Restaurants Archives - Life is My Oyster

Cafe Saturdays (On Sunday) – PublicUs

September 20, 2015Oyster 1 Comment

You know a place is good when you can’t stop reading about it in your Facebook feed! Well, at least that’s been my experience. And PublicUs is a winner in my book.

It’s a cute place in Downtown Las Vegas, on the corner of Maryland and Freemont. It doesn’t have a huge sign to announce it’s presence, but if you find it, you may want to stop by!

They have an assortment of pastries that look mouth-watering good! Except, I haven’t tried them so don’t take my imaginary word for it (haha!). What I have tried are the savory items on the menu, and I like!

Pictured Above (starting from top left):

Shishito peppers. Delicious! Served with green onions, and a delicious Sambal Gastrique! That red glaze made it so tasty! We asked the server what the sauce contained but no luck, it’s a delicious mystery!
The Cu-Ban-Mi Sandwich. I really liked this sandwich! It had pickled veggies, which made it crispy and tasty all at the same time. It comes with a side of green salad and some potato chips.
The Fried Chicken. I was a bit hesitant about this one because I don’t usually do chicken, and I am not into kimchi (sorry!). But man the chicken was perfectly crisp on the outside and perfectly juicy and tender on the inside. I mixed the egg with the rice and included a piece of chicken in every mouthful, a delight! This was recommended by a staff member, and I am glad he did!
The Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich. This one was a bit of a disappointment. If you know me, you know I like my pork belly, but here I wasn’t very interested. It might’ve been the sweet potato? I couldn’t tell you.

At PublicUs, they have an eclectic beer selection. I’m going to say that sour beer is not for me, but I’m glad I tried it. Then there was the green tea with citrus, a blend of lime, green tea, and orange juice. It was tasty, and very different. It was still not a sweet drink, despite the juices, so I liked it.

And then they have this insane coffee machine that looks like a classic car. You know, the ones you see riding down the road, with black and platinum colors, and it probably cost a pretty penny. I had to try whatever concoction came out of that thing! What I thought was odd was that they sweeten the coffee for you. It was sweet enough for my taste, but I still found it weird. The coffee was good, and I loved the little cookies it came with. Nice touch!

I like this place! Have you been? Let me know what else is good!

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e by Jose Andres

August 31, 2015Oyster 13 Comments

A dinner out of this world! That’s what dinner at e by Jose Andres is like. An alum of Ferran Adria, and a chef often credited with bringing small plates dining to the States, has made his mark on the Las Vegas strip. I’ve enjoyed dinner at Jaleo, and Bazaar Meats, but e is an adventure to be savored! Please enjoy and let your mouth water with this 23 course meal:

You are first greeted by Jose’s hand, handing you a warm towel.

Then comes the edible sangria, served in a wine bottle.

Yes, the pillows are edible but not the couch.

Eating with two spoons is sexy… it is:

Tiny pizza with Iberico Pork (placed on my hand for measurement)!

Iberico Chickpeas with Truffles… lots of them!

The spheres served on a spoon explode in your mouth, deliciously!

The meat!

The art of eating!

Then there was dessert!

Lots of it!

And then there was the wine pairing:

One of my favorite parts is watching the chefs carefully make dishes, with such precision and focus! Here’s to the chefs:

Each dinner is unique. You’ll likely have a different menu if you visit. But it will surely impress!

Now go get your golden ticket!

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Cafe Saturdays – Sweets Raku

June 28, 2015Oyster Leave a Comment

Ok ok, this is not a Cafe, but they do serve lunch!

Raku and Sweets Raku definitely hold their individual spots in my Vegas top ten (I’ll let you know my top ten in due time)! Sweets Raku started out (and still is for the most part) as a dessert restaurant. I always love to hear the first words after greeting those coming in “are you ready for dessert?”

Why, yes, yes I am! Some would say I was born ready!

Nowadays, Sweets Raku serves lunch on Saturdays and Sundays, and a few other appetizer-like dishes consisting of Prosciutto, Liver Pate, Burrata Cheese, Caviar, etc.

Today was my first time trying any of their savory dishes, and man it was yummy! I decided to go with the sandwich and two course dessert prix fixe. I went with the Grilled Salmon sandwich with Tomato Basil soup, and the Ringo dessert. And I got myself a white wine sangria, because why not?

The tomato basil soup was delicious! Very creamy! The grilled salmon came with ikura (Roe) and some greens in a warm croissant. It was good! Every bite was bursting with salty ocean flavors and deliciousness! Then came dessert:

First some raspberry sorbet with mint jello. Then came Ringo:

Ringo is an apple pie with caramel ice cream. The blown sugar apple is filled with whipped cream and caramel sauce in the center. It. Is. Delicious. Needless to say.

I’ve been going to Sweets Raku since it’s debut. Their menu is seasonal. I get the idea behind seasonal menus, but man it’s so heartbreaking when you fall in love with an item and then it’s no longer in the menu a few months later. My favorite dessert by far was last season’s Red Rock. It was a raspberry souffle with ice cream. Hopefully it comes back, in the meantime we’ve got Ringo.

Throughout the years this place has become more and more popular. If you come in during dinner time, you are sure to find a full house. But I guess you can have the place all to yourself during lunch time (more like 3-5pm)! Love it!

P.S. If you find yourself at Sweets Raku, make sure to check out the restroom (not pictured here). I know, weird. But it’s really nice!

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Currently Reading: Kitchen Confidential

June 25, 2015Oyster Leave a Comment

I like to eat! And when it comes to food shows, No Reservations is my favorite. I like Bourdain’s no BS attitude, and when it comes to food porn, he knows what’s up! So it’s no surprise that the book that started it all is a great read!

The first chapters focus on his initiation into the food world, with stories about his childhood and the moment he decided to eat everything! Including his cherry-popping oyster moment:

“And I had my first oyster. Now this was a truly significant event. I remember it like I remember losing my virginity–and in many ways, more fondly.” – Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential.

It’s packed with interesting, and maybe even disgusting, insider tips of the restaurant biz. It certainly gives the reader a new perspective on dining out, by giving us a vivid description of a typical day for a chef.

Then there’s the infamous chapter From Our Kitchen to Your Table. I almost felt like whipping out my phone and creating list of warnings for myself:

It’s Monday, are you sure you want to order that fish?
Brunch? skip the hollandaise… or skip brunch altogether!
Pass on the lemon in the water and perhaps the mussels too.
And… well… maybe I can just read that chapter again!

It’s easy to sit and read this book, you can almost hear his voice in your head as you do. The writing is as colorful as his narrating in No Reservations, and it very easily paints a picture in your mind of the anecdote being told. I’m close to the end, but this is one of those that I’ll read again hoping to catch a gem I may have missed in the first run-thru.

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