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| - My boyfriend and I took the 204 bus there, taking under 30 minutes in the early evening of a Sunday. This destination was where we planned our one splurge meal for our four-day stay in Sin City. We didn't have a reservation since we weren't sure when we'd decide to head over (about 7 miles west of Sahara), but there wasn't a problem getting our table for two at 5:45 PM. (It did get pretty bumpin' around 6:30 PM, though.)
There are three styles of dining at Rosemary's:
1) A la carte, which is what we are used to doing at fancy restaurants.
2) Prix fixe, which was the most flexible option for a set price of $55: any entree and two other courses from the menu (except for the foie gras, which you'd just add $15 to get, and the appetizer sampler, which can only be ordered a la carte).
3) Tasting menu, ranging from $80 to $125 for five courses and whether you want wine or beer pairings (or neither) with each course.
We went with the prix fixe option, and I don't regret our choice:
1 amuse bouche: vegetable bread pudding
-- I'm a huge fan of bread pudding, so this savory take was a fresh look at a familiar texture. Add some sharp bits of caramelized onions on top, and the picture is complete.
2 fresh rolls: potato and white chocolate pecan
-- Fresh bread is irresistible in my book, and both of these were delectable. The white chocolate pecan sticks out in my memory since it was little dessert preview before our meal formally started. Yum!
3 appetizers: Hugo's Texas BBQ shrimp, pan-fried milk-fed veal sweetbreads, and twice-baked Parmesan souffle
-- My favorite out of the three was the twice-baked Parmesan souffle. Normally, you'd think of souffles as a sweet, takes at least 30 minutes after ordering to bake and arrive at your table sort of dish. But Rosemary's disrupts both of these norms. The garlic cream sauce and wild mushrooms couldn't have complemented the fluffy, savory souffle any better. (It also helps that I am a fan of both garlic and mushrooms.)
-- The shrimp was quite good, but I was drawn more towards the coleslaw (actually a cheeseslaw). It strayed away from the normal sour taste of coleslaw and made me enjoy blue cheese, which I usually don't.
-- The sweetbreads were fun to eat just because we don't get to very often.
2 entrees: roasted rack of lamb and Creole-grilled prime ribeye
-- Jon A. ordered the lamb rare, and, boy, did they deliver. They cooked the entire rack first and then sliced it, so each piece was quite obviously pink. I'm not sure how I felt about there being Kalamata olives in the mashed potatoes, but overall, this dish was satisfying.
-- The ribeye was huge, especially after everything we'd already devoured thus far. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and I couldn't get enough of the creamy grits. My absolute favorite flavor of the evening came from the fried onions on top of the steak: Rosemary's used red onions rather than the traditional white, and the batter coating the onions was seasoned with a beautiful combination of herbs and spices. Why can't all fried onions be made this way?
1 dessert: goat cheese cheesecake
-- A modest helping of dessert after a marathon of a meal, the goat cheese cheesecake didn't hide its origins (i.e., you can definitely taste the goat cheese if you are paying attention). A generous dollop of freshly whipped cream sat on top, and underneath was a decorative spread of Scotch caramel sauce. An excellent finale to the meal.
3 mignardise:
-- Just when we thought it was over, our waiter presented us with bonus desserts: peanut butter buckeyes, lemon squares, and brownie bites. My favorite of the three were the peanut butter buckeyes: they were coated in something extremely crispy, which balanced out the soft peanut butter texture.
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Sunday nights is when Rosemary's offers up many of their bottles of wine (including half bottles) at 50% off. We asked our waiter for a recommendation to go with what we ordered (above), and we ended up trying a $74 bottle for $37. A super Tuscan, the Terre del Marchesato "Emilio Primo" (vintage 2005) went pretty well with every course. Unlike other reds I've had, it didn't overpower the taste of the food but did a great job clearing the palate between each bite.
The service was unbeatable: they paid attention to every detail, down to pulling your chairs out at the same time when you are initially seated.
The verdict: Wow, what a wonderful surprise this off-strip restaurant was! Food + service + ambiance were all stellar. I wish there were something like it closer to home. It was definitely worth the trek off the Strip.
Extra hints:
* Book a reservation on OpenTable if you like to accumulate points: http://www.opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=6553
* Plan ahead and buy two $50 gift cards for $80 if you want to save $10 per meal: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11126571&whse=BC&topnav=&bro
* Check their current promos: http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/promotions.htm
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