YEE: Tasting Time @ Searsucker

Wonderful time at Searsucker! The staff I though did an amazing job with service tonight. They were so welcoming and did not seemed to miss a beat.
We had several drink options and I went with the Skinny Jenny and loved it! Resembles a Moscow Mule but with a twist.
Tonight we got to indulge in some Hawaiian inspired albacore poke, taro chips, and an
a jumbo lump crabcake, pork belly topped with a perfectly poached egg.
Also the «Harlot» Shortrib with duck fat fries and chipotle ketchup.
We ended this delicious night with the warm Chocolate Chip Cookie!
Thank you to all Searsucker team for an amazing tasty evening and for the Unilocalers we got to share this with!
Thank you Nate and Tiffany for another great event!

The second time is the charm. ;) The Unilocal Elite Event at Searsucker was briefly postponed but Nate and the restaurant rallied and came back in full force. As always, the check-​in process was expertly handled by Nate and Tiffany. Our large group occupied a pretty large area of the restaurant, and even still the Searsucker staff did an amazing job at passing out a generous line of dishes and taking drink orders with professional execution skills. I found myself at table with Pim, Naomi, and Laurie, who of course proved to be excellent company!
This eventful night started off with an introduction from Chef Brian Malarkey. I could lie and say I knew who that was, but I hadn’t a clue! I now know he was finalist on Top Chef and was on a show called The Taste? He actually stayed on top of the event the whole time and happily obliged Unilocalers who wanted photo ops. I came into this event thinking we’d get small samples, but Chef Malarkey basically saw to it that everyone got sizable portions with 3 additional dishes to try on top of the already extensive menu. Wowzers! Now onto the food… Disclaimer: I’m a vegetarian so what follows is veggie head friendly.
Strawberry+Champagne+Walnut+Goat Cheese: This salad was delicious! I’m not really a salad person but I make exceptions for strawberry and walnut salads. I didn’t want this goodness to end. I will order this the next time I come to Searsucker! ⁵⁄₅
Eggs+Bacon «Pork Belly»: Obviously not vegetarian but I plopped off the pork and ate the egg and sponge bread part of the sandwich. The presentation was quite attractive. I think my input here is nil though. :‘D ³⁄₅
Short Rib: This dish came with mashed potatoes. A fellow Unilocaler actually flagged down a staff member and asked if I could have a dish with just the mashed potatoes. Super nice of her but I swore I was fine lol. The mashed potatoes were whipped to perfection and were very tasty btw. ⁴⁄₅
Chocolate Chip Cookies: Some of the best I’ve had in my life. This was a surprise dish! They were warm and still ooey gooey. After two, yes two, cookies I was stuffed! I wish I could have taken the whole tray home and gorged. Now I know what to get for dessert at Searsuckers for sure. ⁵⁄₅
All of the glorious food was accompanied by crafty cocktails. I tried the Skinny Jenny and the Coyote, both were pretty good. By the end of the night, there was so much food left over that a few people in our group had take-​home boxes. That says a lot. I totally had fun at Searsuckers and was glad to meet so many Unilocalers in person for the first time (like Robert!). So thank you Searsucker and Nate, for organizing such a great event.
Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE 2015: #246

