Mastro's Ocean Club Restaurant at Crystals City Center

Boots suggested we give Mastro's Ocean Club restaurant a try on our February trip to Vegas and I was all for it as reviews were good and I've never eaten at any restaurant at Crystals City Center up to now.

Photo of the restaurant above, some call it a tree house, others call it other things, what do you think it looks like?

Boot's gin base cocktail which she describes in the video below. I forgot to take a photo of my Cosmopolitan I ordered but it is in the video and bubbling away as it was served with dry ice on the bottom of the glass.

 I have the bread basket in the video but again forgot to take a photo of it. I was having some camera issues that evening, couldn't be me, has to be the camera. ;)

 Boots had the appetizer portion of their scallops and it was great, but with the heavy butter sauce very rich!

 I loved my crab appetizer served on dry ice, the portion was very generous and well worth the price, I would order this again!

 Boots had a filet mignon which she liked but was having trouble eating as the rich buttery sauce on the scallop appetizer had filled her up.

 I ordered the dinner entree of scallops which was a mistake because I could only eat three of the five on my plate due to the heavy sauce so in hindsight should have ordered the appetizer portion for my entree.

 Sides of sugar snap peas and mushrooms. They were fresh and tasty but a bit heavy on the oil/butter.

We were too full to order a dessert which made me sad! If I return since portions are so generous I would likely order the crab again which was really a good deal in my opinion and then perhaps a second appetizer as my entree and only one side dish per two persons so that I would have room to try one of their desserts!

Photo Slide Show and Video of the food and drinks. My Cosmopolitan cocktails not pictured above is in the video, it was smoking with lots of dry ice!

CliQue New Lounge and Bar at THE Cosmopolitan!

CliQue Bar and Lounge opened around January 1st where the Book and Stage bar used to be.  If you don't know where that was it's first floor, west tower which isn't far from the hotel registration area. CliQue's hours are 3pm to 3am with snack type food being available from 5pm to midnight.

I was there on Friday night January 22nd before dinner with my friend Boots and later returned to have a drink around 10pm with my friend Deann. Since it was Friday night I made a reservation and was glad I did as the lounge was full at 10 until we left around 11pm.

I never got to the bar area but I've read on vegasmessageboard a post that said they do have video poker at the bar but they only comp drinks for VP play up to $15 and most drinks at CliQue are more then that as you will see from the menus below.

 The servers are very attractive and friendly. However since it's newly opened sometimes the staff can get confused on the orders and while service both times I was there that night was very friendly it was a bit slow, but I'm sure that will clear itself up after it has been opened longer.

 Our server above recommended the Dr. Cel Ray Pepper as one of the best drinks and it was definitely a stand out, very refreshing, I would also recommend this.

 Boots ordered the Off the Leash drink and it was also very good.

 There was a bit of confusion with initially taking our order as our server thought the mixologist had said that only one drink that available on the table side mixology menu and since that one didn't appeal to us we ordered the drinks above. However when she served them to us she let us know that she had misunderstood and the drink we didn't want was just one he recommended and all were available, so after a taste of the two above she took those back and we ordered off the table side mixology menu.

 Seating was very comfortable. It was early around 5pm so they hadn't put down the dividers that would lowered later that evening to cut off the view of the slot area from the lounge.

 It took a while for them to set up for the table side mixology but once it happened it was fun to have them mix the drinks at our table. There's a video at the end that I took of the mixologist making our two drinks.  I loved my drink on the left,  Heated Moments which is spicy and served with a few jalapeños that have a cinnamon sugar glaze. Boot had the Chester Copper Pot and she liked the drink but the mixologist seemed to have a slight problem in our opinion getting all of her drink to drip out of the barrel so she ended up with a drink that was mainly a large round piece of ice and her drink was $30.00!  Drink prices are a bit steep at CliQue but then again most of the nice lounges on the strip these days have drinks at $15.00 or more.

 Later that evening I returned with my friend Deann and like most lounges the music was playing a bit too loud to make it easy to talk but was bearable.

I think Deann's drink was Luck be a Lady and she liked it enough to order two. I had the Dr. Cel Ray Pepper as a fall back drink because I was able to confirm that if you want something off the table side mixology drink menu everyone at your table must order off one of those.

 We tried a couple of their snacks, the Edamame which was good but then it's hard to ruin Edamame.

 The Deep Fried Oreos with vanilla anglaise sauce was yummy, and the portion generous.

