Tag Archives: Chefs to the Max

The 10 Best Things I Ate in 2014

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Thanks to all of you for following along with me on this ride. If you have been enjoying this blog all year, some of these pics will look familiar. If you are new to Good for Spooning, be sure to subscribe by adding your email address in the space to the right. Also, you can follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. All @Good for Spooning.

It’s time for my annual list of awesome things I consumed.  Many of them are available to you NOW, there are only a few on this list that aren’t available regularly and only one that you will never get to enjoy.  But DO enjoy this list. All photos provided are by me personally. In no particular order, here we go…

Northwest Seafood and Coconut Soup at Etta’s Seafood in Seattle. Salmon, clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari with house sambal.  Yes, it’s from Tom Douglas.

The best thing we ate on the entire trip! A Thai spiced fish stew at Etta's.

The best thing we ate on the entire trip! A Thai spiced fish stew at Etta’s.

Fried Quail at Hakkasan in the MGM Grand – this was on the menu during Restaurant Week for Three Square. It is not a regular menu item, but shows up from time to time.

Crispy Fried Quail with Five Spice

Crispy Fried Quail with Five Spice

Bacon Jam at Carson Kitchen – yeah – there is no pic of this because we ate it too fast.  Just go, and get it and thank me later.

Spicy Cold Noodles at Mama Ji’s in San Francisco – thank goodness the noodles themselves are icy cold because the sauce that goes on top is SPICY and HOT. Definitely a do-over the next time we eat there!

Cold Spicy Noodles at Mama Ji's

Cold Spicy Noodles at Mama Ji’s

Prime Veal Chop at NYY Steak in Coconut Creek, Florida – This was so much more than I expected in a simply prepared veal chop. Dry aged 21 days and absolutely perfect.

And Whitey Ford's retired number was on my plate!

And Whitey Ford’s retired number was on my plate!

Charcuterie and Sausages at Lowbrau and Block Butcher Bar in Sacramento – I don’t have enough nice things to say about this. Lowbrau and Block are connected and sister stores.

Charcuterie board from Block Butcher Bar

Charcuterie board from Block Butcher Bar

Spicy Andouille sausage at Lowbrau

Spicy Andouille sausage at Lowbrau

Beef Tasting Dinner at STK – Chef Stephen Hopcraft pulled out all the stops for this fantastic meal. Having a “take it or leave it” attitude about beef in general, after eating this, I now have a MUCH better appreciation for cow flesh.

Our beef selections included all natural, grass fed and prime filets.

Our beef selections included all natural, grass fed and prime filets.

Three different types of filet mignon with sides.

Three different types of filet mignon with sides.

Porchetta at the Swine & Wine dinner at MTO – The Sunday Suppers at MTO are always a surprising mix of Chefs working inside a theme.  This was obviously a pork-centric meal and this porchetta was a stand out.

Porchetta waiting to be sliced at MTO's Swine & Wine

Porchetta waiting to be sliced at MTO’s Swine & Wine

And my top two faves this year, drumroll please….

The Fried Chicken at Yardbird in Miami – it’s opening in Vegas later this month and I can hardly wait! I will be able to eat this fried chicken any time I want. (Moment of Truth – Fried Chicken would be on the short list of “last meals” for me).

Just look at the little captions

Just look at the little captions

The Chefs to the Max Dinner – RX Boiler Room – Twenty Four Chefs together created a once in a lifetime meal as a fundraiser for critically injured food writer Max Jacobson. Each and every course was superb.  Bonus for me? Because I volunteered my time, I was allowed full access to photograph the Chefs at work and this is my fave pic of the night, taken during the pre-shift briefing. Can I tell you how fun it was to see Bobby Flay taking pics of other Chefs at work like any old fanboy?

The Chefs were just as giddy as I was I think.

The Chefs were just as giddy as I was I think.

I’ve Been Sworn to Secrecy!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

One of the best things about Vegas is that it’s ALWAYS changing. It’s also one of the worst things about Vegas.  They tear down buildings left and right making room for new things with little regard for history. But when those changes mean tasty new options for me, who am I to stand in the way of progress?

There are a LOT of new things here, the SLS for starters (I wasn’t invited to the opening and I STILL haven’t been down there to check it out…soon, I promise).  There are some BIG events on the horizon with our dining scene and I was let in on many of them recently.  Unfortunately ALL of my sources asked to be “off the record”, but what I can tell you is this: new resto openings are involved and they will all likely be tasty additions to our city’s culinary landscape and our downtown is about to get a whole lot more interesting! A little birdie also told me one of my fave competition chefs will soon be seen regularly on TV as a host, not as a competitor. I hope that tickles your taste buds enough to stay tuned here for info releases.

