Poppy Den 'a Huge Step Forward for Tivoli' Plus More

Al Mancini at CityLife calls Angelo Sosa's new Poppy Den in Tivoli Village, "a huge step forward for Tivoli."

First the menu, stapled together and presented on a wooden clipboard, are awkward, but the descriptions themselves are a big beef.

About half of the items give virtually no indication of the creative concoctions Sosa has put together. What, for example, should diners expect from "jarred tuna"? Why not inform people that Amma's homemade tomato soup is topped with a wonderful curry cream? And if you're going to add yuzu juice to a dish like shrimp and grits, you really should tell people.

But the servers seem to be able to answer any question if guests are willing to go through the entire menu.

He recommends the pupu platter with tastings of five or six small plate dishes. Among the noteworthy, the tomato soup, traditional meatballs and watermelon salad with goat cheese. For an entree, he ordered the shrimp and grits topped with yuzu juice. "If you've never had it, or never been able to pinpoint its flavor in a complex dish, this is one of the purist offerings you'll find."

Max Jacobson at Vegas Seven dines at the new Fú at Hard Rock Hotel. He recommends checking out the Asian tapas such as "pan-fried shrimp dumplings, or, if you dare, the pig's ear, cut into thin, chewy slices with a hint of sesame oil added to give them more depth." He says to "pass on the baby-back pork ribs with a honey-plum glaze—they're tasty enough, but I'm not much for oven-baked ribs." [VS]

Jim Begley at Las Vegas Weekly sends readers to Google to look up a photo of ajarski khachapuri at Ron's Market. "Ron's needs two hours notice for the intricate preparation of the canoe-shaped bread, filled with cheese and cradling eggs served over medium. Google it and look at the pictures—it just might inspire you to re-plan your day." No photographer? [LVW]

Brock Radke at Las Vegas Weekly thinks every casino needs a deli. Alas, Little Richie's replaced Canter's Deli at Treasure Island. He says, "The new food is not bad. Though the all-beef frank is a little wimpy?" But he worries that since Pink's Hot Dogs took over the deli at Red Rock Resort as well that the hot dog stand is winning the war with delis. [LVW]

Heidi Knapp Rinella at the Las Vegas Review-Journal visited Megan Romano's Chocolate & Spice Bakery to find the sweets and savories on point. "Surprisingly, though, the only problem we encountered had to do with another pastry, a smallish cannoli sized just right, tipped in chocolate and with a smooth, perfect filling. The problem lay in the shell, which was not only insufficiently crisp but also tasted of stale oil." She gave the service and atmosphere an A and the food a B+ for an overall A. [LVRJ]

Erik Chudy at Vegas Burger Blog hit up the new Windy City Beefs N Pizza to check out the namesake burger. "This was a messy burger, very juicy and not dry. Overall it was decent but nothing to go out of your way for." He gave the burger a 78 out of 100. [VegasBurgerBlog]

Paul Graham at Eating Vegan in Vegas visited the new Fat Choy from Sheridan Su at the Eureka Casino. He calls the bao filled with tofu, mushrooms and onions "delightful" and the sesame noodles. "This is a bowl full happiness and my chopsticks couldn't move quick enough to be able to get at them." He reports that Su is working on additional vegan-friendly dishes. [EatingVeganinVegas]
· All Coverage of Week in Reviews [~ELV~]