The Sea was Angry My Friends...

Vegas Day 2 - We hit the convention with a little less vengeance and a few more blisters than the day prior but got down to business. Today was "truck day" for me and it was a bit of a tease to see all the cool digital trucks and the toys that could go in them (if you have an unlimited budget).

Lunch today was at the food court, so not much to note here; your run-of-the-mill turkey on wheat with mustard for me since I was starting to feel like a bit of a glutton.

Hey, isn't that what Vegas was built on... gluttony and greed?

Dinner, however, was another story. We headed over to the beautiful Venetian Hotel and a trip to David Burke. Having heard Burke's New York business partner, Donatella, speak a few weeks ago my curiosity was piqued.

Tonight's dining crew was Foodie, T-Town and J-Bends. When we were seated in the cavernous dining room, our attention was immediately drawn to the large fountain with red glass spires in the middle of the room. We started to oooh and ahhh and then realized the acoustics were going to be a challenge since we were straining to hear each other at our four top table.

J-Bends & I split a bottle of wine which coincidentally was a Spanish Rioja that Mitch bought me when the Boston girls came to NY for a food-filled weekend. Mitch has a keen palate so I knew I made a wise choice.

Our meal began with an amuse bouche of shrimp and corn fritter with a fava bean and some micro greens. The shrimp was juicy and chunky and you really tasted the texture of the corn. And while it was batter dipped and fried there wasn't a hint of grease or dense crust to be found; just flavorful chewy textures with quite a unique presentation.

I decided to go for broke and get the crisp and angry lobster for an appetizer. A one and a half pound lobster served on a bed of nails? Are you kidding me?

The lobster was lightly seasoned with chili powder and paprika and then drizzled with a bit of chili oil. It was then broken into sections and strategically placed on said bed of nails along with a few lemon wedges for good measure or good humor; take your pick.

Not only was this one of the most flavorful lobsters I've ever had; it was certainly the most unique. Kudos, Mr. Burke you've impressed me already and I haven't even had my entree yet!

For my main course, I resisted the temptation to try the "pork steak" and instead went with the Peking duck with peasant noodles and a sunny side up duck egg. T-Town and J-Bends went with the Bronx style filet mignon of veal with Yukon gold dumplings and morels. (see the semi-dark photo below)

The veal was an impressive chop that was buttery soft. I'm not a veal lover per se, but even I couldn't resist trying a bite. Good choice gang!

The duck was perfectly roasted and the skin was crispy but soft in the noodles and light sauce. The broken yolk of the egg added a nice dimension and thickness to the dish and really brought all the ingredients together.

Our dishes were all served in shiny All Clad cookware which kept our entrees warm as I gazed lovingly at all the interesting dishes coming out of the open kitchen.

What also came out of the kitchen was the man himself; David Burke. His table hopping and hand shaking unfortunately did not include our table and I was hoping to tell him how much I was enjoying my meal (especially after last night's less than stellar trip to Diego).

Little did I know that the best was yet to come. We chose David Burke's signature dessert for the table - David Burke's cheesecake lollipop tree. Individual pops of chilled cheesecake dipped and coated in milk chocolate, bubble gum and pistachio-crusted chocolate served on an adorable "tree" with accompanying bubble gum whipped cream.

The cheesecake was creamy without being overly thick and rich. This would have stood out as a great dessert on it's own without the lollipop tree. The whipped cream was sugary sweet and light - how'd he do that? Bubble gum pulverized to a powder? Who knows? Who cares? We were so busy dipping and acting like giddy kids at a carnival to care.

I had to ask our server what was up with all the eggs. There were egg statues, egg dishes and little eggs placed everywhere in the restaurant (not to mention the website). We were told that Burke loves eggs and sees them as the beginning of life.

Well Mr. Burke; Ms. Foodie sees this dining experience as the beginning of a beautiful culinary friendship!