Final Vegas thoughts- Emeril's and 'wichcraft

We had tickets to see Ka, a Cirque du Soleil production, on our last night. This severely limited our dining options that night. The debate between an early or late dinner was won with 5:30 reservations for Emeril's New Orleans Fish House. Listed by the MGM as a casual dining option, the restaurant impressed us. We let the waitress know we had tickets (the theater was just across the casino floor) and she expedited our meal while still letting us enjoy our dinner.

Neither of us remembers the specifics of the meal (attribute that to too much wine in the sun at the pool, the fact that we ate appetizers and entrees at a record breaking pace, and that two weeks have passed since our visit), but I do remember well cooked fish and interesting flavors. I'd do it again for mid priced Vegas dining that happens to be conveniently located in the hotel in which we are staying.

The surprise meal of the vacation happened by chance. After hiking the strip from end to end and taking the monorail back to the MGM I was starving and could not wait until dinner. I wanted something healthy, yet tasty. Something filling, but not fatty. Passing by the typical fast food, we stopped at 'wichcraft, a sandwich shop operating in the Craft family of restaurants run by Tom Colicchio. I was going to get a warm roasted turkey sandwich when my attention was caught by the roasted pork, cabbage, jalapeno, and mustard sandwich. Served on a surpisingly good ciabatta roll, this sandwich blew me away. The spice of the mustard and the jalapeno, the flavor of the pork, and the crunchy mouth feel of the cabbage combined for several of my most pleasing food minutes of the vacation.

The only other food pleasure I wish to report on is my renewed appreciation for drinking inexpensive wine out of plastic bottles in the sun. In Greece we would buy 2 liter bottles of wine and ration them out into half liter water bottles to take with us on our daily journeys. There is something so wonderfully refreshing about simply enjoying wine as a beverage. I love a fine wine as much as the next guy, but I love being reminded that the pleasure of wine is not only in its flavor and complexity, but in its ability to slightly gild the the little moments of life and to create a community experience for those participating.

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Southbound- lunch buffet

It appears the barbeque craze is dying down in Westchester. Jimmy Lee's, in the old Sweetwater building, is now The North End and the place on Central has been gone for some time. It seems the only places toughing it out are Q, in Port Chester, and Southbound. Anyway, I took a personal day today and some friends, who eat at Southbound with some frequency, asked me to join them.

I'd been to Southbound a few times before, twice for dinner and once for the first leg of a bachelor party, but haven't had Westchester barbeque in about two years.

A buffet lunch costs about $10 and consists of:

• salad and cole slaw
• baked beans, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese
• barbequed chicken, chicken wings, and fried chicken
• pulled pork
• ribs

Haven eaten there at dinner, I must begin by saying that the quality of the sides is far superior when plated in the kitchen and that the meats could have benefited from a slightly higher holding temperature. That said, I don't think those criticisms are in order. For ten bucks you can eat your fill of traditional slow cooked meat during the day in a casual atmosphere with no rush or sense of urgency.

The bar was lively for one in the afternoon and was patroned by a handful of regulars who appeared to me to be pensioners enjoying some time out of the house. The customers at table where mostly middle aged men, although there was one couple- I can't say if they were there as a couple or as carnivorous coworkers. While we ate about half dozen tables came and went.

Highs- I went thinking I was going to simply eat ribs because I haven't had a barbequed rib in the longest time, but what I enjoyed most was the barbequed chicken. I almost felt as if I were avoiding the true barbeque by enjoying it so much, but it had a tremendous smoky flavor and was brilliantly cooked. Not being a BBQ expert, I'm not sure how difficult it is to cook chicken properly in a smoker, but they did these birds well. My dad likes to quote Julia Child who said you can tell a lot about a chef by how he cooks a chicken.

Lows- The sides were pedestrian. The meat could have been warmer. There was no dessert (Unless you treated the individually packaged apple sauce in the buffet as dessert as my friend Brian did).

Bottom line- I'm not taking my wife there for a date, but for the price, atmosphere, and change of pace, I'd definitely go back for lunch with the guys or for an informal dinner with friends.

Added bonus- Where else can you get a Pabst Blue Ribbon in central Westchester for two dollars and still enjoy a good meal?


Southbound is located at:
301 Columbus Avenue
Valhalla, NY 10595

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