Drinking from a Skull at Rx Boiler Room, Las Vegas

Sadly, this post ends my Las Vegas travel post series from my last trip to Las Vegas. I sure did do a lot in my long weekend visit, and I would love to return to eat and drink and see more! But, time was limited, and so I will just have to put the rest on my Las Vegas wishlist for the future.

There is one more highlight I wanted to share before I’m done. I had mentioned previously we were staying by Mandalay Bay, and so very conveniently located to us was a restaurant which really looked different from anything else I had seen on the strip. This was Rx Boiler Room, a concept by celebrity chef Rick Moonen that combines the alchemy of food and drink and classic food meets creative science.

Part of the biggest draw for us to go to Rx Boiler Room is that the space is all Steampunk inspired. Steampunk, if you are not familiar, is a sub-genre of science fiction and fantasy combined where rather than computer chips, steam and gears and electricity are the main power behind technology. The aesthetic is a combination of the Wild West and Victorian Age, of both industrial art and functionality rolled into one.

I am utterly shocked there is a not a steampunk restaurant in Portland honestly, since I know PDX does have its steampunk stores, steampunk festivals and balls and conventions, and steampunk social groups. That has left my only experience to be movies like what is hinted with the devices in the recent Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Junior,  and Will Smith’s Wild Wild West movie (the latter was playing on one of the TVs inside Rx Boiler Room during my visit), Full Metal Alchemist anime, and two of my favorite videogames, Final Fantasy 6 & 7 and Bioshock series. I feel the geek in me peeking out here.

Well, Vegas let me venture into that steampunk world at least for a little bit in real life. Here’s a look at the atmosphere. The last two shots share the alchemist circle on the floor as you walk into the restaurant, and some of the chalk drawings on that same ceiling.

After oohing and ahhing over the details of the decor, it was time to eat and drink. The eats are on a normal printed menu, but all the beverages are on a tablet.

For appetizers, we started off with a Rx Guacamole with Big Ass Chips, Chicken pot pie nuggets with natural jus with peas and carrots, and my favorite, the Bacon wrapped Bacon and Egg with brioche toast, tomato jam, and sunny side up quail egg.

For a main, the standout was the Inside out French Onion Grilled Cheese. The Mac and Cheese x 5 with pinwheel pasta and blue, parmesan, brie, cheddar and blanc cheese was decent but I didn’t think anything special, and for me the Smoked salmon under glass with sea beans, bagel chips, and chive cream cheese was too salty in terms of how many sea beans they put in the dish, though the presentation was cool with them lifting a glass cover to let out the smoke.

The best best part? The drinks. For instance, you can’t beat the presentation of this Smoked Whiskey and Coke which pours out of a crystal skull with George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey, housemade cola syrup, bittercube cherrybark vanilla bitters, Fever Tree soda water and smoked cherrywood chips. The skull makes enough drinks for 2 – which you can share or just have 2 drinks, heh.

In terms of flavor though, the winner at our visit was the Poire Drakkar with Hennesy Black, Pimms #1 liqueur, curry-pear shrub, honey shrup, lemon juice, baked apple bitters, black walnut bitters, and black pepper. This savory drink with its complex layers of flavor was very unusual to give that curry flavor in the background with the sip. For something more refreshing rather than savory, try the Strawberry Switchblade with Belvedere Vodka, lemon/lime juice, strawberries, cucumber medallions, mint, goji berries, benedictine, bitermens, burlesque bitters, thyme syrup

Do you know anything about Steampunk, what do you think of the decor and the interesting take on food and drink here at Rx Boiler Room?

My Guide to the Free and the Food on the Las Vegas Strip

• Las Vegas Hotels at the South End of Strip: Mandalay Bay, Delano, Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, and MGM Grand and what each offers in terms of feel
• A look at some of the breakfast options at Della’s Kitchen in the Delano, including juice, Doughssant, bacon cheddar biscuits, and Pecan Raisin French Toast
• Take a little trip to Europe with the offerings and recommendations for free stops in the Middle of the Las Vegas Strip like Paris, Caesar’s, and the Bellagio properties. Did I mention they are all free, and include the World’s Largest Chocolate Fountain?
• Photos recapping my lunch at Giada Las Vegas inside the Cromwell, including the G signature cocktail, flatbread with pesto, burrata, grilled cheese, gelato
• Art Walking Tour at The Shops at Crystals and Aria, Las Vegas, including Gallery Row with Richard MacDonald and Dale Chihuly to the various art in Crystals and Aria
• The garnishes of the Bloody Marys at Todd English PUB in Las Vegas are outrageous, ranging from bacon, onions rings, sliders and corn dogs to chicken wing
• My tour of The Wynn in Las Vegas, including details on The Lake of Dreams, Parasol Down, the Conservatory, Jeff Koons sculptures, and Le Reve The Dream show
• Lunch at Beijing Noodle No 9, Caesar’s Las Vegas of Shanghai Wave cocktail, Sichuan Dan Dan Mein Spring Noodles, Shanghai Soup Dumplings, and Lamb Pancakes
• A Steampunk restaurant of Rx Boiler Room by Mandalay Bay brings an opportunity for a cocktail from a crystal skull