Days 7 & 8 - Las Vegas

Day 7 in Las Vegas was the SO's birthday. My plan was to head out for a day in Death Valley and then to head back to Vegas so he could have sushi for dinner. So, there's not much to write about unless you want to hear about how much he loved the dead sea critters he ate at a local place that our hosts recommended, Sushi Avenue (and treated us to--thanks again for dinner!). Me, I had a vegetable roll and some veggie tempura.

Day 8 was another day meant for relaxation and hanging out with our hosts. But it was also our last night in town and the last opportunity to see the fountains at the Bellagio (cancelled due to wind when we were on the Strip Saturday night), so I referred back to some of the notes I'd taken before the trip and decided on Agave, a high-concept Mexican junt near where we were staying and just across the street from the Red Rocks Casino.

Typically, I'm against high-concept restaurants where it feels like the menu was created by the marketing department rather than by a chef, but one thing I will say about those types of restaurants is that you can always count on them to serve pretty good food. And Agave actually served very good food.

They start you out with a trio of salsas on a cute little stand. There's a salsa verde, a red salsa (with a tast of lime and cilantro) and a smoky black bean salsa. All three were excellent. The red salsa in particular tasted very bright and fresh.

We ordered guacamole as an appetizer before we saw the salsa trio. We probably wouldn't have ordered it, but I'm glad we did. It was fresh and chunky (I love big chunks of avocado in my guacamole) and very good. And the portion was huge. We couldn't finish it (and I rarely leave good guac behind).

For dinner, I struggled in choosing between the portabella mushroom tamale and the potato and portabella mushroom tacos. I decided on the tacos on the server's recommendation and was not disappointed. Normally, I wouldn't eat a taco stuffed with potato (hellooooo, starch) but I was curious about how they'd blended these tastes into something that was, well, Mexican. Obviously, the asadero cheese, cilantro and lime helped a lot. In fact, the potato seemed to be there mostly for its texture, which worked well with the mushrooms and lettuce. It was cooked just enough to be fluffy at first and then creamy once chewed. And I know I mentioned the lime, but I was very appreciative of how generous they were with the limes, allowing a wedge for each taco. Because I really love lime juice, particularly with Mexican food. Anyway, there were three tacos on my plate and I just couldn't make it through the third one, even though I tried really hard. That potato takes up a lot of room in ye olde stomach. But the SO was kind enough to nearly polish it off, despite having three tacos of his own (he went for the taco sampler--again, filled with sea critters though only after joking with me about ordering the goat).

Obviously, there was no room for dessert. This was an incredibly filling and satisfying meal. Even an hour later when we were at the Paris casino, I had no interest in a dessert crepe. Whew. Agave: thumbs up.

Next up: our last day in Las Vegas ends with a treat at Bagel City.