|
I was surprised that a cheesy place like the Stratosphere
ended up being a great place to eat. The ambience and the incredible view lends itself to the meal, of course. Lobster bisque
is a classic at any Vegas restaurant, so definitely have that instead of the salad when you go there.
| Are we listening to music or just farting around? |
|
| John, me, Paul, and the famous Argie Bellio. (Famous in Coldwell Banker and Indiana, anyway.) |
|
|
 |
|
| At the John Mayer concert |
|
| With Paul Chavez and "bruddah" John Chang. |
The very best surprise this year came when I applied to be a judge for
the PRSA Las Vegas Tri-State Pinnacle awards. I apply for this every year, but this was the first time I got accepted! It
was a judging stint with a free trip to Vegas....and Megabucks was up to $12 million!
Obviously, I didn't win the Megabucks,
but it was still my most lucrative trip so far. And all I did, aside from judging the public relations award entries, was
eat, gamble, and shop. People asked if I drank, and I did--I drank with dinner but not while gambling because I needed to
wake up early to shop.
I discovered some wonderful places to dine alone. Olives in
the Bellagio and Bouchon at the Venetian are great when eating at the bar. I highly recommend
this whether you are alone or not. You can chat with the bartenders and get very personal wine pairings for your food. My
favorite at Olives was the butter lettuce salad, followed by scallops on ravioli with truffle oil. My faves at Bouchon include
their endive salad, or even their leek & egg salad. Their flavored pots de creme is also a wonderful end to a great meal,
if you have room.
I did so well in September that my family decided we should go again in October! This time, we sampled
two new places: Crustacean in the Aladdin and the Mirage Buffet, called Cravings.
Crustacean is a tad too pricey if you consider that the food is not served in the same spirit as
its sister restaurants in California. The presentation is definitely too western. The garlic noodles is the big winnah
plate; make sure you order two no matter what else you order. Also, make sure you mention that you are celebrating a
special occasion when you make your reservation, so they'll bring you a lovely chocolate cake on the house.
Cravings was unexpectedly excellent. The dining room is bright with casual furniture so at first
I expected mediocre cafeteria buffet food. But most of the food on the sprawling buffet is well worth the $25:
Crab legs, international dishes, pizza and pasta for the kids, rich soups, creamy polentas, and a large selection of desserts
to suit every taste. Go hungry.....also remember that the room is huge and you have to go around the entire perimeter to get
all the food, so this may not be ideal for people with bad knees.
Click here for more
|
|
