When you’re a busy law student who has the bright idea to start a blog with your equally busy law school friend, a lot can happen over the course of a year. You can both graduate. You can both spend months on end studying for, and ultimately pass the bar. You can both get jobs, and then one of you can move away. You can swear that you’re going to make this blog work as one that specializes in both Northern and Southern Nevada, and maybe even those smaller cities in between. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I still hold out hope that we’ll be able to work something out.
In the mean time, last night I had a dining experience that was so incredible that I was compelled to dust off the old keyboard and log in to the blog. Frankly, it was a good thing that I had my password saved, because I’m not sure that I would have remembered it off the top of my head.
Yesterday marked my 33rd birthday, though I don’t feel a day over 32. The last week has been amazing – my wonderful friends treated me to lunch on two separate occasions, I got a free latte from one of my favorite coffee shops, my manicurist gave me a discount…this really has been a wonderful week.
The culmination of this great time was my birthday dinner. For years, I’ve been hounding the Hubster to take me to Sage at the Aria Resort Hotel & Casino, and last night I finally got my way. After being seated and selecting the four-course Signature Tasting Menu, we were presented with a complimentary amuse bouche – artichoke puree, lamb tartar, and parsnip crisp.
Small bite with a huge flavor.
The puree was lush and creamy, the lamb was distinct and flavorful, and the parsnip was the perfect counterpart to the smooth textures of the underlying components. It was the perfect introduction to the spectacular meal that was yet to come.
Almost too much to handle – almost.
For my first course, I ordered the wagyu tartar with slow poached egg yolk, crushed caper aioli, pickled mustard seed, and crispy chocolate. This was one of the most decadent, rich, incredible dishes I’ve ever tried. It was served with buttery toast points, as if I needed more reason to start looking for a good cardiologist. Everything about this dish played into my love of creating the perfect bite, with the combination of fresh radish and chocolate being the perfect punctuation to a complex dish.
The Hubster ordered what I thought might be a boring beet salad, but not only was it (a) surprisingly delicious and interesting, and (b) beautiful to look it, it was also (c) gone faster than I could take a photo. Honestly, for the rest of this post, just insert (c) for everything the Hubster ate.
The second course was something my friend recommended – scallops with braised oxtail, wild mushrooms, and salted caramel reduction.
Objects in the photo are actually as large as they appear.
Those gigantic scallops were perfectly seared and wonderful, but no joke, as the Hubster surmised, they were nearly an impediment in the dish. I’m not ashamed to admit that I would have taken a big bowl of the sauce with some bread and been perfectly content. That’s how amazing the sauce was. I practically licked the plate.
Before I can even talk about the third course, I have to explain something about my upbringing. My grandmother is German, and therefore, I am no stranger to sauerkraut. In fact, one dish that was a staple in the house was pork ribs or chops in the slow cooker with sauerkraut. It may be a long time staple of my childhood, but it is also one of my least favorite dishes of all time.
So imagine my surprise when our third course, bacon wrapped Iberico pork loin with celery root panna cotta, asparagus, and smoked apple slaw had me immediately thinking back to childhood, and my hated dish.
The childhood impostor.
The pork was sweet and luscious, with just the right salty note from the bacon. The celery root panna cotta was the upscale callback to to the mashed potatoes we would have with grandma’s pork chops. The smoked apple slaw was a sophisticated take on traditional sauerkraut. This dish was everything I grew up with, nothing like I had ever tasted, and it was incredible.
Sometimes, with a meal this good, dessert is an afterthought or a disappointment. Not the case here. Chocolate-Earl Grey panna cotta, scalded milk gelato, crisp madelines, and blackberries – good to the last painstakingly designed perfect bite.
Whoa. Just…whoa.
As if we hadn’t been spoiled enough over the course of this meal, we were presented with a hot white chocolate basil soup to complete our experience. The combination may have sounded strange, but it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever tasted.
Despite the lengthy rambling nature of this post, I hope that it will be the first of many moving forward. And, because I’ve basically taken over the blog, I hope that L will chime in as soon as inspiration strikes.
Arbitrary and Delicious 
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