The Divine Dish

Union restaurant, ARIA, City Center Las Vegas

Posted on Feb 27, 2010 under Archives, Las Vegas | No Comment

I recently met up with my friends and poker buddies Gina and Tom at the new Union restaurant in ARIA at City Center, Las Vegas.   They were there playing lots of poker, I was there to finish research on the travel guidebook for Las Vegas.

They have a long list of killer cocktails, which we enjoyed.   The 5,828 square foot avant garde dining room was designed by renowned architect Adam Tihany and features a bar, lounge and dining area.   Union serves up contemporary American cuisine with a strong emphasis on steaks.   We started off by sharing the King Crab Scampi, below.

We all ended up getting the filet mignon which was delicious.  It is served with a huge slab of melted butter on top. so if you don’t like all the fat ask them when you order to forego the cholesterol stick.

I also ordered the All Year Corn, which is fresh corn with shallots, lemon thyme and sweet butter.  It was delicious and our fave of the night.   Tom and Gina ordered the hash browns with come with carmelized onions, bacon and sour cream, also tasty.

For dessert, we indulged in the warm chocolate cake.  Luckily, we split this three ways as it was really rich.

Gina and Tom went back to the tables (and cleaned up) and I went back to Lake Las Vegas where I stayed a few days before heading off to Palazzo.  I highly recommend visiting Union  if you are in the mood for a great steak.  The ambiance is a bit loud, but the steaks, sides and drinks are worth the trip.  Union, 3730 Las Vegas Boulevard South, ARIA, 877/230-2742 for reservations.

Interview with NASCAR racer Taylor Barton

Posted on Feb 27, 2010 under Archives, Interviews, Other interesting people | No Comment

I recently sat down with NASCAR racer Taylor Barton to chat a bit about poker and race car driving.   For over nineteen years the Las Vegas native has been competitively racing in motorsports.   He started at age 5 and has competed in over 200 competitions, locally and nationally, and has always placed in the top ten.  He currently races in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and is planning to compete in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World West.   Barton also spends a lot of his time volunteering and raising money for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas.  One of his main sponsors is Full Tilt Poker.net.

 

Triple Chocolate Brownie recipe

Posted on Feb 17, 2010 under Archives, Recipes | No Comment

I needed a great dessert to finish off my Valentine’s Day dinner and what better ingredient than chocolate?  Also, my neighbor Todd kept asking me to make my triple chocolate brownies so I made a few extra for him.  This is a great dessert for any dinner and if you like your brownies more cake-like than goey, this is the recipe to follow.  Here it is, with pics.

Here is the list of ingredients:

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate broken into 10 pieces

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup sour cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped

Note:  I use the big bittersweet bar from Trader Joe’s.  It’s much cheaper than buying all those Lindt bars and tastes just as good.

You also need some heart cookie cutters, my collection is above.

Heat oven to 325.  Lightly butter and flour (or use Pam spray) a 9 x 9 x 2 inch square cake pan.  Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together onto a sheet of waxed paper.  Combine the chocolate and butter and put into a microsafe bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals until both melt together.  Be careful not to burn the chocolate/butter mixture.

Chop the remaining 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate.

In an electric mixer or KitchenAid, mix eggs, sugar and vanilla until thickened and add melted chocolate mixture.

Add the flour mixture of dry ingredients and add sour cream.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to combine thoroughly.   Use the spatula to fold in the chopped chocolate.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and spread evenly.   Bake until inserted toothpick comes out clean about 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool for at least 15 minutes.

Choose a heart cutter to cut out brownies.

I gave a few to my neighbor and the rest were devoured after the warm butternut squash salad and chicken piccata.

Dinner at Cuistot restaurant, Palm Springs

Posted on Feb 03, 2010 under Archives | No Comment

A few weeks ago my friend Paul and I dined at Cuistot in Palm Springs to do research on a new iphone app I am working on.  The restaurant has a beautiful rustic French farmhouse theme that runs through each of the dining areas and the bar.  There is a large dining room (photo above), a dining room that overlooks the open kitchen (cool if you want to watch the cooking action) and a romantic outside terrace.

We liked this little romantic booth.

The waiter brought us a nice salmon amuse.

Chef Bernard started us off with a lovely wild mushroom soup with chives.  We both loved this soup, especially the presentation.

The waiters brought out a cute copper pot and then poured out the soup.

We also had a yummy goat cheese and avocado salad.

Paul ordered the grilled filet of beef with aged red wine vinegar sauce and veggies, I had the seabass over bamboo rice  and Chinese lettuce salad.  Both were very good.

We were getting full and everything so far was delicious.

Next came a huge dessert, a big floating island with merangue, roasted almonds and vanilla creme anglaise.  Yum.

Cuistot is probably the most romantic place to dine in the desert.   The food is also superb, so if you want to impress a date or you are celebrating a special occasion, or just want some of that yummy mushroom soup, head to Cuistot at 79-599 El Paseo  in Palm Desert, 760/340-1000 for reservations.