You've heard the expression "Vegas or Bust!", well, Vegas posts seem to be busting my ability to blog. I don't know what the blockage is, it was a great trip, but I can't seem to discipline myself to sit down and write both posts for Days 3 and 4. In the interest of the 6 other recipe posts I have in the queue and a Boston/New Hampshire post that needs writing, I'm going to button up Vegas with this one final post and just hit the highlights. And those higlights would be...food of course. Two meals to be exact.
The first tasty delight was Todd English's Olives. B and I had ventured here during our last trip, but arrived during the time between lunch and dinner when the Mediterranean inspired spot serves only a limited menu. We had a great lunch on that occassion, but were eager see what the full menu had to offer. We were not disappointed!
The four of us sat down to a lunch that began with three different types of olive tapenade, flat bread and focaccia. Since my father is and will always be a bread man (to the point of embarrassing me as a child with his incessant requests for more and more and more bread), he was happy from the start. B and I decided to split an appetizer and ordered the Carpaccio. This wasn't your average plate of raw meat. Topping the perfectly pounded beef was shaved parmesan, sweet balsamic, roasted Cipollini onions, scallion cream and arugula. It was MASSIVE! And absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. The next time I go, this will be my entree, there will be no need for other food.
But since we didn't know just how enormous and amazing the Carpaccio would be going in, we had each ordered an entree. B chose sea scallops, seared to a perfect golden color while still moist and meaty inside. In addition to two GIANT scallops, the plate also included whipped potatoes and a cold "slaw" made with jicama and cilantro. Sadly, food allergies on this dish kept me at bay, but B assures me it was delicious. My dad chose the free-range chicken, roasted in a brick oven and served with potato cake, green beans and a madiera reduction. While he tends to stay with "safer" foods when we go out, I'll give him this, he always seems to choose well. The chicken was juicy and the reduction was boldly flavored. My mom selected a grilled flank steak served with tempura onions rings. Flank steak isn't my favorite, it's long fibers make it tough sometimes. But again, we were eating in a restaurant worthy of praise. The flank steak was tender and the onion rings were fabulous. Light and flaky but still quite rich. Lastly, I chose a house stand-by, the ricotta ravioli with sweet italian sausage and tomato basil sauce. I try to stay away from the "safe" options and push myself to try new things. But I'd watched this dish go by several times and it looked too good not to try. It was great. In the end, I found myself wishing the sausage had a little more heat (since as a good friend of mine once said, "It's not a meal unless your nose is running when it's over!"). But to be fair to restaurant, it was always billed as sweet and not spicy sausage. Overall, we were extremely pleased with Olive's and would go back again.
And now on to the culinary highlight of the trip, Strip Steak (which I occassionally get befuddled by and call Skirt Steak, much to the superior cut of meat's shagrin I'm sure). We made a reservation her for our last night in town, a nice way to close out the trip and an opportunity for B and I to treat my parents to a nice meal. Every meal at Strip Steak in the Mandalay Bay begins with a trio of thin cut fries compliments of the house, each one fried up sinfully in duck fat. This makes them crispier and so, so tasty! They are served with three dipping sauces, each doctored up to put a little umph in what would otherwise be traditional ketchup, mayo and mustard based sauces. Personally, I'm partial to the Old Bay seasoned sauce. It tastes like summer in the mid-Atlantic, where the best food to be found is Maryland blue crab, steamed and steeped in Old Bay. Mmmm.
While munching on our fries, we selected our meals. B chose an American Kobe Rib-Eye while both my parents and I chose Filet Mignon. While I know that Filet, as steak cuts go, is the most tender it's often also the least flavorful. Unfortunately for me though, it's the only steak that comes in a size that is even reasonable for me to consider eating. At 10 ounces, I still didn't finish it. I just can't eat that much steak.
