Holsteins Shakes and Buns - Las Vegas, NV

Lunch - Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Holsteins is the Cosmopolitan's take on the ubiquitous burger joint. It stays true to its genre, with various iterations of the standard beef/chicken/vegetable/fish burger. Prices for individual items tend to be in the low-to-mid teens, in line with other "gourmet" burger joints. As is standard, you can also customize each burger by adding various accoutrements.

Crispy pork belly buns
Hoisin sauce, cucumbers, pea shoots

This was unexpectedly tasty, and well worth $9. I was shocked at how good the actual buns were. The pork belly was tender rather than crispy, but I had no complaints, as the raw pea shoots provided the requisite crunch for each bite. There was just enough hoisin sauce for sweetness without being overpowering. The simple slaw served on the side was a good palate cleanser after the richness of the meat.

"Duck, duck, goose"- Duck confit and foie-gras stuffed beef patty
Pickled Anjou pear, mustard-plum sauce, duck cracklings

"New Delhi" - Tandoori chicken breast
Frisee, apricot-date chutney, tomato-cucumber raita

Both burgers were passable, but certainly not worthy of being crowned "best burger in town" anytime soon. I ordered the "Duck, duck, goose" with duck-fat fries, and these were not ideally crispy but nicely salted and flavour-packed. The buns were light, but still substantial enough to soak up any leaking juices without mess - excellent engineering on their part. Meat was eminently forgettable.

Service was friendly but rather slow, even though the place was only about three-quarters full. Really, Holsteins seems like a good place to eat with kids or a large group, and may be better-suited for this purpose than its other peers (Burger Bar, for example). As for me, I will have to trudge on and continue my vain quest for the perfect burger.


Holsteins
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Phone: (702) 698-7940