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Luxor 11/4-6 - the beer snob tour

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by BrokenAlice, Nov 9, 2007.

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  1. BrokenAlice

    BrokenAlice Tourist

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2006
    Messages:
    246
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10

    My Trip Report

    Surprisingly enough, I was not solo this time – I had my best guy with me for his first time to Vegas since 1994. He wasn’t even 21-years-old at that time was stuck in a convention for several days. So this was like a virgin trip for him finally being able to see and experience Vegas.

    A lot of the places we went were strictly done because my guy is a complete beer aficionado. We are blessed with living in Seattle which has hundreds of microbreweries and taprooms galore. I specifically chose many of our destinations on making sure he was able to sample as much LV beer as possible. I pretty much sustained on various slushy drinks and girly cocktails because I hate beer. The guy enjoyed the slushies too cause he'll drink pretty much anything - except bad beer.

    Hardly any gambling at all. The guy makes gambling not fun because he sits there and talks about math and statistics and crap. So I came home with money that I would have normally blown through on slot machines. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Luxor:

    *We arrived at the hotel around 11:00am Sunday morning. Check-in line was fairly long with people checking out but moving very quickly with all stations attended with staff. Our room was ready immediately so we got our keys and our first inclinator ride.

    *Spa Suite room 25081 was nice and quiet. The place was just fine. Bed was comfortable, bathroom was nice and large. Spa tub was wonderful at the end of a long day and a lot of fun for two people. Plenty of towels and soaps.

    *The only thing that would have made it better is if there was more than one way to get to the room. Only one inclinator to reach that floor and a tiresome walk down two very long hallways to get to the room all the way in the opposite corner of the inclinator - lame.

    *Didn’t spend a lot of time at the casino or in the room at all except for sleeping and bubble bathing.

    *Probably would not stay at Luxor again because of the location of the building. A lot of time was wasted walking to and from this place to get to other, more interesting, resorts.

    Entertainment:

    *Bellagio Fountains – only saw two performances while we were there. The guy is really into robotics and engineering so he was amazed with the technicality of it all. I was just blown away by the beauty, as usual.

    *Star Trek Experience – The guy is a major Trekkie (as am I, to a lesser extent) so I knew we had to do this. We got half-price tickets for this at the Coke Bottle ticket booth earlier in the day. The museum is a little lacking in excitement but was neat none the less. The Kingon ride was very fun and I wish we could have gone again. The Borg ride actually creeped me out to the extent of having nightmares that evening.

    *Atomic Testing Museum – AWESOME! Seriously, people…get yourself there sometime. It’s right behind Terrible’s on Flamingo. It was educational and totally fun. They do a great job with video media and reading material and display pieces. Best museum I’ve been to in ages.

    *The Deuce – Ok, I really shouldn’t consider this entertainment because it was an exercise in patience, but it was one of the longest experiences of our trip. We were on that damn thing for almost an hour, snailing our way from MGM to Downtown. I have no problem with crowded busses because I live and work Downtown Seattle and I use public transit constantly during rush hour conditions. What I do have a problem with is a bus driver who talks on the microphone constantly. This individual (we’ll call Pat, because it was undiscernibly a man nor a woman) was very talkative. Pat wouldn’t shut up the entire time. And Pat went through their set of monologues twice during the entire trip, and was starting to repeat stories for a third time before we made it to our stop. Pat was also talking to the bus riders as seen on the various bus cameras. Pat would tell the guy in the yellow shirt to turn around and look at the guy in the green shirt because they had the same beard/moustache combination. Pat would then start telling this kid with his hat on backwards to turn his hat back to the front and then starts berating him for getting so many tattoos at such a young age and how he’s going to regret them. Then one of the passenger started yelling at the driver to shut up for about 6 blocks. Fun Fun fun!!!

    *MGM Lions – Got to see the two big male cats this time. Both of which were playfully eating huge rawride bones the size of a human head. One of the lions was sitting on top of the glass walkway that goes inside/under the habitat. So you could go under the walkway and look up and see the cat’s belly and feet and everything else. There was a moment when he stopped eating the rawhide bone and was licking the glass. It was cool.

