Tap & Barrel (The Amazing Brentwood)

For all the chain restaurants we have in town, one of my favourites is Tap & Barrel.  I find that their food is pretty good and the pricing is reasonable.  Sure, it isn't as fancy as Cactus Club nor Earl's, but it isn't trying to be either.  With that being said, I find that I enjoy their Shipyards and Bridges locations the best.  Now there is one a lot closer to me at The Amazing Brentwood.  So will this be my new favourite location?  Well, we made 2 visits to see if that would be the case.

For our first visit, we actually came for brunch and hence, it was only logical that we had the Double Bacon Benny with crispy potatoes.  Although the English muffin was a bit too toasted, it was somewhat softened by the adequate amount of creamy Hollandaise.  The addition of Cajun spice helped break-up the butteriness.  The poached eggs were nicely runny and the bacon was meaty and not overly crispy.  However, the potatoes were crispy and soft inside.

We also had the Croque Madame with toasted brioche, white cheddar, prosciutto, sunny side egg, truffle bechamel and parsley.  Since they used brioche, this ate much more lightly than regular bread.  It was lightly toasted, so it was still somewhat fluffy inside.  The truffle bechamel was creamy and nicely earthy.  On top, the sunny side egg was runny and it provided even more moisture to the bread.

For myself, I had to get my favourite item here - the PB&J Burger!  I've had my fair share of burgers with peanut butter, but this one is the best I've had.  The savoury and creamy nuttiness was perfectly balanced by the salty and sweet bacon jam.  So much flavour packed into this and the addition of chipotle in the peanut butter only added another layer of flavour.  Also, the beef patty was crispy on the outside and moist in the middle.  This all sat within a soft toasted brioche.

We ordered some appies for the table including Chicken Strips and Waffle Fries as well as Salt & Pepper Wings.  Coated in a crispy breading, the chicken tenders were moist inside.  We opted for the waffle fries and they were crispy.  As for the wings, they were fried enough that the skin was rendered.  The meat was not exactly juicy, but it wasn't overly dry either.  There was enough salt to flavour the wings.

For both visits, we had the Steak Frites.  However, the first version was with a 7oz Sirloin ($34.50) while the second was with the 10oz Prime Rib Medallion ($42.95).  Both came with a peppercorn sauce, arugula salad and of course fries.  The peppercorn sauce was really good being creamy (even creamier the second time) and flavourful.  If I had to compare the steaks, it was predictable that the ribeye was more flavourful and a bit more tender.  With that being said, the sirloin was also tender, but just not as much as the ribeye.  Both were cooked to medium-rare as requested.

Since they have a whole section dedicated to their pizzas, we had to get one in the form of the Hawaiian Heat.  As the name suggests, this was a combination of roasted pineapple, bacon, smoked mozzarella, jalapeño mayo, lime and pomodoro sauce.  It had all of the qualities of a Hawaiian pizza with its sweet and saltiness as well as smokiness, tanginess and of course spice.  The crust itself was decent with a crispy bottom and edges.

One of the more under-the-radar appies was the Crispy Humboldt Squid.  it didn't look like much, but the pieces of squid were tender while the outside was lightly battered and crispy.  It was well-seasoned where the jalapeno mayo added some tangy spice.  We ordered the Seafood Chowder primarily for my daughter.  She thought it was decent, but a bit thin and lacking in ingredients.  For the items that were in the soup, the clams, cod, potatoes and corn were good though.  The addition of Old Bay seasoning gave it some some salty spiciness.

She continued the theme of seafood with the Caper Dill Salmon with featuring oven-roasted steelhead, caper dill aioli, crispy potatoes, asparagus, dill and parsley.  The salmon looked great from the outside, but ultimately, it was overdone.  It wasn't to the point of being dry, but it was no longer moist.  It was properly seasoned though while the sauce was creamy and full of dill.  Crispy potatoes were like the ones from brunch.

My son went for the Porcini-Crusted Beef Dip featuring Certified Angus beef, truffle jack cheese, tiger horseradish sauce,

caramelized onions, French onion jus and crispy onions.  This was quite good with a toasted baguette that kept everything intact while absorbing the jus to its fullest.  Hence, there was plenty of sweetness and rich savouriness to go with the tender beef.  Due to the addition of truffle cheese and porcini, there was plenty of earthiness as well.  Side of tater tots were super crispy.

