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| - Swanky tapas, Vegas style! Who doesn't like the sound of that?
I certainly don't, so that's why I made a beeline to Julian Serrano for my first night's dinner on the Strip.
First of all, Chef Julian Serrano's eponymous restaurant is absolutely beautiful. It overflows with bold, colorful tile that's a feast for the eyes. It's also *very* loud in there, since it's directly adjacent to the Aria resort lobby, a mere feet from hordes of tired hotel guests checking in and out. And, no, there are no walls to keep out the hubbub.
After taking a seat at the long, comfortably, and classy bar, I was quickly helped by one of the friendly and efficiently bartenders. After ordering a glass of Sauvignon blanc to whet the palate, I browsed the mouthwatering -- and **long** -- menu of tapas options. The menu is nicely organized into fish/ceviche, veggie, and meat/poultry tapas, making it easy to navigate. There's also a catch-all "new style" tapas category, as well as paellas and "platos grandes" for those of you with larger appetites.
Four items were just enough to fill the belly without making me uncomfortably full. Here's the rundown of what I tried:
1. White ceviche. Everyone knows I love a good ceviche, and this one was a knockout. The white fish was tender and flaky, with just the right amount of heat and tang from the lime and cilantro.
2. Brava potatoes. This dish was a little less exciting than I thought it would be -- it's essentially just fries with aioli. That said, the flavors were excellent. There's a *lot* of aioli provided, so I ended up taking the excess off to prevent the potatoes from getting soft. I did enjoy eating the potatoes with the little skewers provided.
3. Tuna cones. This dish was the weirdest and also my least favorite. It consisted of 3 wantons (rolled into ice cream cones), which were filled with avocado, and then ahi tartare and aioli on top. Again, my issue was the overabundance of aioli, which overwhelmed everything else. I couldn't taste the tuna at all.
4. Santiago's cake. This was an almond cake dusted with powdered sugar, with a side of almond ice cream. Simple but very well done. My only gripe was that the cake was a little dry, but this was remedied by letting the ice cream melt all over it.
All in all, Julian Serrano was a great dinner, although the little hiccups along the way make me hesitant about rushing back. After all, you're paying Vegas Strip prices here (most tapas are in the $10-15 range, but some are more), so you tend to expect perfection for your buck.
That said, with all the amazing options on Julian Serrano's menu, it'd be hard to resist the temptation to try them all. =)
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