Mesa Grill

I have never done anything like this before... I think I will again!  I left on a girl's only weekend away from my Critic and Guys and enjoyed 3 1/2 luxurious days alone at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas!  Here's the first thing I have learned... Vegas is not the cheap vacation that it once was.  Still, I managed not to break the bank too much (if you don't count my airfare and hotel price of course).  The other thing I learned is that as much as I say "I'm not Vegas material" I am in one very clear way... the FOOD!  Every single chef I could ever hope to ogle over has a restaurant in Vegas.  Before going I even saw a Food Network show called "Best Thing I Ever Ate in Las Vegas"!  Using that as a virtual guide map and adding in some dreams realized of my own I set out to eat as much and yet as little as possible to experience a food tour of Las Vegas.  I could easily have spent a month just experiencing the restaurants.  The next few posts will highlight a few of my stops.

First up, Mesa Grill.  A restaurant of Bobby Flay's this was a first for me... I have never actually eaten his food.  It was a proud Foodie moment for sure and needless to say I was ecstatic when I found the place for lunch.  Thanks to my "good buddy" Michael Symon's suggestion, I opted for the tiger shrimp with roasted garlic corn tamale.

Before it arrived I received the bread.  There was a raisin one I didn't even bother with, a cheddar jalapeno one, and a blue corn muffin I have heard about and could not WAIT to try.  Perhaps it's a personal opinion, but that blue corn muffin was not my favorite... way to dry and crumbly.  The cheddar jalapeno one was REALLY tasty, though.





Next up, the shrimp and tamale.  This was pretty tasty, but definitely had those under salted components and too salty other parts.  But seriously, it didn't matter to me because all I kept thinking was "I'm eating food that Michael Symon likes!!!"  So the entire experience was a win in my book.  Excellent start to a Vegas weekend!!!