Day 16

Oeuf au Gratin: I've been excited since I got to Vegas a couple days ago about eating at Bouchon again. After the amazing meal I had there last time, this time I decided to try breakfast instead of dinner. I didn't expect it to be anything less than awesome, and of course, I was right. Like I said before, Thomas Keller can apparently do no wrong, and the breakfast menu lived up to every expectation. And luckily, I found something this morning that I've never tried: Oeuf au Gratin.

Oeuf au Gratin is basically a baked egg dish, with various fillings added. Almost like a casserole, but way better. It also has a mornay sauce mixed in, which is a creamy bechamel sauce with grated cheese. Bouchon changes the fillings up daily, and this one had ham, tomato and onion confit. The entire mixture is baked in a small cast iron dish, and served with brioche toast and lyonnaise potatoes on the side. I took a bite, and it reminded me a bit of quiche, but not as dense. The egg mixture wasn't cooked as thoroughly as quiche, and the mornay sauce left a cheesy, runny liquid on the bottom that was super tasty when sopped up with the toasted brioche. I'm a huge fan of poached, runny egg yolk, and I was thrilled to find some in the middle of the dish. Combined with the crunchy, cheesy top layer, it was an awesome combination of tastes. The potatoes were perfect as well, of course - thinly sliced and cooked in a little oil with onion.

Another perfect meal at Bouchon. I can't wait to come back again.

Day 15

Congee: Interestingly, today was the first day of this experiment where I had absolutely no idea where my post was going to come from. I've been in Vegas since yesterday, and I've had some amazing food so far. I knew tonight's dinner was going to be a little more traditional (Mario Batali's Carnevino), so I had to find something off the beaten path before then. I spotted an Asian restaurant near the casino in the Venetian, so I walked over and checked out the menu. To my surprise, they had congee, which is something I've never had before.

Congee is a rice porridge made from boiling rice until it's thick and soupy. I noticed that they had a version that included pork and "special preserved egg." Recently, a reader suggested that the salted duck egg I ate a couple weeks ago would be good with congee, so that got me interested. And I figured that the congee would be fairly authentic considering the number of Asian tourists in the restaurant. I placed my order, and the server gave me that "dude, are you sure?" look that I'm sort of getting used to by now. They quickly brought my food, and it looked kind of like a bowl of oatmeal or grits, but a lot more milky. It was topped with chopped scallions and fried wonton pieces, and the shredded pork and preserved egg were mixed in. I noticed that the guy next to me was mixing a little soy sauce into his, so I did the same. The verdict? Really good. It almost had a risotto-like consistency, and the soy sauce added a bit of salt to the mix. The preserved duck egg was a bit gnarly to look at, and it's gelatinous texture would scare a lot of people off. It reminded me of a stronger, saltier mushroom, but was really tasty. Overall, a really great find. I could imagine it being awesome on a cold day, but I enjoyed it in the Vegas heat just the same.

Day 14

Macarons: Day 1 of my Vegas vacation has already provided some amazing food, courtesy of Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery. I got to sample their amazing pastries and coffee on my last trip in 2009, and since we're staying in the Venetian again, the bakery is right downstairs. Score.

I heard about macarons from some friends of my GF's that recently went to Paris. They promised that they would be life changing if I ever got to try, and I have to say that wasn't far from the truth.They offered several different flavors (pistachio, vanilla, passionfruit, coffee, etc.) but I went for chocolate. The macaron looked like a cookie, but tasted much different. The outside reminded me of a devil's food cookie in texture - it had a thin crunchy top, but when I bit into it, it was filled with a light frosting that almost reminded me of a ganache, but not as heavy. The actual cookie was more like a cake, but the thin, crunchy top layer was one of my favorite things about it. I could have seriously eaten 20 of these in one sitting - they were that good. I'm still trying to decide what flavor I'm eating tomorrow.

