Las Vegas Restaurant Trip Report

[audioguy3107]

Well, we got back to Atlanta last night after several days in Vegas. Had a lot of fun, didn't lose too much money, and ate some great food. I have to say I was a little disappointed in the overall vibe...we didn't go looking for trouble or anything of course, but I was surprised at the number of families and kids and the general lack of craziness, even late at night......I supposed we got sucked into the Vegas stereotype a little, but it was far tamer than I could believe. Hanging out at the Bellagio I was looking for the guys with the exotic cars and two women on each arm and all, but most of what I saw were children asleep in strollers. I've seen more craziness at Lenox Mall here in Atlanta. Maybe because it was this time of year, I'm sure in the warmer months it may be a little more fun, who knows, maybe someone who's been there more could chime in. Anyway, a couple of you all asked about the restaurants that we chose based on my last thread, so here's what we experienced......my wife and I are somewhat "foodies"......we usually go more for the cool, celebrity food network type chefs than the common fancier places that usually are on the top of lists.

Wednesday - We headed to our first dinner at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at the Cosmopolitan. This restaurant made several Top 10 lists in Vegas. Really really cool place, modern food with a little nod toward an old supper club. Mostly small plates with some entertainment as well. During our dinner we had a cabaret singer, an R&B singer, a male tap dancer, and a small Asian breakdancer perform/sing Very interesting! Some of the plates we sampled were crispy oysters rockefeller, duck confit pasta, heirloom cauliflower, and for our dinner had the short rib stroganoff. All were excellent. For dessert we had a really cool dessert called the Chocolate terrarium and the Dark Chocolate sundae. Fun if not a weird place.

http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/...RLMainMenu.pdf

Thursday - Had lunch/brunch at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas..sat outside on the patio in front of Bellagio with a great view of the fountains. I had the eggs benedict special (on thinly sliced ribeye) on an english muffin and my wife had the salmon, spinach, and baby kale salad.

http://www.monamigabi.com/menu/

For dinner, we had reservations at Giada's at the Cromwell.......the Food Network's Giada DeLaurentiis. It was fantastic, one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to. It won several best of Las Vegas awards for 2015. We also did small plates and one entree here too....Giardiniera....pickeled vegetables, the orzo meatballs, lemon crab arancini, a small plate margherita pizza, and for the entree we went with the risotto with crab and scallops. It was ridiculously good. Service wasn't the best but we cut our server some slack since his "team" spilled an entire bloody mary all over a guest a couple of tables over. Not good.

https://www.caesars.com/content/dam/...2011.16.15.pdf

Friday - I was solo since my wife was in her dental CE course, so I grabbed a hamburger at Holstein's at the Cosmopolitan......was ranked as one of the top burger places in Vegas. It was very good, but nothing spectacular. The fries were quite soggy, but the burger was good. The highlight here are their alcoholic milkshakes. Oh my. These were serious. I went with the "Fat Boy" of course.......it is made with UV Candy bar vodka, Reese's, cereal?, Pretzels, sprinkles, and chocolate caramel popcorn. Run don't walk here if you like milkshakes.

http://www.holsteinsburgers.com/menus/las-vegas/

For dinner we went upstairs to Jaleo in the Cosmopolitan, a Spanish tapas restaurant. It was excellent, we sampled a cheese plate, a brussles sprout warm salad (one of the best salads I've ever had), lamb chops, a fiery garlic shrimp, and a gazpacho. Awesome.

http://www.jaleo.com/menus/las-vegas

Saturday - solo again for lunch.......went downstairs (at the Cosmo) to the Henry bar and grill, more of standard lunch fare, had a caesar salad and fish and chips which were very good. For dinner we went to the infamous Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak......it was good although no as good as I expected or what I've read about it. We started with the warm frisee salad which was excellent. For dinner my wife had the filet with lobster which was pretty much perfect. We had brussels sprouts as a side. I went ahead with the Japanese Wagyu Ribeye. It was just OK, seriously. I don't know if I just received a bad piece of meat or what, but it was on the dryer side....I even asked to make sure it was the ribeye (it looked more like a NY Strip). I still wonder if they got my order mixed up, I've never seen a ribeye look like this. Anyway, it was OK (I don't like complaining in restaurants unless it's out of control), and I'm sure it was just bad luck..but it wasn't as good as I expected. That being said, we have some of the best steakhouses around here in Atlanta, and it didn't hold a candle to Kevin Rathbun's restaurant here which is still the best steak I've ever had, but then again, he's a nationally acclaimed chef.

http://www.craftrestaurantsinc.com/craftsteak-las-vegas/

Sunday - Buffet day!!!! Yay! We first sample the Wicked Spoon buffet at Cosmopolitan......it was very very good, it was more of a foodie buffet with numerous small plate type food......if you like a buffet with a modern look and food, this is the place, desserts were excellent. For dinner we hit the buffet at Bellagio (the Wynn's buffet which is the top rated buffet in Vegas was closed for renovation ). It was OK, more of a traditional buffet with shrimp, king crab legs, mussels, steak etc... It was good but we enjoyed the Wicked Spoon a little better, but that's probably more personal preference.

