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<\/a>One day at the\u00a0conference I was attending in LasVegas I only had about an hour, start to finish, to eat lunch. Border Grill is located in Mandalay Bay, where the conference was so I booked a reservation for 1pm for two.\u00a0 Border Grill is run by chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger\u00a0of\u00a0Food Network\u2019s \u201cToo Hot Tamales\u201d fame.\u00a0 Susan Feniger can most recently be found on the Bravo TV\u2019s \u201cTop Chef Masters\u201d<\/a>show.\u00a0 Although the restaurant is advertised to be owned by the \u201cToo Hot Tamales,\u201d the Executive Chef is actually Michael Minor.\u00a0<\/p>\nMy wife met me there at 1pm\u00a0and were escorted to a table in the outside area right away. It was nice being outside since the weather in Las Vegas was unusually cool given the time of year I was there (around 80 degrees that day in May!)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Border Grill is casual and requires little in the way of a specific dress code.\u00a0 I saw people in business casual but also saw a lot of people in shorts and t-shirts.\u00a0 The place looked pretty generic in the decorations department but was neither overbearing or spartan.\u00a0 There is a mix of blacks, oranges, browns, and other colors you would expect in a Mexican style restaurant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although they claim it is Mexican food I found it much more in line with Southwestern food\u00a0as it\u00a0resembles little if anything I ever found in my travels to Mexico.\u00a0 Let me clarify a bit though; they actually call it Modern Mexican Cuisine<\/a>.\u00a0 In reality, the modern explanation they give reminds me of what \u201creal\u201d Mexican food is like and not what the American version is.\u00a0 I rarely found cheese in any of my food while in Mexico for example.\u00a0 At the end of the day, Border Grill is much better than typical American Mexican food.\u00a0<\/p>\n We ordered our drinks and an appetizer of the Queso Fundido ($12).\u00a0 Their Queso Fundido\u00a0is advertised as having melted machego, panela, asadero, oaxacan string cheeses, chorizo, and roasted poblano peppers.\u00a0 It turned out quite tasty and I really liked the mix of textures contained within it.\u00a0 The chorizo added the right amount of salt to the dish and I\u2019d order it again.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beef Brisket Taquitos<\/p><\/div>\n For our main lunches we ordered the\u00a0Chicken Special\u00a0($Varies), and the Beef Brisket Taquitos ($18).\u00a0 We only waited about 15 minutes for our food to arrive even though the place was busy.\u00a0 Did I mention how loud the restaurant is?\u00a0 Don\u2019t expect\u00a0to carry on an intimate conversation if you eat there.\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a0one review I read that it can\u00a0get quite roudy at night when people start drinking the margaritas and I can believe it given our experience during a \u201cnormal\u201d time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n My dish came with three taquitos, which are fried tortillas stuffed with meat.\u00a0\u00a0It also came with a side order of Mexican style rice and black beans topped with queso fresco (fresh crumbled cheese.)\u00a0 The taquitos themselves were topped with a slaw made of freshly shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, thinly sliced green onions, and freshly shredded cheese.\u00a0 The flavor of the taquitos was excellent and I was very impressed with the quality of the slaw.\u00a0 I usually don\u2019t notice knife-work but the vegetables were cut very uniformly and the green onions were sliced super thin.\u00a0 Someone in the kitchen was paying attention when they prepped my dish.\u00a0 The black beans were okay as\u00a0well as the rice.\u00a0 The guacamole that came with my food was excellent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Border Grill - Chicken Special<\/p><\/div>\n My wife ordered the chicken special which consisted of a flattened chicken breast served on top of a chipotle sauce.\u00a0 The chicken was topped with a simple salad, onions, tomatoes, and a melted cheese.\u00a0 It looked simple but tasted great.\u00a0 I liked the lightness of the dish compared to the fried food I had.\u00a0 You could order it without the cheese and have a semi-healthy meal.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Our total bill came to less than $70 which is not outrageous given the expense of eating in Las Vegas and I was pleased with the meal.\u00a0 I was glad I had made reservations for 1pm since it was very crowded; therefore, I suggest you do the same.\u00a0 I made the reservations only a few hours before hand so it\u2019s not like you have to plan far ahead.\u00a0 I really enjoyed our lunch at Border Grill and was pleasantly suprised.\u00a0 I\u2019d eat there again given the chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Border Grill<\/strong> Lunch Dinner![\"\"](\"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/border_grill_flauta-300x240.jpg\" "\\"Border")
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\n\u00a0Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
\n3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89119
\n(702) 632-7403\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nEveryday \u2013 Open at 11:30 a.m.Brunch
\nSaturday and Sunday \u2013 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
\n(in addition to the full Lunch menu)<\/p>\n
\nEveryday \u2013 Beginning at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
![\"Border](\"http:\/\/www.urbanspoon.com\/b\/link\/220345\/biglink.gif\")
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