. "Two MAJOR slipups in the planning of Switch: location and table spacing. \n\nI don't like to dine looking at a casino or within earshot of my neighbors. Luckily we had an early dinner and they staggered the parties. Later in the evening we were joined by a lovely blue-haired couple from Montecito, charming, but we were secretly happy they crashed our party at the end of our meal. \n\nOtherwise, the restaurant is gorgeous and the three different backdrops of the evening were OOOOH and AHHHH worthy. Seriously it was like dinner and a show rolled into one. Remember to look UP too.\n\nNormally they just have an ala carte menu, but NYE, there was a special tasting for $150/pp. Well worth it for the quality and presentation.\n\nNo amuse, 4 courses, sorbet, dessert & no mignardises:\nC1: Lobster bisque w/a lobster claw on the side\nExcellent, huge chunks of sweet succulant meat in the soup, robust flavor.\nC2: Butternut squash ravioli\nQuite enjoyable and not too sweet, it's usually not my favorite.\nC3: Pastry wrapped scallops w/slivers of truffle\nBold and adventurous presentation, good.\nC4: Foie topped Filet\nThis baby was HUGE, but also quite good.\nDesserts: Cannot recollect too much, both were very good, but check out the visuals I posted, I liked the fruit one more, but the chocolate one was rich, moist and the crispy rice texture was delicious. \n\nWe were happy and surprised to find our sommelier from Restaurant Charlie had relocated to Switch. His pairings were spot on and much more reasonable in price. We did not mention a price cap, but it was only an additional $75/pp for the vino. \n\nSwitch is supposed to be the premier restaurant at the Encore, but I was expecting a bit more luxury and elegance. Maybe he didn't want another over indulgent restaurant to compete with Alex?"^^ . "4"^^ . "4"^^ . . "4"^^ . . "5"^^ . "2009-01-09T00:00:00"^^ .