We started our day with a trip to the Spa for an 80 minute deep tissue massage for me and a 50 minute deep tissue massage and gentleman's facial for B. Hello, relaxation, nice to see you old friend. It was bliss. And for the fifth time in recent memory, I had a masseuse tell me that whatever my job is, she was glad she didn't have to do it. Gotta love so much tension in your shoulders that you are pitied by the person massaging you.
By the time we finished at the Spa it was nearly lunch time. Since we had a fairly extravagant dinner planned, we decided to let my Dad pick something "light." I'm still laughing at how this panned out. He has been RAVING for years about this "little place in the Mirage that has the BEST tiramisu." Turns out that "little place" was...wait for it...California Pizza Kitchen. Seriously?!? Apparently he had no idea this was a chain (and I'd argue not a very good one!) and that he could get that "excellent tiramisu" right down the street from his own home. At this point we were already locked and loaded for a what was a pretty C+ lunch, but my Dad was happy so we went with it. And in fairness, a Caesar salad is a Caesar salad for the most part.
After lunch we spent another good chunk of time in the Sports Book betting in the dogs and horses. We took a short go at craps again, only to be put back in our place (and in about 10 minutes). So finally we settled at a roulette table to play for a while before dinner. The short version of events? We didn't win and we didn't lose. We were able to play with just a small amount of cash for about an hour and a half. In the end, we walked away from the table more or less even.
We headed back to the room for quick power nap in advance of our 7PM reservation at Aureole and then our 930PM show at the MGM. Since we were still on East Coast time, we knew we'd need a little mid-day rest to make it to midnight (3AM in our bodies).
After our short naps and a few minutes getting ready we all met back in the lobby for dinner at Aureole. This was our second trip to the Charlie Palmer restaurant in the Mandalay Bay and this trip proved even better than the last. We were given a lovely table in the middle of the restaurant with a great view of the multi-story wine cellar for which the restaurant is known. Actually, I think it's known for the method of wine retrieval, performed by staff known as "wine angels" strapped into harnesses ascending and descending the many stories of wine. The collection is so tremendous, in fact, that they don't bother to print a wine list and instead bring you an e-tablet to make your wine selections.
Deciding on wine meant deciding on dinner first. For our first course, B chose an American Wagyu Beef Carpaccio served with confit tomato crostini and grilled spring onions. I chose the Rosso Bruno Tomato and Artisanal Burrata Salad. Burrata is like a smoother, creamier version of Bufala Mozzarella and is one of my favorites. Both my Mom and Dad passed on the first course but joined us in ordering incredible mains. For dinner, B chose a Seared Ahi Tuna loin served with a potato gratin and a Muscat Grape Verjus (translation: tasty, tart grape explosions!). The grapes provided the most amazing contradiction of flavor with the tuna but somehow it was perfect. I never would have put those two ingredients together on a plate, especially with all the pepper in the crust on the tuna, but wow. B's dish stole the show.
My mom and I had close runners up. My mom ordered a grilled NY Strip served over ratatouille with rosemary garlic pesto. Served medium rare, it was perfectly prepared with a salty crust on the outside. I chose pan roasted salmon served over a Dungeness crab and corn risotto. It was awesome!! And as much as I tease him about his chicken-consuming ways, even my dad, who ordered the lemon roasted chicken breast, had an excellent meal. Between all of our fabulous food and a well chosen Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, we had a wonderful meal. I would happily go back to Aureole for a third or fourth or fifth time.
After our extravagant meal we parted ways with my parents for our show at the MGM. As a part of our Vegas.com package we had scored free tickets to KA, the primal Cirque du Soleil show. I've seen a few Cirque shows in the past, all of which have been enjoyable. But this show stood out even among the best Cirque shows. It was visually stunning in a way that cannot be described adequately. You just have to see it. I can't imagine the money that went into building the "stage" that flipped, turned and eventually became completely vertical all while the performers moved with it as part of the scenery. What a tremendous way to cap off a great day of vacation!
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