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| - In Las Vegas you're always dining on a strip. If you're not dining on The Strip, you'll most likely be dining in nondescript strip malls in neighborhoods that you don't want to be caught walking at night. Still they are worth the drive/cab fare because the local foodie scene can be just as a fun experience as any Strip eating experience, as well as being a bit more reasonably priced. You just have to know exactly what you're looking for.
I wanted to take the No1DP out for a meal to celebrate his belated birthday and my appreciation for him being such a wonderful boyfriend by letting me tag along with him this trip.
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CAB FARE: ~$14 to the Palazzo base fare.
VENUE: Located in a strip mall off Spring Mountain, the restaurant is very small with about half the guests being in tables and the other half sitting at the bar. If you are a foodie, SIT AT THE BAR. You'll see two dedicated and passionate pastry chefs make your desserts with such care and attention to your dish. Walls are almost bare so as not to distract you from the desserts - part of the experience is to watch them make your dessert.
As it's a small space, call ahead for approximate wait times. They do not take reservations.
SERVICE: No1DP may be used to Japanese waitstaff but I thought the waitress serving us was very cheerful and polite. Her accent was so thick that I couldn't get the descriptions of the desserts so I had to ask the pastry chefs to explain again as I scrawled it on a napkin.
PRIX FIXE ($19, $7 with wine)
No1DP noticed that the menu was made with a type of paper that you could actually eat and tore off a piece. This was confirmed by the waitress; after placing our orders she brought a plate with a raspberry sauce for us to dip our menus. The menu tastes like edible paper that is best dipped with the raspberries. The ring that holds the menu is also edible, we saw more rings being made in the counter.
The 3-couse prix fixe consists of the following
Amuse
Both of us started with kabocha pudding (green tea sauce, chocolate and kabocha chip). Texture is similar to black sesame pudding I've had at another Japanese restaurant. There is a mild but evident sweetness in the dish that is offset by the pumpkin. This was also the only dish we didn't see made.
Mains
No1DP had Apollo (chocolate and raspberry mouse mousse, chocolate cake, earl grey ice cream). Japanese desserts are not known for their richness though you could still taste the chocolate and raspberry. No1DP liked his dish and wine pairing enough that he was willing to risk getting a migraine to enjoy his dessert wine. As a fan of earl grey tea, he also enjoyed his ice cream.
I had Mt. Fuji (chestnut cake, chestnut paste, custard creme, Hennessy syrup). I got to see my dessert being made from start to finish. Apparently they use some contraption to make the chesnut cream take shape, followed by refrigerating the dish to let the cream hold. Chesnuts were slightly crunchy and chesnut cream and cake were light and fluffy. My wine was a slightly tart white wine to add but not overload the chestnuts.
Petit Four
As the No1DP's dish contained chocolate, his petit four was a small piece of cheesecake that contained REAL cheese on the top. No1DP notes that the portion was light, delicate and small enough for him, otherwise he would have had a dessert overload.
My petit four was the traditional small lava cake with raisins and raspberry and passion fruit decorated on the side. I saw how committed to perfection the chefs are as they erased any imperfections with a napkin and redid the decoration. Raisins and marshmallows were light. Lava cake was small enough as a finishing dish yet contained all the components of a good lava cake - fluffy yet firm cake with hot molten chocolate in the center.
As we left the waiters noticed that we were from out of town and thanked us wholeheartedly for stopping by. Considering that I rarely go off-strip to eat anything seeing warm genuine service with a smile was much appreciated.
Final word: Go here if you want a new meaning/experience to eating desserts, which in most instances are often rush and shoe-horned at the end of meals. Don't go here if you just want to grab a quick sweet or if you like your desserts rich.
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