I’m only a sucker for a few things in life, but my gosh. This place is one of them! Probably one of the best dining YEE experiences I’ve had the pleasure of attending!!! Definitely one of the most anticipated considering the original date had to be postponed. The menu was so tantalizing looking I couldn’t wait!
We warmly greeted by Nate and celebrity Chef Marlarkey! Started us off with the strawberry champagne walnut goat cheese salad which was delicious. Very light and fresh salad! Definitely would order it again. I started the evening with the jalaberry Strawpeño! It was very strong. Definitely could taste the jalapeño but it was too strong tasting for me. I had to ask for extra limes to kinda even the taste out for me.
According the menu we were only to eat the duck fat fries (was really excited for that!), the eggs and pork belly, and the short rib with fried onions. I think what made this event stand out was it was said to be «smalls» so I was expecting tapas portions but we were treated to hearty serving size! Even if that is the «small» it was definitely more than tapas size and more than enough! Before even getting those items, we were given a bonus dish of their signature crab cake… And get this. Made without bread crumbs!!! All crab baby and oh wow! So flavorful and the crab basically melts in your mouth! And the second bonus dish was their poke stack! Surprisingly had a distinguished spicy kick to it that I was not expecting but definitely makes it stand out among the other poke stacks I’ve had around town.
So by the time our three «small» items came out. I was starting to get stuffed! We had already been grubbing on the salad, crab cake and poke stack plus our cocktails, this YEE was definitely for me a feasting delight.
Among the three. My favorite was the eggs and pork belly Benedict. The pork belly was braised and cooked to perfection in all it’s tenderness! Perfect Hollandaise sauce covering the top of a perfectly poached egg that when you take your knife to slice through. You knew you were about to get a taste of heaven. So yeh… That was definitely my favorite! And the lightly buttered toast on the bottom with the drizzle of maple syrup just sealed the deal on this meal.
The braised short rib topped with fried onions on a bed of buttered garlic mashed potatoes was definitely enough to share. Perfectly seasoned and so so so tender the meat just falls right off! The mashed potatoes were delicious and I’m a sucker for all things potato so I was in heaven. Just this meal is pretty heavy, and by this time I was stuffed like I had been to buffet.
The duck fries were a nice closer to munch on. But I honestly couldn’t taste any difference, except it was served with chipotle ketchup which gave it a nice kick that I thoroughly enjoyed. I love ketchup so this was a nice change up.
But with a delightful surprise to close the night we were served with warm rich chocolate salted covered cookies!!! And who can say no to cookies?! I wouldn’t say the cookies were chewy. But they weren’t hard or chunky. They were just baked perfectly right. But definitely melt in your mouth good I snagged two
By the end of the night I was buzzing and full. So that combo doesn’t get any better! The ambiance and décor of the place is elegant with a rustic touch! Definitely a feel good place to grab a few drinks before hitting a night on the town or catching a show in Caesars Palace or a great place to have dinner with someone special.
Had an amazing experience and definitely one of my favorite YEEs for the books! Thanks again to Searsuckers for having us and for Nate for always taking care of us and the elite community! Sorry so late. Life can tend to get in the way, but this was definitely an event I could never forget!

OK, 4.5 stars are merited for this event, which showcased the restaurant’s food & drink menu.
My slight ratings ding is due to a small inconsistency in the quality of food. Overall, the meal was great and Chef Brian and his staff made us feel like VIPs! Cause we are…
From the salad featuring goat cheese to the warm cookies for dessert, the food complemented the décor and the experience was enhanced by having the restaurant’s creator there to answer questions.
My fave dishes were the albacore poke (spicy!) with taro chips, a bonus dish (!!!), and the pork belly & poached eggs with hollandaise. That pork belly dish was a treat and really hit the spot along with a glass of their house red! The crab cakes were another bonus dish and they were good but too mushy in my opinion.
The short ribs (the harlot) had too much french fried onions and not enough sauce, so this dish was a bit of a disappointment for me as a huge fan of short ribs. They were generous enough to provide some of their speciality cocktails also, and I liked the strawpeno jalaberry just fine.
We had plenty of time to mingle with fellow Elites and compare notes on our experience. Always good to make new Unilocal friends!
The chef joined us for a group photo post event, and I’m sure this is one of the best YEE photos ever!

