serious gelato

gelati of smoked salmon, roasted bell pepper, parmesan, pear and gorgonzola. sorbets of pickles, avocado. these seemingly outlandish flavours were in fact subtle and delicious while perfectly recognisable.

traditional flavours are even better. nut pastes instead of synthetic flavorants for hazelnut, chestnut, and pistachio gelato. the fior di latte is magnificent. the texture is light and rich, but with little overrun; the sweetness is subtle and charming. there are no detectable stabilisers in the base, though the owner (previously a pastry chef at valentino in the venetian) says there is a bit of lecithin in there. they are using a carpigiani 20-quart machine, spinning 4-6 quart batches.

art of flavors is located in the stab-and-rape portion of the strip, between a wedding chapel that has seen better days and a shop selling "turquoise" and bail bonds. viva las arepas, the areparia next door, is also worthwhile.

the summer day is surprised

Yogurt & fresh fruit juice take you to the fine ice cream heaven
Stimulates the frantic desire which is unable to resist and that is the
extreme achievement of elegant tasty ice cream.
The vision needs some colors to make it inviting.
A color party becomes a game that keeps on rolling and rolling.
It is a cool and dazzling taste, making you full of blast.
The taste of yogurt makes the fruit fragrance copious.

bombax ceiba

a sour curry of bombax ceiba inflorescences*, tomatoes, turmeric, cilantro root, cooked pork blood, steamed spare ribs, and dry roasted chilies, with thin vermicelli made from lactofermented rice. even the faint of heart will find this dish comforting and palatable. moreover, the lotus of siam is one of the few places in the country where getting something by the glass isn't always a pyrrhic victory. (j.j. prüm, graacher himmelreich kabinett, 2008.)

* which were not visible. these things—like religion—sometimes must be taken on faith, trusting in the word of the waitstaff. B. ceiba is part of the same genus of plants that we also call kapok.

way off strip

it is unfair that las vegas has two of the country's best thai restaurants, and more unfair still that both of them also have lovingly assembled wine lists that allow the rare pleasure of eating great thai food while drinking something other than beer or a thai iced tea. lotus of siam you already know about. the other one is a new spot across town located, as many good vegas restaurants are, in a stripmall shoebox way off the strip. chada thai and wine is the new project by the guy who used to be lotus's wine director. his wine list at chada is smaller but filled with tantalising and fairly priced prospects, none of which i got to try.

he's also cooking the food, and the food was wonderful while being less expensive than a mediocre takeout thai restaurant. intensely flavoured, beautifully balanced stuff in small portions. many elements reminded me of the cooking of southern china and the malay archipelago: less sour, more sweet, more not-chili spice, less heat, more coconut, the use of sweetly acid fruit like plums instead of acidly sweet fruit like tamarind, a different fermentary flavour profile. we were on our way to the airport and only had time to try a few things, but each was a marvel. a dry crab, roasted coconut, and ginger salad portioned into romaine cups; the dipping sauce was unnecessary. fine rice noodles, soaked, wound into skeins, steamed, then served next to a small bowl of turmeric-filled crab red curry. and a spice-heavy kua kling that was a textbook example of how to fry-render ground meat.

the right order

despite the FAA sequester, we managed to converge on the lotus of siam for lunch on friday and i managed to order just enough food.

outstanding: fried dried beef (nua dad deaw), a uniquely textured and tenderly fibrous dish of wok-cooked pounded jackfruit and pork (thum-ka-noon), and a warm salad of fermented sausage and fried rice (nam kao tod).

late in the game, after the lunch crowd had dispersed, we really splashed out. the scholium project's nutty blend of cabernet, merlot, and petite sirah from separate vineyards (the 2005 "satrapies of the east") needed more air than we had time to give it. it was tangy and vibrating but quiet and reflective nonetheless; lighter-seeming than its 15% of alcohol. filled with dark purple fruit and plenty of tannins still, a wondrous, confusing silk purse made from a sow's ear.

stuffed

viva las arepas is on the strip a couple of miles south of downtown. i went there to continue my commitment on this trip to getting around entirely by human-powered means while eating only interesting foods. these arepas are freshly griddled, with crunchy outsides and delicate crumb; not dense and leathery masa-pucks. the pernil is rich with flavour and fat, but the grease is well under control. they are generous with the arepa stuffings, to a fault. if you enjoy fresh corn and cheese, you will enjoy their cachapa. it travels poorly, mostly because it is so delicious fresh off the griddle. for dessert, have a guava and cheese pastelito, which they will fry for you on demand. the salsas are outstanding. with your arepas come squeezebottles. one contains a bright green raw salsa of parsley, jalapeno, garlic, lettuce, cilantro and water—a completely pureed chimichurri. the other is a brilliant, lush, cooked salsa of roasted red tomatillos, jalapenos, serranos, garlic, parsley, and chicken stock.

worth the walk through the the tacky wedding chapel district.

taco de adobada

i found my way to tacos el gordo thanks to dave feldman, who points out that it's excellent even when it has no need to be. this taco is serious: freshly-made corn tortilla griddled in pork drippings, then filled with just-sliced shavings of chile-spiced grilled pork, dressed with salsas of tomatillo and avocado, chopped onion and cilantro, and topped with a warm raw pineapple baton. i went back for another.

"treat yourself to deliciousness daily!"

the remains of a bowl of khao soi and a plate of nam prik noom, at the lotus of siam. it is worth mentioning that the coconut cream on their sweet sticky rice is lightly flavoured with something that makes it improbably tasty. galangal? and let's not forget their wine list containing a slew of rieslings from rebholz. extraordinary.