momofuku, las vegas.
we spent the weekend before james’s birthday this year in las vegas. we arrived on friday night and checked into our room at the cosmopolitan. we hadn’t made dinner reservations, but knew they had yummy dining options from our last visit over three years ago. since then, they’ve only expanded those options with a killer foodhall (with the likes of hattie b’s from nashville, pokpok wing from portland, etc) and several new restaurants. we decided to try our luck at momofuku and didn’t have to wait since two seats opened up at their kitchen-facing bar.
tempura everything (including lobster tails!) coming together in the kitchen.
even though it was nearly 10pm, they were still very busy. this was vegas, after all. we started with a couple of cocktails and watched the kitchen’s ordered chaos in awe.
penicillin: scotch, ginger, honey, smoke.
bonji old fashioned: bourbon, black sugar, bitters.
oysters, dashi mignonette, shallot, lemon.
since it was late, and we had to get an early start the next morning, we didn’t order anywhere near as much as we normally would. it was still a lot of food, and everything was amazing. the creamy take on spicy cucumbers was particularly memorable.
spicy cucumbers, togarashi, toasted almonds.
tempura shrimp and veggies.
ginger scallion noodles, pickled shiitake, spicy cucumber, wakame.
heritage pork chop, watercress, crispy shallot, horseradish.
grilled japanese squid, togarashi, lemon, smoked trout roe.
the pork chop was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and i loved loved the grilled japanese squid, which came with fried tentacles and fish roe in the dipping sauce. we devoured everything, but still found room for a slice of birthday cake. i could not have asked for a better start to the weekend.
mid-meal reflections.
milkbar’s birthday cake.
The Cosmopolitan Level 2, Boulevard Tower, 3708 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
