RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

FROM ETATHED:

On a recent trip to Las Vegas I had the chance to dine at RM SEAFOOD, a restaurant located in Mandalay Bay. I was in the mood for some seafood and this place looked to be top notch.

This was a nice quiet place, though it was early and i hear the upstairs area gets jumpin later. The staff was very friendly and the service was fantastic.

I started with the Jumbo Lump Crabcake with chipotle mayonnaise, cucumber and pickled green papaya. This was probably the best crab cake i had ever tasted. A slight crunchiness on the top and bottom convinced me this cake was cooked to perfection. I also tried the papaya, which i was surprised by. It had a very strong flavor that i cant really describe, but it accented the crab cake wonderfully.

Next came the main course. I had went to RM Seafood specifically for the Lobster Raviolis that where on the restaurant's menu, via the Mandalay Ba site. Unfortunately when i got there the menu was different and the no longer had the Lobster Raviolis. I settled on the Blackened Catfish with sweet corn hushpuppies, and braised mustard greens.

I must say i was bit let down by the catfish, for some reason it seemed to lack the flavor i have come to love from other catfish dishes. As i was eating the fish i really thought i would have enjoyed a couple more crab cakes much more. However the hush puppies were out of this world. They had a cheese sauce baked into them that was fantastic. I didn't touch the greens. I also got a side of Cheddar Mashed Potatoes. These were very tasty and when eaten with the catfish, helped to liven things up a bit.

Over all it was a decent meal. Wonderful appetizer and sides, poor entree. I think my bill ran around 40-50 bucks, which isn't cheap, but isn't too outrageous either. They really do need to look into updating their menu on the Mandalay Bay site though. I was very disappointed when the meal i went there for was not available.

Twice-Baked Potatoes - Mobi Pix from Las Vegas

Our embedded correspondant in Las Vegas, Black2ooph, went Mobi again and sent us these live pictures of an item he prepared. These are twice-baked spuds with bacon, onion and cheese. We are big fans of these.

The Carl's Jr. - Hardee's - Dr. Pepper - “Taste for Speed” Gift Pack Contest - Enter Thru July 6th

Feel the need for speed? Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants – in conjunction with Dr Pepper – are celebrating the highly-anticipated debut of the all new 2010 Chevy Camaro.

Starting now thru July 6th PST we are running a contest to giveaway quite the awesome ultimate car lover package prize!

Winner will receive the "Taste for Speed" gift pack, valued at nearly $200, featuring the following items:

-2010 remote control Camaro
-Meguiar's Complete Car Care Kit (includes Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner, Gold Class Wax, tire protectant and the Quick Interior Detailer kit)
-Super absorbent ShamWow (8 count pack including a variety of sizes)
-Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and Dr Pepper coupons for free food and drink
-And various other swag, including a “More than just a piece of meat” shirt, insulated coffee mugs, antenna toppers and baseball caps

HOW TO ENTER: We have chosen a number between 1-500. Please use the comments button below to post your guess. Closest to our magic number wins it all. In case of a tie, there will be a live playoff on the 7th. 2 guesses per reader and all posts must be signed with a recognizable email or nick. All comments will also be emailed to us as they are posted with IP's - so no shenanigans please.

If you prefer, you can email direct with your guesses to the link on the right column of this page.

FPT staff members are inelegible to participate.

EVEN MORE:
For a limited time, customers who purchase a large beverage or large combo meal at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s will receive a “Dr Pepper Camaro” instant win game cup. Each contains a unique game code printed on the cup that may be entered at DrPepperCamaro.com to reveal possible prizes, including one of six of the all new 2010 Chevy Camaro. After guests submit their game code, they have a chance to play a fun car game – Drive-Thru Derby.
Drive Thru Derby Game

The FPT Unusual Item of The Week: "The Meatloaf Cake"

One of our regular readers sent us an email that points to what has to be the strangest food item we have posted in a long time.

This item comes from The Black Widow Bakery and is very well documented on the link below.

The Meatcake by Black Widow Bakery

Carl's Jr. - Teriyaki Burger With Grilled Dole Pineapple Is Back - And Then Some

One of our favorites is back at Carl's Jr., and the timing is perfect. You are supposed to eat fruit in the summer and this burger helps carry that load.