SUCKER… I AM!
Another, what I thought, a successful event! Thank you Nate & Tiffany for always getting everything organized & eventful w/​fun Unilocal theme goodies all over the table too! You guys seriously ROCK from my first event through all 3 I been too & the fact that you guys remember so many people!
Chef Brian Malarkey was present & very outgoing & super enthusiastic about what he had to present. Honestly when you see a chef so passionate about what he does… it kind of preps me for a positive experience in a sense. His gestures & the way he presents himself kind of reminded me of Chef Ramsay ahahahah. We also had the honor of having the presence of the Chef JP from Texas as well.
We were educated on what Searsucker is about & that they have multiple locations that all have their own chef’s touch & taste & feel to them which makes me excited to go try their San Diego location!
We were DEFINITELY expecting SMALL bite portions of food! Boi… were we TOTALLY WRONG! Even Chef Malarkey was like «these guys are not gonna be leaving hungry» WOW…
COYOTE — apple cinnamon Bourbon, Ginger beer, lime, bitters, & cinnamon stick! I typically am not very good w/​cocktails but this was pretty darn good & mellow, although I could still not get through half the glass…
STRAWBERRY W/​GREENS — goat cheese, champagne, walnut… I think there was a balsamic reduction drizzled & goat cheese vinaigrette… I was expecting sweet but it was a very well blend of every flavor
ALBACORE POKE — served with crispy taro chips & a spicy aioli sauce & garnished w/​thinly sliced radishes & micro greens. Had the perfect of amount of kick to it!
EGGS & BACON «PORK BELLY» — this was like awesomeness ahahha and the the poached egg was perfectly running which was IMPRESSIVE w/​the number of dishes they busted out at once! I will have to say though that the pork was not as tender as I would have hoped but the fat was amazing so it may have been the way they wanted it as a combo.
CRAB CAKE — HUGE lump crab that was oh so juicy & tender w/​every bite! & the roe that came on the side gave it that extra burst of flavor w/​the bits of crunch radish that was garnished on top!
SHORT RIB «THE HARLOT» — cream cheese mashed potatoes w/​the meat gravy & crispy onion strings. The mashed potatoes were to die for! Everything in one bite was a great combo… although the shortrubs did seem a Tad bit dry for what I’m used to for short ribs & definitely thought it may have tasted better if the gravy was drizzled over the meat instead of the cream cheese mashed potato.
DUCK FAT FRIES — fatty fries cooked in duck fat aahaha was expecting a little more duck fat flavor but it was definitely there… just seemed like a hint of it.
SEA SALT CHOCO CHIP COOKIES– these cookies literally came straight out of the oven or something! *Freaken BOMB dot com* amazeballs* I don’t like regular chocolate chip cookies but I would definitely come back here to just buy a whole bunch w/​milk to get a tummy ache after!!!
The servers were awesome in the sense they got everything out & everything reset for each course. Promptly getting us whatever we needed at all times! Thanks crew! I definitely know how easy such events could be & how teadiously difficult they could be as well!

I debated giving this event ⁴⁄₅ but realized it would be quite a dick move since the fault is all mine. I’m not a huge fan of extremely heavy or meat-​centric meals, and boy was this one just that.
I won’t go into great detail about Chef Brian Malarkey or dissect each dish since the previous reviews have already done an amazing job. Below are some personal remarks and favorites.
FOOD
The strawberry salad would have to be my favorite. It was light yet full of flavor! Besides that, I really loved the pork belly and eggs. The pork was sooo tender and soft and the toast under remained magically crispy. The short rib was nice and tender as well, but the star of that dish was definitely the porter mashed potatoes. The duck fat fries were average in my opinion.
On top of the predetermined menu, we received crab cakes and ahi poke. The ahi poke was fresh but the flavor left something to be desired. The crab cakes had a wonderful texture but was way to salty for me.
Those sea salt chocolate chip cookies were freaking amazing and I’m not even a big fan of sweets! Portion sizes were full instead of half so we were stuffed.
DRINKS
I had the red wine (not sure what it was) and a skinny jenny. They were decent — nothing special.
SERVICE
Service was attentive and prompt, but not overbearing. Throughout the night, my area requested to-​go boxes, mashed potatoes, and gravy, all of which were given readily and with a smile! I was worried we were going to be frowned upon but the service was on point.
And last but not least, Chef Brian himself! What an outspoken and friendly individual. He truly seems passionate about Searsucker and providing a great and unique experience for diners at each location.
I would definitely come back for happy hour. Despite the food not being perfect to me, the whole experience overall was worth it.

Ok the first attempt to have this event was a fail, a problem with the venue’s ventilation I believe, but the second attempt was such a treat of all of those who attended.
Obviously we all got to meet celebrity chef Brian Malarkey as seen on TV. Well technically I didn’t meet him the group did but that was pretty cool.
The event was more of a sit down dinner. I tried to go in undetected but no luck. When I came in a few of the tables looked nearly full and some almost completely empty, I didn’t wanna be sitting alone on the get go so I found an open seat on one of the fuller tables. I wanna say the party was made up of ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ of those I’ve met and those I haven’t met before or don’t remember which is always awesome. A good mix of people.
First I have to mention the cocktails, come on now I’m a damn alcoholic kidding. There was the Jalaberry Strawpeno (tequila), Skinny Jenny (vodka), and Coyote (bourbon). I’m not admitting that I drank them all but I almost did. I couldn’t really tell the difference between the coyote and skinny jenny both had the bitters, lime and ginger beer. I liked the jalaberry strawpeno because it was spicy. Oops I guess I did drink them all but I didn’t slam them down just tried/​sampled them all.
The food we were served were very filling. Let’s see first came the strawberry, walnut, goat cheese salad. It was very delicious and I wanted more. There was pork belly, bacon, and eggs dish. A short rib, horseradish, and fried onion dish. Some duck fat fries w/​tomato jam, crab cakes, and spicy tuna. And a tasty chocolate chip cookie with sea salt to end it all. The chefs were pretty descriptive when each item were presented to us and the staff at most time good. There was a moment were servers placed empty plates on the table then took them away, a few of us wasn’t sure what was going on there.
Overall excellent event. Thanks Nate, Tiffany, chef Brian Malarkey, people at Searsucker and Unilocal,fellow Unilocalers, etc. for making it an enjoyable event. See you all at another one.

