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

National Pasta Day: Marea, NYC

We didn't know that the day we decided to meet after work at Marea (midtown, Central Park South & Broadway) for a casual dinner that it was National Pasta Day. Had we known, there probably wouldn't have been anywhere else we would have picked to honor this incredible carbohydrate.

Arriving at 5:00pm to grab to seats at the bar - coveted, quickly snatched up, seats. They start serving the full menu at the bar at 5:30pm which makes it a popular choice at this restaurant who's reputation and two Michelin stars make it hard to get a reservation in the dining room.

We went low key - crudos and pasta dishes. So to start, three bite size pieces of perfection. After much contemplation & discussion, we choose, from right to left, the Scampi (Pacifi c langoustine, Murray River pink salt); Ono (seared wild Pacifi c wahoo, wild mushroom, lobster roe) and the Dentice (Pacifi c snapper, mandarin orange, pistachio, carrot vinaigrette). The selection of crudos on the is stunning and diverse.

SIDE BAR: One night I'd like to go and order every single selection in a Crudo Taste Off. It would cost $407 before tax and tip and would consist of 21 different kinds, 4 pieces of each....if anyone wants to take me up on that just say the word!!!

The scampi was light, buttery soft with a cucumber it's sitting on giving a hint of crunch to offset the wonderfully mushy texture of the langoustine. Excellent.

The Ono was a more earthy flavor if you can say that about fish. The seared edges added smokiness while the mushroom gave it that forest flavor. Very nice.

And our favorite, the snapper with the citrus of the mandarin orange and nutiness of the pistachio was just perfect. Could have eaten those all night.

Then came the pastas. It's almost as hard to choose these as the first courses. We knew we wanted our favorite, the fusilli. But what else? After contemplating all we went for the agnolotti which were piemontese meat ravioli, veal sweetbreads, wild mushrooms in a brown butter. The kitchen was kind enough to split both pastas for us and serve them one after the other - our casual dinner was a three course meal!

First up was the fusilli...red wine braised octopus and bone marrow in a perfect red sauce.

This is hands down THE BEST pasta dish I've ever had. Ever, anywhere. There's something magical about the crispiness of the octopus; the decadence of the bone marrow and the perfect al dente fusilli that just creates perfect culinary harmony. I've had it four times now and it's always flawless.

The second, new pasta was the ravioli.

A much heavier pasta, the sweetbreads were tender; the mushrooms gave depth and the brown butter added a sweetness. Also an amazing dish. We were glad that they split the dishes for us - a full plate of the agnolotti would have proven to be too much for one person. In this manner, it was exactly the right amount. Full but not uncomfortable - a wonderful dinner once again.

I can't say enough about Marea. If you get the chance, you need to go. And then go again.
Jenn's Rating: 91
Michelin: Two Stars
Zagat:28-26-26

Eating in Sin City: Blue Ribbon Sushi

Hey!! It's been a long time since I've posted - new job & nicer weather mean no free time. So I'm playing a little catch up here. In April we went to Las Vegas for a conference and piled on as many good meals as possible.

Our first night there after a hectic scramble to get from airport to hotel (and then to a second hotel) and back to Cosmopolitan for dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi. This was our first time trying BRS though we'd been to the one in NYC with a large group and were a bit underwhelmed.

Starving and jet lagged, we ordered drinks and dinner. As a group we decided to go with the famous Fried Chicken "Blue Ribbon Style" with wasabi & honey and the Oxtail Fried Rice with daikon, shitake and bone marrow. We also ordered sushi to round out the meal.

The chicken arrived looking crispy and reddish - covered in spices. It was super moist in the middle and had quite a kick to it. The wasabi honey dipping sauce was a fantastic accompaniment. An excellent dish - one of the best takes on fried chicken we've ever had.

Served alongside the chicken was the rice in a giant bowl meant for sharing. This might be the single most incredible rice dish I've encountered. The oxtail & bone marrow give it such a heartiness and the rice still has that crisp, al dente style interior...what a keeper! I would go back to BRS for just these two dishes over and over again.

We ended with sushi as I mentioned before - the menu had a lot of unusual and interesting fishes we don't see here in NYC much. For instance, Japanese Red Snapper, Amberjack, Orange Clam, Fluke Fin and Jellyfish. The sushi was excellent - super fresh and with such diverse choices, got to try and great new things.

