New Years at Sushi Roku

One of the absolute best things about living in Las Vegas is the sushi. Yes, we live in a desert, but we have a really really busy airport and like most of the country, we get fresh fish flown in daily. 

I randomly saw the Omakase New Years menu for Sushi Roku on Facebook, and I jokingly sent it to that guy I married. I was not prepared for him to tell me to go for it, but hey, it's been a busy year and a fabulous dinner was an exciting prospect. I mean... how can you say no to this!

I've never been to Sushi Roku before, but it's been on the list for a long time. The main reason we haven't pulled the trigger before was because it's at Caesars Palace and, as most locals do, we avoid the strip like the plague. I am so so glad we went. 

Firstly, we had an 8pm seating, so we figured we could get in before all the New Years crazy, and get out and home before everything really gets shut down. Also, conveniently, you can get into Caesars parking from the back, so you don't have to touch the strip at all. And as a happy extra, the powers that be had shut down the Forum Shops, which you have to go through to get to Sushi Roku, to everyone except people who had restaurant reservations. So, there were no people to wade through!

We got in, got a couple of cocktails, got to sit down, and met Lewis, our waiter. Who then broke my heart but telling us that they were sold out of the Omakase menu. When he saw the devastation on my face and realized that we had booked a month prior and admitted that the restaurant had been having a wee bit of drama over it, he went to see if there was anything he could do. And I tell you, Lewis.... he is magic! He told us he could make the whole menu happen, except for dessert, which he could sub something else in. As someone who only ever orders cheese or a cocktail for dessert, I really could not care less! We were so thrilled.

And then, the food started coming.

So. The stars of the show. The crab tartare was actually the best bite of the night. It had caviar on the top and a fantastic umami filled sauce on the bottom. It was so balanced, so delectable. It was fresh and sweet, with the right amount of top and bottom salty. I could have eater a bowl of that on it's own. I can't stop thinking about it.

Next course was some very delicious shrimp (top right) with a nice grill taste. It was good, but felt a touch out of place. 

The third course (middle right) had a scallop over lemon. It was gorgeous. Sweet but briny, and the lemon gave it just a touch of acidity for contrast. 

Fourth course the best thing was, of course, the A5 Wagyu beef. We'll talk about the A5 Wagyu obsession another day. But this was perfect. It came out on a sizzling hot stone... so hot I could feel it under the table. It was stunning, melted in the mouth, and again, so much umami. 

The last course was the sushi course (top right). Every piece of fish was fresh, perfect, and so lovely. I adored them all. I think the rainbow trout was my favourite of the fish, but that truffle tempura roll. So great! Light, crispy, just the right amount of truffle. I adored it.

I think that tasting menus at any restaurant are a wonderful thing. It's where chefs get to play... where they get to come up with a presentation of what represents them. It's often things you can't get every day, special choices, unrepeatable joys. 

It was, all in all, an amazing meal, and a great way to end 2021. We were home by 10:30pm and in bed 45 minutes before new year, cuddling our puppies and making wishes for the year to come. 

Finding What I'm Missing

When I was thirteen, much to my mothers chagrin, I decided to give up eating red meat. She was certainly not thrilled at all, and I particularly remember one incident where I was sitting at the dining room table crying because I was allowed to leave until I had eaten all the sausages on my plate. We did eventually find some middle ground. I then gave up poultry and fish in my early twenties, and kept it that way for about seven years.

It was a big moment for me when I started eating fish, and then recently I've added other things back in. I'll still eating primarily vegetarian, mostly out of habit, but I've been adding things of a meaty nature back in.

So it is with great excitement and a tinge of regret that I announce that I have just discovered Bacon and Blue Cheese Pizza. Dear. God. It might be one of the most delicious things that I have even eaten. My foodie partner in crime, Myles, suggested it when we went out for a drink the other night. I'm sold. I want to eat nothing but gooey, unctuous, tangy, salty, crunchy, delicious pizza. I'm smitten with it.

I've always thought that the whole "everything is better with bacon" was a load of bollocks, to be honest. I find, though, after experiencing this pizza, that I'm feeling as though I have been missing something. When I was a kid, we used to have bacon sandwiches for lunch on Sundays. I think they were incredibly valuable in my sister and mother developing a strong relationship after she went through being a teenager. I think she used to always come over for them, but I may be remembering incorrectly because I didn't eat them back then, and I also moved to America. Now, though, I am excited about the prospect of heading home next year to spend time with my family and eat some of those sandwiches.

So what else have I been missing when it comes to bacon? My friend Margaret says that I should try Dark Chocolate Covered Bacon. I think she's crazy. Is she crazy?

I think I certainly need to explore this world. It seems like an interesting place to be.