6 Stars all around. it is such a privilege to attend events such as this. I have always been a big fan of Brian Malarkey from Top Chef and various food shows. I also love Herringbone in La Jolla and tend to end up there whenever I am in San Diego for drinks.
Searsucker is located near Omnia and the playbook in Ceasars. You can eat here and if you spend $ 50 get ushered in to Omnia without waiting which is a nice perk. The restaurant had a homey feel. I don’t know if its because it reminded me of San Diego or if it was the nice hand towels beautiful smelling soap in the bathrooms. It was nice to see the cooks cooking in the kitchen and everyone enjoying their food and drinks.
We were served decadent drinks that were bursting with flavor. There were 3 drinks served and I tried two of them. i started with the Jalaberrry Stawpeno and yippee spicy. Spicy and sweet all at the same time. Great drink to get my palate going. I had the Skinny Jenny as we started getting into our food. It was great with food as it had a very refreshing component with some bubbles and lime.
We were served plenty of food which some of the reviewers have touched on. I loved everything we had really. The salad with the goat cheese and cream on the bottom was amazing. The Eggs, bacon pork belly was so good I had to tell my brain to stop eating it so fast. It literally melted in my mouth. The sweet bread, the micro greens, the perfectly cooked egg and flavorful porkbelly. My mouth is watering right now reading about it! And then… the cookies. Oh My. yes the cookies – only thing missing was the milk. I prob would have paid like $ 20 bucks for a glass of good ol 2% milk to go with my cookie. Last, Brian Malarkey. Oh wait-​he wasn’t on the menu, I only wish he was so I could eat him up. He is so stinkin cute! Sigh…
Thank you for the honor of attending this event with such great people and spectacular food. Till next time!

When you take a Top Chef in Brian Malarkey and the BEST Unilocal community manager, Nate, as well as a whole bunch of amazing Unilocalers in the Las Vegas community, the recipe results in sweet success. It is an event such as tonight’s event which truly reminds me: It’s Neat to be Elite! We joined chef Malarkey at Seersucker inside Caesar’s Palace for a night of food and drink tasting and our tastebuds were kept busy from start to finish.
I was joined by many fantastic Unilocalers that make these events such a fun time to be a part of. There were a lot of new faces and many of the ‘old school’ Unilocalers were also present. Almost as soon as we took our seats, servers were already offering us a choice of one of their three specialty cocktails or their red or white wines available for tonight’s event. I had the Jalaberry Strawpeno. As the name suggests, it was an alcoholic beverage (tequila) infused with flavors from strawberries and jalapeño. It was spicy! But I liked it.
Chef Malarkey and his staff took their time to eloquently explain each dish that was prepared for us. Everything that was placed in front of me was both beautiful and full of flavor. The strawberry salad with champagne vinaigrette with walnuts and goat cheese was wonderful. The ahi tuna tartare was delicious and was finished very fast.
The pork belly. Oh, how I’ll dream of that pork belly again. Such a tender and generously thick portion of pork belly sandwiched between the perfectly poached egg that drizzles all its yolk all over and the bread underneath.
Next came the crab cake. I’m going back to Seersucker just for these. All crab, no fluff. The carb-​less crab cake. Delicious and served with tobasco caviar.
We finished the meal with a braised short rib over mashed potatoes, a side of duck fat fries and then warm chocolate chip cookies.
Afterwards we ended the night taking photos, chit-​chatting, and discussing the foods we were lucky to have tried. Thanks again to Seersucker, Unilocal,Brian Malarkey, Nate, and everyone I saw yesterday for such a great time!

