Cheer Up With Food

Earlier this year we went to Oregon for a little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas .  We were out and about in Beaverton , Portland , and Corvallis .  I, of course had to see which restaurants in these areas were good to eat at : Aomatsu In Corvallis we ate sushi at  Aomatsu  and came in just in time for Happy Hour (8:30-10pm, Mon-Thurs).  Our favorite sushi roll from the Happy Hour menu was the Crunch Monster Roll,  which comes with shrimp tempura, avocado, crab, cucumber w/ spicy dressing covered in crunchy dressing (panko): Since my husband and brother-in-law have big appetites, the Happy Hour items weren't enough so we got the  Love Boat from the regular menu.  This entree came with shrimp and vegetable tempura, seaweed salad, Rainbow Roll, Tuna, Salmon, and Yellowtail Nigiri and Sashimi, and an eel roll: What I liked about Aomatsu other than the sushi was that they other offered Asian foods like Kore...

After driving pass by  Herbs & Rye  for many years I finally went in to see what all the hype was about this place.  They serve classic cocktails that were popular during the Prohibition Era and before that time like the Gothic Age (unknown-1865) and Golden Age (1865-1900): Here's an example of of some of the drinks: I loved all the drinks they made, wasn't disappointed with any of them: Herbs & Rye also serves Italian food like  flatbreads , pasta, and  they're known for the steaks they cook, I'll try some next time!  I only had the appetite to drink: I really enjoyed my time here especially the atmosphere of a " speakeasy feel".  They get busy during the weekends so if you plan to dine in, make a reservation !

I gotta say, eating at  Parma by Chef Marc was truly one of the best pastas I've had.  Just to describe their food in a few words: handmade and perfectly al dente .  There's not much else for me to say other than just eat at Parma and you'll know what I mean... You can just tell by my photos!

Winter in Venice 2012 To all my food and wine enthusiasts out there, if you're planning on visiting The Las Vegas Strip in a couple months, there's definitely an event you must check out!  On December 5 to 8, 2013, The Venetian and The Palazzo will feature a four-day event, La Cucina Italiana Food & Wine Festival .  This event will be a part of Winter in Venice , a holiday festival.  La Cucina will feature Chef Mario Batali , Buddy Valastro , Dario Cecchini , Wolfgang Puck , Roberto Caporuscio , and Anthony Giglio . These four days will be packed of culinary events such as dining with Wolfgang Puck, how to make Italian treats, wine pairings with Carmelo Messina and Anthony Giglio, and a truffle hunt: Click to enlarge For more information on this event or suite packages , please visit http://www.venetian.com/winterinvenice  or call 866.641.7469 or 702.414.9000.

I just watched on  VICE  their awesome new food show called Truckers in the Wild , about the culture of food trucks (a scene I'm still fairly new to).  In the series, the two chef hosts, Max and Eli Sussman, travel around the country to visit some of the best food trucks in the US - one of which includes Haulin' Balls in Las Vegas. *Please check out the mini episode here: http://www.vice.com/truckers-in-the-wild/las-vegas-truckers-in-the-wild .  Enjoy!

Earlier in August I went to Sedona, AZ for a relaxing getaway with my love.  Before going there, I wondered how the food would be because I've never heard much about the food in Arizona.  I only assumed their Mexican food was awesome since they're closer to the border than Nevada.  We perused through restaurant reviews online and asked some locals where they liked to eat.  We went to restaurants/cafes based on those suggestions, and out of all the places we ate at, there were three places I really enjoyed: 1)  Cucina Rustica  is a lovely Italian restaurant thats great for a romantic date.  The decorations and atmosphere really did give off a rustic feel. For dinner, I decided to get one of the today's special dishes.  It was the seafood special with mainly clams and shellfish, pasta, and this incredible sauce!  The sauce tasted like it had white wine and a lot of garlic: Seafood Special 2) Elote Cafe   took me by s...

Trattoria Nakamura-Ya was the first Japanese Italian fusion place I went to (finally!).  Other than the photos of the menus you see here, there was also a board listing the entrees.  Its a small restaurant so I had a nice intimate dinner with my ladies.  I was glad it wasn't a loud place so we didn't have to talk over other people's chattering or music! There were many unique items on the menu, which made it a bit hard to choose something!  In my opinion the entrée that stood out the most was the  Uni & Tomato Cream Pasta,  just because I've never seen uni come with a meal before!  Even though that dish was tempting I got a gnochii pasta dish with tuna instead.  I missed gnochii so I had to get it!   While we waited for our foods we were served buns.  If you can imagine Olive Garden 's bread (except it not being buttery) having a baby with an Asian steamed bun, thats what Nakamura-Ya's buns tasted like! Unique me...

After an intense week of schooling, I've been going to  Settebello  for Happy Hour.  I feel like I deserve to eat a delizioso pizza, appetizer, and dessert for all the studying I've been doing! For now, this will be the closest for me to eating an Italian pizza - A Margherita Pizza  with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parmigiano reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, and mushroom (our choice of topping).  Eating this pizza cannot be compared to a chain pizza place, never! Appetizers off the happy hour menu are currently $5.  I don't remember what this dish was but I know it mainly was prosciutto  drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.  I rarely eat this kind of meat so I was excited to see this on the menu! Birra Castello This is their housemade vanilla bean sweet cream, Panna Cotta , topped with a strawberry and a drizzle of balsamic.  I was curious of how the balsamic would blend with this dessert.  It wen...