Took the Ol Lady out for Valentine's Day dinner at Echo and Rig in Tivoli Village near Summerlin. When you think of Tivoli Village you think of glitz and glamour. Beautiful buildings, palm trees, lighted trees, waterfalls, marble everywhere, cobblestone streets....you also think to bring your wallet because it's usually very expensive. If you hit these restaurants at happy hour you can get some good value, but happy hour usually lasts AN HOUR and not your typical 3.
Looking over the menu at Echo and Rig I saw a bunch of appetizers I wanted to try and the read some reviews on Yelp to narrow down my selection.
We arrive at Echo and Rig for our 6:45 reservation. Being Valentine's day I knew I would wait a little bit so we ordered a house cab for her and I got a Wasatch (Utah Brewery) Polygamy Porter. I've had them from a bottle before and they were decent but the draft tasted wrong. I got through it and moved on to my new staple Sierra Nevada. Price for the 2 drinks was about 16 bucks so 20 with tip. Not out of the ordinary for these types of restaurants so it didn't phase me. Their outside drinking area was gorgeous, and it was a fabulous night as we have been experiencing some above normal temps here in Vegas.
After about 20 minutes I sent the wife in to check on things, they told her about 10 more minutes. After 15 I was walking in when the girl came to get us (and another couple) for our table. The place had filled up tremendously during that half hour and it was so freaking loud. These new open concept restaurants are much louder and it seems to be a trend out here as many new restaurants go for this type of vibe. I'm not a huge fan, but I like to eat.
We got seated at this small table and one of the managers came to ask us if it was OK. We said it was fine and proceeded with the menu. The wife ordered a Gratin soup (caramelized onion, roasted pumpkin
squash, sage & gruyere cheese) for 6 bucks. It was very rich tasting and the beef broth was tasty and so was the soup. The standard bread you are given during warm-ups was tasteless and unspectacular. My buddy got the mushroom soup and said it was good, not great.
Since I had saved myself for this dinner by eating nothing all day I was famished. I wanted meat and their steaks are supposed to be great, so I set my sights on the apps first. We ordered a Maryland Lump Crab cake and Bone Marrow Carne Asada for 10 bucks each and I also got Lamb cigars with taziki. The crab cake was very good, full of crab and very little else--good flavor. The bone marrow carne asada turned out to be my favorite part of the meal. It was half a bone the size of a foot with delicious bone marrow baked in there and sweet onions and sort of like a slaw on top. You scooped it out with a spoon onto crustini and I was licking my spoon. Awesome. The lamb cigars were like mini taquitos. Deep fried phyllo housed lamb and spices and the taziki was a little heavy on the dill for my taste. I think 3 of those cost us 8.50.
I asked the waitress how big the Ribeye Cap was, it was described as ?Double RR Ranch? (Limited Quantities) The absolute best part of the rib eye ...she told me it was about 9 oz. For 30 bucks I went for it. I love ribeyes and make a damn good one myself so my expectations were high. My wife ate the crabcake as her meal and she knows I will give her a hunk of my meat (he he he). Ordered it medium rare and the other couple ordered the Steakhouse cuts of ribeye (35 bucks for about 10oz).
When the steaks came I almost laughed out loud to the kid who put it down in front of me, but my famished lips could only quiver and I almost cried. It looked like I got a 4 oz strip of steak about as wide as 2 fingers and maybe 1/2" thick. It came with a side of chips (homemade--big deal) and a stuffed mushroom to fill the plate. Sadly the chips were the best part of that plate. I got a side of horseradish sauce for it, but the first bite I had alone to taste the meat. Literally the WORST steak I ever had out at a restaurant. My buddy didn't like the charred outside of his and his chick's was not medium like she ordered. They were about 10 oz each but very thin, VERY THIN. This was turning into a nightmare. We trudged through it and when the waitress came over she could sense the disappointment. We just asked for the check as I just wanted to get out of there without screaming. She came over to give the check and before she gave it she asked again if we were happy and that's when my buddy said, "His steak was a joke (mine), her's was not done enough and mine was way too charred. The kale was way too salty too (his girlfriend's side---which was a la carte). She said she would get a manager and gave us dessert menus. I told them I didn't want dessert, I didn't want them to screw up anything else.
When she came back she handed us the check and told us she took our steaks off as well as the kale. A 200+ dollar check was brought down to 120. They told us they'd give us free dessert, but I was so overwhelmed about them taking half the check off I declined still and went to seek out the manager (Derek) to let him know that I was appreciative of his gesture and I would give it another try because of it. He told me to ask for him if I came back so I will.
