After our Cirque du Soleil experience at The Mirage, we decided we'd better get something to eat. Given that it was around 9 p.m., we didn't figure we'd have that big of a problem getting seated at any one of the fine restaurants in The Mirage. Well, actually, the only problem was that there were nine of us, and that turned out to be a problem.
We found a little contemporary Japanese restaurant called Japonais. They tried to seat us in the bar, but we would have had to take three tables. So we decided to go to Plan B. What Plan B was, we didn't quite know. But as we were standing there going over our options, the hostess from Japonais came up and said, "We can seat you in the dining room if you're still interested."
It was late and we were hungry. The guys from the East Coast and Montreal were working on east coast time which meant it was midnight body-time for them. We turned around and went in.
Now, it turns out that Japonais in Las Vegas is an off-shoot of the original Japonais in Chicago. The original Japonais was started in 2002 by the world-renowned sushi chef Jun Ichikawa, and Gene Kato, an up-and-coming contemporary Japanese cuisine chef. In 2006, Kato and Ichikawa opened a New York location in Union Square, and three months later they opened the Las Vegas location. The food can be described as traditional Japanese with a bent toward contemporary Pan-Asian and European cuisine. It's pretty classy stuff.
We were seated and our waiter - who was of Japanese heritage - came over to greet us. He was a little tough to understand, given his accent and the loudness in the restaurant. The decor is very contemporary and chic with a lot of teak wood throughout. From what I got from what he was trying to say is that they offered a menu similar to Spanish tapas where they bring out little bits of everything from sushi, to beef, to veggies, to whatever. He said it worked good with big groups because everyone got to try a little bit of everything. We all sort of agreed to that and away he went.
The first thing he brought out was a bunch of sushi that we munched on. It was very good. The fresh sushi was some of the finest I've ever tasted. Given that all of us in the company are sushi whores, the plate didn't last long.
They then brought plates of Kobe beef carpaccio, thin rare slices of Kobe beef; spicy tuna and salmon rolls; something called Hawaiian Hamachi, thin slices of yellow tail; and something they called the Japonais cocktail - a dozen oysters and a half dozen shrimp in a horseradish mango sauce. Now that was great!
Then they started to bring out the good stuff. They had a marinated Kobe beef chunk on a skewer. Now, I've never had Kobe beef before - other than the carpaccio slices I had earlier. I always wanted to try it. And I have to tell you, it was absolutely fabulous. It was unbelievably fabulous. It was so tender and moist. And, OH! So flavorful. Daniel and Simon were seated across the table from me and were getting a kick out of the expressions on my face when I'd bite into one of the Kobe beef chunks.
They also had skewers of marinated chicken that were pretty good. They also brought out skewers of ground Kobe beef - basically Kobe beef burgers on a skewer. They were OK, but they didn't have the same taste and texture of the beef skewers. But we quickly ordered another round of the Kobe beef skewers. And a couple guys opted for more sushi.
Next, they set two square "rocks" on the table. These rocks were heated to 500 degrees (F) and we were told to be very careful around them. Then they brought out plates of thinly sliced and marinated raw New York strip steak chunks. The waiter showed us that you place the raw beef on the hot rock and it sizzles and cooks. 20 to 30 seconds later, you turn it over to cook the other side and - voila! You've got your own "grill it yourself" steak chunks! And - OH! Were they great.
Those didn't last long at the table and by the time the second round of Kobe beef skewers showed up, we were all getting stuffed. But the Kobe beef skewers were quickly gobbled up. It was a dining experience to say the least.
Daniel was presented with the bill and Simon looked over to see what it was. He yelled, "Geez!!"
One of my other colleagues said, "What's the matter? Bill a little too high?"
Simon said, "I think we just bought a whole side of Kobe beef!"
The bill - with tip included - came to just shy of $2000 bucks. Daniel was laughing about it the next day. He said, "I couldn't understand the guy. Between his accent and the loudness of the restaurant, I just kept nodding my head when he would say something."
I said, "So, you basically nodded your head into a $2000 bill."
He laughed and said, "I guess so!"
So, yes, Japonais isn't cheap. But, man, was it good. Definitely a top ten dining experience for me.
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