This week I got to experience some of the new menu items at House of Blues and The Foundation Room both located inside Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. I’ll admit it’s been a while since I was at the House of Blues but after experiencing some of the new items and old favorites I will be making some more trips real soon.
The House of Blues has a great weekend brunch and we started off the taste testing with a few of the breakfast items. The first was the Bread Pudding French Toast with raspberries and blackberries dusted in powdered sugar. This was great if you like bread pudding as I do.
Next up was the Breakfast BLTA, which is grilled flatbread with scrambled eggs, provolone cheese, apple wood bacon, roasted tomatoes, arugula and an avocado spread. This is a different take on a classic breakfast sandwich. I highly recommend this one.
You can’t do a brunch and not have some kind of Chicken n Waffles. They fry hand-breaded chicken tenders, put them on top of a mini waffle and serve it with a bourbon glaze. The chicken tenders were very good – moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. Can’t go wrong with this dish.
We moved on to some dinner entrees and the next one I tried was the Voodoo Shrimp – pan seared in a chipotle garlic cream sauce then layered over a house made crispy fried grit cake. The shrimp were very flavorful.
The next item, which was a new menu creation, might have been my favorite as they made chicken wings but tossed them in an Apricot Fireball Glaze. The Fireball alcohol with the Apricot flavoring was a very good taste creation and gave a whole new twist to chicken wings. Trust me when I say you need to try these.
We also had some of their Bacon Mac n Cheese that was good as well. The House of Blues sends out quality food at reasonable prices, especially for being a property on the Strip. Head in for dinner before a show or hang out on a Friday night for some Rock Star Karaoke.
Next we moved up to the Foundation Room – my first visit. Whether you go for dinner or drinks in the lounge area the view looking back at the Las Vegas Strip 63 floors up is breath-taking to say the least.
We started off the tasting with their Crispy Duck Confit served with cipollini onions and pomegranate molasses. The crispy duck combined with the onions was so good. Next up we got to sample the Fennel Crusted Slow Roasted Pork Belly appetizer. Let me tell you, I would order this as an entrée. This was the best-roasted pork belly I have ever had and I have had a lot of roasted pork belly.
We tried another appetizer, their Mozzarella & Prosciutto plate. I love good prosciutto and fresh mozzarella so this was perfect. Lastly we tried The Foundation Room’s Shrimp and Grits, which just like House of Blues version was very flavorful and was served with grits and jalapeno peppers giving this dish some kick.
At this point I am so stuffed and ready to explode but I had to try the special dessert – Calvados Apple Bread Pudding served with a Bourbon vanilla gelato, pecans and caramel. This was a great ending to a great day of tasting the two menus.
Both restaurants had several new summertime cocktails. My absolute favorite was The Foundation Room’s Cucumber Chill. This drink was made with Grey Goose vodka, St. Germain elderflower liquer, fresh cucumber, lemon and lime juice. I honestly don’t like cucumbers as I always pick them off my salad, but in this drink they are amazing. It’s the perfect cool crisp refreshing drink for our hot summer days and nights in Las Vegas.
Both restaurants were fantastic as House of Blues is more laid back and casual while The Foundation Room is that place to take your special someone for a romantic dinner then stay and head into the lounge for cocktails, music and one of the best views in Las Vegas. I give House of Blues and The Foundation Room a rating of 3.75 forks.