I learned about Lada Cafe and it’s owner/Chef from a review in the NY Times and have been going there for years since. The Chef was also the Chef at the Russian Consulate in NY and his recipes reflect his experience. His versions of classic Russian cuisine, like Beef Straganoff, reflects his particular use of herbs and spices and the way his sauces enhace the flavor of all of his creations. I always order the eggplant sotte, which is the Russian version of the Turkish eggplant dish, Imam Biyaldi, but delivers a sweet and tangy varient to this delicious appetizer.
The Russian pancake appetizer consists of 6 warm crepes, lox, salmon eggs and sour cream. Three yums on that.
The vareniki are the Russian version of the Polish pierogi, sauteed in butter and onions and filled with potatoes, while the pelmini, the Russian version of the Italian tortelini, comes filled with meat and sauteed in butter with some dill sprinkled on top.
Another favorite, the O’Livie salad is actually a melange of cubed potatoes, hard boiled eggs and diced chicken, mixed together to make a wonderful and flavorful topping for the bread, served with your meal.
One of the main dishes they are famous for is the old Russian standard, Beef Stroganoff, which I became aware of when I was served a variation of while serving in the US Army. Naturally, the Army version (also called SOS) was a poor variation on this dish, but piqued my interest for finding out just what is the original Russian version.
My good friend and eating buddy, Dan Cohen joined me on this excursion where he ate and enjoyed his first blini as well as all of the other Russian cuisine consumed during our visit. Check out his reaction.
One of their best desserts in the fruit blintz or crepe, just like the one used in the Russian pancake appetizer. Call before you go.
I have been to Las Vegas six times now. A wedding, a vacation, three speaking engagements and a few days last month to help a friend. Every time I am in Vegas I have a good time, last month it was no different. More food opportunities, a few day trips and some one on one. I like to coach, what can I say.
One of my favorite dining experiences was at Lindo Michoacan, one of a threesome of family owned Mexican restaurants of note. In a town with a taco stand on every block, Lindo made my meal and experience extraordinary. I am not sure if it’s part of their branding program, but the staff I encountered were friendly and eager to please me. Carolina, one of the charming hostesses, gave me a tour including the painting of the owner all the way on the back wall of a large banquet sized room followed by the wishing well of miner’s pans where you can toss a few coins for good luck, followed by their own, glass enclosed taqueria. Oscar Flores, the Manager, challenged me to try the house signature shrimp dish and the Mariachi Los Viajeros show was really a nice touch for a Memorial Day weekend family crowd. Only the flaming fried ice cream ball could top this event and that, too, was consumed.
A Russian restaurant, Tverskaya helped me with a vareniki Jones I’ve suffered from for some time and served up a unique American/Russian fusion of Nutella schmeered crepes filled with fruit and berries. Interesting. To me, the Beef Stroganoff was more Middle Eastern like with a reddish pink tomato-e taste but it was good, even a few days in the refrigerator couldn’t soften it’s charm. It was the “Olivie” chicken salad that gave me a smile. It really was made the traditional way, if you could afford a chicken and then knew where to get it, by roasting and chunking the meat, softening the veggies, adding the right spices and just the right amount of mayonnaise. Yum on that!
And for me, no trip to Vegas is complete without some Japanese/Korean dining and I got that in at Yama. Went to a packed restaurant noted for its lunch crowd and found it in a small strip mall. I was treated to their version of seafood salad, which consisted of a variety of fish and crustaceans, diced into cubes with scallions in a sweet wine vinegar was delish. Their signature Son on the Beach roll provided just the right amount of cream sauce so as not to overwhelm the subtle flavors of the many sea critters ensconced in this roll. The deep-fried and crispy soft shell crab tempura added some heft in trying to quell my feeding frenzy for fried foods and I was able to not order dumplings.
A day-trip to Chloride, Arizona proved to be one of the highlights and I was lucky enough to encounter some colorful denizens and a gourmet chuck-wagon style dining establishment called Yesterday’s, run by a John, New Yorker in “Witness Protection” and a Crystal, the Jersey Girl with a penchant for local lore. They surprised us with a wonderful lunch and a elegant dessert of chocolate layer cake, flown in from Pa. I was fortunate to be able to eat it twice.
While in Chloride to view Ray Purcell’s murals, a chance meeting with Sharron Gittings, the Shady Lady Artist. Sharron searches the dessert and surrounding mountains for natural and man-made items that have been weathered by time out in the dessert and arranges them in whimsical sculptures designed to move with the wind or catch sunlight. She gave me a peek into her studio and surrounding workshops where she creates these artistic pieces of art. She also told me to order the Shady Lady Tater, which is made from Yesterday’s home made chili, smothered in melted cheddar with raw onions over a buttered and sour cream filled baked potato. Glad I had one artery left just for this.
The Cerbat Mountains surrounding Chloride played host to mining operations and most of the front yards are decorated with the skeletal remains of many of these old machines and other prospector memorabilia. The murals are about two-miles into an arroyo and Purcell supervised the restoration of them a few years ago.
That’s me standing next to one of the painted boulders just so you can get a feel for the size of these paintings.
I took a few shots of them and a few of the petroglyphs, arranged all over the place. I also photographed boulders that were arranged to create their own message in the mountains. It was only ninety or so degrees and after forty-five minutes meandering, I headed back to Vegas.
Harvey poses with John and Crystal who manage Yesterday’s in Chloride, Ariona.
As I wended my way through several casinos I got the sense of resolve from the staffs. A kind of serving “on a doomed ship” or “it’s just a matter of time before this place closes” feel of emptiness. Vegas has seen better days and with the economy squeezing the vig out of the disposable income crowd, the Vegas strip seemed a little less awesome. In fact, the best hour I spent on the strip was in the temple dedicated to the M&M Gods.
Yeah, I succumbed to the urge to sate my curiosity and as it turned out, a deeply suppressed hunger for everything M&M’s.
Your favorite flavors and colors are available along side new flavors and centers.
The M&M’s World experience is near the MGM right on the strip between the bronze painted robot installation and the moving sculpture with dog street artist. If you get into this four floors of everything M&M you will have an experience that brings out the child in you. Strategically placed life-sized M&M figures are always available for a quick snap.
The M&M Nascar exhibit on the fourth floor also beckons cameras. But it’s the wall of M&M, the colors, the new textures and flavors that really sucks the resistance out of dieters and children alike.
Check out the Swarovsky crystal jacket.
At only twelve bucks a pound, the cellophane bags on rolls under each flavor make it real easy to pull this lever. I spoke with one of the Sampler’s” and she said it was probably the best job in Vegas. She brought smiles to people’s faces every day, she boasted.
Sunday was the rain date for an already arranged backyard BBQ and classical guitar recital for Sal, also a transported New Yorker and son of one of the guests. I was forbidden from capturing any of this event in forms other than my feeble memory so all I can say is that everybody there had a good time with good food and no stress. Knockwurst, hot dogs, corn on the cob, salads and libations of all sorts were provided for the attendees. Made for a nice interlude to our planned training sessions.
A Sunday evening excursion to sample some Indian cuisine landed us at Gandhi’s. The food was exceptional but because of the holiday weekend they reduced their staff and only offered a buffet dining so I did not want to shoot any video, yet the aromas got me to sign on, and glad I was. They even made a really good onion kulcha for me, special, half of which I would enjoy again with some leftover Stroganoff the next night. Kinda up-scale version of S.O.S. Nobody got Sikh.
Chew on This 