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CE-Excess...A Week of Vegas Meals

1/26/2015

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PictureVenice in the desert.
Las Vegas is the world's largest movie set. You can visit Paris, New York, Egypt (at the Luxor), Venice (the Venetian and Palazzo), and Rome (Caesar's Palace). 

One can also time travel to medieval days (Excalibur), go all pirate-ey (Treasure Island) or David Lynch-ey (Cosmopolitan, which is also a little like Amsterdam). All of these hotels have some form of flashy lights/lobby, piped in air freshener to mask the smoke, and myriad of restaurants. 

And of course, a casino. Or two. Or three hundred. Every direction (right down to the elevator lobby button, which is noted as a "C" for casino) starts off with "Walk through the casino..." I ventured into this amazing city of excess for a week in January. Here is what I learned.

Las Vegas Strip is a really great walking town. It's pretty safe at night. People who not-very-enthusiastically try to hand out the stripper flyers are really the only annoyance. The monorail also works well.

"Regular" food is expensive. Expect to pay airport-level prices for Starbuck's or similar. A venti iced tea lemonade and a pastry was close to $10. I also had to eat at LVCC because of work and this was also quite expensive for C+ food. Even when I tried to be healthy, oatmeal was $9 in a hotel restaurant.

Walgreen's is a great place to stock up on liquid. Indoors or out, Las Vegas is very, very dry. I bought all forms of water, and lots of it to stay hydrated.

Cow is really delicious in Las Vegas. It was great at the time, but I won't be staring down a burger any time soon. That said, most of it was fab. Here's are the highlights.

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Loved it!
BurGR by Gordon Ramsay at Planet Hollywood--Love
They had me at parmesan truffle fries with homemade catsup.

I ate every last bit of the Farm Burger. $15 for a burger is kinda pricey, but it is Las Vegas and it was fabulous. Duck bacon, a perfectly warm-but-still-gooey sunnyside up egg with extra sharp cheddar. 

The portion was not ginormous, but it was incredibly satisfying. One of the 'fancy' best burgers I've eaten. My compatriots had the Blue Burger and the Hell's Kitchen Burger--all in the $14-$15 range and we were all very happy and full, to the point that we did not get dessert.

I'm not a Gordon Ramsay fan, but this place did it right. The only downside is that it is crowded and noisy. But again, this is Las Vegas.

Burger Bar by Hubert Keller at Mandalay Bay
BurGR on Urbanspoon
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FarmBurger was e-i-e-i-ono!
PictureTry it once to say you did.
Another fancy burger joint, this one by Hubert Keller. 

I had the Buffalo Burger ($24), which was good, but the portion was such that I ate only a part of it (and the hungrier diners in my party were happy to gobble up the rest). 

We sampled a lot of the appetizers and I do like a deep fried pickle. This is also where we had the beer float sampler. While I wouldn't have this again, it was definitely something to try once.

DOCG at the Cosmopolitan--Love
An up-market pasta bar/grill (ala carte ordering and entrees in the $25-ish range). It markets itself as a wine bar, but we went for the food and the dessert.

My team split a roasted heirloom beet salad, which was absolutely ONO and an arugula salad. I had the pappardelle with short rib meat and chestnuts, which was also very much ONO. 

We finished up with by splitting the salted caramel budino. Pretzel toffee, fresh whipped cream and a smooth caramel pudding

ONO all the way around.

Once I got home, it was chazuke.

D.O.C.G. on Urbanspoon
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Ono x 3
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Eating Las Vegas, Re-visited

1/27/2012

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Just a few of the 150,000 in attendance
I was in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Officially, it's where the largest CE manufacturers showcase their latest and greatest gizmos. If you want to see 3,000 flavors of TVs, 4,000 variations on a cel phone, and more earbuds than there are people in Los Angeles, go to Vegas during the 2nd week in January. 

I'm convinced that a huge chunk of the Silicon Valley workforce goes there just to gnarl up their traffic, meet with people they could actually have met locally, and let's face it, where the grown-up "Big Bang Theory" types go to be seen.  Quite simply, it's nuts.

I was there for my client, but a girl has to eat (and drink). Like last year, I stayed at Paris Las Vegas. Great location and the room service continental breakfast and French press coffee is still excellent. For my client, it was also a good deal because it easily fed me for 2 meals and a snack in the afternoon. This was essential because I've had better food at the concession stand of the Honolulu Zoo than on the show floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Las Vegas, I know you can do better than this!
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Sugar Factory, Paris Las Vegas
I ate at the The Sugar Factory twice. It not subtle or small and makes no apologies for itself. After all, it's the SUGAR Factory. However, you can easily get a table, no mean feat when Vegas is over-run with 150,000 frugal techies. 

Desserts and drinks definitely live up the the hype. Hot chocolates (Coconut or Raspberry) are pricey at $9, but fab-u-lous. Split it with a friend, or take the leftovers in a to-go cup. Mix it with a little coffee for that last midnight drink. 

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I also LOVED the Red Velvet Sundae, so much so that I had it twice. But make sure you bring several or even a half-dozen of your friends to share it with you.

The Sugar Factory is great for dessert or snacks. The food is fine but not fantastic. Ahi sliders were OK, but a ratatouille crepe I had was pretty good. Be forewarned that they tend to add sugar to everything, including plain ole' cappuccinos or lattes. Best to ask them to hold the sugar on the coffee drinks.

If you want to Dine/Eat, 1) make advance reservations, easily a month ahead, especially during CES and 2) try Yellowtail at the Bellagio at the high end, 3) mid-range Mon Ami Gabi in Paris or 3) Noodle Asia at the Venetian for a more casual meal. And you can always take a quick bite at Nathan's Hot Dogs on the way to the Monorail.

After eating like this for four days straight, I felt a little like Morgan Spurlock. Las Vegas itself is Super-sized, and a person should not eat like this all the time. However, if you have to travel for work, it's great place to go.

Eat Well. Be Well.

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Tradeshow Las Vegas

1/7/2011

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If it's the first week of January and you work for a Silicon Valley technology company, it is very likely that you are in Las Vegas--after all, there are 120,000 of us here at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Lots of amazing new products. All interesting, but let's face it, we all still need to eat.

You can get great and gross food in Las Vegas. I shall not go into the gross. For my part, a crepe I had for room service at Paris was lovely--ham, gruyere cheese in a fluffy/chewy crepe with a nice becamel sauce, and fairly reasonable too. Easily enough for two to share.

Another great thing was the creme brulee at Trevi, and Italian restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Calamari was also great--lightly battered and not greasy. And my friend's chicken Fettucine Alfredo was also quite good.

Tomorrow, I'm planning for vanilla French toast.
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    I love to eat, so I had to learn to cook. This is my personal reference and I use it daily. Looking forward, when I turn a profit, 95% of net profit will go to programs to feed the hungry.

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