Due to the success of Craft’s recent blind wine dinner, wine director Greg Majors is hosting another blind wine tasting dinner today/Jan 27 at 7:30pm.

Greg will lead guests through a blind tasting of eight wines paired with a four-course dinner (menu below). He will also highlight a variety of tasting techniques, and the highest scorer takes home a prize. Follow Greg on Twitter at @GregDMajors for clues leading up to the dinner.

The blind tasting will take place in the private dining room and costs $110/person (not including tax & gratuity). For reservations or more information, email Kate Gardiner, kgardiner@craftrestaurant.com.

Craft private dining room, 47 East 19th Street, 212.780.0880

Craft’s Blind Wine Tasting Menu

Fluke
Satsuma and Pickled Hon Shimeji Mushrooms

White Bean Agnolotti
Rosemary and Espelette

Braised Short Ribs
Roasted Root Vegetables

Warm Chocolate Cake

An Ode to the Super Bowl Viewing Party with a Gourmet Twist

Due Forni Pizza & Wine celebrates its first annual Foodie Bowl on Sunday, February 5 in conjunction with local food blogger Dominic Scali, aka The Vegas Foodie. Foodie Bowl I is a Super Bowl viewing party for people who love food as much as they love football and will feature games and giveaways including bottles of wine, football gear, and food gift certificates.

Guests can kick-off their savory Super Bowl experience with game day gourmet grub items including the Turkey Meatball Sliders, House Made Sausage and Pepper Paninis, Oven Roasted Lamb Lollipops with Fig Vincotto, Prosciutto Cotto and Cheese Calzones, Chicken Piadinas “Italian Quesadillas” and Butternut Squash Raviolis with Pancetta and Walnuts. The full Due Forni menu will also be available. Beverage specials include wine for $5 a glass and all you can drink Peroni for $20. 

Foodie Bowl I takes the gridiron gourmet; the event offers a comfortable setting to enjoy the game while fueling fans’ excitement with scrumptious game day sustenance at an affordable price. Walk-ins welcome, but guarantee a spot by calling 702.586.6500 as space is expected to fill up quickly. Due Forni opens at 11 am on Super Bowl Sunday and full festivities begin at 2:30 pm.

 
Due Forni
3555 S. Town Center Drive, Suite 105
Las Vegas, NV 89135

Chef Tim Bando will serve up some new menu items for those dining at the bar at Tremont including, baked goat cheese with spicy tomato sauce and piment d’espelette, white anchovies with celery, lemon and parsley and the Tremont burger with foie gras onions and aged cheddar.  The menu will be available all night, Sunday through Wednesday 5:30p - 11pm and Thursday through Saturday 5:30p - midnight.

BAR MENU
Shishito Peppers
lime, sea salt, cilantro
10

Baked Goat Cheese
spicy tomato sauce, piment d’espelette
10

White Anchovies
celery, lemon, parsley
10

Chilled Shrimp
lemon, currants, pine nuts
12

Lamb Meatballs
tzatziki & cucumber salad
12

Tremont Burger
foie gras onions, aged cheddar
16

Artisanal Cheese Plate
honey, jam, housemade crackers
12

Red or White Wine by the Glass
bartender’s choice
7

Beer
bartender’s choice
5

Tremont
51 Bank Street
New York, NY 10014
212.488.1019

Edge, Steak & Bar Launches Innovative Sunday Brunch at Four Seasons Hotel Miami

Photo Credit: Andres Aravena

Edge, Steak & Bar - the chic, approachable and hot new restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Miami - brings back the property’s acclaimed brunch, this time with a twist. The culinary team at the hotel has gone to great lengths to surpass expectations and deliver a memorable and innovative Sunday brunch.  Enter: Edge, Steak & Bar’s Best of Miami Sunday Brunch.