So that's it, all in all a really fun trip with great food and fun. Hope ya'll enjoyed the reviews.

- Buck

[Alki]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

I have to say I was a little disappointed in the overall vibe...we didn't go looking for trouble or anything of course, but I was surprised at the number of families and kids and the general lack of craziness, even late at night......I supposed we got sucked into the Vegas stereotype a little, but it was far tamer than I could believe. Hanging out at the Bellagio I was looking for the guys with the exotic cars and two women on each arm and all, but most of what I saw were children asleep in strollers. I've seen more craziness at Lenox Mall here in Atlanta. Maybe because it was this time of year, I'm sure in the warmer months it may be a little more fun, who knows, maybe someone who's been there more could chime in.
- Buck

Thanks for the report on your restaurant experiences it was a nice read.

I go to Vegas 4 to 6 times a year and have been going for many years. Vegas has changed where gambling revenue has been outpaced by entertainment revenue.

This news report confirms exactly what I have seen happening in Vegas over the past 20 years. View the video.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vega...ew-generation/

[Still-One]

Buck
Thanks for the Trip Report. We have been looking for a reason to head back to Vegas and maybe this will give us the nudge we needed.

[Front242]

Much appreciated, Buck. My daughter is a sophomore at Emory so I've seen the Lamborghinis parked outside the Lenox Mall.

Vegas in the summer is another beast. Try again when it's 110!

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by Front242

Much appreciated, Buck. My daughter is a sophomore at Emory so I've seen the Lamborghinis parked outside the Lenox Mall.

Vegas in the summer is another beast. Try again when it's 110!

I'm sure it may have a different vibe in the warmer months, although the weather was beautiful the whole week....about 67 and sunny. I guess I fell victim to the whole Vegas stereotype, but really, I don't think I even saw a drunk (obvious) person the whole time, even late at night. That has to be a little weird...not to mention where the heck were all the rich and famous and their cars? I think the nicest vehicle I saw the whole time was a BMW 535i. Just surprised I guess.

- Buck

[Volks]

Great writeup Buck..........think I will visit some of these restaurants next time I am in LV

[asindc]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

Saturday - solo again for lunch.......went downstairs (at the Cosmo) to the Henry bar and grill, more of standard lunch fare, had a caesar salad and fish and chips which were very good. For dinner we went to the infamous Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak......it was good although no as good as I expected or what I've read about it. We started with the warm frisee salad which was excellent. For dinner my wife had the filet with lobster which was pretty much perfect. We had brussels sprouts as a side. I went ahead with the Japanese Wagyu Ribeye. It was just OK, seriously. I don't know if I just received a bad piece of meat or what, but it was on the dryer side....I even asked to make sure it was the ribeye (it looked more like a NY Strip). I still wonder if they got my order mixed up, I've never seen a ribeye look like this. Anyway, it was OK (I don't like complaining in restaurants unless it's out of control), and I'm sure it was just bad luck..but it wasn't as good as I expected. That being said, we have some of the best steakhouses around here in Atlanta, and it didn't hold a candle to Kevin Rathbun's restaurant here which is still the best steak I've ever had, but then again, he's a nationally acclaimed chef.

http://www.craftrestaurantsinc.com/craftsteak-las-vegas/

- Buck

Great review, Buck. How does Rathbun's compare to Bones? I've been to Bones and it is one of the best steakhouses I've ever been to. Ribeye was fantastic there.

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by asindc

Great review, Buck. How does Rathbun's compare to Bones? I've been to Bones and it is one of the best steakhouses I've ever been to. Ribeye was fantastic there.

Not too sure honestly......I haven't been to Bones in years for whatever reason, but it's always rated in the top 3 along with Hal's and others like Rathbun Steak, NY Prime, and Chops. I've been to all of them and so far Rathbun's in the clear winner for me. I wen to STK last summer....it was good but not as good as these others.

- Buck