Arrived fashionably late again! Ah who am I kidding?! Arriving on Chinese time. LOL
Boy am I glad I wore my stretchy dress. I did not think we were going to get fed as much as we did. Not only did we get the dishes on the menu, they were their full size portions (according to prior pics), and we also got surprise dishes of ahi tartare, all-​crab crab cake, and salted chocolate chip cookies to finish off the meal!
My fave was the pork belly benedict. Genius to compact down the belly, and the light sweet touch at the end was unexpected and appreciated to cut through the heaviness. Second fave was the duck fat fries. Even though I was thoroughly stuffed by the time they came out, I could not stop eating them. Super crunchy! And even though I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I had to try the cookies bc they had salt on them. Very yum!
Thanks again to Nate and Tiffany (and congrats guys!). Great event and loads of fun to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones.

A sit down dinner hosted by the top chef himself? Uh, yeah, it was awesome! It was great to be able experience a new restaurant, hear from the chefs, and meet new Unilocalers.
So much food goodness! I definitely left completely stuffed. We started off with a salad (strawberries, goat cheese, balsamic, walnuts, etc.) that was crazy delicious. We then enjoyed pork belly topped with an egg and hollandaise sauce (I will be coming back to have this again!). And then short rib and onion straws (had to take some of this home with me) and duck fat fries with chipotle ketchup. And then there were additional items that weren’t on the Unilocaler menu — tuna poke, crab cake with tabasco caviar (say what?!), and salted chocolate chip cookies. The crab cake was definite standout dish — very delicious and unique (no breading).
And, of course, there were cocktails too. The strawberry jalapeño one was my personal favorite. It had a kick too it and didn’t hold back on the jalapeño. But it was nicely balance with the sweetness of the strawberry.
All in all, my verdict is: When can I come back? Everything was tasty. The crab cake and pork belly were truly crave worthy. This was an excellent way to try this restaurant out and get a feel for what it’s all about. And ow it’s on my list of places I want to eat at again (and again). I’m definitely a fan.
And I just love these type of Unilocal events (ok, sure, I love them all, but…) — where you get to sit down and converse with Unilocalers while hearing from the chefs and tasting a variety of dishes. It’s a perfect way to learn about a restaurant.

Pork belly, short ribs, spicy ahi, duck fat fries… it was a dream menu for me! Top Chef Brian Malarkey created some amazing dishes for us and I am very thankful I was able to attend. This was only my second YEE but definately my favorite. The food created by Chef Brian was insanely delicious. He was so welcoming and seemed to really enjoy having all of us there.
He took the time to explain his restaurant and all of the dishes. It was also nice seeing Chef JP come out and talk with us. The pork belly was incredible. The belly was so tender and cooked to perfection. The flavors of the pork, the egg and the hollandaise all melted together like magic.
The short ribs were also fantastic, again so tender just falling apart. Chef Brian also suprised us with the spicy ahi and crab cake appetizers which were both great. Just when I was getting full duck fat fries were brought out. Very crispy with distinct flavor, I enjoyed them. Finally the warm chocolate chip cookies with sea salt, a perfect ending to an exceptional meal.
The service was excellent at our table. Drinks being refilled quickly and a nice flow of the courses. Thank you Chef Brian, Nate and Tiffany, and the staff at Searsucker for a wonderul evening. I will definately be returning to try out some more of Chef Brian’s creations!

Before it marinates too long and I never get to it, and to wet your apatite a bit here’s my little snippet. The main thing that I want to say and I’ll come back later to finish my review is that the Yum factor at this Searsucker YEE was off the charts! Nate has yet done it again, together with celeb chef Brian Malarkey and PJ they knocked it out of the ball park.
I really enjoyed myself here last night and again there was more people from my elite friends list that I got to meet in person which is always one of the highlights of my nights. The evening went off without a glitch this time (wink wink) and I walked away with an awesome awesome experience. Well that’s it for now so please stay tune and I will complete my review in a little.