For myself, I had the West Coast Clubhouse with a side of the same seafood chowder.  This very large sandwich had plenty of tomatoes and arugula as you can see in the picture.  there was also tender grilled chicken breast, crispy bacon, aged white cheddar, smashed avocado and charred fresno aioli.  All of this made for a hearty sandwich that hit all of the flavour notes.  This could've almost been called a melt because the brioche was buttered and grilled on the flattop.  Although rather messy to eat due to the greasiness, the sandwich was excellent and I would order it again.  Overall, the food at Tap & Barrel Brentwood was pretty good. Definitely more of a casual vibe and also a bit less expensive than Earl's.  Earl's is more elevated, but then you are paying for it too.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Expansive dining space on the 2nd floor

- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:

- Food lags behind Earl's and Cactus Club (but costs a little less)

Chez Max

Sometimes, we just want to keep things simple and really, when on vacation in a foreign  place, it takes some of the stress away.  This is especially true after driving around and touristing all day.  I did have some ideas for dinner but they were either too far away or was much too formal of a place.  Hence, we did a quick google of what was casual and ultimately decent to eat nearby.  It lead us to Chez Max where the menu items were very familiar: burgers!

We ended up sitting outside across the street (yes, the server had to cross the road!), because it was far too hot inside.  For myself I was all over their All-You-Can-Eat Moules et Frites!  I could pick one of 3 flavours and decided on the basic mussels mariniere with white wine, butter, garlic, parsley and onions.  I would say this was acceptable.  Nothing amazing, but definitely serviceable.  The mussels were a tad overdone, but the broth was tasty and well-seasoned.  The side of frites were crispy and I enjoyed them.

Everyone else went for burgers and Viv ended up with the Jack Daniels with of a shot of JD.  This was served on a freshly toasted bun but the way they cut it was rather strange with so much more bun on the bottom than the top.  The meat patty was thick and rather juicy.  There was a good amount of BBQ sauce that would naturally go well with the JD.  You know what, this was a satisfying American-style burger North of Nice!  Who'd knew?  

My son went for the Royal with greens, tomato, cheddar, onions and burger sauce.  Hey, isn't this a Royale with cheese (see Pulp Fiction)???  Well, this also featured an aggressively toasted bun that was cut like the last one.  The fresh ground beef was moist and nicely seared.  Having burger sauce rather than BBQ sauce, this tasted more along the lines of a Big Mac, but with better meat.  Very strange that the burger ate well despite having more bun on the bottom.

My daughter went for the Madame with greens, tomato, cheese, pickles, sunny side egg and burger sauce.  The bun on this one was cut a bit more evenly.  It featured all of the same ingredients as the royal except with the addition of the egg.  This made things messier and also more wet, but in a good way!  In actuality, this meal was rather good and prepared properly.  A taste of North America in between all the other food we were having.  

The Good:
- Burgers are good
- Made with fresh beef
- AYCE Moules & Frites available

The Bad:
- Maybe a little pricey, but there isn't anything cheap around

Bacchanal Buffet (Dinner)

Okay, you knew this was coming...  How could we not visit a Vegas buffet while we were in town?  To be honest, I'm not that excited about spending that much money on a buffet when I can spend just as much on a delicious composed meal at another restaurant.  But just for research purposes, we hit up the infamous Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace.  If you remember, I've been here before in 2019, albeit only for lunch.  This time around, it was for dinner with Eileen, Jacqueline and Roanna.  We made a reservation, just to ensure we weren't waiting in line for too long.

Once seated, we made a game plan of hitting all of the food stations and bringing them all to our table at the same time.  For me, I went straight for the Sushi and the selection was pretty average considering the size of the buffet.  Don't get me wrong, this was pretty much in-line with the Wynn, but with that being said, I would've liked to see more items.  For the things I did get, the fish quality was good while the sushi rice was just a tad on the softer side.

So right next to the sushi, we found the Chinese food station where we found some dim sum, roast duck, frog legs, bang bang shrimp, gai lan with beef, XO chicken, black pepper beef and char siu ribs.  This was a decent selection of food that was overall well, decent.  I liked the frog legs because they were almost juicy despite the deep-fry.  Duck was way too salty while the char siu rib was quite good.  Bang bang shrimp was crispy and sweet and the gai lan was not overdone.

