I love going to Las Vegas.  I love using it as an excuse to get dressed up and overindulge in delicious cuisine.  So right smack in the middle of a whirlwind Memorial Day weekend for my friend’s 30th birthday, the Fiancé and I snuck out for a few hours to have our own date night at Aureole at the Mandalay Bay.

My beau might have needed a break from drinks at dinner (and perhaps I should have as well) but I always like to sample specialty cocktails and choose this blood orange martini.  Although right after I ordered it, I started to feel like I should have asked for wine instead.

Did you know that Aureole is known in Las Vegas for its grand wine tower and wine angels that travel up and down the tower to get your wine?  Can you see her in the background?

The restaurant offers a couple of different dining options: 3-course prix fixe, 4-course parallel tasting (8 dishes!), or a la carte.  I wanted to do the parallel tasting but we both didn’t have much of an appetite for so much food so we went with a la carte.

I started with this American Wagyu Beef Carpaccio over a tomato crostini and topped with some green onions.  I absolutely loved it.  I could had another plate.

The beef was super tender and sliced thicker than other carpaccios I’ve had before.  I personally kind of hate the ones that tear apart when you try to fork it off your plate, where the parmesan shavings are thicker.

The Fiancé had the Ricotta Ravioli with Smoked Salmon slivers, snap peas, and baby artichokes.  As soon as the plate hit the table, I couldn’t help but think to myself that season of Top Chef where Marcel topped every dish with a foam, the one where Debi Mazar said it looked like cat spit.

I still don’t get foams representing “essence” of flavors but this ravioli was really good.  Whereas my carpaccio was bursting with vibrant and bright flavors, this dish was understated and delicate.  The fluffy ravioli was so lush and the salmon made it luxe.

I followed up my beef start with a beef main dish, the Blue Cheese Crusted Beef Tenderloin.  I thought it was kind of boring compared to the first couple of plates we had.  The blue cheese sort of sat on top of the beef, it wasn’t encrusted either as the texture was a little soft.  The asparagus on my plate were also slightly salty.

The only interesting thing on the plate was the macaire potato that sat underneath the tenderloin.  When I asked about the preparation, I learned that it’s essentially a twiced baked potato.

At Aureole, they bake them once, turn it into a mash, then it looks like they make a cake that they then roll (like one of those log cakes), cut into slices and bake them again.  It was definitely something I had not seen before.  When I first bit into it, I thought it was bread at first!  Boy was I surprised.

By far, the best thing that the Fiancé has eaten in a looooong time was the Pan-Roasted Scottish Salmon served with dungeness crab and a little bed of sweet corn risotto.  It was the first time a restaurant asked him how he wanted the salmon prepared (rare), which was very much appreciated.  The fish was perfectly pink and every forkful just melted away.  YUM YUM YUM!  He’s still talking about it now, and it’s been over a week since we went.

We ended the night with a selection of petit fours.  The food was so yummy, and surprisingly affordable for what we had, that there’s no doubt that we’ll be back to Aureole again.  Hopefully next time the Fiancé will let me indulge in the 4-course parallel paring. 

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