This year the Teriyaki Burger is being promoted by a lovely bikini beach bunny who is as good-looking as this burger is.

We like this burger because the teriyaki glaze (not teriyaki sauce, which is bitter by itself) blends with the sweetness of the pineapple to make a 1-2 knockout punch.

The burger looks just like the photo above - something Carl's is always good about, unlike other fast food restaurants.

Heres the official stats:
The Teriyaki Six Dollar Burger Charbroiled 100% Black Angus Beef Patty, Teriyaki Glaze, Grilled Dole Pineapple, Two Slices of Swiss Cheese, Red Onion, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayonnaise on a Toasted Sesame Seed Bun.

CLICK HERE FOR ONE DOLLAR OFF COUPON

Indian Popcorn - From Popcorn, Indiana

Etathed, our Eastern embedded reporter, recently stumbled upon something both snackable and interesting:

"Found this stuff at the store last time i was there. I am always skeptical of foodstuffs claiming to be "gourmet" but Popcorn Indiana Popcorn is indeed gourmet.

The package explains this popcorn comes from an actual town in indiana called Popcorn! Justly so as this is probably the best popcorn i have ever tasted. The first bag i got was the smoked cheddar. An amazing flavor that seemed to be baked into the popcorn, not sprinkled on top like so many other flavored popcorns. The popcorn was extremely fresh and seemed as if it had just been popped. This popcorn is very bender friendly, eating a whole bag will be no problem for most priders. This is not to say that the portion is small, to the contrary, these bags are quite full. It is simply a testament to the deliciousness of the product.

Handful after handful after handful, in the midst of it all, it seems so wrong to stop. When i did finally stop, once the bag was empty i was shocked to find a measly 2 un-popped kernels in the bag and none of those sharp little curvy kernel things that get caught in your teeth while munching. This product had what must be the closest thing ever to a 100% pop ratio.

The only down side to Indiana Popcorn is the bag itself. While it is very smooth, similar to most kettle chip style bags, it is prone to splitting thus running a long tear down the side of the bag. Another negative factor for some may be the high price point. At over 3 dollars i wouldnt blame anyone for passing these by, but if you got an extra few bucks, I GUARANTEE you will not be disappointed.

I just picked up a bag of the Buffalo Cheddar and the aged white cheddar flavors. I actually prefer Buffalo Chedder to the smoked cheddar i originally had. While i haven't yet tasted the white cheddar (my favorite of all popcorn flavors) i am sure it will be fantastic.

If you like popcorn, do yourself a favor... seek this stuff out and dig in!"

IncrEdibles - Portable Push-Up Foodstuffs Served On A Stick

Skep, one of our loyal readers, contacted us over the weekend with information on something we have never ourselves and left us quite intrigued.

IncrEdibles, are frozen foods on a stick that you microwave and then push what you need out of the top of the tubes they serve them in. The two main items are scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese - however they offer 3 'flavors' of each.

These debuted in 1999, 10 years ago, have they died out? Are they an East Coast only thing? Any info appreciated.

Killer Multi Meat Kabobs - Prepared by Barnabus - Oregon Coast Drifter Style

Our friend, the Oregon Coast Drifter, sent us some these pics of one of his latest personal creations. Excellent quality and presentation as we have come to expect from him.

Barnabus tells us: "The chicken was teriyaki, the beef was t-bone and greek seasoned. The shrimps were med-large 16/lb count. The limes freakin rocked the whole show. During the last 10 minutes the kebabs(sic) were basted with melted butter and lime juice they were incredible."

Mystery Food Photo Submissions

Recently, while the entire staff of the FPT test kitchens was on our annual 'team-building' corporate retreat deep in the backwoods, we did get some unknown food photos sent to us.

Photos above are unknown and we are asking for our readers help in leaving your comments as too what the foodstuffs are and whatever else you can share.

The one photo appears to be an old structure - however we cannot verify this and it could be something edible.

Prider Correspondants Meet & Eat at Las Vegas In 'N Out Burger!

Two of our regular reporters - Etathed & Blak2oof - were fortunate enough to have the chance to do a meet and greet in fabulous Las Vegas. Etathed had never been to an In 'N Out Burger so Blak2oof knew what to do. Above are some live mobi pics from their visit and soon we will have commentary from them on the burgers.