Next to the Sushi, we found a small section dedicated to Filipino food.  Nice to see that as it is not something you would normally find at an international buffet.  We found things like Lumpia, Pork Skewers, Sawsawan and Whole Roasted Pig.  The lumpia was crispy with a moist flavorful filling while the skewers were sweet and well-charred, albeit dry.  Roast pig was solid where you could choose fattier portions or lean parts.  The sawsawan was the perfect dip for the heavy meats.

On the topic of meats, we found a large selection at the Carvery.  This included such things as Slab Bacon, Smoke Brisket, Honey Baked Bone-In Ham, Grilled Tri-Tip, Beef Steamship, Prime Rib and Turkey.   Yah, that was a lot of meat and most of it was quite good.  I found the meats to be tender, especially the prime rib, brisket and turkey.  The tri-tip was a bit chewy while the bacon was rather lean (as evidenced in the picture.  That truffle gravy for the chicken was superb.

So what is a Vegas buffet (or any good buffet for all that matters) if there isn't any Seafood?  Well, they had lots of that in the form of Snow Crab, Dungeness Crab, Lobster Claws, Shrimp, Mussels, Kimchi Baked Oysters, Whelks, Clams, Octopus Salad and Seared Scallops.  I would say the crab was pretty spot on with proper textures, but the lobster claws were rubbery and far too overcooked.  I don't have a picture of it here, but the scallops were really good while baked oysters were buttery.

One of the more unexpectedly good stations was the Mexican food. The best item was the Birria Tacos which were presented on a large circular grill.  They were full of tender beef and drenched in broth and fat.  Naturally, this was messy and tasty.  We also found Al Pastor, Surf & Turf Vampiro Tacos, Chicken Tinga Tostadas and Sonoran Street Dogs.  Not pictured was Elote Locos, Achiote Roasted Chicken and Menudo.  All of these were good and hey, who doesn't like a good menudo?  The crunchy Duros and Chicharones were also a nice treat.  Purple and aromatic, the Ube Horchata was also good. 

A few more items included a Bacchanal Slider, Devilled Eggs, Smoked Salmon Mousse and Pizza.  The best thing of the bunch had to be the selection of pizza.   There was Meat Lovers (the square pizza), Prosciutto & Arugula, Chicken Pesto and 2 that aren't pictured here in the Smoked Salmon, Brie & Apple and Margherita.  Crust was thin and crispy while there was a bevy of toppings.  Particularly enjoyed the pesto as it had the most flavour.

There was also a selection of Mezze and some Toasts.  Personally, I wasn't really into this section and it was more filler than anything.  Not that it wasn't good, but if you are paying $89.00, you need to go for the more expensive items!  There was also a noodle station that featured Pho.  It was actually decent with a mild broth, but chewy noodles and tender slices of meat.  Near the Mezze, there was a selection of Charcuterie which looked great, but I really had other things to eat!

Onto Dessert, there was an enormous selection that included Mochi Donuts, Creme Brulee, Berry Cheesecake, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla Cupcake, Lemon Tart, Pandan Mousse, Double Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Cone, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Cinnamon Roll, Cookies, Ube Chiffon Cake and Portuguese Tart.  Yes, that is a lot to unpack there and in reality, most of them were quite solid.  I enjoyed the lemon tart because that is one of my favs and this one was tangy with a firm shell.  Upside down cake was sticky and sweet while the cheesecake was creamy.

So we got most of the other desserts (plus a repeat of the ube) including Banana Cream Pie, Mini Donuts, Tiramisu, Vietnamese Coffee Coupe, Vegan Strawberry Cake, Passion Fruit Tapioca and No Sugar Added Blueberry Cheesecake.  I didn't try all of these, but the banana cream pie was quite good, very aromatic and not overly sweet.  The NSA cheesecake could've passed for a regular one.  To end, we got a made-to-order Apple Walnut Crepe.  Oh this was really good.  The crepe was warm, soft and a bit chewy.  All the sweet tanginess on top was a great match and the nuts added crunch.  Okay, that was a ridiculous amount of food and really, we didn't even try all of it!  There was a Korean section with KFC and some American dishes including Mac & Cheese right beside the carvery.  Just like the last time I was here, the selection is incredible and the general food quality is decent with all things considered.  However, for the price, one could have a composed sit-down meal at a nice restaurant.  Would you get the quantity of food at the Bacchanal?  Of course not.  So it really depends on your personal preference.  I do know that it reaffirms my belief that it is better than Wynn at the very least.