While we were all struggling to stay awake -the meal was super enjoyable; one of the best of the trip. Service was attentive and fun and the ambiance was jumping, a touch loud, but very energetic with good people watching. Highly recommend!

Jenn's Rating: 91

Zagat: 24-23-22

Marea, NYC

Patty and I were wanting to go back to Marea once one of their pasta dishes showed up on a NYC list as best pasta dishes in the country. It doesn't take much to get us to want to go back so in mid-January we met at the bar early for good seats and good food.

We started off with a bottle of champagne (Brut Blanc de Blancs, La Caravelle) and a platter of crudos including Ono (seared wild pacific wahoo), Tonno (bigeye tuna), mackerel and langoustine. If you haven't been to Marea I so wish you would ~ truly amazing! Their ability to pair these bites of fish with perfect accompanyments to bring out the natural differences in each one. So incredible!

And for our entree - pasta!
We got the BEST PASTA DISH anywhere...the fusilli with red wine braised octopus and bone marrow. And the new dish, spaghetti with crab, santa barbara sea urchin and basil.

Always faced with the hope that memory and hype will be lived up to when that fusilli is put down in front of you - it only takes one bite to know that yes, this is an exceptional, perfect, incredible dish.

The crab dish was also really, really good. Lighter and a touch sweeter, this one speaks to freshness and the wonderful combination of tomato to basil. The sea urchin and crab not getting lost and adding a lovely texture.

There really just isn't a better place to have pasta in NYC. Eating at the bar is fun and comfortable if you don't want the formality of the main dining - just get there early!!

Jenn's Rating: 95
Zagat: 26-26-25
Michelin: Two stars

Sansu Japanese Steakhouse, Fair Haven NJ

First - seriously apologize for taking more than a month since the last post. I started a new job and have been crazy busy. But now is the time to get back on track!

In early January we met up with friends at a sushi steakhouse in Fair Lawn NJ. We started off with shared appetizers including this octopus dish. I thought this was the best dish of the evening - octopus was tender yet kept it's texture and sauce was thick without being too sweet.

Other appetizers were spring rolls, sashimi platter. The spring rolls were nice enough - crispy and warm with a nice duck dipping sauce. Most disappointing of all was the sushi and the rolls. Interesting names and descriptions on the menu just didn't translate to the plate. The platters were beautifully presented and yet the fish had a tougher consistency than one would want or like indicating that perhaps not as fresh as possible. Overall, not a sushi place that we would want to go back to or recommend when there are others nearby that get it right time and time again.

On a brighter note - one of our party is not a raw fish eater at all and got a hibachi with fried rice, proteins and vegetables and side dish of noodles. He liked it a lot and the noodles, which I tried were yummy. So if you're looking for hibachi - give it a go. If you're a die-hard sushi lover, maybe skip this one.

Nobu 57, NYC

With Alan away in Atlanta for a few days, us ladies planned a day out in the city with lunch, drinks, spa and more drinks. After tossing a lot of ideas around, we settled on sushi. We amassed an impressive list of highly rated sushi places around midtown and started the process of finding out which ones are open for lunch on a Saturday. You know what? Not very many.

But we did get a reservation at Nobu 57. It was only a block and a half from the Peninsula Hotel where we'd be spending time at the spa so all seemed good. We got there just in time for our 12:30pm reservation. They escorted us upstairs to be seated in the main dining room and a roomy booth near the sushi bar. I love the decor - bubble motif on the walls, wood and lots of muted orange and brown colors. It's a large space that comes off as intimate...you can hold a conversation with your friends without either an echo or having scream.

We ordered a bottle of Schramsberg 2007 Brut Rose to start as well as appetizers. Susan & Mary ordered a couple of Nobu tacos - single bite raw fish wrapped in a small crunchy tortilla. They choose assorted fishes - Big Eye tuna, lobster and Yellowtail. I ordered the lobster Inaniwa pasta salad. The tacos were very good - fresh little bites. The cold lobster salad was fantastic. The noodles had such a nice, bright flavor and the lobster was cooked just past opaque. The entire dish had a citrus component that I loved and went very nicely with the rose.

