Mandalay Bay and Restaurants

Trip Report
Mandalay Bay
Jan 4-9, 2011

Mandalay Bay
This was my first stay at The Mandalay Bay hotel. I normally stay at The Mirage, but due to all the conferences in town they were full on the dates that I needed to stay. Arrival and check-in were quick and hassle free. As normal as a single traveler, I was told they didn’t have a one-bed room available and would have to take a room with two beds. I said fine, it would allow me to jump between the beds like a trampoline. The check in guy looked a little concerned … I’m 250lbs. The room was much bigger then the standard room at The Mirage with a much larger bathroom including a separate shower, twin sinks and a soaker tub. The hotel is starting to show its age, the shower dripped all night and the drain on the sink suddenly gurgled every couple of hours.

Dinners
Steakhouse at Circus Circus
This has become my go to restaurant in Vegas. I try to dash through the casino holding my nose until I get into the steakhouse. The room is decorated in old world type paintings, dark wood and paint and animal heads. I normally get a booth as it allows viewing of the room compared to a table in the middle of the room. My standard order is a martini, French onion soup and a bone-in prime rib steak. As always the steak was cooked perfectly but not seasoned, allowing me to adjust as needed. I was a little disappointed this time as the soup did not come in a cast-iron bowl but a standard French onion soup bowl. Otherwise the meal was great!

Comme Ca at the Cosmopolitan
The Comme Ca restaurant at the Cosmopolitan was not even open a month when I visited. I was seated at the bar for a before dinner drink. Seated next to me must have been a group connected to the bar as the bartender was making every drink on the list for these two guys and a sexy blond girl. They would take one sip then put it down and try the next one. By the time they left there were about a dozen drinks on the bar with one sip out of each. Down the drain they went.

For dinner, I was seated in the main dining room. I was fortunate to have Marika as my server. Marika and her assistant, who’s name I wasn’t able to get, provided service above what I was expecting . I do have to mention that the outfits that the staff had to wear were a very poor attempt at helping to convey the feeling of a French bistro. For dinner I enjoyed the Roasted Beef Marrow & Oxtail Jam – toast, fleur de sel, Rack of Lamb and the Pot du Crème. I tried to order a bottle of champagne but they were out of my first two choices so settled for a bottle of Roederer Estate Brut. It was very nice. A weird thing happened at the end of the meal; I asked to see the manager to inform him of the excellent service that I had received. Apparently there was no manager available to receive my complements so had to relay them to the sommelier.

House of Blues Foundation Room
Up to the top of Mandalay Bay … A Caesar Salad, Braised Veal Cheeks, Horseradish Crusted Beef Tenderloin with a side of Bacon Creamed Spinach and a surpurb chocolate cake for dessert. Of course a bottle of Veuve Champagne to wash it all down. This was my second time dining at the Foundation Room. As in the first visit, exceptional service, fantastic food and a great view were all present. Although, when I asked for a saber to open the bottle of champagne, for some reason they thought the legal and insurance claims may be of some concern so denied my request.

Fleur at Mandalay Bay
Fleur is newly renovated with a massive style change. The service is now focused on small plates so a variety of samples can be enjoyed. The service was kind of iffy. I was seated quickly, but it took quite a while to take my order. During the three hour meal there were times that the staff was providing good service then they would disappear for quite a while.

I do have to mention the table side service. I noticed a manager bringing a cart over to one table. He poured some liquid into a bowl then some dry ice, stirred it up and spooned it into glasses, as he came past my table I ask what he had made. Frozen margaritas … he then prepared one for me at no charge . I had no choice but to order the ice-cream made tableside for dessert.
I tried the:
Steak tartar
Italian style meatballs
Tarte flambée
Rock shrimp
Marinated olives
Chicken croquettes
Duck Breast
afforgatto a la LN served tableside
All with a bottle of La Marca Prosecco
All were excellent with the steak tartar and duck breast being the two standouts.


Craftsteak at The MGM
I actually didn’t eat here but went to try a few single malt whiskies. I had read that they had an excellent collection but needed to see/try it firsthand. I was fortunate to have Alexis as my bartender. She is exceptionally knowledgeable about whiskies and was a great assistance in selecting interesting drams that I had not sampled before.


Minus5 Ice Lounge
This place was a lot smaller then what I thought it would be, but I can see the benefit of having a cold place to relax in during the heat of a Vegas summer. For me it was like reliving high school drinking parties outside in the freezing cold weather waiting for the cops to bust in and break up the party. Fun to try once, but been there done that … next!

 

Good info about Comme Ca and Fleur. Much appreciated!

 

Great interesting info about the restaurants!

 

Good stuff. You can never have enough restaurant reviews.

Thanks for posting.

 

Nice reviews on the restaurants.

 

I hope you checked under the beds at least once. :evillaugh

 

Thank you for the report. You really know your food and drinks! Your description of each restaurant and food made we want to try each. Happy eating!

 

Thanks for the read! Too bad the Cosmopolitan didn't let you in on the taste testing of their drinks...