«Good things are worth waiting for» as this YEE was rescheduled from ⁷⁄₂₉^th.
Only the Owner/​Chef Brian Malarkey-​former Top Chef finalist and The Taste host and Chef de cuisine Jean Paul «JP» Labadie could speak so eloquently w/​absolute passion about their foods/​drinks served at Searsucker/Caesar’s Palace.
Proudly boasting of the highest quality ingredients, gourmet preparation & artistic presentation combined w/​exceptional service by attractive and personable employees led to an amazing dining experience last night.
«Coyote» House-​Made Infusion = apple cinnamon bourbon + lime + ginger beer + bitters = May I have another please?!
*Fresh strawberries «burst w/​flavor» mixed w/​field greens, walnuts & goat cheese in champagne sauce.
**The duck fat fries w/​chipotle ketchup was a delicious treat I could devour all day.
***Chef Brian told us he «loves breakfast for dinner» and shared w/​us his creation of the most amazing tasting pork belly/​poached egg/​hollandaise combo.
INTERMISSION: What is the secret strategy of opening the little tin of Unilocal mints without spilling them all over?
*Crab cakes were prepared w/​o breading offering 100% delicious crab meat garnished w/​tangy Tabasco caviar.
**Tuna tartare poke w/​taro chips was also a real hit among our front table.
***The short rib «the harlot» was cooked to perfection, nice touch of horseradish, topped w/​fried onions.
****Tasting Time @ Searsucker ended w/​freshly baked, warm, soft, and chewy chocolate chip cookies sprinkled w/​sea salt; a big kid favorite!
This was my 3^rd YEE reuniting w/​several fun Elites i’ve met previously, and enjoyed a gathering of many i’ve wanted to meet in person based on their awesome reviews/​photos. With over 50 attendees among five tables of ten, I mingled among at least 33 that I have now become Unilocal friends with.
Thank you to everybody at Searsucker, our CM Nate and his new fiancée Tiffany for coordinating this wonderful get together.
Unilocal 250 CHALLENGE 2015: #206

Legitimately one of the best elite event so far!
This long-​awaited elite event has been on everybody’s mind for the past month I’m sure, it was definitely worth the wait! The interior of seersucker is absolutely beautiful, all rustic and wooden. The area is quite spacious and there were enough tables and chairs for everybody.
The offerings this evening we’re absolutely amazing! We were able to sample some duck fat fries, which were amazing, some bacon and eggs aka pork belly and a poached egg with hollandaise sauce atop a delicious brioche slice, which was just succulent! Some short ribs with onion straws, and last but definitely not least a delicious chocolate cookie with sea salt on top.
Thank you to everybody at Searsucker, including Brian Malarkey, his lovely staff, and Nate and his beautiful fiancé! It was truly one of the best events and went off without a hitch.
Yay!

Worth the wait! Originally scheduled for last month, I was thrilled that Brian Malarkey himself was still able to make it to this evening’s rescheduled event. We were given a feast of great food and drink at Searsucker, a hidden nook of Caesar’s Palace– the décor nailed the feel of dining at someone’s (fancy and very tastefully decorated) home.
It’s not a Unilocal event without alcohol, and Searsucker didn’t hold back– I sampled all three of the drinks (the Skinny Jenny being my favorite), and the General Manager came by and spoke to our table about their infusions program.
Favorite bites for me were the surprise crab cake (not originally on our tasting menu) and of course, the crowd favorite– pork belly poached egg with hollandaise! The short rib harlot and duck fat fries were also fun to try, but by the end I was too stuffed to each much of the sea salt chocolate chip cookie.
Throughout our visit, the staff and service were on point. We never had to wait very long between courses and they were professional and charming. The highlight of the evening for me, of course, was getting a photo with Mr. Malarkey himself. Many thanks to Unilocal and Searsucker (particularly the GM and Chef JP, who came out to interact with us) for setting this up, looking forward to coming back with a group to try even more of the menu!

