Echo and Rig

Tags

bacon, Echo and Rig, Las Vegas, reviews, Steak Sandwich, Summerlin, Tivoli Village, Tivoli Village Las Vegas

Last Wednesday, the lovely wife and I decided to have one last lunch date before the school year began.  During the school year, school lunches are a humble affair.

Generally speaking, our lunches involve whatever leftovers we had the night before* stuffed unceremoniously into a ziplock bag, then placed into a used grocery bag.  We rush to school, jam our lunch into an overcrowded communal refrigerator where it waits with its equally humble lunches until we get to eat at 12:50.  At 12:50, the lunch is hastily plopped onto a styrofoam plate, and often eaten cold.

*Today we had leftover Costco tortellini, along with leftover salad, grapes, and bananas.  Tomorrow, however, is leftover Cuban sandwiches!  (Shameless plug for earlier blog post that involved dangerous cooking activities with students and COMMUNIST DICTATORS)

So with that in mind, we went to Echo and Rig last Wednesday to enjoy a more refined lunch before we set off with vigor into the new school year.

Echo and Rig is best described as a steakhouse and high-end butcher shop seamlessly combined in one.  It’s located in the Tivoli Village shopping center located at the corner of Rampart and Alta on the west side of town.

When you enter Echo and Rig, the hostess takes your name, as well as asks you if there is a reason you have chosen to dine with them that day.  As you go upstairs to their open, uncluttered dining area, she jots down your information, and hands it to a manager upstairs.  The manager greets you by name, seats you, and briefly talks to you about your reason for visiting that day.  It may seem forced, but I have found it pleasant each time I’ve visited.

The lovely wife and I decided to splurge and each ordered a small plate as an appetizer.  She ordered the Tomato, Cucumber, Watermelon and Red Onion Salad…the light, healthy, summery option.  I ordered the Grilled, Thick-Cut Bacon with BBQ Sauce.  After serving us some homemade bread made in-house, our appetizers arrived, and we were both very pleased.  The salad was a marvelous pairing of sweet, acidic, and bitter flavors with a hint of citrus.  The bacon was just the way I like it, crispy along the edges and chewy in the middle with the right amount of smoky and salty flavor, although I didn’t care for the BBQ sauce that much.

We each ordered a sandwich, and after another helping of bread, the sandwiches arrived.  I had the Flat Iron Sandwich, while the lovely wife had a Grilled Cheese sandwich which had short ribs as a bonus.  The Flat Iron sandwich is as close as a steak sandwich can get to perfection.  Prime beef grilled to medium rare and sliced at an angle made for succulent red pieces of delicious beef.  What made the sandwich was the combination of toppings melded into the house made roll.  Spinach cooked to just past wilting was combined with peppers and a bright chimichurri (another favorite of mine).  It was fairly big as well, and considering you are eating prime beef, well worth the $13.  The lovely wife enjoyed her sandwich as well, though I can’t say that I tried it, as I was focused on the beautiful sandwich (and lunch companion…love you honey!…dodged a bullet there) in front of me.

Flat Iron Sandwich

Grilled Cheese

The service was outstanding with an attentive waiter who made sure our drinks were full, and our bread fresh.  The manager came to talk to us again, and our hour at Echo and Rig flew by.

I love Echo and Rig, and STRONGLY encourage you to try it out if you find yourself on the west side of Vegas.  They make you feel at home, do the little things exceptionally well (try the salt scrub in the restrooms), and serve some excellent food.  Finally, they take their meat seriously, and even had a display of a Weber grill in the front window.  All in all, my kind of place.

Alas, those days are behind us now, and we are left to bag our leftovers again day after day after day.  However, summer will come again, and Echo and Rig is just down the road to remind us of what summer tasted like.

Christmas Presents

Tags

America's Test Kitchen, Apple Pie, bacon, Christmas, Creamy Maple Syrup, Creamy Maple Syrup with Bacon, Elf, maple syrup, Pancakes, Prime Rib

Sometime after you have children, your expectations of Christmas change.  I’ll admit that even into my early 20s, I really looked forward to seeing what gifts I would receive on Christmas morning.  Once I had my wonderful children, the focus immediately changed from my enjoyment of Christmas to their enjoyment of Christmas.  I find that that feeling has grown each year.  This year that was especially true, as it has been a difficult year for all of us.

The most poignant moment of Christmas this year came in the form of my daughter’s Christmas letter to Santa.  Katie is eight now, and in some earlier conversations this year, you can see the cracks in the foundation of belief.  Brendan, age five, is still in solid Santa territory, but I wondered if she was just keeping up appearances for her brother’s sake.