Embracing Miami’s wildly-popular food trucks movement, the new brunch will offer a twist on this trend with creatively designed food stations. Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., diners can enjoy a savory buffet with all the classic trappings, as well as interact with chefs serving delicious fare via simulated food truck-style stations. The Viva La Mexico taco “truck” station will dish up braised short rib and chilaquiles served with chicken and green tomatillo and queso sauce.  A Cuban food “truck” station will offer crispy roast suckling pig served on Cuban bread with mojo onions, house pickles and lemon aioli. 

A meat carving station will showcase Edge’s signature tomahawk chop served with house-made Edge rub and three sauces; a Peruvian Seafood station will feature corvina ceviche with sweet potato and aji Amarillo cream; ahi tuna tartare with watermelon, shallots and flat leaf parsley, and wahoo tiradito with heirloom tomatoes and saffron vinaigrette to name a few.  The brunch centerpiece is a seafood tower with an abundance of fresh spiny crabs, oysters and shrimp. 

The buffet will include light offerings such as assorted chilled melons, mojito tropical fruit salad and passion fruit mango smoothie shots.  There will be an array of small plates, soups and salads and antipasti will feature three bruschettas; balsamic mushroom and cipollini onions; smoked chicken and celery remoulade, and bacaloa with smoked trout, fennel, white beans and olive salad.  Hot dishes will include seafood paella, BBQ spiced chicken with chimichurri, and guava braised short ribs with fried onions.

And what brunch is complete without amazing sweets?  Desserts will range from a signature ice cream station, churned to order with an array of toppings, and a cotton candy station with an assortment of flavors.  Additional sweet treats: freshly made churros; alfajores, guava tart and Key lime panna cotta.

Brunch activities will include a kids’ station with Wii and Xbox, and a small food display with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheddar sticks, mini chocolate brownies and more.  A kids a la carte menu is also available, which includes mac and cheese, chicken fingers, fresh fish with vegetables and mashed potatoes, and pasta Bolognese. And, for grown-ups who need a little hair of the dog, a Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary bar.

The brunch buffet and stations will be located between Edge and the adjacent 1435 Bar playfully known as the Outer Edge.  Priced at $75 per adult, $32 per child (ages 5 to 12).

Edge, Steak & Bar is located at 1435 Brickell Avenue on the 7^th floor of Four Seasons Hotel Miami.  Reservations suggested.  Telephone: (305) 381-3015.

The Venetian® and The Palazzo® will celebrate Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon with festive attractions and décor throughout the award-winning properties beginning Monday, Jan. 23. These complimentary offerings are a remarkable way for guests to take part in an over-the-top Chinese New Year experience in Las Vegas.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DRAGON DANCE:         

The Venetian and The Palazzo kickoff the Year of the Dragon with a ceremonial dragon dance complete with firecrackers and eye painting ceremony.  The colorful spectacle will feature a parade of dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate costumes playing authentic music.  The premier Chinese New Year attraction is a spectacular 128-foot hand-crafted, fire-breathing dragon, suspended above in the 65-foot-high space of The Waterfall & Atrium Gardens of The Palazzo.  Spanning the entire atrium, the one-of-a-kind, 8,000-pound dragon will be perched amidst the ground fountain and breathe fire.

The kick-off event takes place on Monday, Jan. 23 at 1pm.   The Dragon Dance will begin at The Venetian porte cochere, making its way through the casino to The Waterfall & Atrium Gardens of The Palazzo, where the unveiling of the fire-breathing dragon will take place.  The dance will continue through The Palazzo.         

The Grand Canal Shoppes and The Shoppes at The Palazzo will feature additional Dragon and Fan Dances, along with a chance to receive complimentary center gift cards, decadent chocolates and more.

The Dragon Dance will start in the great hall of The Grand Canal Shoppes and will conclude near Table 10 at The Shoppes at The Palazzo, on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m.

The Fan Dance will take place near the canal turnaround where The Shoppes at The Palazzo and The Grand Canal Shoppes meet, on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m.