We had to wait five weeks due to a ventilation issue that closed the entire restaurant. It was more than worth it.
Thanks as always to the lovely Nate M. and the handsome Tiffany O. for being wonderful Unilocal hosts and for checking us in smoothly. Much love to Chef Brian Malarkey and chef de cuisine Jean Paul («J.P.») Labadie for the wonderful meal and vivid descriptions of the dishes’ components, sourcing, and preparation. Sadly, most of this may have been fleeting due to the allure of the food itself or the intoxicating alcohol. And a shout-​out to all the Unilocalers, whether we met for the first or the umpteenth time.
After we settled in our special section of Searsucker, with five tables of ten chairs a piece, we had our drink orders taken. They provided us with a choice of three «House-​Made Infusions» (cocktails): the Jalaberry Strawpeño (creative name award winner, I’m sure), the Coyote, and the Skinny Jenny. I went for the Coyote since I didn’t think you could go wrong with apple-​cinnamon (bourbon) and ginger (beer), which were mixed with lime and bitters, and I was right. It was tall tasty glass that was just sweet enough, and the cinnamon stick helped to keep that flavor going even into the melted ice.
The food items were all taken right off the menu, mostly from the «Smalls» section (plates intended to be shared, as per the intended spirit of the restaurant, but which we often got to enjoy on our own). Each dish was accompanied with Chef Malarkey’s booming descriptions (channeling his «The Taste» self more so than his «Guy’s Grocery Games» appearances) or similarly grandoise explanations from J.P.
The first course provided to each person was a salad with coarsely chopped strawberry, goat cheese dressing, a champagne sauce that I believe was described as a vinaigrette, and walnuts. It was tough to get all the components in one bite, but they blended harmoniously. It’s a nice change from a more traditional salad.
While enjoying the salad, we were also presented a shared portion (1 per 5 people) of a spicy tuna dish, which I later found out is also on the Smalls menu. Crispy taro chips served as the beds on which we could pile a spicy tuna tartare, which is topped with micro greens and thin radish slices. This little feller actually tastes quite different from the spicy tuna found in sushi. I was pleasantly surprised that I could handle the spice, even though I’m mostly a 3-​out-​of-​10 on a heat scale.
Next individual course was the consensus star of the evening, a pork belly on brioche all topped with a poached egg and hollandaise. The pork was pretty tender and its porky flavor shined (you know what I’m talking about), while the sweet brioche, hollandaise, and rich egg with its runny yolk served as great complements. I don’t remember the two sauces at the bottom of the plate, but they were obviously good (hopefully, somebody else does).
We also shared a crab cake with jumbo lump meat, fennel, and a lemon verbena aioli (and reportedly a bit of Tabasco sauce and some fish roe). While it was markedly on the salty side, I enjoyed it very much and appreciated the no-​carb approach, which allowed the crab to shine through completely.
The last individual course was a beef short rib with horseradish, buttery mashed potatoes, and fried onion, plus a sauce made from the braising liquid. I preferred this one just slightly over the pork belly because I haven’t been so impressed with a short rib before. This beer-​braised beef was tender and surprisingly flavorful, and I really enjoyed the fried onion strings that gave crunch and even more richness to each bite.
The final shared course was the duck fat fries with chipotle ketchup. I’m a bit saddened that I didn’t detect the chipotle flavor in the condiment (nobody else in earshot did), but the fries were amazing. They’re the seasoned type, which I love, and there’s a certain fluffy texture and richness that the duck fat lends even if you can’t quite isolate the flavor. It was also a great accompaniment with the short rib.
After goodbyes and final words from the chefs and the CM, we tucked into chocolate chip cookies with a sprinkle of sea salt. This is on the regular menu with milk, but I guess they didn’t dole out the dairy today. Still, my warm, gooey cookie was as good as any that I’ve had, and the salt gave it that extra interesting accent.
I don’t think I’ve emphasized how much of a «VIP» feeling I had tonight. Sure, a lot of events have had exclusive access, but the main man Malarkey from TV was there in the flesh, even after having to reschedule, and he was in and out all night mingling with Unilocalers and normal diners alike. Plus, the service staff was excellent.
It was an excellent evening overall. The food was the best that I’ve had at an Elite event in a long time, and the socializing was unmatched. I won’t even try to name everybody since I’m afraid of leaving some people out, but it was a blast hanging out with you all. Until next time, SYOY!

Unilocal Elites were treated to an amazing evening once again. Thank you to the staff at Searsucker, Chef Brian Malarkey and the Unilocal team Nate and Tiffany for a truly memorable evening.
We kicked things off right away with some House-​Made Infusions. I tried the Skinny Jenny which was wonderful. A blend of citrus vodka, ginger beer, lavender, bitters and lime made this cocktail a sure winner. Tasty and light.
Before we knew it the tasty strawberry salad was before us. The light dressing and fresh fruit had a great blend of flavor. I loved it.
Up next was our breakfast for dinner! Pork belly with a poached egg was my absolute favorite. The depth of flavor in the pork belly with the light sauce enveloped every taste bud. Delightful and elegant.
We were surprised with spiced ahi and crab cake. The ahi had a fabulous zing which I adore. The crab cake was made without carbs. Honestly had a bit too much salt in it. Still good but not great. The duck fat fries were almost the same way. A little too much salt but still good.
The short rib with the butter potatoes and fried onions were amazing. The rib was so tender with tons of flavor. The flavor of the onion and horseradish was not overpowering and just right.
To top off the evening, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies were brought for the table. Warm and simply delightful!
Searsucker is on my list to dine with again. The event was fun and filling. It just opened the door for me to want to come back. I was at a table with so many of my favorite Unilocalers that Of course it was a good time. Roger, Steve, Chris, Rick, Gregg, Brian, Clint and Heather are the 5 stars in my book! Thanks again Unilocal

