December 2014

Scout: Bronze Cafe

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Every year, without fail, I’m asked by a handful of visitors, “Where should we eat while we’re in Las Vegas?” And as if by the powers of association, my mind starts spinning like a slot machine with all of the possibilities. “Strip or Off-Strip? How much money do you want to spend? What type of food do you want to eat? Casual or Fancy?” ACKKKK!!!!! There are literally so many places to choose from my brain inevitably shuts down and I can’t think of anything at all. It’s embarrassing! I’m determined to change this, but it is truly hard, so we’ll start with baby steps. Actually, we’ll start with the most obscure place of all… The Bronze Cafe. 

I discovered this little gem via my bestie Jessica who happened to move to DTLV (downtown) earlier this year. She kept mentioning this as a favorite and I was like, “What?! Where? I’ve never heard of it.” That’s the problem you see. There are constantly new restaurants popping up all across town, all of the time. After about the 3rd mention, I looked it up and quickly discovered it was a favorite of many people (rated #2 on Yelp) and that it had been there for a year and a half. (SIGH) The next day, I high-tailed it downtown to see what the fuss was all about. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

180360_BronzeCafe_ComplicatedOrder

The food is delicious, healthful, and all made from scratch with a focus on vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. But if you’re an omnivore like me, don’t let that put you off. They also have bacon! The cafe serves coffee, juice, pastries/baked goods, soup, salad, sandwiches and sides.

It’s located in the The Center (our local Gay + Lesbian Community Center) and run by Chef Peter Bastien (of Osteria Mozza fame) and his business partner David Mozes. Many of the items have playful names like, “The What What” and “The LGBTQ.”  I’m absolutely in love with the “Complicated Order” sandwich (bacon jam, FTW!). I’m also addicted to their kale salads, specifically “The Bizness” and “David’s Special.” The sides they put on top are the best – curried quinoa, spiced chickpeas, beet salad, house-made seitan, roasted chicken. The vegan “Tree of Life” pita is another favorite with it’s pickled onions, cashew crema, and brazil nut crumble. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! I’ve also tried a few of their baked goods and all have been fantastic. Plus they’ve got a special, cold-brew iced coffee made from a Japanese-style drip tower. 

(Excuse the lousy photos. I took these quickly before scarfing everything down.)
 180360_BronzeCafe_Sandwich

180360_BronzeCafeSalad

Honestly, the only downfall for me is that it feels too much like a Starbucks at an airport or a library. I wish it was a stand alone restaurant because the food deserves better presentation than take away boxes and the atmosphere feels far too casual for the quality of the food. Luckily, there’s some outdoor seating or you can always take the food to go.

But truth be told, the people that work there are so incredibly friendly and the food is simply so delicious, I’d probably eat it any way they handed it to me. 

BRONZE CAFE
401 S Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 202-3100
 
180360_Scout_BronzeCafe

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Repertoire: Winter Granola

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Winter Granola
Winter Granola

I’m one of those people that can eat the same breakfast, day in and day out and never tire of it. In a perfect world, that would consist of a double espresso and a pastry. Alas, that doesn’t work for me. After about an hour I’d be shaking and foggy from lack of protein. 

Over the years, I’ve come to realize the best breakfast for me is granola. I eat it almost every day without fail, making large batches several times a month. You’d think I’d be sick of it by now, but I’m not. In fact, I crave it constantly. It’s also one of those recipes that keeps evolving and getting better with each experimentation. 

I call this my Winter Granola. It’s full of nuts and seeds, crunch and heartiness with just the slightest hint of sweetness. If that bothers you, you could certainly add some coconut sugar, but I don’t think it needs it. I know there are a bazillion different granola recipes out there, but this one is definitely a keeper. It’s paleo, vegan, vegetarian, easy to make and most importantly, energy sustaining.

