No other way to say it, you’ve lost a friend- after almost 50 years this is it…the end, always thought I was man enough to break off a relationship in person, but this is the internet age and email will have to do. Thanks for the memories, our friendship has ended.
Lori and I have been going to Vegas together for more than 30 years, I have always found the hidden gems, State Street, an Italian Mob Style restaurant, Hugo’s downtown before it was chic, Ferraro’s for the best Oso Buco this side of Italy, and Michael’s before it was “Michael’s”, the top rated restaurant in Vegas in the dungy Barbary Coast - just to name a few. Wouldn’t want to brag, may seem like I was trying to compete with “The Dining Duo.”
This past weekend Lori and I went to Society at the Encore for breakfast, after devouring the sticky bun and with that special look in her eyes, she said “You are amazing, how do you find these places?” I said I’d love to take credit but Scottie and Michael deserve all the credit.
THAT WAS IT!! Her comment, “We will only eat where Scottie and Michael recommend, they are the best!!!” I used to be “HER MAN” – no longer, you have stolen her stomach. My ego has been crushed, you have stolen her heart, and I hope you’re happy.
Your washed-up - ex-friend-
J.K.
PS The sticky buns were even better the second day -OF COURSE WE WENT BACK, THE PLACE WAS GREAT, AND SCOTTIE RECOMMENDED IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday
Waking up to this amazing view, we worked up quite a hunger for brunch, and although there are so many choices, the one you simply cannot miss is Society. Elizabeth Blou conceptualized an Oscar Wilde feel for the room, and it proved to be a perfect place to snuggle into and stuff our faces. The décor is opulent, done up in greens and vibrant pinks, framed by lush green and white striped curtains that surround a room of coffered walls and rich paneled walls. The Asian theme is carried over here too with the accents of lime green chandeliers and two giant kensha palms in Asian pots. The black crocodile chairs and tables make the room come alive.
Be prepared to gorge on everything breakfast (there’s more, but this place is “it” for breakfast items). The sticky bun is the best, sweet, most fabulous sinful experience you can have this side of a downtown girlie bar. Piping warm, you can feel the cholesterol coating your pipes. Don’t miss it. The waffle was made with pumpkin and pecans and slathered in butter ($15), and was a sweet tooth’s fantasy. The French toast was surrounded with cornflakes, proving a nice texture and flavor. It was decadent and rich, but certainly hits the spot, especially with the serving of caramelized bananas and chocolate cream ($14). The Eggs Benedict were superb, primarily because of the homemade muffins. The eggs were perfectly cooked, soft on the inside, firm on the outside; and the Hollandaise was gooey and fresh ($15). Do not leave without trying Society’s signature dish, the ultimate Steak and egg sliders. The beef tenderloin, scrambled eggs and creamed spinach were all on a bacon-cheddar muffin ($16) and you simply cannot believe that something could taste so good. Wash it down with a great Caesar Bloody Mary (spiced like a Caesar salad), and you’re ready to hit the spa. By the way, Patrick is the manager and if you mention the Dining Duo, he’ll get you past the ubiquitous line to enjoy all of the above.
Shortbread crust:
1 cup butter (2 cubes)
½ cup sifted powdered sugar
2 cups flour
Lemon Custard Topping:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp lemon peel (fresh)
6 tbsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 350.
While oven is preheating place butter in a 9” x 13” pan and place pan in oven just long enough that the butter melts but doesn’t turn brown. Once butter has melted mix in remaining crust ingredients and press evenly into bottom of pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned and soft.
While crust bakes, combine all topping ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
When crust is done, remove pan from oven and, working quickly, prick crust all over with a fork. Pour topping on while crust is still hot. Return pan to oven and bake another 15 – 20 minutes or until center is set and no longer liquid. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar, if desired. Cut when cool.
Do you have a recipe to share with our loyal readers? Send it to FabDiningDuo@aol.com and if we think it's worth staying home for, we'll post it!
Porto's Bakery.
It's awful (good)!! If you are looking to commit suicide by chocolate mousse, try their Triple (Dining Duo note: who wouldn’t love anything “Triple”) Chocolate Mousse cake. That's what my son wanted for his birthday. He's been working down the street from Porto's in Glendale, and goes in their regularly for lunch. They also have a place in Bubank. They are a Cuban bakery. The cake that I got for my other son’s birthday was the Meringue Fruit Tort. It is not only festive looking and great for outdoor/tropical type parties, but it is light yet rich! -- FH, Simi Valley
Well FH, The Dining Duo is going to Dash out there for some of those sweets. Thanks for the delicious tip!