This Unilocal Elite Event was nothing but a bunch of Malarkey. Well, Brian that is. With the opening of one of his new restaurants, Searsucker, located inside Caesar’s Palace, he was generous enough to let us Elites gather ourselves in the back to sample some of his wonderful creations right off the menu.
If you refer to my pic, the tasting menu describes all the wonderful items we had and even a couple of items that’s not on there. Brian himself walked around greeting people and when he came around to me he whispered in my ear «Chargers» (yup, im a Seahawks fan and no, not a bandwagoner). I thought that was a bit weird given the fact that he grew up in Oregon and even went to La Cordon Bleu in Portland. Brian is an easy going guy for he had a pretty good conversation with the guys at my end of the table about the Chargers and them moving yadda, yadda, yadda.
As for the event, I thought it was pretty awesome from beginning to end. Our servers were on point from refilling our beverages to bringing out sample entrees to cleaning up our empty plates. No detail was left untouched. Even the main chef, Jean Paul came out to greet us. He even explained in detail how the Bacon n Eggs Pork Belly entrée was made. Dude, you had me at bacon.
Major props once again to Chef Brian Malarkey for giving us this opportunity to not only try out some of this menu items, but also to the fact that he took out his own time to hang out with us. Its not everyday that celebrity chefs will just go out of their way to hang out with a bunch of unknown people.
Shout outs go to Jessie, Jessica, Dyanna, Gregg, Rick, Phil P, Phillip T, Bethany, Angeli, Robert, LJ, Brian P, Dorie, Kevin, Stef, Stephanie, Amber, Nelson, Chris, Mike, Steven, Clint, Nik, Samantha, Heather, and April. These are people that I either know already or just met tonight. Im sure there were plenty of others that I didn’t get to say hi to so I apologize. So next time if I don’t say hi to you don’t hesitate to come say hi to me and tell me who your NFL team is. Im sure whatever team that is, we will have an interesting conversation.
Last but not the least, props goes out to our CM Nate and his lovely fiancé Tiffany (congrats guys!) for always busting their rear ends to set up awesome events like this.
Unilocal 2015 Review #59 «We at Sear, Sucker!»
558 overall

(M)y, my, my what an awesome event tonight!
(A)s some of you may know that it was our
(S)econd attempt at Searsucker… the first time, it was
(S)hut down due to a kitchen malfunction… NOOOOO!
(I)t was beyond anyone’s control, but I’m
(V)ery happy Nate was able to reschedule tonight’s
(E)lite event! Wooooohoooo!
(M)rs. Q and I arrived promptly, and as
(A)lways, checked in and tagged by Nate and Tiffany…
(H)ugs/hellos given to fellow Unilocalers before din din
(A)lcohol orders were taken, and I tried all three
(L)oved the Skinny Jenny… kinda like a Moscow Mule
(O)verpowering with cinnamon is what the Coyote was
(S)weet and spicy was the Jalaberry Strawpeño
©hampagne Vinaigrette dressed our salad, and a
(H)awaiian inspired Albacore Poke, Taro Chips, and an
(E)xcellent Jumbo Lump Crabcake were extra bites!
(F)an favorite Eggs +Bacon featured a HONKIN’ piece of pork belly topped with a perfectly poached huevo.
(Only the second time a Vegas restaurant nailed it)
(M)an, «The Harlot» Shortrib was no joke either! As was The Duck Fat Fries with Chipotle Ketchup…
(A)ll this richness caused me to take a needed walk!
(L)oved seeing and chatting with my fellow Yeeps!
(A)ll of Team Searsucker ROCKED tonight!
®eally appreciate all you do Nate (and Tiffany!)
(K)odak moments were captured by Patrick as always
(E)xcellent end with the warm Chocolate Chip Cookies!
(Y)elp Las Vegas has some of the best F.U.C’n events!
Don’tcha think???
(!)ALOHA! ! !
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