CRAFTkitchen
Coffee from Colorado River Coffee Roasters
Pineapple Pullthrough / Cinnamon Roll
Sticky Bun / White Chocolate Cranberry Scone
Almond Croissant / Croissant with Cheddar and Green Onion
Housemade Apple Butter
Citrus & Crab – lump crab, avocado puree, baby lettuce, fingerling chips, champagne vinaigrette
Ciabatta Caprese – heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic reduction, pulled basil
Crustless Quiche of the Day – bacon cheeseburger
Loaded Short Rib Fries – garlic parmesan fries loaded with slow roasted pulled short ribs, jus, sunny side up egg, chopped green onions
Croque Monsieur Panini – Niman Ranch ham, Gruyere cheese, béchamel, tender greens
Chorizo Shepherd’s Pie – sautéed chorizo, whipped potato puree, poached cage free egg, micro cilantro
Grilled Shrimp and Cheesy Grits – grilled white tiger U-15 shrimp atop Fiscalini cheddar grits, crispy applewood bacon, green onions
S’mores Waffle – fluffy golden malted waffles with marshmallow fluff, graham cracker croutons, chocolate syrup
Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream / Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
Mango Sticky Rice
CK Pull-a-Part – housemade mini brioche rolls smothered in a sticky gooey cinnamon sugar sauce
Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffin
Kouign Amann
Almond Brittle with Chocolate and Candy Cane
Chocolate and Vanilla Biscotti
Chewy Granola
Happy to support Chef Jaret Blinn’s CRAFTkitchen both via Blog and in a writeup for Vegas2LA, it was along with three friends that I returned to the Henderson eatery on the day after Christmas and seated at a communal table in the private dining room the experience unfolded much like that prior, a substantial number of plates tasted and not one of them anything less than quite good.
Busy and bustling on a Saturday just prior to 1pm, not an open seat to be found save for the bar lining windows up front, it was greetings from Jaret as well as his wife that menus were presented, a weekly brunch and #secret all set to tempt alongside the all-day breakfast and lunch reportedly about to undergo its first seasonal update.
Beaming like a proud parent about the community’s embrace of a restaurant in which he has invested money, time, and sweat it was with a large selection of Blinn’s artisan pastries that the afternoon got started and with new flavors offered in the pullthrough, scones, and croissants it was still the Cinnamon Roll and Sticky Bun that showed most strongly, the golden coil of the latter as good as any in the nation with a crisp exterior giving way to springy layers of butter beneath a salty-sweet glaze.
Dining with persons who prefer a bit of greenery amidst the meats and sweets round two featured a beautiful salad of lump crab and winter citrus alongside fresh tomatoes plus creamy mozzarella on bread, and although it was with a bit of doubt that the Gluten-Free “Crustless Quiche of the Day” was ordered the small crock was actually quite excellent, the richness of ground beef and cheddar somehow failing to weigh the souffle of eggs down.
Next presenting a daily special of hand-cut fries beneath tender shortribs alongside the Croque Panini and Shepherd’s Pie that had previously impressed me during visit number one, it was with three grilled shrimp standing in a bed of golden grits that the savories were concluded, the dish reportedly soon to join the everyday menu and a ‘must order’ if so as both the texture and balanced flavors rival all but the very best down South.
Not generally fancying fluffy mini waffles, but again finding Jaret’s better than most with a light crunch overlying the supple crumb beneath marshmallow fluff and cinnamon sugar “croutons” that melted like meringues it was finally with a duo of desserts that towels were tossed in for many while I found myself slowly scraping the bottom of textbook sticky toffee and chocolate croissant bread pudding bowls clean.
Undoubtedly aware of our satiety, but at the same time still playing the perfect host and offering more, it was finally with a large bowl of the #secret menu sticky rice alongside Brioche Monkey Bread that the meal itself was concluded, a long chat to follow along with no less than five more delectable treats including chewy granola, a pumpkin muffin, and the city’s best Kouign Amann boxed up and presented along with the bill.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS: Championing the motto of Local. Inspired. Eats. in an area suddenly brimming with breakfast options looking to break the mold I’ll add the words Affordable. Fresh. and Friendly. to descriptors of CRAFTkitchen and eagerly await whatever Chef Blinn and his team come up with next.
RECOMMENDED: Sticky Bun, Citrus & Crab, Grilled Shrimp and Cheesy Grits, Chorizo Shepherd’s Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding.
AVOID: Getting your heart set on any one specific thing as the menu is prone to change and new items are equally prone to impress. On this visit, Fries could have done with Parmesan as the Shortrib itself was quite salty enough while the balls of Monkeybread weren’t quite as soft as those found elsewhere.
TIP: Social Media users are advised to follow CRAFTkitchen on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as the brunch and #secret menu are hinted at throughout the week.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://craftkitchenlv.com/
