Mesa Grill Bobby Flay
 Las Vegas, Nevada        Date of Visit: 12/18/11 http://www.caesarspalace.com/casinos/caesars-palace/restaurants-dining/mesa-grill-detail.html

Where to start...If you know me you know that the mere mention of Chef Bobby Flay will cause an involuntary eye roll and if you know me well a harangue featuring reasons to dislike the celebrity chef. While my hang-ups with Chef English had more to do with suspicions of ability, when it comes to Flay I have always believed he could cook. He just irritates me to no end.
 

Open Kitchen and Pass
 

Anyone who can continuously say “With me it’s all about taste/flavor.”  on television like the concept originated with and is still unique to him makes me crazy. I'm pretty sure I had lunch ladies in elementary school worried about my lunch tasting good when he was still in diddies. I know my mom made countless meals for our family, and today I’m going to confirm it crossed her mind once or twice that they ought to taste good. Whhooozaahhhh……. Deep Breath.

If you read about Olives you know I was looking to try some things that I had preconceived notions about. Mesa Grill was certainly one. Thankfully the only time the server said the word Bobby Flay more than three times in the same sentence was for the special, not the entire menu. The special was Bobby Flay’s Sirloin Steak (Really, they cut it right out of him? Give me two!) with Bobby Flay’s Seasoning and Bobby Flay’s steak sauce, and Bobby Flay’s grilled whatever…it only happened once. I was able to control myself, no violence on the horizon.
 

The space is very swanky in a New York sorta way with lots of shifting shapes and colors. Our server was lackadaisical in a very Italian sort of way, it really didn’t seem like he cared much about being there or he had already written us off tip-wise given our jeans. Mistake. But he did get the tip he deserved, just nothing extra. All other servers and back waiters seemed to be dashing around and having a good time, it seems we just hit the burnout lottery.

How was the food? All that matters. We ordered the goat cheese queso fundito and rough cut tuna nachos for appetizers. We followed with the roasted pumpkin soup, the barbequed lamb cob salad and the Mesa burger.

The rough cut tuna was raw and served with blue corn tortilla and a softer white chip. The fish rested on a pool of mango-habanero hot sauce and and avocado crema. The sweet/heat mix of the sauces I have seen repeated ad nauseum on Iron Chef, etc. actually paired very well with the tuna. The three cheesy dip which featured the goat cheese and a number of different peppers was also very good. The soup was really extraordinary. Definite pumpkin jumped to the forefront while the additional spices, the ancho-roasted pumpkin seeds and the canela crema lifted the whole bowl into new realms of flavor.
 

The Cobb salad with the barbecued lamb had a load of Maytag blue cheese, crispy bacon, rich dressing and a mid rare lamb with a hint of smoke which was really nice. The avocado and tomato added extra fattiness and freshness in an unassuming but comfortable way.  The burger appears huge and is a little unwieldy to devour. It is dressed with double cheddar a grilled Vidalia onion (likely and entire onion) and has a little crock of serious kick horseradish mustard sitting alongside. The patty was really good and well done at mid rare. Chef English still maintains top burger title this trip however. The fries were labeled as Southwestern and I expected them to be incredibly spicy which they were not, just like the sauces under the tuna and the pumpkin soup there was a bit of heat in everything. Only the mustard was strong enough to throw your palate into unhappy territory and you we able to apply your own to taste. I may still itch when I see the man on t.v. Is his food good enough to pretend he doesn’t come across as wholly arrogant on tv. No. Do I wanna eat Bobby Flay’s egg on Bobby Flay's chair with Bobby Flay’s fork from Bobby Flay’s plate? Not really. Would I eat at another of his restaurants…yes…interesting…well balanced…well prepared…tasty.... Damn you Bobby Flay!