CHINESE NEW YEAR DÉCOR: Guests are invited to come feel the thrill and beauty of Las Vegas’ premier Chinese New Year attraction: a 128-foot hand-crafted, 8,000-pound, fire breathing dragon suspended above in the 65-foot-high space of The Waterfall & Atrium Gardens of The Palazzo.   In addition to the dragon, the resorts are featuring breathtaking feng shui-inspired décor, including fresh bamboo, citrus trees and 15-foot floral arrangements of tangerines, bromeliads and orchids. Nine traditional I-Ching coins, representing an abundance of wealth, will surround the dragon and Lalique statues of The Palazzo.  Six-foot-tall, hand-loomed brocade silk and jade gold and red lanterns will be suspended from the atrium ceilings signifying the lives of those around to always be bright. 

The dragon will breathe fire daily at 1 and 5 p.m. Jan. 23-Feb. 5

Chinese New Year décor will run Jan. 23-Feb. 28

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd., South
The Palazzo Las Vegas, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd., South

New luxury brunch offers an array of dishes to soak up and nourish weekend fun

Valentino Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino is happy to announce the launch of an exquisite Sunday brunch experience.  Sunday Brunch, featured weekly from 10:30am to 3pm inside The Grill at Valentino, features an array of traditional and contemporary Italian-inspired culinary delights and refreshing drink specials, courtesy of James Beard Award-winning Chef Luciano Pellegrini.  The Chef, regarded for his award-winning lunch and dinner cuisine, is excited to get into the Las Vegas brunch game.

“We’ve had a lot of guest communication asking us about opening a little earlier on Sunday mornings so we decided to start the New Year off by introducing our take on brunch, featuring some classic dishes with my own personal twist,” says Chef Pellegrini. “With a growing number of convention and hotel guests the past several months, this service will be perfect for hotel guests as well as friends and families looking to enjoy a great meal in a casual but refined atmosphere.”

The menu reflects takes on traditional brunch items, as mentioned above, with Pellegrini’s unique twists.  A few of the signature items include Wild Boar Sausage Scramble (Wild Boar Sausage, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers & Onions), House-Smoked Salmon Omelet (House Smoked Salmon & Dill Sour Cream), Veal & Eggs (5oz Veal Scaloppine Cooked in Butter and Garlic with two eggs any style, served with Rustic Potato Napoleon) and Eggs Benedette (Poached Eggs on Toasted English Muffins with Principe Ham, Hollandaise Sauce, Served with Rustic Napoleon). In addition to these a la carte items, the menu also features a four-course selection priced at $39 per person (excluding tax and gratuity).  Guests can also indulge in Bottomless Bubbles ($15) and Bottomless Bloody Marys ($25), to complement the new brunch menu.

Located inside The Venetian Resort-Hotel- Casino, Valentino Las Vegas is open for brunch every Sunday from 10:30am-3pm. For more information, visit www.valentinorestaurants.com or call (702) 414-3000

To celebrate Craftbar’s 10th anniversary, chef de cuisine Lauren Hirschberg has curated a special three-course lunch prix fixe menu featuring both old favorites and new dishes offered Mon/Jan 16 through Fri/Jan 27 from 12-4pm. 

Photo Credit: Mark Jordan

First course offerings include Craftbar classics like white anchovy bruschetta with confit leek, soft-cooked egg and lemon aïoli and pecorino arancini with spicy tomato and parmigiano. For the main course, guests can choose from favorites including Guinea hen ravioli with chanterelle mushroom and cippolini onion and grilled sardines with fennel and pine nut ravioli. Pastry chef Abby Swain will offer a selection of her specialty desserts for a sweet finish to the meal. 

The celebratory three-course menu is $24/person (plus tax and gratuity). For reservations and more information, please call 212.461.4300.