The Good:
- Biggest selection of eats in Vegas
- Decent eats
- We had excellent service

The Bad:
- Would've liked a better selection of sushi
- Too bad no King Crab, but I'm sure that would've made the cost over $100
- Lobster claws were not very good

H2 Kitchen + Bar

I have fond memories of the Westin Bayshore as it was "the" hotel back in the 70's.  It was originally The Bayshore Inn before Westin bought it in 1981.  Everyone knew about Trader Vic's, the Polynesian-themed restaurant located within.  Fast forward to the recent past and the present, Westin is now owned by Marriott and their current flagship restaurant, H2 Kitchen & Bar has gone through a few iterations.  They have been featuring a Southern-style menu for quite some time and also a Sunday Supper Series, which features a 3-course meal for $40.00.  I've been here on many occasions including their wonderful Mother's Day brunch.  But this time, I came back with the fam to try out their current Sunday Supper feature in addition to their Smokehouse favourites.

Before we got to the mains, we decided to start off with a few appies including the Baked Spinach Dip featuring a 4-cheese blend, pimento, pico de gallo and caramelized onion with corn tortillas.  This was pretty typical with a creamy mix of cheese and spinach with tomatoes and onion.  I felt that they was pretty flavourful and full of textures.  Although they were pretty generous with the melted cheese on the top, it was probably a bit too much as it made the dip heavier.  However, what do I know?  A lot of melted cheese and chips?  I'm sure many people would love that!

One of the best items we had was the Bison Tartare served atop smoked bone marrow topped with pickled mustard seed and aioli.  This was accompanied by house made waffle chips.   As for the tartare itself, it was buttery soft (despite being lean) and well-dressed.  The whole mix of ingredients was creamy and slightly tangy.  Combined with the fatty bone marrow, the little bite atop each chip was sinfully delicious and silky.  Loved the crispy chips as they were the perfect textural contrast for the tartare.  I only wished that the chips were slightly larger in size as I wanted more of the tartare on top of each piece!  Lastly, the whole thing was brought to the table underneath a glass cloche with an intoxicating amount of smoke.  Nice presentation and added even more smokiness to the tartare.

Our last starter was the Chicken & Corn Chowder, that was included in the Sunday Supper Series 3-course meal.  This was an enormous portion that ate much more like a chicken pot pie than a chowder, especially with the piece of puff pastry on top.  The viscosity was of the chowder was on point as it coated the spoon without being clumpy.  There was an abundance of natural chicken flavour in the thickened broth as well as being properly seasoned.  There was no absence of tender chicken and soft potatoes (that were still in one piece).

Onto the mains, the featured dish for the Sunday Supper Series was the Smoked Picanha with roasted carrots and broccolini, red skin mashed potatoes, burnt onion jus and chimichurri.  This was one big plate of food where the picanha was medium-rare and sliced thin.  As such, the meat ate fairly tender despite having an inherent chew.  Thick and silky, the onion jus was full of depth and intense smoky sweetness with a bite.  Those roasted veggies were perfect where they retained a fresh crunchiness.  The chimichurri was bright and garlicky, which lightened up the richness of the dish.

Just because he loves burgers, my son ordered the Whiskey BBQ Beef Burger with cheddar, bacon and all the produce on brioche.  This was a well-constructed burger where the Prairie Ranchers beef patty was thick and fairly moist while sporting a nice char outside.  The bacon was supremely crispy and the thick slice of melted cheddar coated the whole patty.  Naturally, the whiskey BBQ sauce took centre stage offering up a smoky sweet tang with the unmistakable bite of whiskey.  Good balance on that.   He subbed the waffle fries with yam fries, which were uniformly crispy served with a spicy chipotle mayo.

