The Dish With Dean Explores Las Vegas

From Thursday, September 19-22, 2013

The Dish had the opportunity to share a very good friend's birthday along with six other of his closest friends. 

A very Happy Birthday goes out to 

Mr. Dym. 

We will always remember this special birthday!

Thanks for inviting us to share it with you!

Flying into Vegas from NY was a long drawn out flight. I had a window seat and had the pleasure of sitting next to "Leo" from Bayridge, Brooklyn. Turns out Leo is the owner of an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. 

At a later date I will be there to sample his specialties. 

The trip began late Thursday night as we had a reservation at Mesa Grill.

 Starting off with cocktails this was a great place to start the trip. The birthday boy had a Ribeye Steak. I asked why he ordered this when we were clearly going to be visiting a steak house at some point in our journey. 

He said he was "hungry."

The steak was as expected marbleized and served at just the right temperature.

 Our server recommended the Halibut.

Some of us ordered this and the fish was so flaky, it just fell onto the fork and melted in your mouth. It was served with a blue corn crust accompanied by a warm salsa, Sweet tomatoes and olives. 

This dinner was clearly a blur to me because we were traveling for so many hours. I do know that the wine chosen for this meal was a Russian River Pinot Noir.

 The one downside of the Mesa Grill was that Mr. Yelly ordered the Mango and Spice crusted Tuna Steak.

 

This dish came out exactly as it should have been served except that Mr. Yelly wanted it more rare than "black and blue".

Needless to say the dish went back to the kitchen and after not returning to the table during a 30 minute wait, we asked the server to forget it. He apologized and said they would make a new one which was declined.  

Mr. Yelly did not eat dinner this evening.

My personal assumption of Mesa Grill Las Vegas is typical of Vegas. The food is great and that comes from the executive chef. 

Bobby Flay always pays special attention the the quality and design of his dishes. Not being present at all his restaurants is always an issue with the service. Although our server was attentive at first, in a place like this you are only a number and there is no personal attention. Even in a place as large as this, put a smile on your face and fake it. Make believe that the people you are serving are the only people in the place. A little sugar goes a long way.

On to the next dinner adventure!

Enjoy from

"The Dish With Dean"  

Frying Pan 
Located at Pier 66 
 
This seasonal maritime experience is a world unto itself. We had the pleasure of being here on a wonderful sunny Sunday afternoon. 
We were joined by "The Landsharks" and had it not been that Mr. Pow was not feeling well, him and the Mrs would have joined us as well.

High Line Park NYC

                          This day started with a pleasant trip to the High Line Park in NYC. Together along with the Pow's we have been there many times. This was the first time that "The Landsharks" had been there. It is always nice to see someone who has lived in NY for all their lives enjoy something new about it.
For dinner I decided to take them to the Frying Pan which is located at Pier 66 at the west end of 26th street.
 
This place was recommended by Hope S. and since all of her recommendations have always been spot on we decided to give it a shot. 
We did not know that it was a self serve place but based on the crowd, it was a younger and more casual foody. I can see why on the weekends this place rocks out and gets a large drinking and partying crowd. The menu is an easy read with not too much to think about. 

With great views and perfect weather this is an amazing place to venture into. Watch the helicopters land and enjoy an ice cold beer. 

We started our dining experience with an order of lamb meatballs served with a tzatziki sauce. These were very tasty and the tzatzki sauce had a real nice garlic and cucumber mix.

Both ladies ordered the salmon on a bed of fresh greens. One dish came out cooked OK and the other was considered "sushi"

That one went back to the grill with a little bit of attitude.

Both Mr. Landshark and myself had the BBQ St. Louis Ribs with Red Potato salad and a sour pickle salad. 

The Ribs were what you would expect from a place like this but down a few cold beers and they were great. 

Coming to you soon live on You Tube will be "The Dish With Dean"

If you have the opportunity to come here on Sunday afternoon or on a Friday night, it is well worth the visit. Just the experience is all the fun you will need.

                                       

  Enjoy From

"The Dish With Dean"

PeraBell Food Bar
69 Main Street
Patchogue, NY
This is a real comfort zone place to settle back and have a cold beer or a great cocktail. 
'The Dish" used Open table to make this reservation and I find it to be a great service not only to the patron but to the restaurant as well. Eliminates long wait times and makes for a better dining experience.

Meeting for a quick bite before heading down the block to see Project Genesis, we chose to meet at PeraBell on the Dym recommendation.

The bar was well stocked and much appreciated. We ordered drinks as we waited for the Dyms to arrive. We were also joined my Mr. and Mrs. Hickman. 

As we were seated we were introduced to our server Michael who was OK. 

We were seated at a booth for 6 which we really could have used a round top for 6 so we could speak to each other without talking over another conversation. 

No worries because the food did create a nice experience. The decor and atmosphere were also very comforting.

We started off with PeraBell's version of a "Sushi Pizza".

Called the Tuna Tartar Pizza which was just OK. Asked how many people it fed we were a bit misled because it was cut in 3 portions and we were told to order 2 since there were 6 of us. I think it was a bit of an upsell because the portions were enough to cut in half and it was just OK. The tempura rice crust was cooked nice but the Tuna tartar was a bit hot for sushi. 

Dinner was another story because the chosen dishes were really good for "Pub Food"

Two of my guests enjoyed the Skirt Steak which was cooked perfect and the portion was just enough to enjoy and not feel like you ate too much.

 Served with a spanish flair with a nice yellow rice and black beans and an avocado salad.

Next up was a half Roast Chicken that also was cooked perfect. The gravy that accompanied this beautiful bird was creamy and delicate. Not some heavy lumpy sauce. 

Served with caramelized shallot mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. Cleaned that bird down to the bone!

The special of the day was a roasted seafood pot served with a lobster tail with sticky rice in a ginger miso broth. 

This dish was what I ate along with Mr. Dym and we both had the same response. 

  The entire dish was very well presented and had an unusually sweet taste coming from the ginger and miso. The scallops and the calamari were cooked very tender but they should have used a fresh and not frozen lobster tail. The sticky rice absorbed the flavors of the broth to create a nice texture to the pot. the mussels and shrimp were minimal as was the single clam in the pot. Lonely was the clam!

Last dish for the night was an Apple and Horseradish Salmon that was accompanied by sour cream and chives mashed potato and steamed asparagus. 

 On my next visit to PeraBell I will be ordering this dish because it was the best of the bunch. 

This place is known for their burgers but i don't think we made any mistakes in what we ordered. 

I like the drink idea that when you order a drink on the rocks like a Vodka, they do not place several cubes in the drink to water it down. They add one block of ice which is slower to melt and it allows you to enjoy the drink without being watered down.

Enjoy!

from "The Dish With Dean"