We also chose a few sides to share among the table. Our sides included steamed asparagus, truffled mac and cheese and scalloped potatoes. The first and last in that list seem like old stand bys, but SS added their own touches to even these sides that made them as memorable as the meat. The asparagus was steamed perfectly and coated in a horseradish buerre blanc that both made the otherwise healthy side a touch more decadent as well as added a nice kick to an otherwise tame vegetable flavor. The scallop potatoes - where to begin. I should probably state that I have a love affair with potatoes. I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Bad for my waist line but still irresistable. I love them as a perfect food. I even like them raw (insert your gagging noises here). My obvious subjectivity aside, this scalloped potato recipe, layered with sweet onions and queso fresco was phenomenal. I could have forgotten my expertly prepared and wonderfully delicious steak and ran away with the potatoes. It's Vegas, I'm sure someone would have married us if I'd asked. And how could I forget the truffled mac and cheese? Fabulous. But you knew it would be just from the name. Wrap all of this up with cocktails to begin the meal (a Plymouth gin Martini for B and a glass of Champagne for me), and a bottle of Joseph Phelps 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and you have a meal to remember.
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las Vegas. Show all posts
24 April 2011
20 April 2011
Rub and grub
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!
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!
19 April 2011
Viva vacation or flying off to Vegas
Let me start by saying this - there are no pictures. While I had my camera in my bag the whole time, I never once thought to bring it out. I was too busy having fun and enjoying the sweet, stress-free vacation personalities that both Ben and I don the moment we leave the metro DC area. That's not to say that we're not nice, fun-loving people at home. But we seem better able to shed the stress when we're out of town. This trip was no exception. But it always takes a few hours to kick in...
My ire was up on the plane when I realized I was seated next to a passenger that had no sense of personal space and was a charicature of a tourist, snapping shots out the window while leaning into my middle seat to get the right angle. Alas, I made it off the plane without making him eat his camera, which, while still in DC-impatient mode was an achievement unto itself.
We made it to the hotel, this time The Mirage, just minutes behind my parents who had flown in from Detroit, checked in with out incident and found our lovely, recently renovated room. By now it was 1130AM PST, lunch time by any standard. But we'd been up since 530 EST and hadn't eaten anything in many, many hours. We wasted no time meeting up with my parents and making our way over to Mesa Grill in Caesar's. This spot has become our regular first stop in Vegas. The food is always great and, at lunch at least, the value is good, even by Vegas standards.
Ben had made his drink decision before we even entered Caesar's - a prickly pear margarita. He wasn't disappointed when it was delivered. Aside from being pink and a little frilly, the taste was just as he remembered. Tart, yet sweet, strong but well balanced. I was thrilled to find they had one of my favorite wines on the menu, a Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir. So with our drinks in hand we settled in to decide on lunch. I should probably mention here that my parents, my father in particular, are not the most adventurous eaters. But I have to give them credit, they hung in with every restaurant choice we made and I hope genuinely enjoyed themselves (if not, they are way better actors than I realized!).
Ben and I decided to split a first course - Tiger Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale with Corn Cilantro sauce. Amazing! The masa was flavorful and delicious without being dry and the sauce was the best mix of cilantro with all the sweetness of the corn. My mom started with the Gala Apple Salad, made with baby spinach, Maytag blue cheese, toasted pecans and orange vinaigrette dressing. While it was a Ntina-free salad thanks to the pecans, Ben tasted it and they both assure me it was a delicious blend of flavors.
After thoroughly enjoying our appetizers, our mains arrived. Three of four of us went with a tried and tested favorite - the Mesa Burger. A fresh beef patty, grilled to order with sweet Vidalia onions, double Cheddar and horseradish mustard. It's nothing fancy, but somehow Bobby Flay has harnessed all the possible tastiness of a burger in this one, perfect plate of meat. My Mom and Dad both loved theirs. This was the second time my Dad had enjoyed this dish which he labeled, "The best burger I've ever had." Ben and I had decided to share our meals, my burger and his Yucatan Chicken Tacos served with peanut chile smokey BBQ sauce. Yum! But in the end, I burger-hogged because it was just so good.
After lunch we meandered around the casino deciding what to play before meeting up at the Sports Book (where my Dad can nearly always be located when in Vegas) to head back to our hotel. We whiled away the afternoon "playing the puppies" and the "ponies" with my Dad in the Sports Book and, for a brief period, riding my Mom's beginner's luck at Craps. Her beginner's luck, in fact, was the end of any luck we had playing Craps for the duration of the vacation, but for about an hour or so, we rode it to winning. Add in a little roulette and a LOT of people watching and suddenly it was 8PM PST and we were trying to figure out where to head to dinner.
