Craving Lotus of Siam Thai Restaurant

What do we do when we go on vacation? Eat! Las Vegas allows for food lovers to indulge in a variety of cuisines and many restaurants are accessible in the many hotels on the strip; however, one restaurant that is off the strip and not in a hotel is Lotus of Siam Thai Restaurant. The food offered at this restaurant has got to be the best Thai food I’ve ever had, and I am positive that any one who loves Thai food and has eaten at Lotus will crave it for the rest of his or her life. The last time I was in Vegas was the first time dining at Lotus, and I could not get it out of my mind. The wait could be long, so we made sure to make reservations ahead of time, especially since were a party of 9. A group of friends and I, especially, were eager for the food that already made best buds with my taste-buds. The menu is extensive, but since most of us have been to Lotus before and since there were a few Vegas locals in the group, who are regulars, we ordered what we knew every one would love. The following were some of the dishes that were ordered that I had been dying to eat: the Som Thum (Papaya Salad), Garlic Shrimp, Nam Kao Tod with no meat (Crispy Rice), Pad Thai with Shrimp, Crab Fried Rice, Yellow Curry with Shrimp, Drunken Noodle Seafood, and Chinese Broccoli in oyster sauce. We all shared the mango with sticky rice and fried banana with ice cream (must order!). Before the trip, I was so excited to get the opportunity to eat at Lotus and was glad that I was able to eat such great food with great friends. My cravings were also glad because they left Lotus happy, happy that they got to visit their best Thai friend, best friend forever!

Craving Botero

What is my favorite restaurant in Las Vegas? Botero at the Encore is uh-freakin’-mazing! If I (hypothetically) had to choose only one place to eat dinner all weekend, I’d choose Botero. Last night for dinner, Dreams, Ray, Face, Marshall, my bf and I had a pretty foodgasmic experience. The meal started off with a shrimp tasting sampler, compliments of the chef, and a breadbasket came out with seasoned butter. I had the baby beet salad with warm goat cheese and the table shared a dozen market oysters on the half shell as well as some of the most cravetastic side dishes, the truffle macaroni & cheese, baby artichokes, Botoero fries, and French green beans. Coincidentally, we had the same sever, Daniel, that my bf and I had several times when dining at Botero and he remembered what I usually order, an entree size portion of the steamed Alaskan Crab legs, which are already cracked, cut, and ready for easy (and clean) consumption. Daniel also knocked the oysters off of the bill as well as the most delicious desserts that he picked out for the table: the Lemon Napoleon (lemon pound cake, blueberry ginger compote, lemon curd ice cream), the Milk Chocolate Bon Bon Lollipops (vanilla bean ice cream and hazelnut praline), the S’mores Brioche Doughnuts (toasted marshmallows, chocolate ganache, with dipping sauces), and the lemon and berry sorbets with “Congratulations” spelled out in chocolate fudge because we mentioned that we were in town visiting our friends, Dreams and Ray, and celebrating their pregnancy. I have never had one thing I didn’t like at Botero, and always crave and enjoy having dinner there whenever we’re in town. It would be very difficult for Botero not to be a favorite after a meal like the one I had.