The Vegas Table: A Las Vegas Restaurant and Food Blog

Being a vegetarian dating a Jewish foodie from New York has had its problems. One of the first to present itself was the Chinese food issue. My fiancee grew up eating Charlie Mom’s for Christmas Eve dinner, while I’ve spent the fifteen years of my vegetarianism suffering through plates of boring stir-fried vegetables anytime I was unable to get out of a dinner engagement at a Chinese restaurant. So each time he would suggest we get Chinese food, I would wrinkle my nose and hope he would take pity on me. Eventually, I took pity on him (he was suffering withdrawal symptoms, after all), and accompanied him to Cook on Wok at Stephanie and Warm Springs Road.

I ordered the usual Buddha’s Delight and gorged myself on the crispy noodles served with sweet and sour sauce, while Mark ordered a dish called spicy eggplant. I’ve always been ambivalent about eggplant — I can eat ratatouille all day long, but eggplant by itself does nothing for me. When our orders arrived, I told myself to enjoy Mark’s love of Chinese food and ignore the bland cauliflower and broccoli in my dish. Mark took a few bites of his entree and then struck up a conversation about what the British call an aubergine. Then the truth came out! I had never tried a Japanese eggplant in my life! After describing to me a fruit (yes, it’s really a fruit) with a buttery, creamy taste, he admonished me to try a bite of his meal.? After some hemming and hawing, I gave in.

CUE THE CLOUDS PARTING AND THE LIGHT OF HEAVEN BREAKING FORTH WHILE ANGELS SING! The spicy eggplant was like nothing I’d ever eaten! Sensing he was in the presence of a life-altering experience, Mark turned his meal over to me, secure in the knowledge that we would be eating Chinese food much more frequently in the future.

And so began a quest to find the greatest dish of spicy eggplant in Las Vegas and beyond. Bear with me through this seeming non-sequitur: You know how when you tour model homes, you should never start with the biggest one?? It will always seem the most luxurious and any others you look at after it will pale in comparison. Well, I had unwittingly made the same mistake with spicy eggplant — I tried the best one first! But I will still bestow upon you the fruits of my labor and allow you to decide for yourself.

AND THE WINNER IS…Cook on Wok! For me, Cook on Wok does the best spicy eggplant in town. Theirs includes water chestnuts, green peppers, scallions, and Japanese eggplant chunks in a delicious garlicky brown Hoisin flavored sauce with just enough red chilies. I always order mine with extra sauce so I can enjoy it mixed with rice after the eggplant is gone.

FIRST RUNNER UP…is kind of a cheat, because it’s located in San Diego’s Gaslamp District.? On a visit to my cousin, we made reservations at Blue Ginger, thinking it was related to Ming Tsai’s restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Tsai also has a show on PBS called “Simply Ming,” and we’ve spent many a Saturday afternoon salivating over his creations.? We were disappointed to discover it was not associated with Tsai, but I was not disappointed in the spicy eggplant! Doesn’t it just figure that the runner up would be five hours away . . . oh well, we can always use a reason to visit San Diego. At any rate, the eggplant at Blue Ginger was spicier than at Cook on Wok and the sauce didn’t seem as rich, but was still flavorful. Aside from being slightly overcooked, which I think may be easy to do with the delicate Japanese eggplant, Blue Ginger served a delicious version of my latest favorite.

SECOND RUNNER UP…was a huge surprise! We trade off choosing restaurants with a friend of ours every other week or so, and one week his choice was Sunset Station’s Feast buffet. I had relegated myself to enjoying mashed potatoes and the salad bar, so I was stunned to find spicy eggplant on offer! I took a small helping, keeping my excitement in check until I tasted it, because I didn’t expect much. My first bite was an eye-opener, though, when I encountered a respectable rendition of this eggplant classic. My only complaint with this one was that the sauce was too much on the sweet side for my taste.? But it was still a welcome addition to my usual buffet repertoire.

FOURTH PLACE…was another surprise to me. I expected PF Chang’s to have perfected this dish, and they do make a delicious adaptation. So why did it land in fourth place? A lack of ingredients detracted from the experience here. I guess for an eggplant purist, PF Chang’s is Nirvana, but for me the green peppers and water chestnuts at Cook on Wok really add to the texture and overall taste. PF Chang’s variation included only eggplant and scallions.? The sauce was delicious, though, and I would recommend this dish to anyone.

FIFTH PLACE…is Pumi on Pecos Road in Green Valley. Their version included small cubes of eggplant with julienned carrots and bamboo shoots. The dish wasn’t offensive in any way, but it lacked the spicy eggplant flavor I was used to.? It had kind of a generic “chinese food” flavor to it, which was quite a letdown. I won’t order this dish again.

SIXTH PLACE…barely deserves a spot on the list. Diamond China II on Lake Mead in Summerlin was an accidental stop for dinner one night when our intended location had too long a wait. Not only was the spicy eggplant bland, the lo mein was practically flavorless, and I had ordered both anticipating delicious lunches all week. What a bummer. Run, don’t walk, away from Diamond China II.

So ends my odyssey to date, but I guarantee I will try more spicy eggplant elsewhere, and will add to the blog when I do! Now, what’s next . . . the best eggplant parmesan?