Cocina de Maribel's

Walking into though the Doc Hollidays door I didn't really know what to expect when I stepped in Maribel's Kitchen. The restaurant was a little larger than I was expecting and the server approached is immediate for our drink order and we out in an order for guacamole while we looked over the menu.

They have daily specials that all looked amazing. Since it was Tuesday, we both opted for the carne asada tacos special. This comes with three tacos, rice, beans and a drink, all for the low price of $5. How amazing is that. The rest of the menu was extensive and had good prices as well.

Our guacamole arrived and it was heaven in a bowl. Big chunks of avocado and not overly blended, I couldn't get enough. I tried to be a lady, but I really wanted to eat it by the spoonful. For $3.99, it was a great value and the portion was enormous.

Our tacos came out and I was even more amazed. Everything tasted great and I was stuffed and very happy by the end of my meal. 

Service was attentive and refills were plentiful. I can't wait to come back and try more of their menu and, of course, to order more guacamole.

 

 

Items sampled: 

Guacamole, carne asada tacos plate, chip and salsa, fish tacos, shredded beef burrito, chicken enchiladas

Location: 

9821 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89183

Ei's Cream Cafe

After a very filling and delicious dinner at a nearby restaurant, nothing sounded better than a nice big bowl of ice cream.

Ei's Cream Cafe is a cute little ice cream spot. The owner's really paid a lot of attention to detail. Decor, murals, tables and chairs are absolutely adorable with a sparkly ice cream motif. 

The menu is pretty diverse with options of ice cream, sundaes, kronuts, macarons and ice cream sandwiches as options. I was tempted by the kronut sundae but opted for two scoops in a bowl. I got taro and green tea while my friend ordered the tin roof and coffee in a bowl. 

The ice cream was creamy and refreshing. You can tell the ingredients are natural.

The location is a little hard to describe and I hope it doesn't dissuade people from visiting this hidden spot. They are on the corner of Silverado Ranch and Eastern.

Items sampled: 

Green tea, taro, tin roof and coffee ice cream.

Location: 

9711 S Eastern Ave, Ste H1, Las Vegas, NV 89183

Mizumi

With high expectations, we arrived at Mizumi to celebrate our anniversary. 

We were seated at a table with a beautiful view of the waterfall area and our server was incredible. She was attentive and sweet and definitely made our anniversary dinner special. 

I had researched the menu in advance so I would know what to order. We decided on a few different items, both from the sushi and robatayaki menus. 

We started with the Mizumi roll and I was a little disappointed. All the ingredients sounded great together but the taste didn't live up to the expectation. It just didn't taste as fresh and flavorful as I had hoped. The lobster was tough and a little on the chewy side. The brussel sprouts were good, albeit a little overdressed in balsamic vinegar. The highlights from what we ordered were probably the rice balls, pork belly and the bacon wrapped enoki. These are items that are pretty hard to screw up. I've had better versions elsewhere, but these were decent. My least favorite items were the sweet potatoes, shishito peppers and eggplant. I rarely meet a shishito pepper or eggplant dish that I don't enjoy, so these were particularly disappointing to me. 

We ended our meal with the Mizumi mask dessert. I had low expectations for this, since I mostly ordered it expecting it to be a good photo op over actually enjoying the dessert. It was tasty, but definitely nothing amazing. It did have a wow factor as far as presentation goes, though. 

Our anniversary was great, mostly due to the fantastic company and excellent service, but the food was just ok on this visit. I am interested in trying more of their menu options on another visit, but I'd likely skip most of what I ordered during our last dinner. I have no idea if we just arrived on an off night, but I'd likely give them another whirl in the future.

 

Items sampled:

Mizumi roll, shishito peppers, pork belly, Yuzu eggplant, rice ball, brussel sprouts, sweet potato, filet and Mizumi mask dessert.

Location:

Wynn Las Vegas 

3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Cowgirl Creamery - Ferry Building San Francisco, Ca

As we were making our way through the Ferry Building we had to stop at Cowgirl Creamery for some cheesy goodness.

My fella and I decided to share a cheese toasty with pancetta. The line waiting for food was pretty long, but it went quickly. We dug in immediately when we received our food and I was delighted. It was creamy and delicious as I had anticipated. The bread offered the perfect balance and it was a perfect snack. The pickles that accompanied were tangy and tart. A tasty pairing.

Next time I'm in town I look forward to checking out the store a little more and hopefully partaking in more of their cheese and dairy options.

 

Items sampled: 

Cheese toasty with pancetta

Location:

Ferry Building

1 Ferry Bldg, Ste 17, San Francisco, CA 94111

Rx Boiler Room

My friends were in town and after enjoying ourselves at Michael Jackson One, we decided to find a place that was closeby for dinner. I was stumped until I remembered RX Boiler Room. I have been to RM Seafood a few times and my visits have always been hit or miss, so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

My friend has a five year old and our server was great about it. She went out of her way to find my friend's daughter a paper and pen to keep her busy. We really appreciated everything she did to accommodate us. Service was incredible I would give it 5 stars all the way. 

