Walking through a restaurant while it's still in the construction stage is, to me, a rehearsal for what's to come. The restaurant is the stage; the menu, the script; the creator is the playwright; the staff, the players.
Fanciful? Perhaps. But the tour of SEABLUE at MGM Grand that I made with managing partner/Chef Michael Mina was a delicious amuse bouche, a tempting tidbit from the chef before the meal.
And what a meal it was. Last Sunday, six weeks after the walk-through and just a few days before the restaurant would open to the public, the chef and I were seated at a table in the main dining room ready to order. There was still some last-minute tweaking to do; a few workmen were still there, yet the kitchen was fired up and everyone was in place.
Mina's passion for fresh seafood was inspired when he was part of the team that developed AQUA in San Francisco. He remains the managing chef at AQUA at Bellagio and of NOBHILL at MGM Grand.
SEABLUE puts into play a new Mina concept and a new style of dining based on seafood and more. Fresh seafood is expensive, and Mina demands and gets only the best, but SEABLUE has a friendly price-point; diners can eat simply or indulge.
Each guest orders from their own market list menu. Using the provided pencils, diners mark their way through a meal. Taking my lead from Mina I marked and erased and marked again. Here's what I ordered as a starter: one Hama Hama oyster ($3), one Kumamoto oyster ($4) and one prawn ($3). Presented in a deep white porcelain bowl atop a mound of crushed ice were the two oysters and the large, crisp prawn. With it, a separate service of three sauces, including a piquant cucumber mignonette. It was a lovely introduction to SEABLUE dining.
It took much longer to create my salad -- so many wonderful choices. I chose watercress and wild arugula, artichokes, roasted cippolini onions, cabralas bleu cheese, crispy pancetta, pickled quail eggs (pink), earthy wild mushrooms and a saffron and toasted garlic dressing. It was a glorious mix ($11 per person).
There are three choices in each of the appetizer categories -- raw, marinated and steamed or fried. Each dish has its own price ($6-$10); a "small plate" tasting (think tapas) of all three is offered at a special price. Among the dishes tasted were a superior tuna tartare served with small wedges of fresh-from-the-oven pita (Mina's mother Minerva's recipe), a terrine-like dish made of marinated white anchovies layered with slices of cooked potatoes and smelt fries -- whole smelt (any of a variety of tiny, flavorful fish) wrapped in brick, a phyllo-like pastry, then deep-fried. On the side, a gently spiced Tunisian harissa sauce.
A Dungeness crab and roasted red pepper and tomato base soup ($7) was delicate, yet so richly flavored that I sipped it slowly to capture every nuance. Also offered are spiced pumpkin and scallop soup ($7) and Catalan-style white bean and sausage soup ($6); a tasting of all three is $12.
All entrees ($24 market price) are cooked in Moroccan clay casseroles with a "chimney"(tagines) adapted by Mina. No cream or butter is used in the preparation of any of the dishes (excluding desserts).
There are no heavy sauces. Marinated fish, seafood and chicken are seared on the high-speed grill before being cooked in the tagine. As the cooking generates steam, the moisture fills the chimney, then flows down to bathe the food with the infused oils, seasoning and natural flavors.
Orange-glazed chicken ($24), a thigh and a breast with hints of citrus, sat atop a bed of toasted almond rice surrounded by slices of roasted carrots, pumpkin and onions. Homespun and satisfying, this is for diners of all ages. Fruits de Mer ($29) was an abundant selection of seasonal shellfish, hand-cut fettucine, baby fennel and house-made Portuguese sausage. Nestled in the tagine were shrimp, fish, mussels and more.
When my host suggested dessert ($8 each), I groaned. We had eaten a sampling of most of the items on the menu. The desserts, while tempting, would be tasted another time. "No," said my host, "you must try a few. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." So that's how I came to fall in love with Pastry Chef Linda West's divine creations.
Who could have imagined the skilful blending of fruit soups, Italian granita, cookies, ice creams and fresh fruits that would impart flavors and taste memories that would last long after dinner. Refreshing and memorable were Almond Financier -- strawberry soup, honey-mascarpone parfait and a lemon-anise shortbread or caramelized pear cake with a Bosc pear consomme, maple-walnut sundae and walnut clouds (meringues) or lemon polenta cake with citrus juice, Devonshire cream ice cream and a lemon crisp.
The presentation was charming. On each oval platter was a rimmed dish holding the cake. Our server poured around it the fruit soup. Each parfait was topped with a tempered granita made from the individual soups. The soup was soaked up by the cake; the granita filled the spoon until it met the ice cream. The combination of flavors was thrilling.
I've simplified the description to avoid giving away the excitement that comes with the discovery of the layers of taste in each combination.
Throughout our meal Executive Chef Jack "Jay" Wetzel visited to discuss the dishes yet to come. Jay has worked alongside Chef Michael at AQUA and NOBHILL and now at SEABLUE. He is a relaxed, affable culinarian who makes opening a new-concept eatery appear to be a cinch.
It isn't, but the team assembled here are seasoned veterans. General Manager Patric Yumul was at AQUA at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in California when I vacationed there; Sommelier Rajat Parr joined Mina's newly formed Mina Group in February. He is responsible for developing and managing the wine programs at each Mina Group restaurant. Non-working partner Andre Agassi is our city's Golden Boy. What a team.
SEABLUE is open daily at 5:30 p.m. The full menu is also offered at the sizeable raw bar that almost fills one side of the dining room. There is booth seating in this area also. For reservations, call 891-3486.
Mobil Guide ratings laughable: So, once again Mobil Travel Guide has decreed that there are no Five-Star restaurants in Las Vegas. What good fortune for us that a handful of eateries still rate Four Stars.
Oh yes, Julian Serrano's Picasso at Bellagio and Alex Stratta's Renoir at Mirage once received the coveted fifth star, but it was snatched away with no warning or reason when Mobil Guides changed management. Both chefs personally visited with the Mobil Awards people to learn what they could do to regain the fifth star. It was an amiable meeting, but fruitless.
Is there a quota for Las Vegas? Maybe. Le Cirque lost a star; Aureole gained one, but it doesn't seem to matter. Guests from every part of the world come to Las Vegas to dine in our fine restaurants. They're rarely disappointed. Four-Star Mobil restaurants are: Aureole at Mandalay Bay, AQUA and Picasso at Bellagio, Lutece at The Venetian, Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel and Renoir at The Mirage. Only three hotels rated Four Stars in the lodging category: Four Seasons, Bellagio and The Venetian.
Odyssey Lifestyle at Ritz-Carlton: Tickets are still on sale for the 4th Annual The Odyssey Lifestyle, a food, wine and arts event taking place Thursday through Nov. 9 at the Ritz-Carlton Las Vegas at Lake Las Vegas. Wine tastings, cooking demos, luncheons and a "Dinner with the Masters" will be offered.
Event prices begin at $100; "Dinner With the Masters" is $300. Tickets can be purchased online at www.lasvegasodyssey.com or at The Odyssey Lifestyle headquarters at 2121 Industrial Road, Suite 215, or by calling 257-2345.
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