For lunch we all ordered the same thing - Bento boxes. Served as three courses with a Miso soup first and then the box broke into two courses with six total components, this was the most sophisticated Bento I've ever seen. In the first box was Yellowtail Tartar, Sashimi Salad and Assorted Sushi. In the second box was King Crab Amazu Ponzu, Black Cod with Miso and Ribeye Anticucho.

I really liked the sashimi salad, seared and served as a salad with a ginger dressing. The fish was excellent. The middle course in this first box, the Yellowtail tartar with caviar was the only component I didn't like. It was overwhelming and hard to taste the fish. I'm not sure what the sauce it was sitting in was but I didn't care for it at all. And lastly was the sushi (fatty tuna, white tuna and salmon) plus a spicy tuna roll. The sushi was excellent as well - loved the white tuna. And the roll was as expected, good. 

The second Bento course had the king crab amazu ponzu that I loved. Lightly crisped, so sweet - fabulous! The black cod seared with Miso was good - flaky and savory. The last component was the Ribeye sitting over sticky rice with pepper and lime. This one was also very good. Great flavor, some spice and the rice became saturated with the spices.

During our Bento boxes we ordered a bottle of red wine. Pinot Noir, Hamacher 2008 from the Willamette Valley. It was quite light and perhaps not overly memorable on it's own, it did got well with our lunch.

It was a fun lunch - not pretentious or stuffy in any way. Service was good, the pace unhurried. The food was good and in some cases, great. It wasn't cheap - $195 a person (with two bottles of wine). I'd consider it more of a special occasion place to go but wouldn't hesitate to recommend Nobu 57 to someone looking for upscale Japanese in midtown.

Jenn's Rating: 85

Zagat: 26-23-23

Morimoto, Philadelphia PA

Over the weekend a large party of us went to Morimoto in Philadelphia to experience the omakase, or tasting menu.

We arrived promptly at 6pm for our reservation and were seated right away. The ambiance and decor of the restaurant in unique and a little polarizing. Some people love the modern, minimalist decor with changing lights and strangely phallic shaped candles and others find it bothersome and even claustrophobic. The first picture below is the entrance and the second & third a look at the main dining room with it's color changing booths.

There were ten of us seated at a large rectangle table immediately in front of the sushi bar at the rear of the restaurant. For many of us, this was our second trip...we had gone as a group in 2002 when the restaurant was only a few months old. During the three hours we were there this time it became obvious looking around us that it remains very popular and apparently THE place to take a date. The restaurant filled up quickly and the staff bustled all evening.

It was also apparent that this was not going to be an evening of quite chatter. You really could only hear the person to your immediate side or across from you. It was so loud that trying to converse with the person kitty-corner or anyone further down the table was impossible. Nor could you hear the staff when they presented the courses unless they were standing next to you and you leaned in while attempting to lip read. Even then it was hit or miss. I'm happy to say when requested, they did furnish us with a copy of the evening's tasting menu when we were leaving...that helped significantly in clearing up some questions about a few of the courses.

Our table (with the exception of one vegetarian in our party) ordered the omokase, or chef's tasting menu. This is a traditional way to dine in Japan and you have no idea what courses will emerge from the kitchen until they are presented to you at the table. Our menu ended up consisting of eight courses. We paired the menu with four bottles of wine (a sauvignon blanc and three pinot noirs from Oregon and California) and there was more than one flight of sake making the rounds.

Unlike the high end French and American restaurants, this one jumped right into the first course - no amuse bouche to kick off the evening. It took a while longer than I thought appropriate for the first course to arrive. This was a glimpse into the service level that we'd experience through the night. While I do give leniency to a restaurant when they have to deal with a large group such as ours, I am not that forgiving of anything rated or regarded as high as this one is. But enough about that...on to the food!

First course: Toro tartare with fresh wasabi, osetra caviar and a Japanese peach.

The presentation was quite lovely on this course and the soy & ginger broth was fragrant. The toro was fresh with a wonderful texture but the sauce was overabundant and too sweet which diminished the overall taste of the dish. Even with heapings of wasabi, the dish was lacking the salty/savory quality you'd want in your tartare. The acidity in the white wine did mesh nicely with this course.

Second course: Kumamoto oysters with a trio of sauces: Japanese orange salsa; citrus cilantro ceviche and a Thai fish sauce with fresh jalapeno.