Winter Granola
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Ingredients
  1. 2 lbs of rolled oats (gluten free, if preferred)
  2. 2 cups roughly chopped raw pecans
  3. 2 cups raw sliced almonds
  4. 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
  5. 1/2 cup raw pepitas
  6. 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
  7. 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
  8. 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  9. 2 tsp ground ginger
  10. 1 tsp sea salt
  11. 1 cup of olive oil
  12. 1 cup of maple syrup
  13. 12oz of dried tart cherries
Instructions
  1. Set oven to 300 degrees F and make sure oven racks are in top 1/3, middle 1/3 and bottom 1/3 of oven. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir well. Add the oil then the syrup and stir to coat completely. Spread evenly onto 3 parchment-lined baking sheets. Pat granola down so it is flat and even. Put one tray on each rack. Bake for 10 minutes, then move the trays up/down a rack so that each tray bakes on each rack for approximately 10 minutes (you'll do this 3 times). The key is to have nicely browned granola. If it's underdone, it will not taste right! Likewise, it won't taste well if it's burnt. Generally speaking it's about 10-13 minutes on each rack to get a nice golden brown color. Once baked, allow to cool on racks or stove top for several hours (this is when it sets and crisps up). Pour dried cherries on top, then pour into storage containers. Refrigerate or freeze (it tastes best cold).
Notes
  1. If you only have 2 racks in your oven, set them up evenly and cook the third tray on its own in the middle. It's important that the baking sheets do not have too thick of a layer, so I wouldn't recommend squeezing everything on to 2 sheets.
180360 https://www.180360.com/
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Old Story/New Story

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My story is all too familiar. These past few weeks have been typical for this time of year — complete mayhem. I suppose some things never change! Nonstop photo editing. Panicking over my lack of gift purchases. Feeling unhealthy because I ate too much over Thanksgiving but am too busy to work out. Fretting over the fact I haven’t done our Christmas cards. Horrific stomach viruses and Croup gone very wrong (see: ER visit). Good times, my friends. All that whining aside, sometimes, nay most times, something good will come out of something bad. Such is the case here…

As I’ve been dealing with a very sick toddler that only wants to be held and nursed 24/7, I’ve been subjected to what I call “forced relaxation.” Seeing as I barely sit down during the day, this is not my forté. So I had to find something to numb the pain of not getting those photos edited and all those gifts purchased. Enter that black box on my wall. Truthfully, I don’t watch a lot of television. I have a tendency to binge watch all my favorite shows, so I had to search around for something new this past week.

Thankfully, I discovered a docu-series on HBO called Sonic Highways. Produced by Dave Grohl, the show follows his band, the Foo Fighters, to 8 musically-renowned cities where they record a song for their latest album in a well-known recording studio. Dave calls it “a love letter to the history of American music.”

“You hear about different cultures around the world trying to preserve their history.  Native Americans hand down stories from generation to generation.  And you have museums all over the world preserving art and culture.  I honestly believe we should be doing the same thing just with music.  That’s what this place is all about.” — Dave Grohl

Isn’t that so true? Music is just as important in defining a culture as art or food, but it doesn’t always seem quite as tangible. Dave does an amazing job of bringing awareness to the way a city has been shaped by it’s musical scene. He draws out all of the best musicians, producers and record labels to hear their stories and evolution as artists. And just as importantly, he focuses on the places in which the music was performed in these 8 musical hubs and how the environment has influenced their music. Each episode unfolds a weaving of American Music History, the same cultural melting pot of different roots that have melded the relationship of people, place and time to create inspiration for generations. It’s truly fascinating. 

While this series technically commemorates the Foo Fighters 20th Anniversary (How is this possible? I remember when the first album came out like it was yesterday! It’s one of my all time favorites…) and showcases them recording a new album, it truly doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of the band or not. It’s simply a history lesson that all Americans need to learn. But for fans, it’s really interesting to see their creative process. I love that they’re trying to do something different and challenging on this record. I had previewed the new album prior to watching this documentary and wasn’t totally sold on it. But after seeing all that was behind each song and how the lyrics relate to these cities and people, I started to get it.

These are the stories of our country and our people. They transcend race and religion, roots and time. And isn’t that what art is all about? I hope you’ll check it out. It’s truly worth watching. 

HB0SonicHighways
Image credit: HBO

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