Blog #46- Vegas Test Kitchen

What are you in the mood for? Sashimi? Vietnamese Spring Rolls? A savory pie that could be a cross between your southern grandma’s chicken pot pie and an English sausage roll? Well, you can find it all at the Vegas Test Kitchen and more, it just depends on the night. Let me put it this way, the food is so good that I went 2 weeks in a row. With thousands of restaurants (to try) in Las Vegas, I can’t remember the last time I did that. My only beef with this place is that I don’t think it is advertised well enough because not enough people know about it!! Not that I’m complaining, the service is impeccable and the chef (as in, the actual big wig) is generally on site and makes it a point to talk to all of his/her guests. It is a truly unique and warm experience. 

The Vegas Test Kitchen is located in downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street, right next to Fergusson’s and it is exactly what the name implies. This space is dedicated to allowing Chef’s (all with impressive resumes) to try out new concepts in a space with rotating menus. Some things are always available and on other nights, you will be trying a featured chef’s new recipes. I love that if you’re not sure what you’re in the mood for, you can order shrimp toast, yellowtail sashimi and the best pizza you’ll ever have in your life, all in one night! Ok, maybe that doesn’t sound like the perfect match of flavors but on my first go, I couldn’t make a choice so I decided to dabble in a variety of cultures…I was NOT disappointed. In fact, because it is a fairly small space and the chef’s are hands on, not one thing was even remotely bad…more like, incredible. 

TASTE OF ASIA

This menu was offered on a Friday night and was nothing short of delightful. I got to try the Vietnamese Turmeric Crepe, the Shrimp Toast and as a special treat from our super sweet server, Christina, the Vietnamese Spring Rolls. I haven’t had such good Vietnamese food since I was in Vietnam. I’m not kidding. The crepe was almost like a soft dosa in texture and filled with chicken, greens and came with a lovely dipping sauce. The shrimp toast was nothing like I remembered it as a child but just as good if not better, featuring small, hollowed out, French baguettes, buttered and stuffed with shrimp, and baked to perfection.

Christina was so genuinely pleased that her customers were pleased, that she brought out the Spring Rolls for free and all of the beautiful veggies and herbs (specifically mint) that accompanied it. For the newbies, the main difference between a Thai Spring Roll and a Vietnamese Spring Roll is that you eat the Vietnamese rolls topped with fresh mint and wrapped in a large lettuce leaf, before dipping it in the light, citrusy sauce. It just works. It’s  texture and flavor heaven. I would order any one of these again. And again. 

SUSHI

Yellowtail Jalapeno. My all time favorite. This was fresh, light, melt in your mouth, and the jalapeno was sliced so artfully thin that even the faint of heart (when it comes to spice) can take it in with pleasure. Mmmmmm. 

PIZZA

Guest Chef Alex White is killing it with his pizzas. I tried Grandpa’s White Pizza, topped with garlic oil, shredded AND sliced, fresh mozzarella, oregano, basil, parmesan and ricotta and as good as that already sounds, the kicker was the fresh sourdough bread crust that was made from his family’s starter dating back to the 1800’s in the Yukon. Who knows if that’s true, but it makes for a great story and I’m going to choose to believe it! This pizza was probably in the top 3 pizza’s I’ve ever had in Las Vegas. Try one. 

GUEST CHEF- KIM CANTEENWALLA

Kim Canteenwalla (the chef/owner of Las Vegas’ award winning Honey Salt) has a guest spot on Wednesdays and I was lucky enough to get try out his culinary delights. He is featuring “Play Dough- pierogies, pastries, pies and more” and “Picks, Sticks and Fingers- global foods and finger foods” and of course, I had to try both. Forgive me for not remembering the exact names of what I tried, but I know I started with the samosas and chicken tikka skewers.

The chicken was incredibly tender and full of flavor and the samosas were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly as they should’ve been. The chicken tikka didn’t have the bright red hue that I am used to, but the flavors were all there and on point. However, if I am to be honest, the pies were the star of the show. I got to try a Quebecoise Pie with pork and a Lobster Pie with, well, lobster!

The Quebecoise Pie was so rich and savory and the meat just melted in your mouth, flaky bite, after flaky bite. It was seasoned perfectly in the way that you don’t even look for the salt and pepper shaker and miss it. Ya- it was perfection. These pies were hefty and could easily be shared! 

The Lobster Pie was reminiscent of a Chicken Pot pie with a hint of tarragon, potatoes, carrots and substantial, lump sums of lobster inside. This was the real deal, folks. No imitation anything.  Creamy and delicious. The cherry on top? Kim came out to greet every table, personally with a warm smile and a genuine desire to know how everything was. I’ll say it again, everything was perfect! 

I’m assuming that this is now a permanent fixture in Las Vegas and I can’t encourage you enough to try it out. Fremont Street is so much more than it once used to be! Just keep walking, away from the Fremont Street Experience, and you’ll see what I mean. There’s the cutest little alley way for patio dining with strings of white lights looming above as well. You can’t miss it. 

Who’d like to join me there next week? 

Vegas Test Kitchen

1020 Fremont St. 

Las Vegas, NV 89101

vegastestkitchen.com

*check the calendar (not always updated, unfortunately) for menus and times