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I went to the Motley Brews Downtown Beer Festival last weekend with some of my favorite people and we had a great time. Thank you again to Robert Bell for being the DD because we are responsible drinkers. (Moment of Truth – I will never understand people who take that risk of drinking and driving, especially when they are grown ass people and not kids). Of course we had VIP tix to take advantage of the special pours inside the reserved area, and they were spectacular.  I didn’t eat anything in the VIP area however because I don’t wait in line for free food. In fact I couldn’t even tell you who catered the VIP area. SORRY!  My feeling on the matter is that the culinary team there should have their shit together so there isn’t a line 25 people deep at each station.  Thankfully the food outside for purchase was fantastic!!

See here the gorgeous Boudin Blanc from Comme Ca – Thank you Brian and Daniel!  Whoop, was that good!

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See here the ridiculously delicious Short Rib Fries from Truck U BBQ – Thank you Mike!

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We also had the Stroganoff Fries from Forte Tapas  (John Courtney on the line there) and ate them so quickly there is no pic.

Next beer event coming up is THIS weekend at the Cosmopolitan. Yes, I am going. With my main squeeze and my SILs from San Francisco. We have a room at the Aria because we are responsible drinkers. And of course the Chefs to the Max event Sunday at Carson Kitchen.  Follow me on Instagram or Twitter and you will see all the pics before everyone else. And follow and like my page on Facebook too. They are all Good for Spooning.

Aunt LeAnne Goes to a Steakhouse

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Skipping the “Moment of Truth” I insert into each blog post, here are a couple of little secrets about me:

  • I think I may be the only person on the planet who doesn’t like “Seinfeld”. I like Jerry Seinfeld, I just never thought the show was funny.  It was “Much Ado About Nothing” for me (just like the Shakespeare play that I despise). The only part of that show I liked was Kramer. I would much rather watch “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” which is Mr. Seinfeld to a much more relate-able and hilarious degree for me.
  • I am not much of a “red” meat eater.  Typically when I walk into a steakhouse either I have been invited to an event, or someone else is paying.  And when I am faced with the choices on a steakhouse menu I seek out the lone pork, fish or chicken dish because I KNOW there is one. A good rib-eye or porterhouse is lost on me.  I am just as happy with a perfectly cooked mid-rare burger or flank steak as I am with the more expensive cuts that beef aficionados proclaim to the world are the pinnacle of dining. Aside from tartare and carpaccio, I could easily give up beef as long as I have access to pork, lamb and goat.
  • I MAY have been converted this past week by Chef Stephen Hopcraft and STK at the Cosmopolitan here in Vegas.

Back in January we went to the Chefs to the Max dinner/fundraiser at RX Boiler Room and in the silent auction we won a “Meat Tasting Dinner for 6”. While I love Stephen as a human being, I am more of an appetizer gal when I go there to eat, and that is really not that frequent. John eats there more than I do, BUT this dinner was MAGIC and so much fun and the company, as much as the food, was what made it so special (thanks to our friends Heather Burdette, Jozef Bobula, John Morris and Lynn Moonen for joining us).  Chef even allowed me to “play” with our food when it came to the tartare.

I asked Chef if I "got to play" as well. He let me mix up the tartare and form and plate it.

I asked Chef if I “got to play” as well. He let me mix up the tartare and form and plate it.

Enjoy the pics, and the captions and KNOW that the food was spectacular and I MAY in fact have to try to enjoy beef just a little more often.

Tartare with gaufrettes - fancy french potatoes. Sorry the taters seem to be the star of this pic, but the tartare was awesome!

Tartare with gaufrettes – fancy french potatoes. Sorry the taters seem to be the star of this pic, but the tartare was awesome!

Carpaccio with a superb pesto pasta. I even got a few tips out of Chef for making the pesto at home. This was all done LIVE in front of us!

Carpaccio with a superb pesto pasta. I even got a few tips out of Chef for making the pesto at home. This was all done LIVE in front of us!

The best slider I have ever had!

The best slider I have ever had!

Beet Salad (l) and Caesar Salad (r)

Beet Salad (l) and Caesar Salad (r)

Oh, and did I mention there was wine involved? Exceptional pairings with each course.

Oh, and did I mention there was wine involved? Exceptional pairings with each course.

Filet tasting - L - R: Traditional Prime, All Natural, and Bone In. Of course there were sides!

Filet tasting – L – R: Traditional Prime, All Natural, and Bone In. Of course there were sides!

And then there was dessert. The closest to you is a chocolate mousse with my all tie favorite, a French macaron as a garnish. By this time I was so full...I only ate the garnish.

And then there was dessert. The closest to you is a chocolate mousse with my all time favorite, a French macaron as a garnish. By this time I was so full…I only ate the garnish.