I may just order the apps this time and split a steak with my wife due to the experience. I've said it before, I've eaten plenty of steaks so far in Vegas at restaurants and I haven't found one as good as the one at Herb's and Rye.
Glad this dining experience didn't turn into the modern day Valentine's Day Massacre.
Looking over the menu at Echo and Rig I saw a bunch of appetizers I wanted to try and the read some reviews on Yelp to narrow down my selection.
We arrive at Echo and Rig for our 6:45 reservation. Being Valentine's day I knew I would wait a little bit so we ordered a house cab for her and I got a Wasatch (Utah Brewery) Polygamy Porter. I've had them from a bottle before and they were decent but the draft tasted wrong. I got through it and moved on to my new staple Sierra Nevada. Price for the 2 drinks was about 16 bucks so 20 with tip. Not out of the ordinary for these types of restaurants so it didn't phase me. Their outside drinking area was gorgeous, and it was a fabulous night as we have been experiencing some above normal temps here in Vegas.
After about 20 minutes I sent the wife in to check on things, they told her about 10 more minutes. After 15 I was walking in when the girl came to get us (and another couple) for our table. The place had filled up tremendously during that half hour and it was so freaking loud. These new open concept restaurants are much louder and it seems to be a trend out here as many new restaurants go for this type of vibe. I'm not a huge fan, but I like to eat.
We got seated at this small table and one of the managers came to ask us if it was OK. We said it was fine and proceeded with the menu. The wife ordered a Gratin soup (caramelized onion, roasted pumpkin
squash, sage & gruyere cheese) for 6 bucks. It was very rich tasting and the beef broth was tasty and so was the soup. The standard bread you are given during warm-ups was tasteless and unspectacular. My buddy got the mushroom soup and said it was good, not great.
Since I had saved myself for this dinner by eating nothing all day I was famished. I wanted meat and their steaks are supposed to be great, so I set my sights on the apps first. We ordered a Maryland Lump Crab cake and Bone Marrow Carne Asada for 10 bucks each and I also got Lamb cigars with taziki. The crab cake was very good, full of crab and very little else--good flavor. The bone marrow carne asada turned out to be my favorite part of the meal. It was half a bone the size of a foot with delicious bone marrow baked in there and sweet onions and sort of like a slaw on top. You scooped it out with a spoon onto crustini and I was licking my spoon. Awesome. The lamb cigars were like mini taquitos. Deep fried phyllo housed lamb and spices and the taziki was a little heavy on the dill for my taste. I think 3 of those cost us 8.50.
I asked the waitress how big the Ribeye Cap was, it was described as ?Double RR Ranch? (Limited Quantities) The absolute best part of the rib eye ...she told me it was about 9 oz. For 30 bucks I went for it. I love ribeyes and make a damn good one myself so my expectations were high. My wife ate the crabcake as her meal and she knows I will give her a hunk of my meat (he he he). Ordered it medium rare and the other couple ordered the Steakhouse cuts of ribeye (35 bucks for about 10oz).
When the steaks came I almost laughed out loud to the kid who put it down in front of me, but my famished lips could only quiver and I almost cried. It looked like I got a 4 oz strip of steak about as wide as 2 fingers and maybe 1/2" thick. It came with a side of chips (homemade--big deal) and a stuffed mushroom to fill the plate. Sadly the chips were the best part of that plate. I got a side of horseradish sauce for it, but the first bite I had alone to taste the meat. Literally the WORST steak I ever had out at a restaurant. My buddy didn't like the charred outside of his and his chick's was not medium like she ordered. They were about 10 oz each but very thin, VERY THIN. This was turning into a nightmare. We trudged through it and when the waitress came over she could sense the disappointment. We just asked for the check as I just wanted to get out of there without screaming. She came over to give the check and before she gave it she asked again if we were happy and that's when my buddy said, "His steak was a joke (mine), her's was not done enough and mine was way too charred. The kale was way too salty too (his girlfriend's side---which was a la carte). She said she would get a manager and gave us dessert menus. I told them I didn't want dessert, I didn't want them to screw up anything else.
When she came back she handed us the check and told us she took our steaks off as well as the kale. A 200+ dollar check was brought down to 120. They told us they'd give us free dessert, but I was so overwhelmed about them taking half the check off I declined still and went to seek out the manager (Derek) to let him know that I was appreciative of his gesture and I would give it another try because of it. He told me to ask for him if I came back so I will.
I may just order the apps this time and split a steak with my wife due to the experience. I've said it before, I've eaten plenty of steaks so far in Vegas at restaurants and I haven't found one as good as the one at Herb's and Rye.
Glad this dining experience didn't turn into the modern day Valentine's Day Massacre.
