Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay

This restaurant review is definitely the star of my blog! We had the pure pleasure of dining at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill during our unforgettable weekend at Las Vegas. Mesa Grill is at Cesar’s Palace and is everything I’d dreamt it to be. Why wouldn’t it be – it’s Bobby Flay after all!

SK loves South Western food – Mexican & other Latin American flavors. Mesa Grill, for that reason, had been a much awaited treat. We began with an appetizer of Bobby Flay’s special queso and blue chips. They also served us a complimentary assortment of breads – broccoli, cinnamon, cheese. SK had the house margarita and I had a glass of Rose wine.

For the entrée, SK ordered a sweet potato and chicken concoction from the brunch menu while I had grilled salmon. Both entrees came in a bed of sinfully delightful sauces and aiolis.


Finally, we topped it all off with a Banana cream pudding.

Thank you, Iron Chef America.

SALA – Sabor de Mexico

Sala, is yet another one of Virginia Highland’s well kept secrets. The cuisine is Mexcican; exquisite and authentic. To begin with, I was charmed by the interiors; fire red, orange and very inviting. They have an outdoor patio, an indoor salon and an ample bar. It seems like a popular restaurant, it was crowded and we even bumped into friends, enjoying the same Mexican earthiness as us!

They serve a very delicious, complimentary dip with chips, a touch out of the ordinary salsa. The wine list was extensive and was well paired with the different entrees. Most of the entrees are wood-grilled or roasted and the portions very large. Me, in my effort to be different, chose the shrimp cocktail however and I can honestly admit that it wasn’t all that appetizing. My favorite part, as usual, was the dessert; dense chocolate cake with a mousse.

The only down-side was that they did not have complimentary parking and despite a reservation, the wait time was pretty long. It was worth the wait though!

On The Border

On The Border – an old Mexican haunt rediscovered. I hadn’t been to this place in a really long time and had forgotten how nice it was; warm, under-stated, loud, friendly and very Mexican. We went to the one on Mansell Road, though I know there are many around the city.

I definitely recommend the ‘stuffed jalapeños’ as an appetizer. The jalapenos are stuffed with cheese and chicken; spicy and indeed very stuffing! After gouging on that and the salsa and chips, all we could eat was a Grande Taco Salad; split between two. They also have a whole new desert section; each selection seemed more delectable than the other. More than the food though, On The Border is known for its generous bar and its margaritas, more precisely.

If a picture really does speak a thousand words, then going by the one alongside, that must have been a mean margarita!

Redfish - A Creole Bistro

As the name suggests, this restaurant is partial to sea-food. Sea-Food and Creole cuisine; nice combination. Though Redfish is situated in a nondescript part of midtown, it’s trendy and pretty upscale. It is a New Orleans based restaurant and the dark dimly lit interiors as well as the jazz playing in the background is supposed to conjure up a feeling of New Orleans.

They have an extensive wine-list and the servers will tell you exactly what wine goes with what fish and why, in minute detail! They also served complimentary ‘Chips and Dip’, the chips were good, like a cross between ‘papad’ and banana wafers. We ordered the catfish and the jambalaya. The food was delicious and the portions were pretty big. The entrées came with a choice of two sides. I needed a doggy-bag. I would only suggest this place to someone who likes seafood, else you’ll be stuck with French-fries and coleslaw. Enjoy all you Fish-Foodies.

Palomillas

We’d been wanting to eat authentic Cuban food for a long time. Bobby Flay had a show recently on Cuban cuisine and that further whetted our appetite. Atlanta citysearch recommended three in the metro Atlanta area; Mojito, Pozole and Palomillas. The reason we chose this is because it was the only one that had a Cuban chef and served only Cuban cuisine. The others seem to be a mix of other Latin American cuisines as well.


Palomillas was formerly a Thai restaurant, until the Cubans took over!. Simple decor, a few traditional artifacts on display, J-Lo crooning in the background, friendly Spanish-accented waitresses and sizeable portions of food can best describe this restaurant. The entrees are all served with white rice, plantains and black beans. Overall, I thought the food was a little bland for my taste. I always lean towards the spicy. I would recommend the chicken empanadas as appetizers and the house Sangria. Very heady!

Rosa Mexicano

Sitting prettily in Atlantic Station, Rosa Mexicano brings to you Mexican food with a difference. It isn’t your usual challuppas and enchiladas, actually it is all of that but with a whole lot of panache. It apparently belongs to a chain – Rosa Mexicano LLC and this one is the first to open up in the south.

This restaurant will always be a very special place for me. This was the place of an important 'first'. Honestly, I can’t quite remember what I ate. I do know that whatever it was, it tasted real good. The décor; that I do distinctly remember. As the name suggests, the color scheme is red and pink. The wrought iron fixtures on the wall and the mellow lighting are probably meant to lend an air of old-time Mexico. The ambience; a mix of romantic and friendly. Not the overly hush-hush place where you can hear the scrape of every knife but not bustling and noisy either where you can’t hear each other speak.

The best way to end your meal, would be with a quite stroll around Atlantic station, if the weather’s just right, you can’t go wrong with that.