Today in Las Vegas Magazine

Fusionopolis

In general, I’m pretty wary about restaurants serving fusion cuisine mostly because there are very few establishments that get it right. So it was with a little trepidation that I finally made my way down to Fremont Hotel’s Second Street Grill, though my worries were unfounded.

The restaurant has been around for 15 years, replacing Hualapai, the hotel’s previous gourmet dining room, in 1993. From the onset, the focus has always been the cuisine of the Pacific Rim (which is heavy on the Asian influences) while retaining its American flavor by offering steaks – this is downtown, after all – where every property on Fremont Street has a steak-and-potatoes restaurant.

Peking Duck and Shrimp Tacos	NY Steak

The ambience is muted and elegant – all warm brown tones, dark leather booths and dim lighting - a quiet respite from the dings and ringing of the slot machines on the casino floor. Let me manage expectations now by reminding you that this is, predominantly, a restaurant that highlights fusion cuisine. You will not find the classic shrimp cocktail, nor a traditional surf and turf entrée – instead there are a host of various delicious-sounding items such as wok-fried soft-shell crabs or Mongolian rack of lamb.

For starters, diners are served a steaming-hot loaf of sourdough bread, which was absolutely heavenly. It comes served with (what looks like) whipped butter and an eggplant tapenade – either one is great, though personally, there is nothing like sweet butter to complement the bread’s distinct sour flavor.

Miso-Glazed Cod	Napoleon

Selecting an appetizer was a tough choice, there were so many intriguing items like the sizzling spinach salad with Asian-fused bacon dressing or the tower of shrimp and scallops with peanut basil sauce. But, I’ve heard of the Peking duck and shrimp tacos, so I ordered that, as well as the crabcakes which came highly recommended. The ‘tacos’ were a surprise, but in a good way. There is nothing traditional about it – starting with the filling – which was pulled roasted duck meat and shrimp, to its ‘enchilada sauce,’ which was a puree of roasted red peppers, with a touch of jalapeno, plus a lime cilantro pesto. This is probably fusion at its best where classic ingredients are thrown out the window and instead replaced with items that still work beautifully together. I thought the use of deep-fried dumpling wrappers as the taco shell was an especially inspired touch. It’s sweetness was a complement to the Asian-flavored filling. The crabcakes were probably the most normal item on the menu, though this too was given a twist, with its hot mustard sauce drizzled with oyster sauce, though I found this a tad on the salty side.

I guess I’m a traditionalist at heart, because I chose the NY steak as my main course, while the miso-glazed cod was recommended by Tony Muro, my server for the evening. Topped with bubbling and burnished gorgonzola, the steak was, as far as steaks go, great. Perfectly done to my liking and served atop a bed of pesto mashed potatoes and crispy Maui onion rings, there was nothing not to like. The cod, on the other hand was a fabulous find (well, okay, recommendation). Like most Pacific-rim dishes, there is a tendency to pepper everything with either a miso-based, ponzu or worse, teriyaki sauce. This one was slightly different that the sauce was cream based and (here’s the surprising part) drizzled with hoisin sauce. I thought it would be salty, but it wasn’t. Somehow, here, the yin-yang contrast is executed to perfection with the miso glaze (salty) a delicious foil to the sweetness of the hoisin sauce. And again, like most “fusion-type” dishes, the presentation always resembles a tower of contrasting ingredients and items – sweet and salty, crunchy and non-crunchy, even colors are played-up to its most impressive effect. The cod (non-crunchy) sat atop a bed of pan-fried (crunchy) soba noodles, and topped with the sweet potato shoestring fries (also crunchy) – all this combined resulted in a visual and sensory feast.

Even desserts are given their own unique twist. Take the napoleon which is traditionally layers of puff pastry alternating with a sweet cream filling. Again, the version here is completely different, becoming a tower (again) of peaches, pears and mascarpone, in layers of crunchy phyllo dough. I don’t have a sweet tooth, but this was out of this world and the best part – it wasn’t overly sweet, but actually refreshing.

My advice? Don’t take as long as I did to try out Second Street Grill. It’s a gem of a place and just like the restaurant thinking out-of-the-box, it’s worth a trip out-of-the Strip.

-Rachel M. Sugay

Second Street Grill
Fremont Hotel, 200 Fremont Street. 702-385-3232. Open 6-10 p.m., Sunday, Monday and Thursday; 6-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Price range: Starters, $6.95-$14.95. Main courses, from $21.95. Desserts, $4.25-$7.50.