A DREAM COME TRUE: GORDON RAMSAY BURGR IN LAS VEGAS

          Before you go any further, please let me apologize for the quality of the pictures, which is nowhere near the level of previous entries in my blog. During my trip to the states, I left the DSLR camera back home, and relied solely on my iPad, which I've come to regret, but at the time it was the smarter move.

         Nonetheless, enjoy the first entry from my trip to the United States, earlier this year. 

          I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I am a fan of Chef Gordon Ramsay. In fact, One of the greatest moments of my blogging career was this:

A photo posted by RichieZ (@pickiesteater) on Apr 4, 2013 at 3:54am PDT

      Yup, Chef Gordon Ramsay followed me on Twitter. He has probably unfollowed me by now, but you can imagine how excited I was when I saw this! 

   He followed me after I tweeted him, "If I ever go to Las Vegas, I'm going straight to Gordon Ramsay BurGR". 

   Well, last June, I went to Las Vegas, so it was time to put up. We got a great deal for rooms in Planet Hollywood, so I had no excuse. Even though I'm fairly certain Chef Ramsay forgot about my tweet by now, I believed I had a promise to fulfill. 

   Finally something to to check off my bucket list.. dining in a restaurant of Gordon Ramsay.

  

     Any show Chef Ramsay is on, I watch it. 

     Kitchen Nightmares? I got em all. BOTH UK and US (UK is Loads better).   

     Hell's Kitchen? Seasons 1-13.

     Hotel Hell? Despite the horrible theme song, yup!

     

     Gordon's Ultimate Cookery Course? Well, a few episodes missing but the majority is there.   

     Gordon Ramsay's Costa Del Nightmares? It slipped under the radar but I got it. 

    The only exceptions would be F Word and Ramsay's Best Restaurants - which I lost when Baby Rain, then barely a year  old, decided to do her impression of The Incredible Hulk, with my poor hard drive serving as her "Loki". 

   From the moment I saw call someone a "Donkey!!", I've admired the way he runs a tight ship, and his high standards with regards to quality of food and service is never compromised. 

  So coming from thousands of miles away, there was no way I would miss out on trying some of Gordon Ramsay's Burgers.

        Located at Planet Hollywood Hotel, which is conveniently situated along the Las Vegas Strip, I strongly advise that you go off hours, or early dining hours, because the lines getting in can get long. 

         As proof that Las Vegas is the most insane city in the world where absolutely ANYTHING can happen, a man, out of nowhere, came over to hug me whilst I was taking a photo with the BurGR sign! 

           With waves of flames adorning the walls, Gordon Ramsay's BURGR successfully translates Chef Ramsay's fiery personality into it's interiors.

            The man's presence is felt all throughout the restaurant.

   They managed to keep things casual, yet clean and elegant at the same time.

    The open kitchen will allow you a glimpse of Chef Ramsay if he was manning the pass.

   Our very pleasant waitress showed us items on the menu via tablet.. Pretty cool huh? Totally unecessary for me though.. I had memorized what I was going to order while I was still in Manila. She gamely answered questions about Chef Ramsay, saying that he drops by every now and then, and is indeed very strict when it comes to standards, but doesn't drop the F bomb as often as he does in the show.. well at least, she hasn't seen him in action YET. 

            Our meal began with the a nice frosty shake that was desperately needed to beat the dessert heat. Actually, the Shake #3 (US$8), was pretty much a dessert as well. A finely blended, creamy banana shake is topped with rich, Butterscotch Pudding, before being topped with a scrumptious Snicker doodle cookie.

     My brother, on the other hand, opted for the Shake #4 (US$8) - This time, it was a luscious cookies and cream shake made with Oreos, then topped with Creme Brulee pudding, then topped off with an Oreo. Because it wasn't as sweet as #3, this turned out to be the better choice. #3 was delicious, but the sweetness demanded you drink another glass of water afterwards, which in turn makes you full faster. 

STARTERS

   I don't usually like the thicker cut of fries, but Chef Ramsay's Truffle Parmesan Fries (US$11) were simply outstanding. Delicately hand cut French Fries were fried to a wonderful crisp, then topped with Truffle Parmesan shavings, then sprinkled with Truffle Salt, and served with a creamy Truffle Aioli. 

          Though the Fries were among the best I have ever had in my life, it was the Beer Battered Maui Onion Rings (US$9) that really knocked it out of the park for me. THe Maui Onion had a wonderful innate sweetness that shined with every crunchy bite into it's beer batter coating. The grated Parmagiano-Reganno, gave a nice a nice punch of flavor to balance out the sweetness of the onion. THe Onion Rings were served with a Chipotle Ketchup and a Cheddar Ranch Dip. I personally preferred the Cheddar Ranch Dip, but I was also fine eating it sans any dipping sauce. 

      My mom thought she was going for something "Light" when she ordered the Fish and Crisp Sandwich (US$16), but much to her shock (and my delight, since I was gonna get her leftovers), they brought out something more reminiscent to a battle ship than a fish sandwich, with the fillet perched on top of the buns, instead of between them. 

      A juicy Cod fillet is coated and deep fried in a flavorful Ale Batter, slathered with touches of fresh dill tartar, then topped with a heaping mound of salt and vinegar crisps.

     My dad is a "No Frills" kind of guy, so when our waitress asked him what burger he wanted, he simply answered, "A Cheeseburger". Our waitress replied with a huge smile, saying "Oh then you're going to love what we've got!".

     Chef Ramsay's Uber Cheese Burger (US$15) is a delicious burger with it's beef patty grilled over a mix of Apple and Alder wood, then blanketed by layers of Fontina Cheese, Raclette Cheese, with the buns smeared in Goat Cheese. Definitely a cheese lover's dream!

      My sister, who used to out eat me when we were younger, went for The Farm Burger (US$15). This had a delicious strip of Smoked Duck Breast Bacon placed on the English Sharp Cheddar covered Apple-Alder wood patty, with a fried egg there to add a bit of creaminess to the mix.

       Even while we were still in Manila, my brother and had our hearts set on The Hog (US$18), one of BurGR's Specialty burgers. Instead of using beef, Chef Ramsay used Mangalitsa Pork, which is gaining fame as the "Kobe Beef" equivalent of pork. The Mangalitsa Pork patty is wrapped in a slice of English Sharp Cheddar, then smeared with tasted Apple Butter before being topped with Arugula. 

    This was easily among the best burgers I've ever had in my life, and you all know that I've had A LOT. The apple butter gave a nice tart and lightly sweet flavor to the savoriness of the burger. 

DESSERT

       One of the dishes of Chef Ramsay that I've been dying to try is his Sticky Toffee Pudding. I almost did a quadruple backflip when I saw that they had a version of it in the menu of BurGR, in the fun form of the Sticky Toffee Pudding Push Up Pops (US$7).  Chef Ramsay's trademark dessert as a push up pop? Genius! Layers of Sticky Toffee and Salted Peanut Ice Cream had a wonderful balance of sweet and salty, keeping the dessert from being too cloying. 

    As we waited for our bill, our waitress handed us a iTouch, and asked us to fill up the comment form, as customer feedback is very important to them. 

    

      Eating at Gordon Ramsay's BurGER was a dream come true! I finally got to try the food of the chef that I have idolized for quite some time now, and was totally blown away. 

       I even bought matching BURGR T-Shirts for Rina and I, as a souvenir for an amazing dining experience! Now I have to go to his other restaurants! (Unfortunately, it seems my tummy has sucked in Chef Ramsay's name)

GORDON RAMSAY BURGR MENU