 I will return to CliQue again in the future when I'm meeting up with friends because I found the table side mixology fun and there are some snacks on that menu I would like to try and lately I have found Bond Bar to be too noisy at night to attempt to talk to friends while drinking there.  However for those of us who are slot players and we're not looking for a snack at the time, the best meet up place at The Cosmopolitan might be in the casino while playing games with friends there as they are still among the best complimentary drinks on the strip!

For the slideshow of photos and also video of the table side mixology click on this youtube video I put together.

Michael Mina Restaurant Review

This was my third time dining at Michael Mina's restaurant at Bellagio which is located behind the Conservatory and next to Cafe Bellagio. All my dining experiences have been consistently good here so it's time this wonderful restaurant had its own post. 

By my request we were seated in the intimate dining room in the back of the restaurant. Joining me for dinner tonight was my Mother, friend Boots, Teresa and Gwen! Boots is the one taking our photo!

Menu ala carte:

Gwen's favorite the Vegetarian Tasting Menu. The tasting notes and photos from this menu are by Gwen!

My first course was a cold asparagus gazpacho.  It was delicious.  Like lick the bottom of the bowl delicious.  It was topped with a few different herbs and it was very creamy.

 The second course was the beet salad.  The pistachio really stood out, and complemented the beets perfectly.  I never would have thought to pair them but it was genius.

 The third course was the english pea soup.  It was also delicious, but I actually thought the cold asparagus soup was even better.  Which is strange since I usually don't enjoy a cold soup.  But the english pea soup was delicious as well.

The fourth course was pasta - artichoke tortellini.  The mushroom taste overshadowed the artichoke taste but it was still delicious.  The trumpet mushrooms were just really flavorful, in a good way.  

 The fifth course was a repeat of the fifth course the last time I ate at Michael Mina - it's delicious but the tofu just doesn't do it for me.  Like last time, I took a polite bite of that and ate the vegetables around it.  I'm glad that Michael Mina doesn't really rely on fake meat in their vegetarian tasting.  I would much prefer actual vegetables, and that's what makes this meal so special.  They really do highlight the flavors of vegetables.

 Last course was desert - a tasting of the clafoutis that Diana and her Mom had along with a cookie, lemon sorbet, and the rootbeer float.  I can't really eat ice cream but I took a big swig of that float and the rootbeer was so flavorful.  Yum.  Plus I had two glasses of the best wine in the world. 

Gwen's desserts:

Signature Tasting Menu that Teresa enjoyed. The photos of this tasting menu are all by Teresa, thanks T!

The first course was domestic caviar parfait with a crispy potato pancake on the bottom, smoked salmon, creme fraiche and topped with the caviar. 

The second course was a tartare of ahi tuna with Asian pear, Pine nuts, and Scotch bonnet infused Sesame oil. Chopped ahi tuna is molded into a cylindrical shape with a raw egg yolk sitting on top. Server breaks the yolk, then mixes all of the ingredients together. I believe Teresa has had this every time we have eaten at Mina's so I know she loved it.

Third course was miso-glazed Chilean sea bass in a dashi-based broth with Bok Choy!

The fourth course was the famous Mina Lobster Pot Pie. This looks very rich so I'm sure that Teresa was glad it was the tasting version of this yummy entree.

American wagyu beef, three slices of tender beef cooked medium rare, with foie gras and a pinot noir reduction.  

Teresa had a assortment of sweets for dessert. Chocolate whiskey cake as well as a root beer float with a chocolate straw in sassafras ice cream, along with a warm chocolate chip cookie!

Boots, Mom and I ordered from the Sunset Menu:

We also had the wine tasting with our dinner and the first wine was Gwen's favorite Riesling!

Our pea soup was a bit different then Gwen's with a bacon wrapped lobster fritter! I loved this pea soup, when it's on Mina's menu be sure to try it!

I enjoyed the wine pairing it was well matched in my opinion to our dishes.

Every time I eat at Michael Mina's, I have loved the Miso Glazed Sea Bass with bok choy, dashi broth, shrimp tortellini and mushrooms, and this time was no different. The broth is so full of flavor and my sea bass was buttery and melted in my mouth!

I've had this dessert wine before with its honey sweetness and light fruit taste and for me it has just the right amount of sweetness.  

The three of us ordered the same dessert. Blackberry Huckleberry Clafoutis with creme fraiche blackberries of course and a refreshing buttermilk sherbet. It was wonderful, I would love to have this again!

Service was great, food was delicious, all of us said it was one of the best dining experiences we have had in Las Vegas.  We enjoyed the food, ambiance and service so much, that some of us already have a dinner reservation at Michael Mina for Thanksgiving!