Glendale Location: 315 North Brand Blvd.Glendale, CA 91203 tel. (818) 956-5996fax (818) 956-0696Map it
Burbank Location: 3614 W Magnolia Blvd.Burbank, CA 91505(818) 846-9100 Map it
Kakawa Chocolate House 847 Ninita StreetSanta Fe, NM 87505 (505)982-0388 The shop is in an old Spanish adobe building with Saltillo tiled floors and modern glass display cases. It has murals of Aztec designs and a European ambiance with vases of fresh flowers and meticulously hand prepared chocolates; some in forms of flowers and butterflies, some like truffles. All the chocolates are made from ancient European and Mesoamerican recipes. If you like dark chocolate with a lot less sugar than conventional chocolates, and exotic flavors like almond rose, cinnamon chili and many other unique and unusual combinations--along with a taste of history, this place is it! I really enjoyed their chocolate elixirs that look like truffles and melt into a cup of hot chocolate when you pour hot water over them. Great for chocolate addicts, but will leave the sugar addicts wanting more. www.kakawachocolates.com
--DONNA KAROL, SANTE FE, NEW MEXICO
Do you live somewhere else on the planet other than L.A. (is there such a place?) and want to share your favorite special hideaway? Send it to FabDiningDuo@aol.com
LIFE IS SHORT, EAT CHOCOLATE...And, according to scientists out of Japan, eating chocolate can fight cavities and save your teeth! Arman Sadeghpour at Tulane University has discovered that a white crystalline extract of cocoa works even better than fluoride in order to protect your teeth. When analyzing cocoa, he found that the powder (which is chemically similar to caffeine) actually hardened the too enamel, while also reducing harmful bacterial growth in the mouth. Researchers at Osaka University in Japan have independently confirmed that the husks of cocoa beans put the breaks on tooth-decaying bacteria. No big surprise that Hershey’s has invited Sadeghpour to share his lab results with its own researchers. But why wait for the research, nibble on a piece of chocolate and smile! Now that's Hot!
Dear Dinning Duo:We had an unfortunate experience recently at one of our favorite restaurants, Il Sole, on Sunset. The waitress enticed our party of 8 (some friends from out of town who wanted good food, and the possibility of celebrity gazing) with her description of the Roasted Sea Bass, a special for the evening. It sounded so good, many of us (5 in all) ordered it instead of the Seared Ahi Tuna, which also sounded delicious, and was priced at about $24.00. Imagine our shock when the bill arrived, and the Sea Bass was a whopping $50.00 per person! Since then I ask the price of the day's specials. I can understand charging a bit more for something out-of-the-ordinary, but double is robbery. And they could have shared this information with us prior to ordering. We had dined with this group two nights before at Patina, and the bill was nearly half. --M.S.
Dear M.S. The Dining Duo agrees wholeheartedly. Tsk Tsk to a restuarant that swindles it's customers; that's absolutely not hot! Il Sole (despite the faux pas, their tomato soup with pieces of bread floating in it is fabulous) owes you and your guests an apology.
UCLA Medical Group recently announced that undercooked ground meat and unwashed raw fruits and veggies are the usual suspects in E.coli bacterial infections. That said, people easily spread the bacteria from person to person and can be infectious for up to two weeks after symptoms are gone. We say, "That’s definitely not hot"!
The answer? Don’t eat undercooked meat and unwashed raw fruits and veggies, and keep your hands clean and make sure you dine out where the employees do so as well.
Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announced to the press on March 22, 2007 that he will put in place a "humane farm-animal treatment program for each of his restaurants (including the star of his worldwide empire, "Spago" of Beverly Hills). He detailed nine points of action, the main one being his intent to "eliminate foie gras from menus". The Dining Duo adores foie gras, BUT after being educated about where it comes from--ducks being force-fed until they die just to produce a plumper and more tender liver--we say "No" to the stuff as well. In 2006, chef Charlie Trotter of Chicago and Cabo fame started the trend by taking foie gras off his menus. Trotter said recently, "Once again the chefs and restaurateurs have to take the lead on what is the right thing to do, and it's not always popular..." The Dining Duo says, "That's Hot"!