The presentation on the second course was equally beautiful and showcased these small oysters on their bed of ice. The four of us on the my end of the table all ate them from left to right, in the order of the sauces listed above. The winner seemed to be the middle one with the citrus flavors and leaf of cilantro. So bright and crisp, it matched wonderfully with the chilled, freshness of the oyster. I personally really liked the Thai fish sauce on the third oyster. This was a very nice course overall.

Third course: Seared red snapper carpaccio with garlic, ginger, mitsuba & chives served with a yuzu citrus soy.

This gorgeous course was a winner. The sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the snapper which has a meatier texture but still comes off as delicate in the mouth with a melt-away quality. If I could have licked the plate, I would have...really wonderful.

Four course: sashimi salad with mixed greens, yuzu vinaigrette and chive oil.

This dish resulted in mixed reviews. A tuna tataki, the fish itself was very nice with a clean, sea taste to it. And I liked the yuzu when tossed with my greens. But others thought the dish too dry and uninspired.

Intermezzo of raspberry & pomegranate soda (no picture). Useless course, no flavor detectable.

Fifth course: chef Morimoto's eight spice lobster epice with citrus creme fraiche and chives.

It wasn't hard to get excited about this next course! All the meat was in the tail section and the lobster with spices was fantastic! I would have ordered this as a whole meal if it was an option. The creme fraiche went really well for an overall well balanced dish. Yum!!

Sixth course: braised kobe short rib with wasabi furikake crust, wasabi greens, pickled carrot & turnip and a red wine reduction (no picture).

I did take a picture of this course (it was quite pretty) but it didn't come out well on my phone. The short rib was topped with a salty, spicy crust that I personally had to scrape off to keep it from overwhelming the rib. The meat was cooked nicely and super tender. But unlike other braised short ribs (Daniel, NYC comes to mind) where the flavor of the braising sauce is infused deeply into the meat, this one seemed to have not been cooked with anything other than a dry rub. The sauce on the plate was nice, but the dish lacked that level of deep warmth and succulence that others have achieved.

Seventh course: sushi (no picture).

Potentially the least inspired course of all it was a selection of five fishes served traditionally just like you can get at any local sushi bar. The fishes included maguro, tuna, yellowtail, octopus and striped bass.

Eighth course: (dessert) sweet potato cheesecake with miso caramel & black sesame.

The cheesecake to end the evening was pretty good...almost bland but with a creamy and yet airy texture. It was not polarizing or intriguing but just sweet enough to wrap up the dinner quietly.

All in all it was a nice dinner with some standout dishes. Can it take on the heavy hitters of NYC, Chicago and Northern California...no. Would I rank it at or above Nobu in NYC...no. And at this price point, it's also not special enough in this reviewers mind to do the tasting menu again. If you go, order off the menu, skip the sushi and stick with the specialty dishes and you'll have a really nice evening in a totally eclectic hot spot.

Jenn's Rating: 89

Zagat's Rating: 28-26-25

Nobu: Atlantis Resort & Casino, Paradise Island, Bahamas

I've been to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas half a dozen times now and in the past the greatest criticism came from the food. Too expensive and in most cases, really bad. And we tried the high end restaurants (Nobu, Mesa, Dunes), the mid range ones, the buffet and the pool grills. There were some standouts during those visits like the steaks at Mesa (Bobby Flay's establishment at the Cove) and the burgers by the pool. So getting ready to go again this past week with my Mom and two nieces (seven and fourteen), I prepared myself for lackluster fare and a huge tab. But to my surprise, there were more good meals this time than bad!

The first experience was a solo dinner at the bar at Nobu. I got into town a day earlier than my family and went looking for somewhere I could eat and people watch without the uncomfortableness that sometimes accompanies eating in the main dining room. I was told that both Nobu and Mesa served the full menu at the bar or in their lounges. Not in the mood to hike it over to the Cove for Mesa, I opted for an early dinner at Nobu. I arrived at 6:30pm on Friday night. The bar was empty with a few couples in the lounge area relaxing and drinking on the sofas. I went to the far end of the bar to set up camp. This allowed me a great view of the length of the bar, the lounge and into the casino. I let my bartender know that I was going to be eating and hanging out. During the next two hours the restaurant, lounge and bar filled up with lots of interestingly dressed people ranging from early twenties to mid fifties. Great people watching with both great and horrible outfit choices ~ plus some fabulous shoe choices to critique!

