Last night, I went to a restaurant I've been meaning to go to for quite some time -- Kingfisher Grill. I meant to go last year, during the Road Trip extravaganza, but never did. I completely forgot about it when I returned, until it was mentioned on LJ as being a place that's open late at night.

For my west-side livin' self, Kingfisher's quite the haul away - almost 8 miles away. (In the scheme of things in good local restaurants in Tucson, it's fairly centrally located at the Tucson and Grant intersection.)

An unpleasant surprise for me, as I had been told it was a casual place - think more nice jeans and polo rather than slacks and a button down, basically, the kind of clothes we wear at work - is that it's much more dressy. Or at least, last night's crowd was. It's bad enough eating as one, but being underdressed to boot? Oy.

Suffice it to say, I did NOT get the best of service, aside from the water/coffee girl. (She got a cash tip separately because she rocked hard core -- it's a fine line between coming too often and not often enough, especially when you're interrupting someone who is either contemplatively eating, or reading a novel. She managed to toe it perfectly and hit me JUST as my glasses were getting almost empty, but not so empty it was an issue.)

In all fairness, the manager recognized the crap service without me having to say anything -- he saw me reading with the menu down and came over and asked if my order'd been taken, and took it and said my wine and dessert (should I opt for one) would be free, which was a nice touch. My waitress was a little bit more attentive after that ... but not much that I forgive the long delay. As I said: the water girl got it right, service-wise. (Had I not been alone, it would have been ... better.)

Atmosphere, service aside, was pretty relaxed. Soft music playing, muted (but not neutral) colors on the wall, interesting art. Nobody was rushing. Like most restaurants, they brought out some bread - a rosemary bread, with a compound butter. The butter was too hard for a good spread, so I ate my bread without it, and it was tasty.

The wine list was fairly good for by-the-glass. I ended up with a Gewürztraminer (Ash Hallow, which is out of Columbia Valley), because I wasn't feeling the reds, and Fumé Blanc and Chardonnay just didn't seem right. It was a mellow white - something I'd recommend to someone who doesn't normally drink wine. It paired acceptably well with my entree - got a little spicier and a little crisper, but it wasn't out of whack or anything. (It's something I can see myself drinking regularly - it wasn't too dry or too sweet.)

My entree was one of the road trip specials. This week's road trip is California/Hawaii. I had the coconut crusted mahi mahi, which came with a slightly spicy mango barbecue sauce, an ogonari salad, some purple potato hash, and plantain home fries. (That's right - two starches!) I think if I was plating it, I would have found another vegetable than the plantains, because it was too starchy - maybe go with some more greens. In any case, it was all very delicious. The salad was plated on top of the fish, so when I ate the fish, I had some seaweed, some fish, and a swish of barbecue sauce, and it was ... divine. While the plantains may be somewhat traditional, they were boring and bland on their own, but acceptable with the fish. The purple potato hash? Was awesome. Yum!

For dessert, I had the triple lemon gateau - a lemon cake, brushed with a limoncello-based syrup, filled with lemon curd, and frosted with a white chocolate buttercream. There was a berry swish on the plate, and mine came with a berry compote to the side, though that was not on the menu. (No complaints here - I LOVE berries with lemon curd and the cake was no exception!) I also had a giant mug of the house coffee, which was flavored with Bailey's, and came with a cookie. Yum!

Price wise - if I had paid for all of it, it would have been just under $50 before the tip, which isn't terribly bad for a meal with wine and dessert and coffee at this sort of restaurant. With tip, I think it hit right around $50, but - yum! I'm definitely going to go back next year before I leave for the summer, even with the so-so service. Everyone needs the occasional treat.

The first place I ate dinner at in Vegas was Bouchon. And I've got to say, while the food ranged from ok to very good (the soup was one of the best things I have ever eaten), there were many things I didn't like.

First of all, the menu? Nothing is accurate. They don't erase the specials as they're no longer, so I got super excited about the slow roasted lamb shanks only to be shot down. They also don't update regular menu changes. For instance, my friend Val ordered what was supposed to be a watercress and endive salad with Roquefort, apples, walnuts, and a walnut vinaigrette, and it came with pears.

I've just returned from a few days in Vegas, and oh my: the food there is superb. Expensive, but quite tasty.

The first place we ate at was the Mesa Grill, which is in Caesar's Palace.

First off, let me say that I am still less than happy about the whole reservations thing there. We had reservations for 10 for 12:30 and arrived about 15 minutes early ... but weren't seated until 15 minutes past our reservations. I'm also less than happy about their drink prices (iced tea was $5; actual cocktails were more like $15), and the fact that they didn't offer ice water when we seated (just bottled water - sparkling or flat).

The food was quite good, though I'm not sure how much of that was because it was actually delicious and how much was due to the fact that it was 1:00pm Pacific and I'd been up since 4:00am Central and all I'd had to eat was a power bar and something on the plane.