you haven't tried it and since the possibility exists that you too can have that truly noteworthy experience of this place at it's best - give it a go. When the chicken is on - it's Donkey Kong On.

Zagat's Rating: 24-23-22
Jenn's Rating: 81