On Christmas Eve, Katie spent some time that afternoon crafting a rather lengthy letter to Santa.  She’s a super-smart, ultra-polite kid and she had some questions for the big man.

Here is the text of the main letter:

Dear Santa,

My name is Katie, but I know you know that and I know that you know what I want for Christmas.  So that’s not why I’m writing you this letter.  I just want too ask a few questions if you don’t mind.  How many toys can one elf make in a day?  How many elfs do you have?  Where do you find elfs?  How dose (does) your slegh (sleigh) fly if it’s the raindeer (reindeer) then how do they fly?  Do the raindeer like to fly?  I am sorry if I asked to many questions.

From,

Katie

Now, aside from the grammar and spelling errors, this is a very complicated letter for Santa and his 6 foot 2, midwestern elf who crafts response letters to answer. BUT THEN THERE WAS THE PS.

So, about an hour later, Katie inserted a scrap of paper into the handcrafted envelope on the mantel.  I was told I should check it out by my sister-in-law.  And there it was:

I just lost it right there.  Normally, I’ve been able to keep it all together this year concerning the diabetes.  Yes, it totally sucks, and I am so grateful to live in a world where Type 1 Diabetes is manageable, but there is no escaping it.

Even on Christmas.

I am pretty sure I know where the question came from.  Katie and I both LOVE the movie Elf, and if you have seen the movie, you know that Buddy and his elf kindred eat nothing but the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup.  I imagine she was curious HOW an elf would be able to manage diabetes.

Anyway, Santa’s 6 foot 2 midwestern elf took dictation from the big man himself and crafted a response letter answering the questions which you can see below.

Overall, I don’t know much longer Santa will be a part of Katie’s life.  But, I will say that her letter will be the most lasting memory I have of this Christmas.

And with that out of the way, it’s on to my second favorite thing about Christmas.

Massive amounts of amazing food.

I get A LOT of food around Christmas.  It’s one of the perks of being a teacher.  I get cookies, candy, and different mixes as Christmas presents each year.  It’s rather overwhelming, and each year I take a large portion of the Christmas bounty to Michigan to share with my wife’s family.

I had two excellent mixes this year.  The first was an awesome beer bread mixture that we had with dinner my first night there.  The second was a gift from our pastor’s wife.

Carol is a marvelous cook.  We’ve always had excellent meals over at their house.  As a matter of fact, I just finished snacking on her incredible antipasti about 10 minutes ago.  Anyway, this Christmas she gave us a variety of goodies:

Chocolate Hazelnut Pancake Mix

Creamy Maple Syrup

and for the win,

Creamy Maple Syrup WITH BACON.

Now, I’ll tell you, creamy maple syrup is incredible.  It’s pure maple syrup that is heated and combined with heavy cream.

Tree goodness+Cow goodness=AWESOME

I had it on waffles and thought, “This is amazing.”

Tree goodness+Cow goodness+Pig goodness=CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

We had the Chocolate Hazelnut pancakes Christmas eve morning.  I heated the Creamy Maple Bacon Syrup carefully in the microwave, stirring occasionally, making sure it wouldn’t get too hot or overflow in the microwave.

Then I put it on the chocolatey pancakes.

BEST.

PANCAKES.

EVER.

I’m pretty sure standard pancakes are ruined for me now.  I even had regular maple syrup on a waffle a couple of mornings later, and I’ll admit, it was a bit of a letdown.  It was so perfect.  The salty bacon mixed in with the creamy sweet syrup, blending with the rich pancakes made for a breakfast experience I’ll long remember.

On Christmas Eve, we had the traditional dinner of oyster stew.  I posted a bit about this earlier in the year (i’m amazed that I’ve created 47 posts this year…and that I can self-reference myself).  It was pretty good, and it paved the way for my new favorite Christmas tradition:

CHRISTMAS DAY PRIME RIB!

Without a doubt, prime rib is my favorite meat.  You may have noticed my banner at the top of the page.  That’s last last year’s Christmas day prime rib.

I remember the first time I ever had it as a freshman in college at a restaurant called Barth’s at the Bridge, in Cedarburg, Wisconsin (Sadly, I just discovered this restaurant is no more).  It was before a dance and a large group of us went out for dinner together.  I still remember the first time I saw this huge chunk of VERY red meat sitting before me.  Now, I came from a family where meat was only EVER served WELL WELL WELLLLLLLL DONE.  That prime rib was my introduction into how flavorful meat could be.

