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Nob Hill Tavern is just one of the many restaurants owned by Michael Mina. According to their website, this restaurant is a modern interpretation of American tavern fare. The restaurant's space and design are both nicely done, with private-looking booths as you walk in and a large dining area in the back of the restaurant.
Classic French Onion Soup, Gruyère Grilled Cheese
This was a deconstructed version of the classic French onion soup. Instead of a piece of bread in the soup and cheese to top it, they made a gruyere grilled cheese sandwich. One of the couples we went with ordered this dish, so I didn't get a chance to try it. I remember them saying they enjoyed it, but wasn't the best version they ever tasted. The best, they said, came from a small bistro in France.
Bay Shrimp "Louie", Little Gems, Avocado, Egg, Tomato, Spicy Louie Dressing
A simple and straightforward presentation of salad. This was yet another dish that I didn't try. The salad looked very fresh and appetizing.
Tasting of ham - in order from left to right: Italian ham? country ham, and jamon serrano
This was a trio of a tasting of hams. Initially tasting all three hams, I thought the one of the left was the tastiest of the three. After sampling each of the hams a few more times, I really started to enjoy and take note of the complexity of the jamon serrano. Supposedly the jamon serrano comes from white pigs as opposed to the jamon iberico which comes from black pigs.
House-Made Pâté
The house made pâté was served with buttered and toasted bread, some whole grain mustard, and cornichons. This was a coarser version of pâté but nonetheless very enjoyable.
Kurobuta Pork Chop - Braised Swiss Chard, Bacon Lardons, Toasted Farro Salad, Pork Jus
Having just eaten the kurobuta porch chop at Spago a month earlier, I wanted to try out Nob Hill's version. I am glad to say that I actually enjoyed this version better than Spago's. I didn't care so much for the toasted farro salad; I think I am just not a grain/farro person and maybe it just tastes too healthy. Although I enjoyed this kurobuta pork chop more than Spago's, this dish was just average/good for me. The pork wasn't as moist and tender as I expected. Lately, I have been striking out with the kurobuta.
Maine Lobster Pot Pie - Baby Vegetables, Truffle Cream
The couple that we dined with was really looking forward to the signature Lobster Pot Pie. As the waiter wheeled out a cart upon which a copper pot shrooming with a golden brown crust topping, we were all excited to see what would unfold next.
The waiter then expertly slices away the top of the crust and gently places the crust, which will now be the base upon which all the contents of the copper pot will rest upon and allow the juices and truffle cream to infuse with. As the waiter slices away the crust to unveil what mysterious treasure the copper pot holds, a bouquet of scents finds its way over towards our table. The essence of lobster!!
Here we have the final product plated and ready to be eaten!! After the build up of the presentation and the plating, our expectations were high. The couple that ordered the lobster pot pie thought the dish was just OK. Nicely cooked lobster and vegetables but the depth of flavor just wasn't there. Having high expectations for this dish, this dish didn't reach the mark.
American Kobe Burger - "Secret Sauce", Balsamic Onions
This burger was an attempt at a gourmet Big Mac. I really didn't find anything special or noteworthy about this burger. The special sauce was indeed similar to that of a Big Mac, and the lettuce was even shredded similar to that of a Big Mac. The burger ended up being overcooked to a medium-well as opposed to the requested medium-rare. When ordering a burger at a finer establishment, I expect something different, not a knock-off of a fast food chain.
Truffle Mac N' Cheese
An excellent example of a gourmet Mac N' Cheese. The truffle flavor was very evident but not overwhelmingly so. The porcini mushrooms added a nice earthy mushroom flavor to this dish.The pasta was more corkscrew shaped pasta as opposed to elbow macaroni.
Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Soufflé - Orange Marmalade, Vanilla Ice Cream
The souffle was not as light and fluffy as most souffles I have had. This one was a little more cakey-like. The outside of the souffle was sugar encrusted which added a nice texture contrast to the souffle. The Valrhona Manjari supposedly comes from the best beans from Madagascar. Didn't taste remarkably different than other other chocolate taste I have had in the past.
Overall, most of the dishes we had ranged from good to most being just average. To make matters worse, the restaurant seemed to be short staffed and, as a result, service suffered throughout our meal. Our waiter at times was nowhere to be seen and when seen, couldn't be flagged down. There are just too many restaurants in Las Vegas to take the opportunity to dine here again.
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