Eats in Vegas

[imcarthur]

Once again, I will be making the annual trek (25 years +) to Vegas in January for the CES Jan 6 - 12. With budgetary constraints, high end restaurants are out this year. So no Le Cirque. No Pamplemousse. Skip Puck anything & Emiril anything has become pretty boring. No Winn. No Bellagio.

One of our group refuses to eat anything Chinese while a couple of others think sushi is merely bait (I tend to agree with this one). And I am also of the opinion that buffets are merely feeding troughs for humans, so nix them too.

So far our group has requested:

The Burger Bar - Mandalay
The Steak House - Circus Circus
Pink Taco - Hard Rock

Any others that come to mind?

Ian

[Moses]

The Burger bar is great, but it's a BURGER place.

Avoid Circus Circus at all cost.

If you want steak, try Delmonico's. ($$$)

Too bad about the budget, The Wynn and Bellagio have the two best sushi restaurants I've ever been too. (Okada and Yellowtail). I would seriously fly to Vegas just for the sushi.

[imcarthur]

We keep hearing that the Steak House in CC is actually very good so we are thinking about trying it. Last year we had good steaks at Hugo's Celler downtown & the year before it was really good at Binion's. We have eaten at almost every steak place in town: 4 Seasons, Alan Roberts, the Luxor one, the Hilton one etc etc.

Any decent Italian? We've done the Cirque Italian in the Bellagio. We ate next to a table of porn starlets at Piero's 3 years ago . . .

Ian

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

We ate next to a table of porn starlets at Piero's 3 years ago . . .

Ian

I'll be the first...this thread is worthless without pictures !!!

[Moses]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

We keep hearing that the Steak House in CC is actually very good ...
Ian

Yeah, but it's in Circus Circus. That place is so... Reno.

[jriera]

I will recommend Lucille's BBQ in the Green Valley District for very decent southern BBQ, Margaritaville @ Flamingo is always a hit with visitors (but still don't know why), for Italian try Ferraro's in West Flamingo or Battista's behind the Flamingo/Bill's

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by KC911

I'll be the first...this thread is worthless without pictures !!!

Since the porn show & their Grand Ball (!!!!) was always at the same time as CES, I have had numerous run ins with them. One year, I stayed at Bally's & they were everywhere since it was ground zero for the ball. At breakfast, waiting for limos. At the slots. Another year we had dinner in Paris, and we were forced to watch their parade since we couldn't move due to the monster crowd. Close up & in person, most of them are one baggers. Really.

Ian

[mthomas58]

One of my favorites for steak is Mon Ami Gabi at Paris

[imcarthur]

Battista's? That is crap. I went in 1982 (?) & swore never again. Lucille's might be fun. We're staying in our 28th floor display suites in the Hilton btw but we will have vans for transport. And we are usually a group of 8 to 10 so reservations are mandatory.

Ian

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by jriera

Margaritaville @ Flamingo is always a hit with visitors (but still don't know why),

Yes. We know some Parrotheads who swear its the best stop in Vegas.

[Hugh R]

Tabs took me to Jerry's Nugget for prime rib. Excellent and cheap. A few miles north of the downtown casinos on Las Vegas Blvd. The buffet at the Bellagio is well worth the extra bucks. If you get there at about 4 you get the dinner buffet for the lunch price.

[JavaBrewer]

I was in LV last week. I went to the Social House in the Treasure Island casino for sushi. I do not recommend it. The sushi was ok but the prices were obscene. With 1 beer my tab was $70 inside of 20 minutes. Once the server finds out you're not going to order a $50+ sake you're on the bottom of the priority list. I was going to eat at RA Sushi located in the Fashion Show Mall on the strip but the place was totally deserted at 9:00 pm...

Coming from San Diego I think the LV strip is the most expensive place to eat out in the country. Find some locals who know the better/cheaper places away from the Casinos.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by mthomas58

One of my favorites for steak is Mon Ami Gabi at Paris

Thanks, Mark. That bistro will go nicely on the list to appease our French contingent. And it's affordable.

Originally Posted by dmoolenaar

I was in LV last week. I went to the Social House in the Treasure Island casino

We ate in the Italian place in TI last year & it was crap too. There is good Italian at Casa Nicola in the Hilton but we have overdone the place. 2 years ago I didn't leave the Hilton for 3 days . . . did I mention that I hate Vegas? A week every year for 25 + years does that . . .

Ian

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Jerry's Nugget

We stayed there for 3 years running & kind of OD'd on the Nugget. The taste still lingers. Did you know that every item on their menu in the restaurant on the main level includes the word smothered in the description?

Ian

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

2 years ago I didn't leave the Hilton for 3 days . . . did I mention that I hate Vegas?

+1. I stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on the strip (a couple blocks from the main Hilton) and 2/3 nights brought takeout food and wine from a grocery store back to the hotel room. I don't gamble or smoke so LV is a downer for me

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

... Close up & in person, most of them are one baggers. Really.

Ian

I don't doubt it ...neck down's OK:

[gtc]

Bouchon? I don't know how pricey it is, but c'mon... it's Thomas Keller!

[TechnoViking]

I thought I was going to die from the food poisoning I got at a Vegas burger bar once. I wanna say it was at Excalibur, but it might have been Circus Circus.

If you can possibly spring for it, the sushi place in the Ceasar's Forum shops is the best I've ever had (including Japan).

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by gtc

Bouchon? I don't know how pricey it is, but c'mon... it's Thomas Keller!

If I was eating at that price level, I would go to Le Cirque. It is truly very fine. But budget will not allow it this year. $2K-$3K dinners are out. I tend to enjoy French wines more than their cooking anyway.

Ian

[Rick Lee]

Mon Ami is pretty good. Been to their Vegas and Bethesda, MD locations. Pink Taco is super, way better at Hard Rock in Vegas than the one here in Phoenix. And one of Eddie Van Halen's guitars is on the wall near the door. Maggiano's is pretty good, right across from the Wynn in Fashion Show Mall. Too bad about no Chinese food. Jordi sent my wife and me to a super dim sum place in October. Gawd, it was good and felt just being in China.

BTW, if you guys have a car, grab breakfast at The Egg & I on West Sahara. Best diner I've ever been to and no relation to The Good Egg chain.