Jitlada

It was a cold Christmas Eve night, Jitlada was our location of choice. We showed up at 6:30, the restaurant was mostly empty. The neon sign outside says Spicy Southern Thai, that's what we came for a family of Chiliheads.



We reviewed the menu and ordered some standard Thai dishes and some items we had never had before. For starters we had the Papaya Salad and the Thai Toast. The salad was delicious and refreshing, a bit spicy. The Thai toast wasn't what I expected, it looked like fried plantains, but tasted like some sort of deep fried seafood cake, tasty and it came with a sweet dipping sauce.



Next up, the Spicy Sweet Pork and Spicy Seafood Padthai. The pork dish was really good, the sauce was a nice combination of sweet and spicy. But like the salad, the portion size seemed a bit small. The Padthai was good, but too sweet for me.



We had the Chinese watercress, Spicy Fried Rice and Steamed Whole Seabass with Spicy Lemon sauce. All of these dishes were good, but none of them were spicy enough. We requested the condiments too late, because they added the kick I was looking for.



To finish off the meal, we split a Mango Sticky rice. Jitlada has gotten a lot of praise for being one of the best Thai restaurants in LA. Our meal was good, but I was expecting a lot more spice and balance of flavors. The price of some of the dishes also seemed too high.



Next time I will request Thai spicy when ordering.

Animal

Oh Animal, Oh Animal, Thy Food is so delicious!

Yes this place did live up to the hype.



Our reservations were for 6:45, we arrived about ten minutes early and were seated immediately. The restaurant was about 80% full. Our server explained to us the different ways we could order, all apps, no apps, a lot of apps and entrees, etc...But we had to make sure to order all at once versus piece meal. That wouldn't be a problem.



We ordered a bottle of the house Cabernet to start and perused the menu. We decided to go heavy on the apps and split an entree. For our apps we had the Chicken Liver Toast, BBQ Pork Belly Sliders, Melted Petit Basque and Chorizo, Sweetbreads, Poutine and the Pig Ear with Fried Egg.



The Chicken Liver Toast was amazing, so simple, but so well balanced. The liver puree was so smooth. The BBQ Pork Sliders were good, but there was too much sauce for my taste. The pork belly was so unctuous and the slaw was not too sweet. Melted Petit Basque was not bad, but the flavor of the Chorizo was lost.



The Sweetbreads were amazing, it was served on top of creamed spinach, with Hen of the Woods mushrooms, capers and lemon segments. When everything was eaten together there were so many flavors that all worked well together. The Pig Ear with Fried egg had a nice spice, but the pig ears could have been a little crispier. The Poutine was the only dish that I thought was unsuccessful. It was too salty and I thought the gravy was too thin.



For our entree we decided to split the Quail Fry. Another well executed dish. The crispy fried quail went well with the slab bacon and creamy grits. The quail was cooked perfectly.



I was looking forward to the donuts for dessert, but they had taken them off the menu. We ordered the Bacon Chocolate Crunch bar. It was nice and chocolaty, but the bacon part of it just brought a little smokyness no bacon flavor.



Animal is casual and the atmosphere is very minimal. The service was excellent and the price is not bad. The standout dishes were the Chicken Liver Toast, Sweetbreads, and Quail Fry. I hope to go back and try some of the other dishes soon.

Eric Ripert and Alan Richman with Costco food

Who doesn't love a slider...mmmmmm White Manna

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David Burke - Las Vegas

Our reservations were for 7:30, party of three. I had never been to a David Burke restaurant, but heard a lot of about his cooking style and creativity.



The restaurant is located among many of the other fine dining establishments in the Venetian. The interior has a modern feel with some whimsical lamps and art. Humpty Dumpty artwork displayed throughout the restaurant.



The menu is divided into three parts, starters, soups/salads and entrees. There are also a la cart side dishes for the entrees. Our server was very helpful with explaining the dishes and offering suggestions.



Before our starters were served, bread was served. The bread is a Brioche pop-over served with butter and Hawaiian sea salt, good stuff. Fresh and warm and so buttery.



For starters we ordered the Grilled Octopus, Angry Lobster and Day Boat Sea Scallops Benedict. The octopus was served with chickpea puree, celery, confit tomatos, olives and chili oil. The octopus was a tiny bit overcooked, but the dish itself was successful. The lobster had nice flavor, it could have had more meat, but it was good. The scallops benedict, was definitely the star, the chorizo oil, lobster foam and quail eggs combined to make a delicious dish.



I ordered the Pumpkin Soup, we also had a Spinach Salad and a Caesar Salad. The soup was poured into a bowl with a piece of Jerk Chicken and a dollop of Maple Cream. It was smooth, rich and hearty. The spinach salad was delicious as well, the goat cheese, bacon vinaigrette and he candied pecans were a great combination. The caesar salad was pretty average, a few anchovy filets served with the salad were delicious.



At this point we were all pretty full, but we still our last course coming up. I ordered the Grilled Double Pork Chop with bourbon smoked beans, bacon, apple-celery slaw and onion fondue. We also had the Seared John Dory and "Bronx" Style Veal Filet Mignon. My pork chops were overcooked and very dry, the accompaniments were good, but the pork seemed like it rested too long. I don't know if they brined the pork chop, but if they didn't they should have. My friends John Dory was also overcooked. The veal filet was perfectly cooked.



Along with our entrees we also ordered a couple of a la cart items, the bacon fat fries and cavatelli pasta. The fries were incredibly crispy and well seasoned, but the bacon flavor was absent. The fries were much better then the fries we had the night before at Bouchon. The cavatelli pasta was delicious, it was served in a mushroom sauce, I couldn't stop eating it.



The meal was pretty darn good up until the entrees. But the service made up for that. Our server Jeffery was terrific. He and the food runners were very attentive and could not have been more helpful. After we mentioned that the pork and the fish dishes were overcooked, he went out of his way to have the fish removed from the bill and offered us a complementary dessert.



We weren't planning on ordering any dessert and I don't really have a sweet tooth, but this dessert was phenomenal. It was called the "Egg" streme Chocolate. Caramel, Milk Chocolate Cream, Vanilla Panacotta, Cookies and Cream ice cream, all served in a dark chocolate egg shell. An amazing dessert.



With all of the options in The Venetian, David Burke's restaurant is great one. With an eclectic menu and a friendly staff, I would recommend trying it out if you haven't.

Beijing Noodle #9 - Las Vegas

Okay, so I understand this place isn't going compare to any of he excellent Northern Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. But, I so hopeful after speaking to the staff, many of which were from China. They described the food as being excellent.



The first problem with the place were the prices. I expected the place to be overpriced, but this was ridiculous. I guess the lease in Caesars Palace doesn't help, nor does the beautifully decorated interior. All that being said, I expected the quality of the ingredients and the quantity of each dish to be much better.



We ordered the Pad Fried Dumplings(Gyoza), Braised Baby Bok Choy, Mapo Tofu, Beef Noodle Soup and Pan Fried Pork Pancakes. None of these dishes were spectacular. The Bok Choy was okay, the gyoza were very small and the quantity was pitiful. The highlight was the Beef Noodle soup, it was good and the chunks of beef were nicely braised. The mapo tofu was terrible, nothing like what it's supposed to be.



The service was good and they have some interesting beverages, but this place definitely caters to the American tourist. Like many of the other reviews you can get all of the dishes served here for half the price in any Chinatown.