Las Vegas Part 2

The sushi at Zen Kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria is nothing short of amazing. The sushi bar is a family run operation which was in place when the hotel was the Mandarin Oriental. The folks at the Waldorf Astoria had the good sense to keep the team intact. It is every bit as good as the photos indicate.

Day 2 in Vegas and I am committed to hiding in the hotel while the rest of the world is at the Consumer Electronics show (CES), scoping out emotional support robots (this is not a joke) and personal hovercraft (this is not a joke either). Bob is up and off to the races, while I order a latte, vitamin C detox juice and croissant with jam while writing up some blog posts. I have backlog and need to devote some time. Once this is done, I do have a plan. Back to the spa for a facial and then to Zen Kitchen for sushi.

The facial is fine (I am addicted to the peppermint tea at the spa!) and when done I head straight for lunch. It is a little after 1:00pm and the restaurant is pretty full. I am seated at the sushi bar and order a large pot of Japanese loose leaf tea and check out the menu (link above). A quick scan of the fish case tells me this is going to be fantastic. I have a front row seat to all the action. Even though this restaurant has an American menu, it's pretty clear that most people are here for the raw fish, room service customers included.

This is the gentleman running the operation. He cuts the fish while his nephew and another man (maybe family?) do the rolls. It is fascinating to watch them work together!

I start with a few pieces of Toro (fatty tuna) and then a tempura shrimp roll, though I tell them I am patient as they are extremely busy! This gives me time to chat them up, learn that they are family and have worked here forever. I sip on my tea and watch the show. Here are some pictures of the amazing food they put out.

Fresh, healthy and oh so delicious! Super fun to watch them work together as a team, what a great show!

I get through the toro and most of the shrimp tempura roll and am getting ready to leave when a large party of 10 people walk in. The older sushi chef is visibly and audibly nervous, it is late into lunch service and he is not ready to prepare sushi for 10 people! I try to relax him and tell him they look like a cheeseburger crowd when the ticket starts printing. It looks like a CVS receipt and it is ALL sushi and rolls. We collectively walk him off the ledge and provide some encouragement. They get some hamachi on the table and start in on the rest. It will be fantastic. The sushi bar is certainly the draw at this place, and for very good reason.

I spend the rest of the afternoon calling family back home, doing some housekeeping items (blogging and photo editing) until it is 5:00pm. I am meeting the beautiful Celeste at SkyBar -- in the hotel -- for a light dinner and some conversation while Bob does his business dinner. Please note I have not left the premises, and I am feeling pretty good about it! She arrives and we find a cozy table by the window, order a beverage and begin to catch up.

The view from SkyBar is similar to Twist Restaurant, as they are both on the 23rd floor of the hotel but on different sides of the building. It’s a great view if you like this type of thing.

We order some sliders and pork buns to split and talk for hours! Bob joins us at one point and we chat some more until it is time to part. Another day is done in Las Vegas. Tomorrow I will have to leave the hotel as we have dinner reservations at "Giada", I owe you some pictures from the strip and I need to roll some dice before I leave. Don't forget to check in, and thanks for following Ann!