Vegas Day 4: Seablue at last!

When planning last year's NAB dining fest I attempted to visit one of San Francisco chef Michael Mina's establishments. It didn't work out and I was determined to make it happen this year.

A trip to Nobhill would have blown the budget so instead we went to Mina's Seablue in the MGM Grand. I really feel that MGM is a real gem when it comes to dining. There's Craftsteak, Fiamma, Seablue, Nobhill, Diego and the big poppa of them all...Joel Robuchon.

After taking a moment to admire the open kitchen and the many water walls that decorated the restaurant, Niko, Sanch and I decided to start by sharing an appetizer of the "fried and crusted tasting trio" which consisted of the following:

Lobster corndogs with whole grain mustard
Gulf shrimp tempura with pineapple and pickled salad
Dungeness crab–stuffed piquillo peppers with house-smoked pepper aioli

The portions were not huge (especially for three) but the corndog was spectacular. The moist lobster was blanketed in a starchy bed of corn was superb and the only disappointment was that there wasn't more to go around. The tempura was also impressive; large shrimp lightly battered and perfectly fried without a bit of grease. Equally spectacular was the dungeness crab; sweet and juicy with the slightest tinge of heat from the pepper and aioli.

RRR and J-Bends decided to create their own salad for an appetizer.

They were given pencils and asked to check off ten items to include in their salad. Again, not a huge portion but tonight is all about quality over quantity.

At this point of the trip, everyone was playing along with Ms. Foodie's dinner photography and we passed the camera around so they could snap a photo of their dish. Of course Niko (a kick ass camera dude) had the best photos of the bunch; I might have to hire him full time for f is for foodie!

Here's how the dinner went down:

Niko: SEABLUE "Paella"Select Seasonal Shellfish, Chorizo Sausage, Grilled Quail, Saddle of Rabbit

Sanch: Ahi Tuna from Hawaii With Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes and Select Seasonal Vegetables

J-Bends: Arctic Char Nova Scotia With Chickpea and Lentil Rice and Select Seasonal Vegetables

RRR: Atlantic Cod tangine with Almond Crust, Couscous, Lemon broth, Artichokes

Foodie: Bacon-wrapped Chilean Sea Bass tangine with Toasted Garlic Jus, Cannellini Beans, Manila Clams

Each dish was wonderful. The freshness of the seafood was evident and the presentation was gorgeous. I tried my best to savor every bite while clamoring for more.

For dessert we shared an order of pear sorbet along with a cheesecake tasting of mango, raspberry, dulce de leche, apple pie, and double chocolate. The mango was a bit too sweet for my taste but the apple pie was pure fruity creamy heaven; surprising since that was the cheesecake I didn't think I'd enjoy.

Wow! Mr. Mina and his James Beard Award certainly did not let me down. If anything, it made me only want more Mina. And when I found out that there is a branch of Seablue located in the more geographically convenient Borgata in Atlantic City it made the thought of a return visit that much more enticing.

Can I find a better meal than this in Vegas? Stay tuned...