    *Pr0n cards – My guy thought it was awesome to grab all the call girl cards he could collect. He’d reach out in front of me, cutting me off, to grab at the cards being slapped out. He’d then sit there and go through all the cards, separating them into piles of “hot†and “notâ€. He’s picky in the types of girls he likes and most of the cards were in the “not†pile. There were a couple winners though.

    Dining/Drinking:


    *Monte Carlo Brewpub – We had planned on eating there but changed our minds while waiting for a table. Had a drink at the bar instead. Very disappointing that they no longer have their own beer. The bartender explained that the brewery was removed when construction on the property next door started and they sold out of what little reserve they had in January. They get a D for “dumbassâ€. Why they haven’t had the thought to get their beer made off-site is ridiculous.

    *Spice Market Buffet – I need to remember to never again go to a buffet on a Sunday because you get shafted with the “brunch†pricing. Since we were already paying too much, we topped it off with the extra $3/per person for champagne. The food was pretty good, but not as amazing as it was the last time I was there. All in all I’d give it a B-.

    *Sin City Brewing – Inside Miracle Mile mall, it’s awesome that this little beer stand exists. The guy got a beer and I got a slushy drink from a few doors down. This made walking through that crazy mall fun. They get an A- (minus for not having anything other than beer)

    *Quark’s – Ate at the bar and shared a plate of fish and chips with the guy. We were mostly there for the booze. I had a “mini†Warp Core Breach which was huge, as always. And, honestly, I can’t remember what the guy had to drink because I was loopy from all the purple goodness I had just slurped up. There was a couple characters walking around but we weren’t able to talk to any of them because they seemed to come and go in a matter of minutes instead of hang out with the people. Quark’s gets a B+ (for burp!)

    *Rumjungle – Very beautiful establishment with fun lighting effects at the bar and indoor waterfalls. Low key and comfortable during the daytime, but they had vidoe screens on that show you what a happening hot spot it is after dark. Lots of girls dancing on bars and that kind of stuff. But we were there for lunch. Huge servings of food for very reasonable prices (average $15/plate at lunch). I had a steak quesadilla and the guy had a huge spicy chicken sandwich. Only minus is the waitress (or anyone else in the establishment, I guess) new how to work the coffee maker so I opted for a Diet Coke instead. Score: A-

    *Chicago Brewing Co – Inside the 4 Queens Casino Downtown. Nice little establishment. Big comfy chairs to sit in and slowly sip a fine brew (or a Vodka/Cran in my case). Beverages were CHEAP! $7 for 2 drinks and a very friendly bartender lady got good tips from us. Quiet little oasis from all the slot machine noise. The guy said the brew was good too. B+ (would have gotten more if it had a decent food menu, but as a drinking establishment it was great!)

    *777 Brewpub at Main Street Station – Very nice establishment. The guy liked their beers very much. We thought about eating here because the menu seemed good but we chose to just have a drink. It was also very lively with football fans but it had a nicer feel to it than the crowded Monte Carlo did. I liked the atmosphere very much. Survey says: A

    *International Beer Bar at Golden Nugget – huh??? We asked 3 different staff members at Golden Nugget to tell us where this place was. Each one of them gave us directions to this crappy little bartop that had exactly 6 handles of beer. If you think Guinness, sitting next to Bud Lite and Coors makes for an “international†beer bar, you’re sadly mistaken. The website says they have over 40 different varieties of beer available. And maybe they do have some dusty old bottles stashed away somewhere, but they certainly don’t come off as being a destination for great beer. We were expecting much, much more. So we kept on walking. Score F-. Check minus. Thumbs down. Boo hiss!

    *Big Dog Draft House – this was a far-off destination that was to fulfill the guy’s desire for some good Las Vegas microbrew. Almost a $40 cab ride each way which was a little unexpected but that didn’t put a damper on things. They have an excellent selection of house beers and the food was fantastic. I had a chicken wrap sandwich with potato salad that was really, really good. The guy had a BBQ chicken and Bleu Cheese pizza that was to die for. Prices were cheap and the drinks were plentiful. The service people were awesome and very helpful to get us a cab back home. I don’t know that we would ever go there again since it is so far out there (and we wouldn’t want to use a rental car when drinking), but it was a nice excursion away from the Strip. The guy says they had the best beer out of all the local brew we had tried. Score: A- (too far away.)