As far as the food, it was solid, but nothing amazing. My mom and I decided to share the chicken pot pie nuggets and osso bucco with orzo. The nuggets were good and moist, but lacked any excitement. They had a good texture, but I had hoped for something more. The osso bucco was tasty and spicy and the lamb was fall off the bone and tasty. The dish had great kick. I tried some of their Mac n cheese and it was cheesy and delicious.

None of the food blew me away but it was solid and reasonably priced for a strip restaurant. The restaurant has a cool vibe, although it was pretty empty when  we arrived on a Monday around 8:30pm. 

I'd come back again if I was in the area and needed a quick bite.

Items sampled: 

Osso bucco with orzo, chicken pot pie nuggets, mac n cheese

Location: 

Mandalay Bay

3930 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119

Bernard's Bistro

Dinner with my OG calls for a new and exciting foodventure and Bernard's Bistro beckoned us. 

We arrived around 7pm and we were greeted warmly. They had live music playing and it was lovely and soothing. 

We were seated quickly and our server arrived at our table promptly. Service was the best I've encountered in a while. He anticipated all our needs, refills on bread and drinks were perfectly timed and he made great entree suggestions. I really appreciated that he wasn't shy about letting us know his favorites on the menu when we asked.

I ordered the seafood crepes and my friend ordered the chicken schnitzel. Both entrees were delicious. I couldn't get enough and the portions were incredibly generous for the price point.

Based on the exceptional service, beautiful ambiance and delicious food, I look forward to coming back soon. It's a great little date night spot in Henderson.

Items sampled:

Chicken schnitzel with side of spaghetti, seafood crepes and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Location: 

2021 W Sunset Rd, Henderson, NV 89014

Ben's BBQ & Smokehouse Truck

I haven't had this place on my radar, but had heard about them in the past. I am not a huge fan of food trucks, as I often find them to be overpriced and much more trouble than they are worth. That being said, when they are accessible just as I get hungry, it's hard not to take that as a sign from the lunch gods to try out Ben's BBQ & Smokehouse.

I had scouted out their menu a few days in advance knowing they were going to be in my neck of the woods and was a little disappointed to find out that they weren't offering their full menu and were instead offering just two lunch items. These were the brisket sandwich and the pulled pork sandwich. I almost always order the pulled pork at BBQ joints, but I dared to be different this time and went with the brisket and made it a combo by adding their mac n cheese.

The wait wasn't too long. I guess that was the method to their madness for only offering two options. It was a drizzly day, so once I had my food I quickly ran inside to enjoy my lunch.

The meat was ok, nothing amazing and could definitely have been enhanced by a tad more BBQ sauce. It was also a little on the fatty side, which I didn't mind too much, since most brisket I have tried ends up being to dry. The sandwich was topped by coleslaw, which definitely enhanced the flavors. The mac n cheese was good. Not the best I've had, but I wouldn't hesitate to order it again if they're in the area.

Overall, I wasn't blown away and I don't see myself going out of my way to try them again.

Items sampled:

Brisket sandwich and jalapeño mac n cheese.

Location:

Food truck serving multiple locations across Las Vegas. 

Henry's American Grill

Located in an obscure mini mall in Henderson, I came here with my friend on a drizzly day in July. 

When we arrived the restaurant was pretty empty. Just one other table was occupied, so the waitress told us to sit whenever we liked. Henry's has a home-y vibe. Lots of large booths and tables available to accommodate large and small parities alike.

Our server approached us quickly for our drink order and returned swiftly with our drinks and carafes for each of us. As someone who requires lots of refills, I was a fan of this. 

Everything on the menu looked great so it took a while to figure out what we wanted. Our server helped us out by letting us know what her favorites on the menu were. She also explained that everything is made from scratch, so I was already excited about our meal.

My friend ordered the Savannah burger with waffle fries and I ordered the fried shrimp with crispy fries and cole slaw. The came out and it was delicious. My friend's burger was enormous and despite his hearty appetite was only able to finish half before throwing in the towel. My shrimp was tasty and fresh. 

I really wanted to try their desserts, but we were just too full. We will definitely be back next time for that. 

Service was friendly and incredibly attentive, as well.

Items sampled: 

Fried shrimp with coleslaw, bbq bacon burger with crosscut fries.

Location:

237 N Stephanie St, Henderson, NV 89074

Soho Japanese Restaurant

Having heard so many of my friends raving about this place, I as to check our Soho For myself. I was worried the meal wouldn't live up to the high expectations I had, but it certainly did.

I came in for Happy Hour and we tried an assortment of their offerings. Everything we tried was solid, but the standouts from our meal were the salmon tostada, yellowtail, miso cod and the stuffed mushrooms. 

We had wanted to order more, but the portions were generous and we filled up quickly for a minimal price. The quality was great for the price and because they offer Happy Hour Mondays through Saturday 4-6, I will be able to go back again during the weekend when it's more convenient for me. 

Service was impeccable and no fewer than four different servers checked on us during our meal to make sure we had everything we needed.

I look forward to trying the rest of the menu and even coming in for their lunch specials and dinner menu.

Items sampled: 

Poke and seafood tostadas, stuffed mushrooms, spring rolls, salmon and avocado roll, miso salmon.

Location:

7377 S Jones Blvd, Ste 116, Las Vegas, NV 89139