The boyfriend and I try to make a yearly trip to Las Vegas, hitting the road when summer is just about to start. This time, we ventured beyond the resort and hit the Strip for dinner one night.

China Poblano is a Jose Andres restaurant, so I had pretty high hopes for this place before even walking in. Located in The Cosmopolitan, it has all the fun and unique design one expects, with the service to match.

The drink menu featured cocktails with fanciful names and interesting ingredients, that star of which was a margarita topped with a cloud of salt. We loved the whimsical presentation, and the drink itself was quite tasty.

With a menu that is half Chinese and half Mexican, there was a little bit of a disconnect in terms of flavor compatibility, but we had a few favorite dishes that we’d probably have enjoyed even better without the jarring dissonance of competing aromas and tastes. Pulling back in the fishiness of the dishes with seafood – or upping the umami – could be a good start, as might adding some brightness or spice to the super funktastic rice dish.

There were some real winners here – the dan dan mian being the best thing I ate all day – but refining both styles of food could better bridge the two culinary cultures.