American Fish
2010 Brut Cremant
Bee’s Knees
Corn Bread, Grilled Garlic Ciabatta, Butter, Olive Oil
Black Cod Tostada with Cilantro Slaw
New England Lobster Roll with Toasted Parker House Roll and Old Bay Butter / Michael’s Tomato Soup with Maine Lobster Grilled Cheese and Micro Basil
Shrimp and Grits, Serrano Ham, Shellfish Broth, Jalapeno Cream
Seared Scallop and Foie Gras with Pain Perdu, Candied Fennel, Charred Blackberry Butter
Grilled Lion Fish with Yukon Gold Potato Chowder, Steamed Mussels, Pork Belly Croutons
Crawfish Hush Puppies
Lobster Whipped Potatoes
Lemon Pound Cake with Melon Sorbet, Compressed Melon, Blueberry Tapioca with Pop Rocks
White Chocolate Bread Pudding – Caramelized Banana, White Chocolate Ice Cream / Warm Beignets with Chocolate Mousse and Lime Sugar
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte with Salty Caramel Ice Cream, Peanut Praline / Mascarpone Cheesecake with Huckleberries and Vanilla Crust
Double Espresso
Having made friends with folks in the Mina group and harboring a great respect for the chef himself after many stellar visits to his restaurants in various cities my final dinner prior to becoming an official resident of Las Vegas saw me seated at Aria’s American Fish for a self-selected tasting menu based on classics and seasonal specialties, the newly reorganized kitchen working in full view and servers happy to engage in discussions of sourcing, preparation, and approach. A truly beautiful restaurant, tucked away from the Casino in in typical Mina fashion (Michael Mina Bellagio, Stripsteak, Pub 1842, etc,) I was seated in a corner booth and greeted quickly with a glass of champagne and electing for a cocktail to go with dinner my meal began promptly with Chef Mina’s classic corn bread in a muffin form and doing my best to temper eating these by the dozen I still managed to order a second basket as I progressed through six savory courses and two rounds of dessert inclusive of amuses and palate cleansers, plus sides paired with my final savory. Focused squarely on the sea with fish generally out of the waters no more than 24 hours each and every plate that arrived was prepared to a lightly cooked exterior and delicate rare internal temperature, the tender scallop balancing a creamy piece of foie gras and the shrimp and grits particularly impressive while the lion fish was flaky and light, beautifully complimented by the brine of the mussel chowder and smoky pork. Always happy to overindulge on dessert, even though the hush puppies were like sweet and savory crawdad doughnuts, the team at American Fish continued the trend of very impressive sweets that I’ve seen from Baltimore to Detroit to Vegas and San Jose with a quartet of options where doughnuts and bread pudding both shined and cheesecake wowed; the lightness of the mascarpone something I generally don’t anticipate in the dish but truly impressive in the setting of light vanilla cream and reduced berries.