From their rather large menu I selected the arctic char with baby spinach from the hot dish section and four pieces of sushi (mackerel, big eye tuna, toro and hamachi). They brought me a dish of edamame to begin that I munched on while waiting for my dinner to arrive.

To go with my food, I perused through their wine list and thought a half bottle of Tattinger brut would hit the spot and was very reasonably priced at a 1.5x mark up. The champagne was as expected, crisp and slightly yeasty with a short to medium finish. I enjoyed it quite a bit and have no problem at all drinking a half bottle myself with dinner.

The sushi arrived first. I was prepared to be underwhelmed. So imagine my surprise when it turned out to be very fresh with great, firm texture (except the toro that displayed the signature melt in your mouth feel) and wonderful flavor. I was so happy! And during this time, I had also struck up a wonderful conversation with the amusing and charismatic bartender, Stephanie. She had fabulous stories about growing up in the Bahamas, raising her two little girls and what it was like working in Atlantis for the past fourteen years as the resorts first female bartender. We're now FaceBook friends!

The arctic char arrived sometime later on it's bed of crispy, baby spinach and soy sauce. While not quite as mind blowing as the original dish we had at Nobu in NYC, this one was quite nice. A little too salty from the sauce, but the fish was nicely cooked and the spinach was wonderful. Such a nice evening! Would I recommend this Nobu over the one in NYC? No...but as far as resort dining goes, this one didn't do so badly.

Jenn's rating: 82

Yumi, Sea Bright NJ

Saturday night, after watching the Yankees beat Orioles at Yankee Stadium with Patty & Justin, we went to Yumi in Sea Bright for sushi. http://www.yumirestaurant.com/.

Yumi is my favorite sushi place - I love the ambiance; I love that Bowie & Sean (owner and the sushi master) know us by name and I love the food. Alan's opinion is that they aren't the best for straight sushi - he thinks Shumi is...and I'm sure Susan & Rich would agree. The thing that Yumi does better than anyone is the appetizers. They are inventive, changing, daring and they almost always are fantastic. I say Alan's opinion - - mine is that Yumi is the better restaurant overall but I'm incredibly partial to their rolls and white tuna.

But Shumi or Yumi, this is a review. Saturday night, 8pm reservations and the place was hopping! Capacity crowd with people eating outside as well. Bowie reserved table #25 - the best table - right next to the sushi bar, close to where Sean creates the magic. There were five sushi chefs cranking out dish after dish...

We ordered a few appetizers to share and then all did our own sushi. The appetizers were the tuna sashimi pizza with crispy scallion pancake and signature spicy kabayaki sauce; a new appetizer of yellow tail sashimi with wasabi and sesame seeds; the baby jack with citrus oil and jalapeno and another new dish called tuna nachos that was tuna, avocado and seaweed encrusted chips.

We've had the pizza many times and it was good, but didn't strike anyone as the standout on this evening. The yellowtail with wasabi sauce was spicy without overwhelming the fish - you still got a good representation of the sashimi with the heat. But the two dishes that stole the show were our favorite - the baby jack with jalapeno...this is a gorgeous blend of perfectly fresh fish that's more delicate than a yellowtail or other white fish plus the bite of pepper and the cooling crispness of the citrus oil. Incredible dish. And the new one - the tuna, avocado with nachos - was awesome. The chips were small and light that added crunch to the tuna / avocado. Very nice dish indeed. We'll see if it stays on the menu.

Patty and I both ordered salads - mine is the Yuzu Romaine in Parmesan bowl and hers was the Yumi Seaweed Salad. I almost always get this Yuzu salad - it's a palette cleanser with the lightest soy, ginger, sesame dressing. For our sushi order - I had white tuna, yellowtail, red tuna and toro or fatty tuna. Alan got the baby jack along with his tuna order. Patty also ordered sushi. Justin got two rolls but I honestly forgot which ones they were.

It was a very nice meal and Yumi continues to be our go to sushi place. I think if we lived closer to Somerset we might be lured away by the incredible variety Ike has at Shumi but I for one am pretty happy that we get to eat at both!

Jenn's rating: 85
Zagat: 26-19-22