My Dad had been telling us that he really liked the steakhouse in the Mirage, Kokomo's. Since chances were good that we'd be making most of the restaurant selections for the vacation, we'd opted to go with his recommendation on that first night. The rotten part was that we were all too tired from the long day of traveling and the time change to be able to really enjoy our meal and my memory is clouded by a combo of wine and exhaustion. I can say we enjoyed our meal and that Ben did have some fantastic crab legs (these suckers worked out before making their Deadliest Catch debut, they were seriously meaty!). All in all, it was a great start to our vacation. More fun to come!
My ire was up on the plane when I realized I was seated next to a passenger that had no sense of personal space and was a charicature of a tourist, snapping shots out the window while leaning into my middle seat to get the right angle. Alas, I made it off the plane without making him eat his camera, which, while still in DC-impatient mode was an achievement unto itself.
We made it to the hotel, this time The Mirage, just minutes behind my parents who had flown in from Detroit, checked in with out incident and found our lovely, recently renovated room. By now it was 1130AM PST, lunch time by any standard. But we'd been up since 530 EST and hadn't eaten anything in many, many hours. We wasted no time meeting up with my parents and making our way over to Mesa Grill in Caesar's. This spot has become our regular first stop in Vegas. The food is always great and, at lunch at least, the value is good, even by Vegas standards.
Ben had made his drink decision before we even entered Caesar's - a prickly pear margarita. He wasn't disappointed when it was delivered. Aside from being pink and a little frilly, the taste was just as he remembered. Tart, yet sweet, strong but well balanced. I was thrilled to find they had one of my favorite wines on the menu, a Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir. So with our drinks in hand we settled in to decide on lunch. I should probably mention here that my parents, my father in particular, are not the most adventurous eaters. But I have to give them credit, they hung in with every restaurant choice we made and I hope genuinely enjoyed themselves (if not, they are way better actors than I realized!).
Ben and I decided to split a first course - Tiger Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale with Corn Cilantro sauce. Amazing! The masa was flavorful and delicious without being dry and the sauce was the best mix of cilantro with all the sweetness of the corn. My mom started with the Gala Apple Salad, made with baby spinach, Maytag blue cheese, toasted pecans and orange vinaigrette dressing. While it was a Ntina-free salad thanks to the pecans, Ben tasted it and they both assure me it was a delicious blend of flavors.
After thoroughly enjoying our appetizers, our mains arrived. Three of four of us went with a tried and tested favorite - the Mesa Burger. A fresh beef patty, grilled to order with sweet Vidalia onions, double Cheddar and horseradish mustard. It's nothing fancy, but somehow Bobby Flay has harnessed all the possible tastiness of a burger in this one, perfect plate of meat. My Mom and Dad both loved theirs. This was the second time my Dad had enjoyed this dish which he labeled, "The best burger I've ever had." Ben and I had decided to share our meals, my burger and his Yucatan Chicken Tacos served with peanut chile smokey BBQ sauce. Yum! But in the end, I burger-hogged because it was just so good.
After lunch we meandered around the casino deciding what to play before meeting up at the Sports Book (where my Dad can nearly always be located when in Vegas) to head back to our hotel. We whiled away the afternoon "playing the puppies" and the "ponies" with my Dad in the Sports Book and, for a brief period, riding my Mom's beginner's luck at Craps. Her beginner's luck, in fact, was the end of any luck we had playing Craps for the duration of the vacation, but for about an hour or so, we rode it to winning. Add in a little roulette and a LOT of people watching and suddenly it was 8PM PST and we were trying to figure out where to head to dinner.
My Dad had been telling us that he really liked the steakhouse in the Mirage, Kokomo's. Since chances were good that we'd be making most of the restaurant selections for the vacation, we'd opted to go with his recommendation on that first night. The rotten part was that we were all too tired from the long day of traveling and the time change to be able to really enjoy our meal and my memory is clouded by a combo of wine and exhaustion. I can say we enjoyed our meal and that Ben did have some fantastic crab legs (these suckers worked out before making their Deadliest Catch debut, they were seriously meaty!). All in all, it was a great start to our vacation. More fun to come!
