Home » VT News » VegasEats: Trop Watch: Winner, Winner, Snapper Dinner at Biscayne
VegasEats: Trop Watch: Winner, Winner, Snapper Dinner at Biscayne
VT uberreader Big Hoss won one of our fabulous TropTripping prize packages last year and brought back this most excellent review of his meal at Biscayne. Thanks Hoss! Take it away...
Nothing strikes you as out of the ordinary at first.
As you enter Biscayne, the new steak and seafood restaurant at the recently renovated Tropicana, you encounter subdued lighting, soft music, comfortable seating, a quiet retreat from the bustle of the casino floor, what you would expect from a place positioned at the high end of any resort's dining choices.
The friendly, attentive service gets your attention, though, setting the stage for a delicious, relaxing dining experience.
Biscayne is not some kind of sublime, Epicurean wet dream. It is a solid mid-range (in the Las Vegas market) steak and seafood choice that delivers good food, better service and decent value - an all-around enjoyable meal.
Thanks to VegasTripping and Tropicana, Mrs. Hoss and I stayed two fun nights at the spruced-up old girl recently. Part of the fabulous prize package was dinner at Biscayne. We decided to eat there one evening before going to the show at the Brad Garrett Comedy Club.
After ordering, we started out with a cocktail and a glass of wine. I had a ginger mojito that was a good balance of mint, lime and ginger and made me want to yell out, "Mmmo-heeeeeeeeeee-toe!" Mrs. Hoss enjoyed a nice glass of Row 11 pinot noir. The highlight of the bread basket was a little football-shaped pretzel roll - warm, soft, salty and a nice chewy crust.
As we waited for our meal, we noticed a film crew in the corridor between Biscayne and Bacio. They were getting shots of Chef Carla Pellegrino, presumably talking about how awesome her new restaurant is going to be. I thought about taking a picture, but I didn't. I stuck with photographing the food. Food doesn't judge.
Speaking of judging, you should have seen the two couples at the next table. Does anyone remember Mr. Van Driessen from The Beavis and Butthead Show? Imagine that guy, lecturing endlessly to his dinner mates about the subtlety and wonder of wine. Imagine the other couple - the woman in a way-too-short muumuu and the man in a gigantic muumuu-like Hawaiian shirt, both with nearly identical dirty flip-flops and frizzy ponytails -- snorting in admiration. I didn't take a photo, but I did draw a picture. Sorry for the digression.
Anyway, I had the sushi/sashimi plate as an appetizer. It featured tuna, salmon and hamachi along with some pieces of spicy tuna and California rolls. All of it was fresh, firm and tasty. I usually don't care for salmon too much, but it was good.
Mrs. Hoss had the griddled crab cakes with "Floridian mustard dijonnaise" which I guess is a contrived way of saying mixed-up mustard and mayonnaise. I'm not sure what made it Floridian. There was very little binder and the crab was sweet and tender. As you can see from the photo, Mrs. Hoss jumped all over the crab cakes and spit a lemon seed on the plate before I could even take a photo. She's like that.
We split the chef's special catch o' the day for our main course: a seared red snapper with a mango-cilantro relish. The vegetable pairing was a sauté of carrots, asparagus and cherry tomatoes. The fish was cooked well but a touch over seasoned. The sweetness of the mango cut the saltiness to a non-annoying level. The vegetables were good, but I thought they were an odd combination (both with the fish and with one another).
The star of the main course was the lobster mac and cheese we ordered on the side. Somewhat of a misnomer, it was really orecchiette. But it was laced with delicious chunks of lobster and a perfect cheese sauce. By this time, I was enjoying a glass of chardonnay.
Before I talk about dessert, I'll just state that my pastry vocabulary is awesome. So try not to be intimidated by my technical descriptions. Mrs. Hoss had a little plate of chocolate fun, comprising a sort-of fondant-encased mousse, a little truffle thingee coated in chocolate Pop Rocks and a scoop of caramel ice cream with some caramel sauce and hazelnuts.
I had vanilla bean créme brulee, which came with shortbread and raspberry jam. I didn't know that went together, but apparently it does. It was all good, especially the little truffle Pop Rock thingee.
If you add all of the digits in the check total, you get 21. All in all, we really enjoyed Biscayne. I would go there again on my own dime.
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Comments & Discussion:
"I would go there again on my own dime."
That's a review the restaurant should love.
Pricing seems reasonable, esp. the lobster mac.
Cameras may have been filming a supposed reality-type show about Pellegrino and Bacio.
Great review for a great meal at a great price. @eatinglasvegas better watch his back.
This is a long shot, but your server was David B. David Bert, who hosted "Along the Way" on KNPR, used to also serve at the orginal Emeril's in the '90s. A fascinating guy. Could it be the same David B?
Nice review.Nice pics.How did you get the plates so bright without the additional lighting that dining rooms never have?
Not only are you a culinary scholar, but an artist as well, did you do it with the giant Crayola felt pens that will fit in your giant mitt? I'm sure you aren't allowed to use coloured pencils like the rest of us.
Food looked great gonna have to try it out on my next trip.
Thanks!
@detroit - I googled David Bert. From his LinkedIn profile, it looks like he still works for KNPR and the last casino he worked for was Red Rock (as the planner/host for adventure activities). Our waiter was probably early fifties, greying hair. The great one was Vicente, the bread and water guy. He just popped up out of nowhere so suddenly and covertly that it almost startled you.
@twofours - Used my HTC Thunderbolt. It has a flash but I pushed the levels up a bit in Photoshop.
@spyder - Yeah, it was a big ol' Sharpie. You know I'm not allowed around any pointy objects. Incidentally, I do some of my best work on bar napkins.
excellent review BigHoss. I think I'd go back for the steak, but only if I was in the area. My mojitos were a disaster during my visit. I like the artwork though.
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