    *Ellis Island – it’s about time I went to this place. What a charming little dive! Huge portions of food. I had steak and shrimp. The guy had a chicken parmesan sandwich and mozzarella sticks. The liked the EI beer and I liked my never ending cup of coffee. We ate here on our last day so I was staying away from more booze. The waitress was an absolute joy. She was very attentive and very, very sweet. I love it when someone genuinely appears to enjoy their job (when so many of us are just droning the days away). She really made this dank little casino a brighter place with her presence. Best waitress of the trip! A for awesome!

    Final Thoughts:

    We had fun, but I will absolutely be going solo again next time. I love the guy but Vegas is MY happy place and that’s that.
     
  2. Falcon_Rob

    Falcon_Rob Flying Winnebago

    Joined:
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    Nice trip report! I'm glad he gave high marks for the beer at the 777. I'm assuming he tried the brewmaster's special at some point.

    I'm surprised about your very high mark for Ellis Island. I do agree that the food is completely underrated! Most people talk about the steak special, but the whole menu is very good as well. You are VERY lucky to get good service there. I have a love/hate relationship with that place. It always seems too smoky for a non-smoking restaurant, the service usually sucks and the microbrew is underwhelming in my opnion. However, the food is great, everything is cheap and there is ONE brew that is decent, but I can't remember which one it is.

    I had never heard of that beer place in the Miracle Mile. Thanks for the tip.
     
  3. doctor_al

    doctor_al VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Nice report. Gotta leave the math major at home when going to vegas, even if the math major is in your head.

    Haven't tried the bubble bath in the casino, it's on my to-do list now.
     
  4. hula96717

    hula96717 Tourist

    Joined:
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    Hawaii
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    hey girl!! nice nice nice.... as a fellow soloist when it comes to vegas!!... i stayed at the Luxor but in the west tower... but i hear ya when you say youre not staying again... lol...

    oooo triple seven brew pub!! :beer: my most favorite micro brew pub in vegas!!... good food, good beer, and great atmosphere... oh and great prices...

    thanks for a great trip report.. especially the grading system... ill use it to decide where i want to go next time!!... :nworthy:
     
  5. HoyaHeel

    HoyaHeel Grammar Police & Admin

    Joined:
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    I wrote about it a couple years ago--right after it opened I think--we were checking into Aladdin but our room wasn't ready yet so we dropped our bags off at the bell desk and went to have a few beers there while we waited for our room to become available. We enjoyed it! I think the guy who started it used to work at Gordon Biersch and they (at one point) were using the Biersch brewery to brew the Sin City brews. They might have been able to open their own brewery by now....
     
  6. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    I luv how you keep calling your beau "the guy"!

    I've passed by what I think is Sin City Brewing many times and never stopped. (Tiny, only about six seats or so as I recall?) Guess I'll have to correct that and give them a try on my trip there.
     
  7. angel81chick

    angel81chick Abuelita

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    Alice...I am not big on beer, but you have definitely made me interested in going to these places to try some beers out.

    Great TR and great info...thanks for sharing :)
     
  8. Coaster Kikky

    Coaster Kikky Tourist

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    I'm another beer snob. If you get to town again, you can try Tenaya Creek brewing, in the northwest part of the city (long cab ride... I'd rent a car and have only one). The brewer from Monte Carlo works there now. I agree, it's stupid that Monte Carlo hasn't outsourced to get good microbrews. And the "International" beer bar at GN is the lamest thing ever! How dare they call it that?

    FYI, Sin City beer is on draught at the bar at Isla at TI also.
     
  9. zengrrl

    zengrrl Tourist

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    My fave beer place is the Freakin' Frog @ 4700 S. Maryland, near the UNLV campus. You ask for what beers they carry and they hand you a binder. Domestics, microbrews, imports - you name it. One of the best selections I've ever found in a bar anywhere, including microbrews on tap. Here's the website: http://www.freakinfrog.com/
     
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