Rolling the dice in Sin City

Eric:
A week after the Cafe Ena kickoff, Elizabeth and I headed to Vegas for her sister's birthday bash. We did a little research ahead of time and the conventional wisdom is that the two can't-miss spots in Vegas are actually off-strip - Lotus of Siam and Rosemary's. So we hit those, right? No - of course not - it was her sister's first time to Vegas so we ditched the conventional wisdom and rolled the dice with places unresearched...

Friday night: Burger Bar in Mandalay
The menu is pretty much build-a-burger / choose-your-adventure. Choose your beef. Choose your bun. Choose your toppings. We went for ...

Kobe / Sesame / Pesto & Portabella / Fat Fries
Black Angus / whole wheat / Pepper Jack Cheese & Carmelized Onions / Skinny Fries
Black Angus / whole wheat / Blue Cheese & Carmelized Onions / Sweet Potato Fries
Black Angus / whole wheat / cole slaw & cheddar / zuchinni fries

Lots of possible burger combinations, but doesn't sound too confusing, right? Especially if you happen to be a waitress that works there every night? Unfortunately everyone's burger had something missing (no pesto), was cooked not as requested (the Kobe came out well not medium rare), or was cold. The second Kobe (first was sent back) was dissapointing. The pesto was average (or maybe we are spoiled from our trip last year to Italy).

On the plus side, the fries were good. Skinny fries beat fat fries hands down, the sweet potato fries were pretty good, and the zuchinni fries were the table's favorite.

Enough complaining - just don't get too excited about Burger Bar.
Rating: 1 Tine

Saturday Night: Nove Italiano in the Palms Fantasy Tower

Admittedly we picked Nove b/c our concierge suggested it and it would get us past the long lines for the Playboy Club and Moon in the Fantasy Tower.

Nove was - above all - expensive. For about $10-20 less per entree it would have been worth it.

We had...
$16 lobster, ricotta, arugula pizza (good size lobster pieces - very tasty)
$16 crispy cannoli - 1 Tuna Tartare & 1 crab (basically a wonton crust around the good stuff - tasty tiny treats - we preferred the crab to the tuna)
$12 caesar salad
$24 tortellini
$48 lamb chops with saffron & raisin couscous (i don't usually order lamb, but I might have to start after this - the meat was moist and the couscous was delicious)
$36 halibut w a puttanesca-like sauce (average - Elizabeth has decided she prefers a softer finish unlike this with the pan-seared approach)

Again service was lackluster. The only bright spot was the waiters over-the-top explanation of how Fiji water really is the best freaking water on the planet and that's why they insist on serving only Fiji and charging $8 per bottle. You would think that a town based on hospitality industry would end up with better service - maybe the good staff is just spread thin with all the all-star chefs in town (plus clearly Nove is not the top of the pecking order).

One fun thing about Nove - very cool salt grinders - with a thumb trigger on top of a ball-point-pen size barrel. We planned all night on accidentally walking out with one but they cleared it before we remembered at the end of the meal.

Rating: 2 tines

Other than that we just ate whenever and wherever we happened to be when hunger hit. I have to put in a quick plug for "that Dam" restaurant in the Hooters casino, which has the biggest mountain of pork nachos that I've ever seen - probably representing the best food value in Vegas - $8 feeds a family of 4.

In summary - we got better service from the casino cocktail waitress while playing penny slots than at Nove, and and my favorite food in Vegas remains the $8 pork nachos!

Cafe Ena

Chris:
Hello world! Wow, I feel honored to have started the first post on Fourks! Eric and Elizabeth came to us with the great idea that we should pool our love for good food and start a blog that chronicles our eating adventures in the Twin Cities and beyond. So here we are, four different perspectives on great (and not so great) food!

It seems fitting that our initial outing was to a place that recently opened in our neck of the woods -- Cafe Ena in South Minneapolis. Cafe Ena describes its cuisine as "Latin Fusion" -- which is probably an accurate description given the dishes we tried.

We started with the Ceviche Duo with fried plantains. I'm no ceviche expert, but I really enjoyed this dish. The fish was freshly tossed with just the right amount of acid balance. I could see myself sitting on the outdoor terrace enjoying a summer evening, the ceviche, and a drink, as a prelude to a night out.

We also shared the Tamal appetizer -- chicken, mole, cotija cheese, banana leaf. I think Eric commented that anything wrapped in a banana leaf must be good. I agree that this is pretty much a universal truth. The tamale was also a fun way to begin, and offered a nice contrast to the ceviche; the chicken fell apart appropriately, the masa not too thick, and the cheese added some additional flavor. The mole was a little darker and smokier than I usually like it, though, which made me only like -- not love -- the dish. Banana leaf, you let me down!

For an entree, I was still in seafood mode after tasting the ceviche, so I went with the scallops with the house risotto. Honestly, the dish was only somewhat memorable for me. The risotto had good flavor, but seemed a little gooey. The scallops were fine, but again, not distinctive.

Overall I was hoping for a little more "pow" from Cafe Ena. More contrasts of flavors, more spice, more to differentiate the dining experience on the palate. The ceviche really stood out for me as an indicator that good things might be in store if I order a little differently next time, but the tamale and scallops left me wanting just a little more. I appreciate having a local venue covering the cuisine of Mexico and South America, but I think my entree leaned a little too far toward the "Fusion" side for me to really experience this.

Rating: 2.5 tines