After much walking around, undecided, a lot of "don't cares," my friends and I ended up at
Stripsteak in Mandalay Bay. There was a good selection of "nice" restaurants in the Monte Carlo, but they were either way too pricey or nothing on the menu appealed me. Not as though Stripsteak was cheap, it was still darn right pricey, but the other restaurants were extreme. Seriously, a $50 plate? I'd much rather use that money in a San Franciscan restaurant!
The final deal breaker for Stripsteak was the fact that it was by
Michael Mina. I'm a fan of him and have always wanted to try his famous restaurant in SF, but just never had the opportunity to. Hint hint boyfriend. ;)
The interior design was sleek and modern...using different textures, from glass, wood, steel to fabric. Sounds like a mish-mash of textures, but it was cohesive. It worked. Plus, seeing big hunks of meat hanging near the kitchen was hmm..artistic in a weird way.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to order off the main menu or get the prix fixe ($65). I ended up with a filet mignon (how can you go wrong with that, right?) and my boyfriend had the prix fixe which included a salad, slice of prime rib with three sides and dessert.
Instead of bread, they gave us a trio of fries, each seasoned differently, complimented by its own sauce. I don't remember exactly what the flavors of the fries were or the sauces, but I do remember my favorite one - truffle oil fries. Yum. It was light, crispy and delicious. I had read on the menu that there was a side of fries fried in duck fat. I'm thinking the ones we sampled were too. Interesting. Never had fries in duck fat. If so, I def like! There's an extra crispness, airy-ness to the fries. So light weight. I can eat them all day.
None of us ordered an appetizer or wine (boo! :( they had super marked up the wines so it wasnt worth it), but since my bf got the prix fixe, I was lucky enough to snag some of his yummy salad. A piece of lettuce drizzled in advocado dressing with cherry tomatoes, quail eggs and topped with pine nuts and shaved cheese. Simple and delicious. So Michael.
My bf's plate was filled with a big helping of prime rib and three sides (pretty much what everyone else had ordered for sides, he got the leftovers. haha) - peas and carrots, macaroni and cheese in truffle oil and creamed spinach. Pretty good stuff.
Now my filet...I ordered it medium. Why oh why I did that, who knows (I usually order med-well). When it came out, it was charred to perfection but as I got deeper into the cut, it was way too red for me. :( I should have sent it back, but I just continued to eat it. The steak came with a roasted pepper and onion, very rustic.
As I mentioned we split our sides, mac and cheese, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. The mac and cheese was a little bit too rich for me. After a few bites, I couldn't take it anymore. :P
My brother had ordered a strawberry shortcake. Yummy. It came with these little tequila gelatins...creative! And my boyfriend had these beignets with 18 year old macallan and butterscotch pudding. The beignets were good. Not sure if I really liked the pudding...
Would I go back? No. It was nothing to be wowed at. It was a good meal, but I'd rather spend my money back at a nice SF restaurant. Full meal with wine and be satisfied from top to bottom.
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