Vega$, Part 3; Mesa Grill

No, that is not Bobby Flay (or as our waitress said, "Iron Chef, Bobby Flay"), but just one of the two David reproductions in Palazzo di Cesare.

Luckily for us, Mesa Grill was just down the elevator, in the lobby of our hotel, so we conveniently went there a couple of times on this trip. We started at the bar (where else?), for a Margarita while waiting for our friends. You can create your own Margarita, by choosing a Tequila, opting to replace the Triple Sec with a better liquor, such as Cointreau, for $2 extra, and another $4 extra gets you a "smoky floater" of Mezcal. We opted for the smoky floater, which, luckily for us, they left off the bill. The Mezcal really made the drink, it gave it more bite and cut the usual Margarita sweetness. At the table we started with queso fundido, with goat cheese and blue corn tortilla chips. It disappeared quickly, I even used my fork to chisel away the wonderful golden brown crispy bits on the cast iron skillet.


For my appetizer, I had zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese, with a yellow bell pepper sauce. All of the flavors were great, but the blossoms were only about 1.5 inches long. Two small bites a piece.

I had an other appetizer for my main course, a tamale topped with shrimp, and a couple of sauces - something creamy (Margarita #2), maybe some chive oil and red pepper oil. Very good, and very filling. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it.

I helped Heather eat her chicken and black bean quesedilla, toasted with some cheese in the salamander just before serving, unfortunately I think it may have sat out a minute too long before it reached our table. The cheese had firmed up a bit.

Everyone loved their food, Jose had the roasted chicken, Jasmine the pea soup.


Mesa Grill in Las Vegas is much more lively than its New York original. Same creative food, same great service, same colorful presentation. It almost makes one forget how irritating and obnoxious (Iron Chef) Bobby Flay is.