For Viv and I, we had to try their Date Night Meat Sweats that included 1/2 lb of CAB Smoked Brisket, 1/2 lb of Smoked Pulled Pork, half a rack of St. Louis Ribs, Cornbread, House Pickles, 2 Sides (Mac & Cheese, Ancho Creamed Corn) and choice of Sauce (OG H2 BBQ Sauce) for $68.00.  Considering the amount of food, we felt this was a very well-priced platter.  Moreover, the components were good too.  The brisket was fatty and buttery soft while the pulled pork was tender.  There was a balanced smokiness to the meats as well.  As for the ribs, they were large and meaty while tender enough.  I liked how the meat still had a chew and wasn't completely melting.  Yes, these were legit smoked ribs (not par-cooked and then BBQ'd).  Loved the BBQ sauce as it was tangy, smoky and sweet.  Oh that cornbread was fantastic as it was moist with a firm texture.  The spiced butter only helped elevate it.  For our sides, we chose the Mac & Cheese and it was excellent being cheesy and creamy with al dente noodles.  The Ancho Creamed Corn was also creamy with a bite.

The Sunday Supper Series also included Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.  We enjoyed this as the cake itself was soft, fluffy and smoky.  It wasn't overly sweet, but the actual caramel sauce underneath was plenty sweet.  However, we liked how we could regulate how sweet we wanted it by either soaking it in the sauce or not.  It was topped with creamy vanilla ice cream and a crunchy brandy snap.  We also added another dessert in the Apple & Caramel Cheesecake.  This ate more like a crumble with a cheesecake crust.  In that respect, I really enjoyed it as the apples were sweet and tart while the cheesecake was classic New York-style being firm and rich.  Overall, the food was just as good as the previous visits we've had at H2.  The best part is their reasonable pricing given that they are a Downtown hotel restaurant.  You can really eat here and not break the bank.  Something that cannot be said about eating out these days.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Generally well-prepared eats
- Menu is focused
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Maybe less choice for the people who don't like BBQ

Bistro & Co Rooftop Bar

After an early morning in Pisa catching our first bus to Genoa, then having a 3-hour layover and ultimately taking another bus to Nice, we still had to pick up our rental car at the airport.  That meant we checked into our hotel at 8:00pm completing our 12-hour journey.  However, we still needed to grab dinner.  After tracking down a grocery store that was open and acquiring some water and snacks, we made our way to a random place called Bistro & Co Rooftop Bar in Antibes.  We snagged the last parking spot in the lot (which was an omen to what we were going to experience later).

Heading upstairs, we could hear the awesome live music as well as the energetic vibe of the place.  Unlike some of the more traditional restaurants we've had in the past week or so, Bistro & Co offers up a huge rigatoni menu as well as burgers and other North American dishes.  Even though I was pasta'd out, I went for the Rigatoni Bolognese just to see why the section was so huge.  Now this was more of American Italian pasta and in that respect, it was good.  The tubes of rigatoni were al dente while the meat sauce was balanced and there was a good amount of cheese baked on the top.

For my son, he was craving a burger and hence got the L'Oncle Sam with bacon, crispy hashbrown, tomato, onion ring, BBQ sauce and cheddar sauce. plenty of BBQ ingredients.  This was an absolutely massive burger with 2 patties (cooked to medium) and a crispy hashbrown.   I guess this was a ode to the States due to its components and considerable size.  This was actually quite good and the fresh-cut fries were crispy too.

My daughter had the Pavé de Salmon with a soy, honey & sesame glaze as well as rice and vegetables. and it was not bad with it being moist and flaky but could've been cooked just a little less.  The sauce was predictably Asian-tasting with a good balance between sweet and salty.  The veggies on the side were a little overdone while the rice was on the drier side, but worked well with the sauce.

Viv had the Escalope de Volaille Panée with housecut fries and salad.  She also got a side of Béarnaise sauce as well.  Good thing because the chicken breast was dry and chewy.  We did enjoy the crunchy breading though and the same house-cut fries though.  Overall, the food at Bistro & Co was decent and brought back memories of North American fare.  Loved the vibe and also the complimentary drink to start the meal.

The Good:

- Energetic Vibe

- Fairly decent eats

- Good portions

The Bad:

- The parking lot fills up fast