Food connoisseurs who know creative delights will enjoy the delectable dishes Executive Chef Jaime Villanueva serves at Firefly’s new location on 3900 Paradise Road in Las Vegas. Firefly has been catering to tourists and locals for the past 10 years.
John Simmons, the owner and the creator of many of their dishes prides himself on creating cuisine that arouses taste buds, rather than serving dishes that are without spices and herbs. On the evening of The World of Poker Series, Christina Kwan, the first boxing titlist to ever cash in The World of Series Poker and Vinny Perozzi joined me to explore the creative delights of Firefly.
Carlos Corral, the manager greeted us and introduced server, Alejandro Garcia who has been with Firefly since its inception. Now, let’s take a culinary journey. First and foremost is the Fly Tai Cocktail which was created by Carlos himself. This was our first introduction to his “summer cool out cocktail,” which is one of their most popular items along with Ravldr from Steigel, their Austrian beer.
The fun with dining at Firefly is their Tapas. It’s all about sharing and having a great conversation. What’s not to like with a contemporary atmosphere with beautiful Flamenco music as background music, in an environment that can handle 400 people, yet has various areas that provide an intimate for that special occasion. With the introduction of many dishes, the most popular are the Stuffed Dates, wrapped in bacon, with smoked almond, in a red wine reduction and topped with blue cheese. This is one of the most tantalizing taste sensations I have experienced.
“This is one of the most tempting dishes I’ve ever had,” stated Christina. Ah, there’s yet another exciting dish. The Apple and Manchego Salad, which consists of Manchego cheese from Spain, smoked almonds, and lightly dressed is very refreshing. This salad is especially popular in the summer. The third item is the Chicken Tinga Empanada, a pastry stuffed with chicken breast, tomato, onion, chili-lime crema.
The taste sensation here is an explosive taste, yet it’s not hot enough to feel like you need to drink a glass of water. Other items which are also delightful and will become quite popular are the Lamb Chops, which consist of two chops in a red wine reduction sauce with sauteed lentils and julienne vegetables.
For a spicy item, the Merguez, which is spicy sausage, tomato-pepper comfit, with grilled bread has a nice kick to it. Another item would be the Petite Fillet, which is a mini filet mignon, with herb cheese, roasted potatoes, mushrooms, in a red wine sauce. The last entree is the Scallop “Escargots” consisting of scallops baked in garlic herb-butter. You could not ask for anything better. This dish had just the right amount of herb-butter.
Dessert time is all the time with those who have a sweet tooth. Toward the end of our culinary journey, Alejandro brought our party, Caramel Flan with an almond cookie, a Chocolate “tres leches” cake and Banana-Nutella sandwiches with cream dipping sauce and Passion fruit mini-cheesecakes. “Love the flan,” stated Vinny. All the desserts are made in the kitchen at Firefly. I would say the “tres leches” cake is the best I’ve tasted anywhere.
Celebrity Scene News [celebrityscene.com] awards Firefly 4 stars for some of the most creative dishes served and the most tantalizing taste, with superb service. Tell them Pete and his friends Christina Kwan and Vinny Perozzi sent ya!
