Small Plates With Flair: Fleur by Hubert Keller

The Vegas outpost of Fleur de Lys is no more. Fleur by Hubert Keller has replaced it.

More casual. More variety. Less expensive. The only thing I miss is the gorgeous fresh rose wall decoration. This new iteration is much more conducive to affordable group dining.

Fleur served as our pre-theater meal before we saw The Lion King.

A special of the day -- tarte flambe ($11).

Light and steeped with fresh asparagus. Strong start.

Tuna tacos, serrano, cilantro, avocado cream ($11).

So simple yet so cool and cute. Nice nibbles.

"In the shower" mac 'n' cheese, lobster, brunoise vegetable ($14).

Any Top Chef Masters fan will recall Chef Keller's impressive dorm challenge win for making pasta in the shower. If that dish was anything like this creamy crock of goodness, he deserved that win. Magnificent mac.

Brick dough-wrapped prawns, tropical fruit, curry ($17).

Nice crunch but rather pedestrian, especially for the price. Skip.

Salt cod fritters, jamon Serrano, romesco ($8).

The fritters need more salt, and the romesco was surprisingly bland. Skip.

Maple-glazed pork rib smoked to order ($12).

This dish was presented under a smoke-filled glass. When our server lifted the cover, it all billowed out and showered us with the smell of char. Tasty enough. Worth ordering just for the show.

Skirt steak, chimichurri, roasted fingerling, crème fraiche ($15).

Damn good piece of meat and the cutest tiny potato ever. Solid but not earth-shattering.

A special of the day -- modified Peking duck with date sauce ($13).

Asian fusion or Western takes on Asian food usually disappoint me. I didn't object quickly enough when Mr. Monkey ordered this special. Lucky for both of us, it was one of the best things we ate during the meal. The duck was so tender and flavorful, and the date sauce was incredible notwithstanding its baby poo-like appearance.

Coconut soup, tapioca, coconut-passion fruit sorbet, freeze-dried fruit ($7).

Another successful order by Mr. Monkey. Really beautiful in appearance and taste. I don't even like coconut, and I loved it. Tapioca lovers must try this!

Cheesecake lollipops -- white chocolate, kumquat-gingerbread, strawberry coulis ($7).

If you couldn't tell, I was enamored with these adorable lollipops. They looked better than they actually tasted, but I was still very happy with them. Two-sided! Checkerboard! Dipping sauce! Fun!

This dinner was comped, as were our tickets to The Lion King. Hakuna matata!

The Allure of Vegas on New Year's Eve

After dinner at the Foundation Room, we headed to the Allure 2011 party. Our casino host gave us free tickets to the swanky event.

It was kind of like attending an outrageous wedding and not knowing anybody there. We loved the decor and the photobooth, but the event wasn't really our cup of tea.

We headed back to the Foundation Room, which had an incredible view of The Strip.

It was the perfect place to ring in the new year. Happy 2011!

Last Meal of 2010: House of Blues Foundation Room

On New Year's Eve, we joined Mr. Monkey's father, his gambling pals, and some of their children at the House of Blues Foundation Room at the top of Mandalay Bay for a lovely four-course meal in a private room.

Guess why there are no prices in this post? Yes, comped.

Cider-brined Cornish hen, cornbread, dried stone fruit dressing, natural pink peppercorn jus, braised Tuscan kale.

Fantastic start! Tiny! Tender! Tasty!

Lobster potato tart, crispy pommes, country ham, quail egg up, champagne uni Hollandaise.

So many flavors and textures, but it worked!

Intermezzo -- poached plum sake granita with Thai basil.

Not my favorite.

Six-ounce Wagyu tenderloin, horseradish crust, potato dumplings, braised leek, and winter mushroom ragout.

Enjoyable but not as impressive as the first two courses.

Wine pairings and whiskey.

Cakebread chardonnay, Far Niente chardonnay, Faust cab, Macallan 25.

Dark chocolate souffle, white chocolate panna cotta, milk chcoolate truffles.

Way too much chocolate for me, but the few bites I had of the souffle were delectable.

I didn't know what to expect of the Foundation Room. I didn't even know it existed. But I had a wonderful time eating wonderful food with wonderful people in a wonderful private room.

Worth Two Trips in a Weekend: Burger Bar

We were sad to go back to work after such a fun Christmas weekend in Las Vegas, but, in just five days, we were back! We stayed at THEhotel during New Year's weekend in a free room like this. Mr. Monkey's father played at Mandalay Bay, so that's where we ate all of our meals.

For free again. Yay for us!

Burger Bar is brought to you by Michelin star-earning, James Beard Award-winning, Top Chef Masters finalist, awesome DJ, and all-around cool dude, Hubert Keller.


Big burgers, TVs everywhere, and Keller quality? How could this not be a winner?

Beer-battered jalapeño pickles ($5).

Mr. Monkey loved these so much. I only ate one because I'm not much of a pickle fan, but, if you are, Mr. Monkey says you should get these.

Peppercorn burger -- NatureSource beef, fresh and dried peppercorn, and Dijon mustard served on a plain bun with peppercorn cream sauce on the side ($15.80).

Mr. Monkey raved about this, too. I enjoyed a good portion of it myself.

Hubert Keller burger -- buffalo, caramelized onions, baby spinach, and bleu cheese on a ciabatta bun ($20.25).

I preferred my burger over my husband's. I liked the feel and heartiness of the buffalo. I liked the sweetness of the onions. I liked the creaminess and sharpness of the bleu. Damn. I want to eat another one now.

Nutella milkshake -- chocolate ice cream, Nutella, chocolate sauce, and chocolate whipped cream ($8.75).

This made Mr. Monkey very happy. It was gigantic.

We were so delighted with our New Year's Eve lunch that, after a show on New Year's Day, we returned for a late-night snack.

Burger Bar sliders -- buffalo with caramelized onions, Angus with plain bacon, NatureSource beef with American cheese all served on plain buns ($13.25).


We asked for onion rings instead of fries. This order was the ideal size for us that night. Sinful little tastes in Sin City. Nice way to sample three different burgers.

Trio of sundaes -- (1) coffee ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, Oreo crumbles; (2) strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberry slices, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbles; and (3) chocolate ice cream, miniature marshmallows, chocolate whipped cream, Oreo crumbles ($9.95).

These reminded me of tiny flower pots! As tasty as they were cute.

Burger Bar is a tad expensive for burgers, but I think everything we had was worth the premium price. We'd gladly pay for Burger Bar ourselves if we didn't have the luxury of the comp.