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| - The famed NYC hotspot where the beautiful, A-list, jetset come to lounge and be seen has finally opened in Vegas and...
Thud. I'll explain.
Enter a pawn shop, through the secret back door, and into a posh Victorian world bordering on museumesque with excess, with theatricality that Elizabeth Taylor would look at home. Dark colors, glittering jewel boxes, mirrors, pearls. LOUD music. Posh, quirky, with swank star appeal.
But this is Vegas, step out of your limo without panties showing off your woohoo, no one would care. Mega clubs, ultra lounges, world class food, the likes of Cirque du Soleil. Hotspots and quirkiness abound. Exclusivity? Ha! Anyone with a credit card is welcome. Basically, it's NOT special enough and if not for its Cosmo location, it wouldn't make sense in the already over the top city.
The food is good but except for a few provocative gems, isn't special enough for the ambiance.
Gem 1: Grilled cheese, smoked bacon and tomato soup dumpling, the perfect bite size reinterpretation of the classic. A crisp "dumpling" filled with a molten core of five different cheeses in a spoonful of rich, creamy tomato soup garnished by the smallest pinch of bacon and chives. An incredibly pleasing nostalgic bite whose wow factor brings a smile.
Gem 2: French onion soup dumplings. Think XLB of heavily caramelized, beefy onion soup baked in an escargot dish topped with melted cheese, a crisp crouton atop each. Be careful, the dumplings contents are HOT. Inventive and just fun to eat.
The remainder of the dishes sampled were correct but not over the top special. Tomato tartare (tomato and quail egg atop a parmesan crisp - good salinity, acid, and creamy richness), Maine lobster roll (classic prep in old bay, mayo in a sweet potato roll - sweet lobster, well seasoned but just OK), lobster tacos (beer battered lobster topped with a red cabbage slaw and poblano crema - great flavor becoming cloying with fatty flavors but on first bite, great combination, the lobster remaining crisp with gentle chili heat).
Correct lounge service. Meaning dishes come when they come, you're given what you need to eat, drinks are the priority, always delivered with a smile.
Price to experience; let's just say it's the poor man's Rose, Rabbit, Lie, delivering a somewhat cohesive, intriguing experience at literally a quarter of the cost.
Worth the visit? I'll leave you hanging.
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