May 6, 2009

Morels at Palazzo

Last week, my company was awarded a dinner at Maggiano's for exceeding our 2008 sales goal with one of our suppliers. Dinner was very good. I really like the family style menus, even though their regular menu fails to thrill me. At any rate, we were all given gift cards in appreciation for our efforts. What do I do with free money? Eat, of course. I suggested to Frank that we should try Morels for dinner since we had such an enjoyable lunch there before. He was game.

Our reservation was at 8:00 on Sunday. The weather was perfect so we sat on the patio. We had a nice view of the strip, I could see the Pirate Show at TI and the Volcano at Mirage from my seat. We started with warm bread, butter with sea salt and olive tapenade; our cheese course followed.

We had a lull because they were sold out of two of the three cheese we selected, we had to chose two new ones. Said and done, we sampled Majoreo from Spain, Camembert from NY and 10 year aged Cheddar from WI. We didn't like the Camembert. We've had other varieties before, it seems we just haven't acquired the taste for it. Now we know to avoid it in the future. The other two were excellent.

Next, Frank had French Onion soup, he shared a few bites with me. It was just as good as last time. Then, we moved on to the tableside Caesar. It was pretty good, just not as tasty as the one served at Delmonico. For the main course, Frank had Rack of Lamb and I had Halibut. Both were excellent and prepared to perfection. We wrapped up the meal with a peanut butter and chocolate dome for dessert. It was scrumptious.

Our server was new, a bit akward, slow and obnoxious at times, but service was standard. However, it was a bit of a disappointment since service was stellar on our last visit. Dinner was pricey, $172 before tip, but it was enjoyable and the patio seating was great for such a beautiful evening. Overall, Morels has won us over with its tasty eats and excellent cheese selection. I have no doubt we'll be anxious to return again soon.

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