Final LV Roundup: Seared Foie Gras and Grilled Whole Dorade Royale in Charmoula Sauce are Highlights

This is my last roundup post on LV that includes a thumbs up on RM Seafood and thumbs down on Botero and Payard Patisserie.

RM Seafood had solid food and service. I liked the watermelon,  tomato and burrata salad, which was a great combination of sweet and creamy.

Another favorite was the Dorade Royale, or grilled whole fish served filleted with a grilled lemon half and an amazing charmoula sauce that was a mix of herbs, garlic, lemon juice, oil and other yummy ingredients. I couldn't get enough of this sauce. Went perfectly well with the grilled fish.

The seared scallops and crab mac-n-cheese were both well executed. My only complaint about the mac-n-cheese is that it cost an arm and a leg (over $50) and I didn't see as much crab as there should have been. They skimped big time.

The papaya salad was surprisingly refreshing and spicy (I thought they would have washed it down -- it being a non-Thai restaurant and all) and the desserts were nothing to write home about. I would return for the stellar seafood, execution and presentation, as well as good service.

Now for Botero at the Wynn: I would not return. The only highlight was the foie gras, perfectly seared sitting atop a cherry crumble sprinkled with shaved almonds. It was even sweeter, so to speak, since California made the ridiculous move to ban it.

The crab agnolotti, or giant tortellini came smothered in a creamy lemon sauce dotted with artichokes. It was definitely heavy but I cut it with some red wine so I didn't mind so much. Plus, we were in Vegas and what is LV about if not decadence and over the top-ness?

The rest of the dishes including a tuna tartare (boring and not fresh tuna), grilled fish filet (decently cooked but boring and bland) and the biggest culprit of them all, the New York Strip, which came sliced with some unremarkable fries. The meat came out virtually rare when I had asked for medium rare. My companion's meat came out rare when we had asked for medium well to well done. Get this. When we asked for it to be cooked more, they literally took the same meat, seared it like rubber and presented the same pieces of meat. Our server never checked in to see if this meat was properly cooked until we asked to see the manager.

Totally unacceptable for a restaurant of this caliber and price. I had a word with the manager and he apologized and took it off our bill and merely handed me his business card to let him know next time I'd be returning. Well, I won't be returning.

My meat was not good quality meat at all. It was tough even though barely cooked. The fries weren't that crispy and again, at this price, I expect impeccable execution, presentation and service. The side that came with the meat: broccoli. I mean come on. I have nothing against broccoli but again, for a resto at this level, you should at least serve baby broccoli or something a bit more sophisticated. What a downer.

Didn't get those, though. It was more of a scene than a place that takes its food seriously.

All we wanted was a simple and quick meal at Payard, supposedly famed for its desserts and baked goods. Everything about this place was awful. The simple burger I ordered was overcooked the first time so I took it back. It took forever for me to get my replacement burger but the server never apologized or let us know it was on its way until we inquired. When the supposedly medium rare burger arrived, it was actually rare. I would never ever return to this piece of crap "bistro" and it needs to step up its service big time to compete with any of the other restos in LV.