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| - 2012 Fall Restaurant Week Dinner #2. What a great dinner.
It was Saturday night. We arrived earlier than our reservation time, but seated immediately, even got a booth as we requested.
I posted a picture of their Restaurant Week menu, along with the food pictures. Each course had one selection, except for the first where you can choose between salad or soup. They also offered a Wine Pairing as an option for additional $25.
1st Course
Silverado Corn Chowder with
Grilled Rock Shrimp & Jalapeño Bacon
2nd Course
Petit Medallions of Filet Mignon &
Butter Poached Lobster & Bordelaise Sauce
Sides
Creamed Spinach
Truffled Potato Gratin
3rd Course
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar with
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream &
Dark Chocolate Sauce
Many places participating in Restaurant Week gave more selections to you could choose from for each course. After our meal, it was very clear Charlie Palmer didn't need to give choices. The menu they selected was near perfect, with each course satisfying your taste buds, with a little bit of everything.
I'm not a soup person. I rarely order it anywhere. However, I had friends rave about their corn chowder, so we had to try it. My boyfriend and I rarely order the same thing, but boy am I glad I had my own bowl. It was poured table-side,nice and hot on top the grill rock shrimp and jalapeño bacon. As we watched it pour, my boyfriend both were anticipated it to be thick hearty and heavy, as most chowders are. Nope, it was light and bursting with flavor. As I devoured each spoonful, I got a different taste with each one, a slurp of chowder accompanied by that amazing shrimp, or a little salty and spice with that bacon. I can't believe I've written this whole paragraph about soup. It was that good.
When I read that the entree will be Petite Medallions of Filet Mignon, I thought what many people might think, that it would be "petite." I've eaten at enough steakhouses to understand the restaurant language of menus. I was pleasantly surprised to see the portion was very substantial, even for my boyfriend and his huge high-metabolism
appetite. More importantly, it was cooked medium-rare to a tee. Incredibly tender, it melted in your mouth like a filet should. The lobster was juicy and buttery.
Of the two sides, the star that took the show was the truffled potato gratin. It had lots of truffle flavor, creamy, and so comforting. A dish I would love someone to bring for every holiday meal and put on my table. The creamed spinach was good, nothing to complain about. My boyfriend isn't a fan, and I was too busy scraping the bottom of that potato gratin bowl.
I've never had Foie Gras before. I declared that the next time I dined at a fancy restaurant, I'd order it. I think it's one of those dishes you definitely have to try more than once. It was decadent, rich, buttery, and fatty. I took small pieces and ate it with my filet. I can't say it was love at first sight, but I enjoyed it. The verdict is still out till the next time...
Last but not least, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar dessert. Served with almonds, dark chocolate sauce, and dulce de Leche ice cream, it was heaven. You ever have a plan when you look at your dessert and say to yourself, "I'll just have a couple bites, because I can't possibly eat that whole thing..." Well, that was my exact thought when I picked up my fork. Guess what? It's not what happened. Bite after bite, I loved the dessert even more. Even with the dark chocolate, which I usually think is too rich and bitter for me, as I took a little bit of ice cream, a little piece of the peanut butter bar, and maybe an almond, my tummy was seriously just doing the happy dance. My boyfriend finished his dessert and pointed out the complimentary miniature ice cream sandwiches they gave in addition to our bars. He said they were great. I had a bite, but I was still in a haze, completely captive and enjoying a very intimate moment with my peanut butter dessert.
The service - this is something I really don't need to mention, because it was what anyone would walk in expecting at a place like this. The water was always filled, the courses came out with precision timing, the crumbs were cleared off the tablecloth, every empty dish or plate was cleared away within seconds. Our servers were friendly, smiling, helpful, and of course, amazingly attentive. As we settled our check, we told them how much we enjoyed our dinner there, and they expressed their gratitude and welcomed us back. We were happy to hear that Charlie Palmer almost always participates for Las Vegas Restaurant Week.
So, to sum it up, I patted myself on the back for choosing Charlie Palmer as my last dinner for this fall's Restaurant Week. It'll be on the list of restaurants to consider for future special occasions.
Definitely.
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