Frontier Airlines did their best to keep us from getting to Las Vegas, but we made it at 3 am…pretty there that’s like 5pm to the youngins partying in Vegas. We went straight to bed though. Incredible meals would be had over the next few days.
Eataly was in the hotel next door to us. If you haven’t been to an Eataly, its large food hall/market all Italian centered. There’s pasta and pizza stations, pastry counters, multiple bars, sandwich stands, a breakfast counter, crepe and coffee stand, and also a market with food and wine. We went every morning for coffee and breakfast. The coffee was good, nothing spectacular. The Nutella and banana crepe was dang delicious though. I had a couple of those. They also had a breakfast panini. It was good, but very messy. And ya boy does not like stuff on his hands so I was one and done with those. We also got cocktails and wine at various times. Both were excellent. The bartenders were incredible. We also saw a British couple arguing which may have been the highlight of my trip. The dude yelled to his partner to tell the entirety of Eataly and Park MGM that he was a loser…and Terry obliged. I stared, Kelsi hid in embarrassment of me staring.
Esther’s Kitchen is an Italian restaurant in the Arts District. We were told about it by some locals. We went in February of 2024 and it was divine. I had the chicken parm sandwich and Kelsi had some lemon pasta. My dad had a meatball sandwich, don’t remember what my mom had, sorry Candace. They also do dipping sauces for their bread. These were the best thing we had this go round. I got spaghetti and meatballs and Kelsi got a different lemon pasta. Both were fine, nothing spectacular. They had also moved to a bigger space which just didn’t feel the same.
Quick shoutout to my Vietnamese Iced Coffee in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. I get it atleast once everytime I go. I love it!!!
Also shoutout to Zaytinya by Jose Andres. We did apps here and they were good. Im not the biggest humus fan, but I gorged myself on theirs. It was unreal. I also had a margarita that had “salt air” rather than salt on the rim. It was basically this really lite salt foam on top. It was a very cool drink.
The final two I will write about were the best two. Herbs and Rye and Best Friend.
Herbs and Rye is a bit off of the beaten path. I believe I have written about it before. They do half price steaks during happy hour…which is the majority of time they are open. We got a filet with Bearnaise and holy mackerel it was great. Their steaks are cooked perfectly but the sauces you get with them just elevate them to a different stratosphere. We have done the Béarnaise and the Creamy Horseradish and both were spectacular. The creaminess just pairs perfectly with the savoriness of the steak. We also got the Angolotti. I had never heard of such, but it was a stuffed past with short rib and red wine jus. It was the best past I have ever eaten. That isn’t hyperbole either. The cocktails are also a highlight but I was so full from steak and pasta that I only had one.
Now, the Grand Finale. Best Friend., which is Roy Choi’s restaurant in Park MGM. First of all, it’s the coolest looking restaurant. You walk into what looks like a bodega. They take you through this red plastic curtain to this big room that’s like the streets of LA have been made into a restaurant. There is west coast hip hop playing with pictures of SOCAL around the room. We ate at the bar. First of all, I had a Henny and Coke slushy that was so good I went back the next day for another. For apps, we got Lumpia (these were ok, still not 100% sure what I ate) and fries with ramen dust and sambal mayo. If I could only have fries from one place the rest of my life, it would be these. For our meals, I got Kogi Short Rib Tacos. They were really good. The star along with the fries was the Spicy Pork BBQ. BBQ and fries are 1000% the way to go here. The pork wasn’t too spicy but was so succulent. They also give you a crap ton. The bartenders also just had that Southern Cali cool vibe. It was great. I will be going every time I go back to Vegas. Reservations are probably the best bet, but we were able to wait in line to get a seat at the bar. Just be there when they open.
Guess it wasn’t too bad because I demolished it.
chow with chaz 
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