Craftbar, 900 Broadway, 212.461.4300

* * * 

Craftbar 10th Anniversary Winter 2012

First Course
Choice of:
Frisée Salad
Bacon Lardon, Gorgonzola, Poached Egg
Roasted Baby Beets
Goat’s Milk Cheese, Pistachio

Mixed Lettuce
Shallot Vinaigrette

Pecorino Arancini
Spicy Tomato, Parmigiano

Parsnip & Fennel Soup
Maine Crab, Gala Apple

Soffritto Braised Tripe
Anson Mills Polenta, Poached Egg

Field Mushroom & Fontina Bruschetta
Maitake, Trompette Royale, Beech, Piopini, Crimini

White Anchovy Bruschetta
Confit Leek, Soft-Cooked Egg, Lemon Aïoli

Country-Style Rabbit Terrine
Pear Mostarda

Marinated Montauk Squid
Fresno Chili, Niçoise Olive, Fennel

Main Course
Choice of:
House-Cut Spaghetti
Manilla Clams, Pancetta, Mustard Greens, Roasted Tomato

Roasted Hanger Steak
Potato Purée, Caramelized Onion

Guinea Hen Ravioli
Chanterelle Mushroom, Cippolini Onion

Grilled Sardines
Fennel-Pine Nut Ravioli

Braised Pork Belly
Lentils, Carmelized Endive

Roasted Atlantic Salmon
Baby Shitake Mushroom á la Grecque

Veal Ricotta Meatballs 

Pancetta & Fried Egg Sandwich
Red Pepper Relish, Pecorino

Eggplant Panino
Radicchio, Goat Cheese, Piquillo Pepper

Dessert

WHAT:           Executive Chef Rob Moore of Jean Georges Steakhouse at ARIA Resort & Casino will share cooking tips, recipes and more during an online Facebook chat Wednesday, January 18. The one hour chat, the first in a series highlighting culinary talent at ARIA, gives fans and followers the opportunity to learn more about Moore and his cuisine, his culinary background and the latest news from the Jean Georges Steakhouse kitchen.

WHEN:           Wednesday, January 18; 5-6 p.m. PST

WHERE:        ARIA Resort & Casino Facebook Page

PREVIEW:       http://twitpic.com/85sf0j

Dinner will feature dishes inspired by Chef Jet Tila and hand-crafted cocktails

by Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim

Foodie alert!  Chef Jet Tila and The Modern Mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim are joining food & beverage forces on an incredible pop-up dinner at Origin India Restaurant and Bar on February 8, 2012.  The five-course menu (includes dessert) will feature a variety of authentic, regionally inspired Thai dishes, allowing Chef Jet to showcase his Thai upbringing around the family dining room table.  Each course will be expertly paired with a hand-crafted cocktail by Tony Abou-Ganim, inspired by drinks featured in his book “The Modern Mixologist: Contemporary Classic Cocktails.”  This special dinner will start promptly at 7pm and be served family style - just as they used to do it at Jet’s house. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012; one seating at 7pm; $65 (plus tax and gratuity).

Origin India Restaurant and Bar
4480 Paradise Road (across from the Hard Rock Hotel) Las Vegas, NV

Dinner reservations can be made via email OriginIndia@langdonflynn.com (please reference Pop-Up Dinner in subject line).

Starting January 15th, chef George Mendes will serve Sunday dinner at ALDEA from 5pm to 9pm. Chef Mendes will prepare two tasting menu options, each changing weekly. The a la carte menu will not be available. Offerings are as follows:

            • Five-course tasting menu: $65 ($90 with wine pairings)

            • Eight-course tasting menu: $95 ($140 with wine parings)

The first dinner will include dishes such as sea urchin with Siberian caviar, poultry gelee and cauliflower; tuna loin and toro with yuzu, sunflower and burdock root; and Scottish red legged partridge with black truffle farce royal, red cabbage and pear. 

ALDEA
31 West 17th Street (btwn Fifth & Sixth Aves)
212.675.7223