We also had an excellent roast beef sandwich on a baguette, and an insanely good carrot cake cookie. Is there anything Thomas Keller can't do well?

Day 13

Cucharitas (Chili Spoons): I'm apparently on a spicy kick this week, and these were a pleasant surprise that made me sweat a little less than the Chili Balls from yesterday. I picked these up in the Latin section of the Bu-Hi Farmer's Market at the beginning of this experiment, and they looked super interesting. They're basically little plastic spoons filled with what appeared to be a caramel-y looking substance. I figured they'd be a little bit sweet and hot at the same time, and despite my low tolerance for hot n' spicy, I had to investigate.

Each spoon was wrapped in plastic on the end. I unwrapped one, and scraped a bite off the end with my 2 front teeth. I was right about the caramel-like consistency, but it was thicker, grainier, and more sugary than regular caramel. Not quite as hot as I expected, but the ingredients listed "milled guajillo peppers," which provided plenty enough heat for me. I also noticed a fruity taste, which came from another ingredient - citric acid. Overall, a tasty, sticky, spicy treat that's guaranteed to rot your teeth out.

Day 12

Thailand Chili Ball: Ok, so when I saw this at the Dekalb Farmer's Market, I wasn't sure what to expect. The name wasn't too descriptive (chili ball?) and it appeared to be some sort of snack food in the Asian section. It looked like some kind of cracker, and I spotted little flakes on each piece that looked like nori (seaweed)

I finally opened these today, and my guesses were pretty much right. Each piece is a tiny super-crunchy ball made from glutinous rice, soy sauce, starch, paprika, nori, and a few other ingredients. I ate a few handfuls of them, and quickly noticed a burn, which made sense when I noticed that the last ingredient listed was "liquid chili." My forehead immediately broke out in a sweat, since I have a really low tolerance to heat. However, I couldn't stop eating them - these would make a great bar snack in any restaurant, maybe accompanied by a beer. Who needs those lame peanuts or Chex Mix?

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Day 11

Sour Tamarind: Another find from the Dekalb Farmer's Market. I've seen tamarind listed as an ingredient in a lot of Asian cuisine, but I've never really known what it was or what it tasted like. I noticed this "sour" version at the market, and grabbed a couple pieces to try. I had no idea how to eat it, so I actually had to do a little internet research to find out.

I noticed that a few online sources called it the "poop fruit," and after breaking one open, I can totally see why. It was hard to not think of Mr. Hankey from South Park while looking at it, so I hoped it tasted better than it looked. The instructions said to crack open the hard shell, break pieces off by segment, and chew the sticky pulp around the seed. I tried this method, and was overwhelmed by the almost lemony tartness. It almost had the consistency of fig, but much more sour and less sweet. I couldn't stomach too much of it, and I'm wondering if the sweet version might more palatable. Maybe I'll seek that out next time. Nonetheless, an interesting find.

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Day 10

Guava: I'm quickly realizing that there are a lot of fruits I've never had. After a visit to the Dekalb Farmer's Market this week, this became clear to me. If you've never been there, go - lots of good stuff to be found. After perusing the produce section, I brought home a few things I've heard of a million times, but never tried in their pure form. Today's choice: guava.

The guava looks kind of like a bumpy, oversize pear. I had no idea how to eat it, so I cut off some slices and tried. The consistency reminded me of a pear, with a thin skin and firm flesh, but not nearly as sweet or juicy. I didn't find it to have much flavor at all, but I did notice a sort of grassy aftertaste. I also mistakenly took a bite of a piece that had seeds in it, and I'm lucky I didn't crack a tooth - they were really hard. I ate a few more pieces (after making sure I scooped the seeds out), but honestly wasn't that into it. I later read online that guava is often eaten with a dipping sauce or in a fruit salad, which makes sense. Maybe mine wasn't as ripe as it should have been, but I'd probably prefer it mixed with something else. Still, I'm glad I tried!

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