Last December, the Girls and I decided to embark on a Self-Esteem Workshop in Las Vegas. While our goal was to master all four steps toward better self-esteem (drinking, dancing, eating, and spas), I was certainly most interested in the LV food scene.
Our first dinner was scheduled in the very new and very chic Wynn Hotel at Okada, rumored to be the best sushi place in town. It was a complete disaster.
Most of the sushi was nothing special (I’ve had comparable if not better at Fujiya and Origami), but more importantly our service was abominable. Not only did our server “team” not communicate well with each other, they didn’t communicate well with us. When I asked for a single glass of Otokayama Sake to go with a special appetizer I wanted, our server tried to push a carafe on me, over and over again. When I explained it was just for me, just for this dish, she literally told me how ridiculous she thought I was. She also told one of the Girls, “You really don’t want a Lychee martini, I think they taste horrible.” I can take a little bit of pushiness and self-importance, some of the young ones haven’t been properly trained in the art of service and I can forgive that indiscretion. But after our initial order we were summarily ignored. Our buzz had worn off, our glasses and plates sat empty and any attempt to catch someone’s eye was brushed off.
Needless to say, I was worried about the rest of the weekend. We had reservations at top-notch restaurants, but if they were all going to be like Okada, I would rather hit a buffet.
The next night we headed to the Vegas outpost of Tao, the hip New York Asian restaurant. We sat down among the beautiful people, Derek Jeter over here, Magic Johnson over there, and waited for our potentially crappy server.
To the contrary. Our server was a kick-ass fireball who understood we were there to cocktail and eat food that we’d have no idea how to make at home. She asked us what kinds of food we liked, and made recommendations for the first small course. Based on those stellar offerings, we let her choose the main course for us. Light, spicy, tangy, healthy, rich, she took four women, sized us up and hit the mark dead-on with dishes that we all loved in part or completely.
We were pals at this point, she told us nasty celebrity gossip and we related our Okada experience. She wasn’t surprised, she’d actually worked in one of the opening kitchens at the Wynn. In fact, cooking was her true passion. Wait a minute, this girl is a kitchen girl? It’s hard to find those gems that can work the back of the house and the front of the house with ease and aplomb.
We verily gushed our appreciation for a fabulous night, she had saved Vegas for me. Before we were about to leave, laughing about what a fun bunch we’d been, she confided in us something she hadn’t even told any of her fellow workers. She was going to be on a reality cooking show airing sometime in March. She said she couldn’t tell us who won or anything, but that we should watch for her on the Bravo network.
The red-haired Tiffani Faison, the kick-ass kitchen chick, is our girl on Bravo’s Top Chef. And I have to tell you, I think she’s going to take it all. She is smart, intuitive, and driven. She sees things black & white, like all the great kitchen leaders do. She creates great dishes because she can read the task and figure out how to deliver. On Wednesday, you can catch nearly all the episodes leading up to the new one at 9pm. Root for Tiffani.
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