Dining out with the Brits

My British friends, Jan and Maurice, along with Maurice's cousin Ann, are in town for a week. Jan and Maurice are part of the British crowd in Florida but we usually only overlap one or two days a year, so it's been great having them in town to spend an extended time with. On Thursday, the four of us had dinner at Rick Moonen's RM Seafood in Mandalay Bay. I had the Everything Crusted Tuna, which was perfectly rare and encrusted in black and white sesame seeds. It was irritating that they wouldn't let me swap out the rice that it came with for anything other than a starch, so I ordered a side of sautéed spinach, which had the perfect amount of thinly sliced garlic. The restaurant has a higher-end upstairs section, but we ate downstairs, where I thought the menu was slightly overpriced for the rowdy college basketball atmosphere. But, the food was delicious.

On Friday, we wanted a nice meal out for the four of us plus Brad, so we went to Canaletto at the Venetian. This is an Italian restaurant overlooking St. Mark's Square in the Grand Canal Shoppes. The prices were very reasonable and the food was delicious. I had beef tenderloin with polenta, sautéed spinach, Gorgonzola sauce, and crispy fried leeks, accompanied by a great Chianti. For dessert I had tiramisu, of course. Aside from being next to the open kitchen, which was a bit loud, it was a great meal in a great atmosphere.