25 November 2009
Sin City Spectacular - Part 2
Tuesday was my dad's last day in Vegas and we spent a good chunk of time with him in the sports book or playing craps. For dinner we took off to Bally's Steakhouse, his favorite Vegas spot, for a nice meal before he headed for his red-eye back to Michigan. The food was good. I have a hard time with steakhouses because Ben makes such incredible steaks. I find it hard to justify paying such high prices for something we can do as well at home for far less. But my dad seemed to enjoy his meal and it was nice to take him out for once rather than the other way around.
After dinner he headed to the airport and we hit the monorail for the Flamingo to see our second show of the trip, X Burlesque. Short review - this show is for people who are too chicken to go to a strip club and want to fool themselves into thinking that they are somehow more virtuous than people walking the streets of Vegas, wallets weighted down with singles. Fun show, decent music, six women with bodies I would pay to have. But there was still a pole and a lot of boobs, let's not fool ourselves here people. Just go to a strip club. After the show we hit the craps table again for a great night, which made up for a whole lot of less than great play we'd done the preceding days.
Wednesday dawned later than our usual early rising time, certainly the result of a late night. But it turned out to be great. We headed to the Paris for breakfast, played craps fairly successfully there for a while and then headed back to the NYNY. More craps, a little more success. I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but Ben and I were having fun standing next to each other watching the dice get thrown. Laughing and winning!
For our last night in Vegas we had tickets to the Lion King at the Mandalay Bay. An amazing show! Preceded by the best meal I have EVER had on this continent (I am therefore discounting some of the incredible deliciousness we encountered in France and Italy this year, etc.). We enjoyed three courses and wine pairing at Fleur de Lys, Chef Hubert Keller's Las Vegas branch of his renowned San Francisco restaurant.
We began with a champagne aperitif. The perfect thing for me - I LOVE BUBBLES! Our first course included Ben's trio of foie gras that included a foie gras cappucino and my braised veal cheek and yukon gold potato ravioli, paired with Sauternes and Italian Rosé, respectively. Our mains included Ben's halibut with chorizo oil paired with a sauvignon blanc and my roasted guinea hen with asparagus risotto paired with a buttery chardonnay. Our last and final perfect, incredible course was a shared chocolate souffle with sweet glasses of raspberry liqueour. I have never, even been so blissfully happy after a meal in my life.
We ended up our trip quietly, with a little more gambling and lot of ambling around the city just enjoying being together and away from work. It will be a while before we get another vacation, so we tried to soak up every last minute of relaxation before we boarded our crowded Southwest flight home.
(Ben and I on the bridge between NYNY and MGM with the Strip behind us)
(Ben and my dad, same locale)
Wednesday dawned later than our usual early rising time, certainly the result of a late night. But it turned out to be great. We headed to the Paris for breakfast, played craps fairly successfully there for a while and then headed back to the NYNY. More craps, a little more success. I know it doesn't sound very exciting, but Ben and I were having fun standing next to each other watching the dice get thrown. Laughing and winning!
For our last night in Vegas we had tickets to the Lion King at the Mandalay Bay. An amazing show! Preceded by the best meal I have EVER had on this continent (I am therefore discounting some of the incredible deliciousness we encountered in France and Italy this year, etc.). We enjoyed three courses and wine pairing at Fleur de Lys, Chef Hubert Keller's Las Vegas branch of his renowned San Francisco restaurant.
(Courtesy of their website - the inside of Fleur de Lys)
We began with a champagne aperitif. The perfect thing for me - I LOVE BUBBLES! Our first course included Ben's trio of foie gras that included a foie gras cappucino and my braised veal cheek and yukon gold potato ravioli, paired with Sauternes and Italian Rosé, respectively. Our mains included Ben's halibut with chorizo oil paired with a sauvignon blanc and my roasted guinea hen with asparagus risotto paired with a buttery chardonnay. Our last and final perfect, incredible course was a shared chocolate souffle with sweet glasses of raspberry liqueour. I have never, even been so blissfully happy after a meal in my life.
