Red Square

Named one of the best restaurants
in America by Esquire Magazine,
our visit to Red Square certainly
left an amazing impression on me.
The restaurant was captivating
with enormous ceilings, while a
firey red color scheme, meant to
get pulses racing, was the perfect
backdrop for a sexy martini to
shine. Though they boast 175
varieties of vodka, the ice bar is
the main attraction, keeping
patron's drinks quite chilly. I was
particularly impressed with the
Youri Dolgoruki, a martini so
amazingly smooth that an olive
was intrusive. Though I'd planned
a trip here to see the ice bar, I
found so much more to love about
Red Square, especially the food.
The Steak Tartar was a surprise to
me, topped with a raw egg. When
it arrived at the table, the
bartender asked permission to
prepare it for us, using two forks to
thoroughly mix the egg and raw
meat together. One bite and I

quickly abondoned all my reservations, spooning small portions of it
onto melba toast points along with a bit of capers, chopped egg
whites, red onion, anchovies and creme fraiche. This was quite
exotic. The Siberian Nachos was turning me into a ravenous
pleasure monger with crispy fried wonton chips topped with
delicately sliced smoked salmon, wasabi cream, scallions, Wasabi
Tobiko and Citron Caviars. I was going crazy, needing another order
of this, and much like throwing a steak to a vicious dog, I was
quickly soothed by the new arrival, the caviar. We ordered their
best, the Oscetra Caviar from Russia. It was the ultimate splurge.
The blinis they served it with were exquisite. These dainty little
pancakes paired with the soft caviar far exceeded all my
expectations of this highly touted delicacy. In such a short time the
simple pleasures that I once loved were succumbing to sybaritic
living. I had to get ahold of myself. I'm haunted by this place!

Prices: Youri Dolgoruki Martini $12.50, Steak Tartar $16.75, Siberian
Nachos $16, Oscetra Caviar $95 an ounce

Located in the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Telephone (702) 632-7407