Have you noticed that half of your restaurant bill is attributed to “designer waters”? I bet you didn’t know that Americans consumed 8.3 billion gallons of bottled water in 2006, which was an increase of 10% from 2005. Most of us (including The Dining Duo) are under the misguided belief that bottled water is somehow healthier than tap water, an idea that has been perpetuated by the studies of the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (which is a Denver-bases organization that studies the public water systems).
However, many experts are claiming the theory that bottled water is somehow better than tap water is a misconception. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has said, “All drinking water has to meet the same standard.”
As a result, there has been a movement (albeit fairly small) among some of the top restaurants to provide a variety of filtered waters instead of bottled waters. One of the largest promoters is Alice Waters of the famous Chez Panisse, located in Berkeley, California. Last Summer, she stopped selling bottles of Fuji flat water and instead poured customers fresh glasses of filtered municipal water. Her philosophy is that she wanted the restaurant to go green, and avoid the massive amount of waste attributed to all those plastic and glass bottles. Following suit in Los Angeles are Grace and BLD, who provide flat water filtered through a reverse osmosis system.
Although The Dining Duo has tasted and smelled chlorine in some of the filtered waters around town, we do believe that it’s an incredible pimp to be paying such enormous amounts of money for water that may not even be healthier for you. When you stop to think about it, we’re paying more per gallon for bottled water than we do for gasoline. That’s definitely not hot!
Chef Kristi Ritchey shares her Lemonie creation with The Dining Duo:
Sugar ½ C
Flour, a.p. 2 ½ oz.
Buttermilk 2 C
Lemon juice ½ C
Meyer or regular lemons, zest of 4 ea.
Eggs, separated 6 ea.
1. In one bowl combine sugar, flour and lemon zest. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks a bit and then combine with buttermilk and lemon juice.
2. Whip whites in kitchen aid until soft peaks.
3. Add sugar mixture to yolk mixture. Fold in whites.
4. Prepare aluminum cups with vegalene and sugar coating. Bake at 325°F in a water bath covered with foil for 15 minutes, remove foil and bake until set, slightly puffed and a little bit cracked.
Monday
Nothing is more authentic and deliciously Italian than this gemstone. It’s perhaps the best Italian cuisine we’ve tasted in Southern California. The charming owners, Vince and Connie Cultraro, are Sicilian, home of the best Italian cooking. While Connie greets you like an old friend, Vince delivers beyond-excellent dishes to you like you’re family. The restaurant itself resembles an old Tuscan home complete with stone walls, wood beams and fabulous Mascalzone granites throughout. The gardens are not only a delightful place to feast amongst the myriad roses, but you also taste many of the veggies and herbs that are growing around you. The service is immaculate and without flaw, especially if you ask for Raymond, who delivers good looks and big smiles to your table at the same level of excellence as world class venues. Everything on the menu is a winner, but don’t miss their unique spin on Calamari Fritti, ($15), served on a bed of julienne cucumbers with a tomatillo reduction--the best we’ve ever savored. The pastas are extraordinary, our favorite being the Pappardelle Al Bosco ($29), with a light cheese and cream sauce and it delivers rich, unparalleled flavor. Ask the knowledgeable sommelier to pair one of the myriad fine wines they have to offer by the glass or bottle with your repast. 
Tuesday
Faster than a trip to Palm Springs, a short plane ride drops you off in the center of a theme park for adults, namely Las Vegas. We spent our 20th anniversary together at the Wynn Las Vegas and never left the hotel. There’s no reason to do so, and here’s why:
ALEX
888-352-DINE
The mother of all restaurants, this one is not to be missed for any reason. Take a mortgage on your home, sell the kids, take an add in the back of Frontiers for your lover, but get there any way you can. One enters the voluptuous room from an elevated landing so that the view is down and into one of the most elegantly appointed rooms we’ve ever seen. From the Moreno glass chandeliers dripping from the ceiling to the diamond-shaped wood paneling and matching cut crystal glass doors, your first impression makes you forget to breathe. As you waltz down the grand staircase like Vivien Lee in Gone with the Wind, you get to see and be seen by the who’s who of Vegas who clamor for a much needed reservation. The elegance of the environment is only outdone by the meal.
