S&W

I don't know which is sadder...Knoxville's S&W Grand restaurant closing for the foreseeable future or realizing the ignorance of the people of this town, as evidenced by 99% of the comments on the KnoxNews website regarding the closure.

I could probably write for a couple of hours about those comments and why I supported the S&W, but I am smart enough to know those comments and the people who wrote them aren't worth my time, at least any more than this...

I am saddened to see the S&W go for now. I hope to see it again soon or another restaurant by the same team.

Vegas Day 3

Never finished my Vegas Nov '10 posts, so I figured I should wrap it up.

Our last day in Vegas found us eating lunch at Pho Kim Long, a Vietnamese restaurant, once again, in Vegas' Chinatown off Spring Mountain Rd. (I failed to mention previously other Chinatown restaurants we passed, such as Hot 'N' Juicy Crawfish, Mr. Tofu, and Tofu Hut, which are probably fine establishments, but have hilarious names. ) I'd read good things on Yelp about Pho Kim Long; we were not disappointed. The outside of the restaurant looked like every other Asian restaurant in Chinatown, but once inside, you forgot you were in a strip mall and quickly realized you weren't getting generic Asian food. I had the Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio, or Charbroiled Pork & Egg Roll with Rice Vermicelli. This is essentially a cold dish, almost like a noodle salad, with charbroiled pork, sliced egg roll, carrot, cucumber, fish sauce (?), and more. It's such a lovely, refreshing dish. I wish I could have this every week. Brandy went for the pho, which she claims was the best she's ever had.

Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (Charbroiled Pork & Egg Roll with Rice Vermicelli)

Pho Tai Chin (Rare Steak & Brisket Noodle Soup)

Pho Toppings

Dau Dau Xao Thit Heo Bam (Stir Fried String Bean with Minced Pork)

Following Pho Kim Long, we visited the newly opened Aria hotel and casino. The design is fantastic. If I was looking to spend more money on a hotel in Vegas, this would be the place. The actually have real, interesting artwork in the lobby and throughout the bars and casino.

Next we visited the fall-themed Bellagio Botanical Gardens, which was actually quite fun. It had a really cool garden character. Check him out:

We continued to bounce from casino to casino, which eventually landed us in The Shoppes at The Palazzo. It was mostly the same as every other in Vegas, but we stumbled upon a pleasant surprise...Double Helix Wine Boutique. A bottle of Caduceus wine caught my eye. No wine store I've ever visited carried Maynard James Keenan's wine. We immediately popped in and found wine from Ken Wright, Ramon Bilbao, Orin Swift, and many other awesome producers. We then realized that Double Helix had a wine bar outside the store in the middle of the shops. We quickly went there to ultimately enjoy many wines. I sampled either by 1/2 glass or full glass the 2008 Purple Hands Red Blend, 2004 Ramon Bilbao Tempranillo Reserva, and 2008 Ken Wright Abbot Claim Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

After all that wine, we needed some food. We'd danced around the idea of eating at B&B Ristorante at the Venetian on previous trips. The menu looked amazing. We figured we hit the bar to share a couple of small courses before going to the last night of A Perfect Circle. I had no idea we'd be in for such an amazing experience.

First, the bartender was excellent. He gave us great recommendations on both wine and food. He let us try the wines before we ordered, which was much appreciated. Throughout the meal, I had the 2007 Vietti Nebbiolo Perbacco, 2008 Bastianich Vespa Bianco, and a 2007 Rubbjano Lacrima di Morro d'Alba. The Bastianich Vespa Bianco was one of the best wines I've ever had. Plain and simple.

The food was perhaps more amazing. We started with Grilled Octopus with 'Borlotti Marinati' and Spicy Limoncello Vinaigrette. The was unquestionably the most tender piece of octopus I'd ever had. We followed that with Warm Lamb's Tongue with Chanterelles and 3-Minute Egg. Our server noted that the tongue actually looks the mushrooms; I didn't believe him. I'd seen and eaten tongue before. I was wrong; I dug into a piece of what I thought was mushroom and was quickly shocked to taste meat. It was a fun, mess-with-your-expectations dish. Really flavorful, too. We ended with the Goat Cheese Tortelloni with Dried Orange and Wild Fennel Pollen. I'm not sure if this or the octopus was my favorite. It was probably the most memorable (in a good way) pasta dish I've ever had. And it paired beautifully with the Vespa Bianco.

B&B is simply fantastic. I'd read several reviews on Yelp that blasted the restaurant for the prices. Brandy and I split 3 (filling) dishes and had 3 glasses of wine (which are actually mini decanters of 1.5 glass pours at B&B) for $128 including tax. I thought it was a great deal for such amazing food and drink. And I can't say enough about the service. Great recommendations and extra pours / samples of wine. I look forward to the next time...