My father in law uses the America’s Test Kitchen recipe for Prime Rib.  A copy of which can be found HERE.  He even dry ages it for a week beforehand as well, which really concentrates the flavors.  This is a big key in making an outstanding prime rib.  I really don’t do much in the preparation of this marvelous meat.  I usually help carve, or hover around the kitchen basking in the prime rib’s reflected glory.  However, I do eat prime rib, and eat a lot of it.

This year, the sides included asparagus with grated parmesan, corn casserole, cheesy potato casserole, and rolls.  I DO NOT PARTAKE IN THESE FILLERS.

I had a plate of prime rib.  The lovely and talented wife asked if I would like to take a minute for her to take a well-crafted photo of the prime rib before I devoured it.

NO.

So, I hastily took this picture and dug in.

And then I dug in on a second piece.

And then I had a slice of apple pie a la mode from the AMAZING Grand Traverse Pie Company.

And upon the completion of this meal, I slept for nearly three hours.

It is truly my favorite thing we do on Christmas day (we open gifts Christmas Eve), and is part of what makes Christmas a special time of year.

With ALL of that said, I hope you and yours had a very Merry Christmas, and I pray you all have a happy and safe new year.  As usual, I’ll ask a question to close.  What are your family’s Christmas food traditions?

The Shaved Duck

Tags

bacon, bbq, bleu cheese, Diners Drive-ins and Dives, Food Network, Guy Fieri, meatloaf, pears, smoked meat, smothered fries, St. Louis, St. Louis ribs, The Shaved Duck

The Shaved Duck is soon to be featured on Diners Drive Ins and Dives on the Food Network*. It is busy place now, but I anticipate it will be a destination restaurant once its episode airs sometime in the near future. So, my main piece of advice is to GO. NOW. (But be a bit selective)

*I think Guy Fieri is probably the luckiest man in entertainment. I have a feeling (and have seen things on the interwebs) that indicate that he may be unpleasant to be around. However, I am also very envious of his job. He gets to travel, eat awesome food, and not do much work himself. He’s not making the food! He observes the preparation (and does help a little, I’ll admit), samples, and then says, “That INSERT AWESOME LOCAL DELICACY HERE is MONEY!” Also, I wonder if he truly has eyes in the back of his head, as that seems to be the preferred location of his sunglasses.

Anyway, the whole family went there on Saturday night. The lovely wife and children had spent the day at the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, while my father-in-law and I watched sports and shopped for RVs.

We met up at 5:30 at the restaurant, and we were told that we would be waiting for a while. This is a downside if you are visiting with children. There’s no real place for them to wait, and there were a couple of times when the lovely children were in the way of servers. However, they gave waters to the kids, and were VERY accommodating when Katie had low blood sugar while we were waiting. (Megan, a friend we met at the St. Louis Food Media Forum, gave her apple slices for free–SUPER COOL!)

Once we were seated, we ordered a couple of appetizers, the Smothered Fries and Walnut and Brown Sugar Bacon. Our server did a fantastic job throughout the evening, and did a masterful job in describing each appetizer. It was upon his detailed description of the bacon that we decided to order that particular appetizer.

BACON PERFECTED. That is the only way I can describe the Walnut and Brown Sugar Bacon. The bacon was cut in thick strips, with a glaze of brown sugar that still had its crunchy texture. We placed small pieces on thinly sliced pears and enjoyed the sweet-salty-sweet-crunchy combo. However, I liked the bacon best alone with a chunk of bleu cheese on top. We savored each bite of this marvelous appetizer. At this point, we all agreed it would be worth coming back for the bacon alone.

The smothered fries were fantastic as well. Real, house made fries, topped with a marvelous white cheese sauce and chunks of smoked pork. It was great, and the whole table had a few fries. I will say, I wish there was more pork on the fries, but the kids really loved this one.

One thing I really like is when a meal is timed well. Our appetizers were finished, and within a couple of minutes, our entrees arrived. I had the smoked meatloaf, which is served with a root-beer glaze. The meatloaf had a very firm consistency, with a nice blend of spices. I felt that it was a bit on the dry side, but the root beer glaze was a nice accompaniment, and really gave the meatloaf a home-cooked feel.

My father-in-law had a half rack of St. Louis ribs. They were perfect. Well smoked, well seasoned, and I enjoyed dipping them in the habenero barbecue sauce at the table. Sarah had a beef brisket and smoked mozzarella flatbread. It came on a board chopped into individual pieces. We both agreed that this was not the best dish. We found that it had very little flavor, and the flatbread was more like a cracker than a flatbread. My daughter Katie, being a fine midwestern girl, had a pulled pork sandwich and devoured it quickly. She really loved it.