We ended up our trip quietly, with a little more gambling and lot of ambling around the city just enjoying being together and away from work. It will be a while before we get another vacation, so we tried to soak up every last minute of relaxation before we boarded our crowded Southwest flight home.
Sin City Spectacular - Part 1
We arrived in Las Vegas after a long but uneventful flight and met up with my Dad at the New York New York. Now yes, Ben and I like to gamble. But as growing foodies we were as excited about the food as any of the rest of the Sin City experience. And we wasted no time getting into it. First night, dinner at Aureole, a Charlie Palmer restaurant located in the Mandalay Bay. Any Top Chef fans out there may recognize the restaurant as one this season's chef cooked in, complete with the most incredible wine cellar run by "wine angels" who rise through its vertical construction in harnesses.
Our meals were fantastic - burrata and heirloom tomato caprese, grilled salmon with corn succotash and crispy potato, perfectly frenched and prepared rack of lamb, even my dad's chicken was exceptional. But the highlight of the evening was the wine. It stands out as perhaps the best Pinot Noir I've ever tasted. 2006 Talbot Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir. It retails for about $30 a bottle (with nauseating markup at any restaurant) and is worth every penny. We capped our night off with some roulette and for the first and last time that weekend Ben walked away from the roulette table a winner.
Monday morning started with a trip to the spa. Massages and facials! The perfect way to start a vacation. After, we enjoyed lunch at Caesar's Palace at Bobby's Flay's Mesa Grill. Not as upscale a selection and we were worried that my very picky dad would struggle with the Southwestern food, but he hung in with us, enjoying what he called, "the best burger he'd ever had." Highlights of this meal include Goat Cheese Queso Fundido with a myriad of peppers and a blue corn pancake filled with barbequed duck. Again - YUM!
Interior of the Mesa Grill, complete with open kitchen
Goat Cheese Queso Fundido and Blue Corn Pancake filled with BBQ Duck
We spent the afternoon at Caesar's playing roulette and then the sports book with my dad at Mandalay Bay betting on dog racing. Part of me struggles with the playing the puppies because I know they often aren't well treated, but my dad consoled me by pointing out that there was nothing I could do for those dogs in that moment so I might as well put down my dollars in hopes that a bigger purse would keep the winning, showing and placing dogs well kept and cared for another day. I realize this is a rationalization if I've ever heard one, but someday I'll rescue a greyhound and balance my puppy karma again.
We ended our evening with Phantom of the Opera: The Vegas Spectacular! at the Venician. For all of you classic Phantom lovers, you wouldn't object to this show. Essentially, it's the same Phantom less one or two of the more boring songs but including all the favorites, "Think of Me", "Angel of Music", "Masquerade", "All I Ask of You" and "Music of the Night." And true to its billing, we didn't have to wait long for the "spectacular." Every performance of Phantom begins with the auctioneer introducing the chandelier and its history and offering the bidders some "illumination" at which time the chandelier rises from its covered home on the stage to hang in its original place. This is standard. What this production added however, was a sight to behold. Rather than just raising the original chandelier to the ceiling they assembled a FOUR TIERED chandelier (the additional three tiers had been suspended in various places across the theater's ceiling) over our watching heads. By the time our eyes had returned to the stage, all the coverings had been removed and we were seated again in the Paris Opera House waiting to hear Carlotta sing "Think of Me."
We ended our evening with Phantom of the Opera: The Vegas Spectacular! at the Venician. For all of you classic Phantom lovers, you wouldn't object to this show. Essentially, it's the same Phantom less one or two of the more boring songs but including all the favorites, "Think of Me", "Angel of Music", "Masquerade", "All I Ask of You" and "Music of the Night." And true to its billing, we didn't have to wait long for the "spectacular." Every performance of Phantom begins with the auctioneer introducing the chandelier and its history and offering the bidders some "illumination" at which time the chandelier rises from its covered home on the stage to hang in its original place. This is standard. What this production added however, was a sight to behold. Rather than just raising the original chandelier to the ceiling they assembled a FOUR TIERED chandelier (the additional three tiers had been suspended in various places across the theater's ceiling) over our watching heads. By the time our eyes had returned to the stage, all the coverings had been removed and we were seated again in the Paris Opera House waiting to hear Carlotta sing "Think of Me."
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