With only 3 hours of sleep last night and belly full of white wine, I am a little drunkz. So this calls for a photo laden post.

My friend C is one of the best cooks I know. Not only is her food delish, the presentation is unbelievable. When she invited us over for a nice sushi dinner, I knew I was in a treat but I wasn’t expecting a FEAST. Check it!

Shrimp cemetery!

Fish cemetery! Okay, I’ll stop. Isn’t it a beauty?

Tuna albacore tataki, just like how it’s served in the restaurants but much fresher!

Smelt fish

Chawamushi

The dinner also included miso with seaweed,shrimp heads and Japanese mushroom and spicy tuna hand rolls and of course, lots of sake. Check out the impressive HOMEMADE spread!

For dessert, C knows that Hubs does not like cake (Blasphemy I know!) so she prepared creme brulee, prepared tableside by C’s MR.

Some strawberries and fresh mint from the garden, powdered goodness and we’re done.

When we were about to cry UNCLE from fullness, C brings out..you guessed it..CAKE! YAYAYAYAY!!!! It’s her famous homemade chocolate cake roll with espresso cream filling. The cake was perfection, not too sweet,not too bitter, not too spongy and not too dense with just the right amount of fluffiness. I thought I could snag Hubs’ portion but before I knew it, he had polished it in a few bites. So there is hope.he can be converted.

Here is our lovely chef C at work. I’ve asked her several times to marry me but she’s already taken.

Thanks so much guys for such a fabulous dinner and wonderful night of pictionary! Should I post up pictures of our drawings? Skydiving? Macaroni?<———- ??? 

One of my favorite places to have brunch in Las Vegas is the Country Club at the Wynn. It’s nestled in the back of the Wynn, past the buffet. The 2-3 times that I’ve been, there was never a wait. People just never make it past the buffet. I love the food and decor here. Something about plaid and dark wood trim makes me very hungry.

I started out with the honeydew smoothie which was very refreshing and helped to clear my palate.

I guess the girls and I were feeling eggy that morning because we ordered regular omelette (I don’t remember what was inside.) and a scramble with slices of thick bacon.

My favorite dish of the bunch was the corn chowder. The chowder actually came in a metal coffee carafe sort of thing and was poured onto the soup bowl then garnished at the table. It had a slightly smoky flavor and not too thick. The corn niblets were still crunchy which I liked because I hate overcooked corn even if it’s in a chowder. Unfortunately, the Country Club does not have this item on their menu anymore. What, golfers don’t need corn chowder in their diet? Sadness.

I’m usually a eggs and waffle type brunch person but we were in Vegas after all so I felt adventurous and ordered some shrimp cocktail. It was fresh but I could have done without it.

For people who like a heartier meal in the morning or need to cure that awesome hangover from the night before, they also have meaty options. On another trip to Las Vegas, this time with to-be-Hubs, we had  burgers and sausages.

I’m a sucker for presentation and little details. Spot the pretzel breadsticks under the sausages! I believe their sausages are a specialty at the Country Club. They were tasty but what I really enjoyed was the 3 types of mustard that came along.

I recommend sitting out in the veranda if possible as you get a gorgeous view of the 18th hole and waterfall.

This restaurant is a must go in Vegas.I know it’s almost impossible but next time anyone is in Vegas,  try try try and resist the urge to buffet and give Country Club a try. The setting and food is fresh breath of air in Sin City.

The restaurant is literally doors down from Canter’s in Hollywood. There is no sign outside the restaurant though. We were greeted by the lovely hostess (I think she’s the one that got some Nanciful lovin’ over the phone earlier.) The restaurant only seats around 40 with a small bar in the back. They serve the full menu at the bar as well. I love the lofty feeling of the space and eclectic choice of music from 70′s/80′s/90′s

Our very nice waiter handed us our menus on parchment type paper. The menu changes daily and everything is bought local. They have a extensive list of starters. Hubs and I made a pact to have a dinner of appetizers on our next visit. We end up choosing the pork belly with kimchi, peanuts, chili soy and scallions and the melted petit basque with chorizo and garlic bread.

I’ve had pork belly from various higher end restaurants and Animal has THE best pork belly hands down. The dish was a good crossover between American pork belly and Asian flavoring with the kimchi and scallions.

The melted basque was a good glop of gooey goodness. The garlic bread is made how garlic bread should be made.with chunks of garlic embedded in the bread.

Next are the entrees. Hubs ordered the pork chops and I order the Mexican shrimp.

After a bite of the pork chop, Hubs gasped and claimed: “THIS IS PORK??!”

“Of course this is pork! You ordered pork chops!”

Hubs takes another bite. “IS THIS BEEF?!”

“Let me try! MMM..let me try one more bite to make sure.”

After much discussion, we came to the conclusion that the chefs at the Animal Restaurant are geniuses! And yes it IS pork. Hubs continues to be incredulous at the juicy texture of his entree and proclaims that these are the BEST pork chops ever.

grilled pork chop, farro, apple, cipollini, grainy mustard

Does that look like pork to you?

I’m a seafood fiend. So I had to order the Mexican shrimp with beans. It was a generous dish with a very zangy broth.

By this time, Hubs and I were STUFFED but glowing and happy. We were full. However, we will fight on and do what we came here for originally, the bacon chocolate crunch bar. I had to take a shot with flash since I wanted the bacon to show up in the picture. Isn’t she a beauty? The chocolate bar even looks like a slab of bacon. Love it! I usually do not order anything chocolate as my dessert because chocolate can get too sweet. But the salty bacon counterbalanced the sweetness of the chocolate filing. I wish Animal Restaurant would package it like Snickers.

Hubs chose Joe’s Caramel Donuts. Look, you get 4 donuts! They were lightly coated with caramel sauce and the texture was amazing. Slightly crunchy outside and semi spongy, semi banana bread texture inside.

There are always hits and misses with trying a new restaurant. However, everything at the Animal was a HIT. The bill only came out to $140 including 2 glasses of wine, tax and tip. It is a steal for the quality and quantity of food and service you get.

Next time we plan to come with a big group so we can try more starters. Animal has officially made it to my top five.