We enjoyed the tasting menu, which was beyond sublime, created by the magical talents of Alessandro Stratta. In our lives, we have never spent so much money for food at $375 per person (exclusive of tax and tip), but we report here and now that it was worth every penny. Complimented by superlative service from Fabrice Bais (who we remembered very fondly from his days at L’Orangerie), who coordinated every course with perfectly presented and timed delivery, we sampled such delectable items as Sauted Foie Gras with Cider Honey and Plum, Maine Lobster with black truffles, a combined favorite of Michael’s but not Scott’s, and Medallion of Venison which has never been prepared better.
The magic of the tasting menu, however, is the extraordinary experience of pairing magnificent and hard to come-by wines with each course. The Master Sommelier, Paolo Barbieri, one of less than 80 in this country and 125 worldwide (although of note, 12 are located in Las Vegas) has acquired wines from around the world that are so small they can pick and choose to whom they will deliver. Normally these wines are out of reach in price, but the chef’s menu allows the possibility of sampling a glass of each, such as a Muscato from Greece, which can only be compared to one of our favorite, orgasmic like wines, Chateau d’yquem. If you ask, Paolo, will show you his private reserve in the heavily guarded wine cellar where we were fortunate enough to hold a $32,000 bottle of wine from the 1800’s.
After all this wine and food, stumble upstairs to a magnificent room overlooking the strip and get a good night’s sleep because the next night will be another food fest at Wing Lei.
Wing Lei
Phone number
Don’t expect fortune cookies at this Chinese restaurant. The exterior is framed in cut stone topped with giant symmetrical golden pots, and the interior space holding 152 seats glimmers with walls of abalone pieces, volumes of rich maroon and gold colored fabrics, and gorgeous red velvet chairs fit for royalty. The dining rooms view out towards four 100 year-old pomegranate trees imported from China, all of which are bent with age and lit like a masters painting. A rare, handcrafted black onyx bar fills one corner, while small sculptures on tiny shelves accent the design, setting the tone for a serious meal.
We ordered off the menu, requesting that we be served “authentic” Chinese food, and our request was honored with perfection. The level of service and respect also mirrored the majesty of the various dining rooms. Starting with a host of appetizers created by the chef, Richard Chen incorporates a western flair into traditional Chinese cooking. We quickly worked our way into the Shark fin soup, a true delicacy commanding an enthusiastic price of $125, which is available only by special request, and the last time we tasted this dish with such quality was in Hong Kong. Signature dishes include Peking duck, which can be tasted in several different forms, all beyond compare and Szechwan chili prawns with garlic-spiked spinach. For those of you that are courageous, ask your waiter to prepare a sampling of delicacies, which are usually only available in the far east.
Unlike most places in Vegas, people dress up for this venue, as well as for Alex. Both restaurants command that respect and its fun to break out the nice wardrobe. Once again, be prepared because dinner will run $200 at the low end, and our check was north of $900.
From: Wynn, Elaine
Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 3:36 PM
To: ses@scottschwimer.com
Subject: Your review
Dear Scott and Michael,
What a fabulous piece you did on our restaurants. As I read through it I kept saying. "They got it, they got it!"
All of the details you observed were meticulously created to evoke your kind of response. It is so gratifying to have it played back to us.
I shared your article with our designers and the Food and Beverage Department.
You are obviously gentlemen of discriminating taste!!!
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Elaine Wynn
TABLEAU
Phone number
Chef Mark LoRusso’s attractive French country restaurant, pool side, indoors and out, is the place to sober up on Sunday afternoon with a perfect Bloody Mary or a glass of champagne. Light and airy, it overlooks one of the private pools and feels like its miles away from the madding crowd. Scott found the pineapple French toast was delicious, and the bacon was the right degree of thick and crunchy. Michael really enjoyed the Poached Eggs and Duck hash. We were told that the Virginia Ham Fritatta with melted onions is also a winner, but were too stuffed to try it out. Our server, Carol, had overheard that it was our 20th anniversary and bought us a round of drinks, then presenting us with a special anniversary chocolate dessert with our names inscribed. The atmosphere is casual chic and a glorious way to end our stay creating a Win-Wynn weekend.
CHOCOLAT
No doubt you will have just enough room left to run by this little chocolaterrie for a sugar rush before leaving for the airport. A host of different selections, they all are displayed beautifully and beckon to be eaten. You won’t go wrong with any of them, and they make the unfortunate plane ride home all that much more worthwhile.
All in all, you never have to leave this glorious hotel in order to experience a Wynn-win situation!
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