It was an adamant priority, a couple of weeks ago while we were in Vegas, to get back to Enoteca San Marco for a cheese plate.  CHEESE PLATE.  This is the place that really introduced me to this amazing dish, and I’ve been on sort of a mission ever since to find others and sample as many cheeses from as many places with as many flavors as possible.  Sometime, I’d like to take a class – a cheese-tasting class, much like a wine-tasting class, and learn of the different regions and types of milk and textures that makes my favorites my favorites.

This restaurant in the Venetian opened my eyes to the idea of not simply cheese on a cheese plate, but the accompaniments that, well, accompany, the cheeses.  These side dishes of sweet and savory, light and textured, bring out the flavors and really highlight the different inflections in each of the cheeses.

My favorite pairings ever have been Truffle Oil Honey (OH MY GOD) and these beautiful brandied cherries.  BRANDY.  They’re sweet, but not too sweet.  They’re rich, saucy, and for a dessert wine-lover like myself, the brandy flavor is decadent.

And they photograph well, don’t they?

On the eve of the second annual Bloggers in Sin City, I thought I’d look back at last year and share a couple of the foodie finds I fell for in Vegas.  I’m stoked to check out new places this year and have promised Nico that the 6lb burrito will find its way to Nomadic Foodie here.  I don’t know what a SIX POUND BURRITO even means, but I trust he’ll lead us there.

Cheese Orgy

My cheese cherry was popped at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian.  We had the server choose the best 7 cheeses offered and were given this platter with the accompaniments that included Honey with Truffle Oil, Brandied Cherries, and Apricots.  I remember falling absolutely in LOVE brandied cherries and the honey.  OH MY GOD.  I’ve seen this done other places since and it’s always the fruit jams and honeys that are my favorite pairings with the delicious cheeses.

Caesar’s Palace

A GREAT spot for a group of nearly 30, this buffet was the perfect answer.  More food than we knew what to do with and pescetarian and vegetarian options for the non-meat-eaters (like myself) on the trip.  AND BUCKETS of crab legs.

{ Photo credit: racheliza }

Where do you recommend eating in Sin City?  Best deals?  Best flavors?  What shouldn’t we miss?

The best food memories I have of Las Vegas happened at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco.  Why?

Because there was a cheese plate.

And we like cheese plates.

My initial reactions, as I wrote back on June 8, 2009:

One of the highlights of this past weekend’s trip to Las Vegas was the formaggi at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. We had the server choose the best 7 cheeses offered and were given this platter with the accompaniments that included Honey with Truffle Oil, Brandied Cherries, and Apricots.

Absolutely amazing. Oh, and then I followed this with an amazing Margherita pizza and paired it all with a pretty Friulian white wine

Delish!

(via my personal blog)

Their Margherita pizza was incredible also, but this marked my Real Good Cheese Plate De-Virginization, so that’s what I’m focused on here.