The thing that struck all of us, however, were the sides. They were all AMAZING. I LOVED the mac and cheese that came with my meatloaf. It had the same cheese sauce as the fries, and was perfect. My sister-in-law had caramelized onion mashed potatoes, which were amazing. The biggest winner at the table, however, was the cornbread. It was served in a small iron skillet, and came with a side of honey butter. I think if I went back, I would just ask for bacon, cornbread and that honey butter. My arteries would be sad, but the rest of me would be oh so happy.

Overall, we left very satisfied customers. So, if you find yourself near south city in the near future, check out The Shaved Duck before the rest of America finds this hidden treasure.

Lincoln and Lunch

Tags

Abraham Lincoln, bacon, chocolate cream, Illinois, pie, pork tenderloin, Springfield

The last days of summer are a melancholy time, especially for a teacher.  Every year we are offered a taste of the retired life.  Late mornings, the flexibility of schedule, time to yourself, not having to answer hundreds of questions in a day, and not having to wear the shackles of society (shoes).  You know it is going to be about 10 months until you get that freedom again.  I know other people don’t have this luxury that teachers have, but every year there is a mixed bag of excitement and worry; hope and sadness.  But you know who had it worse??

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

I’m always reminded of that whenever I visit the Lincoln sites up in Springfield.  “Oooohhh, I’m worried about my lessons and athletics!”

Abraham Lincoln says, “I’m worried about mutinous advisors, incompetent generals, an unstable wife, America falling apart, and oh yeah, one of my kids just died.”

Your problems are put in perspective and you have a greater respect for the man.  Anyway, I strongly suggest people check out the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.  That’s what we did this last Monday, as part of a Last Day of Summer adventure with my parents, the lovely wife, and wonderful children.

Now just up the road from Springfield is the New Salem State Historical Site.  We toured the site on Monday morning.  While there, we were given a recommendation  for lunch at Gillmore’s Cafe just up the road in Petersburg, Illinois.

The family hopped into the van and made the short ride up to the Cafe.  It’s not much to look at from the outside, I think it was an old garage.  However, if you are looking for a down-home meal at a ridiculously low price*, you have found the place.

*BLTs with fries for around $4.  Same with the burgers.

The server was friendly, and half of the group ordered BLTs (check out my earlier musings on this topic).  I however, ordered a Breaded Tenderloin Horse*…I’d never heard of this before and I thought I’d give it a try.  It was described to me as a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich with cheese sauce.

*You really probably shouldn’t put “Tenderloin” and “Horse” together on an American menu…people might get the wrong idea.  It was pork.  Not horse.

Breaded pork!  Cheese!  Sign me up!

This is what came:

Overall, it was ok.  However, my lovely wife recommended that I not eat all of it.  After all, it was a pile of pork, white bread, fries and cheese.  The pork tenderloin was really good.  It was moist and, well, tender.  The cheese sauce was oddly grainy.  Overall, I’m not sure why it’s called a Horse.  Frankly, if you ate this every day, a horse would be unable to support your massive bulk.

I only ate half.  Hooray for my healthy choices!

Oh wait, I ordered homemade pie.

I promise I will write a future blog extolling the virtues of pie.

Now, the Tenderloin Horse was so-so.  Everyone else enjoyed their BLTs and patty melts.  However, we all agreed that the pies were AMAZING.  I would go back for the pie.

I ordered chocolate-cream pie.  I think we have gotten used to the Jell-O pudding mix pie, or the very whipped chocolate mousse style store-bought pie.  Those are all ok.  This was pie perfection.

The picture doesn’t do justice to how good it was.  The chocolate had a full-rich flavor.  Almost a dark chocolate.  There was sweetness, but it didn’t overpower the chocolate flavor.  I also like the fact that it didn’t have three inches of cream on top.  The cream was a great compliment with its velvety-smooth texture to counteract the thick chocolate layer.  Finally, the crust was firm and flaky, and held together throughout the pie.  I like a crust that doesn’t fall apart, but doesn’t overpower the rest of the ingredients.

Just an FYI, Sarah ordered the cherry cobbler, and said it was good as well.  You’ll have to take her word for it, because in my opinion, cherries are the fruit of the devil.

So, if you ever find yourself in Lincoln Land, and have a hankering for home cookin’, go on up to Petersburg and check out Gillmore’s Cafe.  If you steer clear of the Breaded Tenderloin Horse (Once again, not a real horse), you can have two pieces of pie.

Overall, nice people, good sandwiches, and GREAT PIE.

So, I’ll leave my readers with a question.  Where is your favorite spot for down-home cooking in the Bi-State area (or even farther)?  Let me know!