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MY TR Dining and Final Thoughts

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by LVLady, Jan 29, 2009.

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  1. LVLady

    LVLady Tourist

    Joined:
    May 26, 2003
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    24

    My Trip Report

    Dining..

    Three Angry Wives in Summerlin.

    We had driven by this place a few times and wanted to try it. I liked the atmosphere, typical pub style. Beer selection was just okay for an Irish Pub and the menu was huge. Burgers were just okay and WAY overcooked. They appeared to be frozen patties and were just so so, no seasoning really. I am not sure I would go back. The bill for 4 was $97 including tax and tip. I think we each had 2 beers so a total of 6 beers, apps, sandwiches. I think my burger was $8, I should have checked how much the beers were, but the meal was under $20 a person plus tip so that isn’t bad at all. Was it worth it, probably not.

    Cabo @ Red Rock Station:

    We arrived at 5 til 9 and were seated. Our waiter promptly informed us that they were closing in 5 minutes and we needed to order. Come again, if you seat me you better expect to serve me and give me some time. The salsa was okay and chips were just alright. I had shredded beef tacos and the meat was way too chewy. It must have been sitting around. Can’t remember what everyone had, I know there were burritos and enchiladas. We all agreed that the food was alright just not good but the experience was bad due to the waiter, who while were eating came over and asked if we were going to have dessert because it needed to be ordered now because the kitchen was closed. I guess working in the hospitality industry for years and have never rushed people like this guy rushed us. He must have had a hot date. Perhaps he should look for a different line of work though if he wants to be home by 9 every night. Total Bill was $35 including tax and tip.

    Cafe at Red Rock:

    We had Breakfast here. I had eggs which is hard to mess up. My friend has pancakes which were great. Hubby had eggs also as did friends hubby. The food was good, served hot and the server was attentive. Not only that but she had us in splits most of the time. It was fun. I would do breakfast there again without question. Total bill including tax and tip was $32.
    Enoteca San Marco:

    I love it here. We normally sit at the counter but because it was full we sat at the bar. DH ordered a red wine, I will have to ask him the name of it, he loved it. The bartender had recommended it. I had a Grey Goose Orange Cosmo, Marc had a margarita, Linda had water. The drinks were fantastic. We had trouble deciding on meals so we started with the cheese and meat selections. For cheese we ordered Coach Triple Cream goat (this was something they don’t normally have) bufala mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, fontina and I believe pecorino but I am not positive. With the cheese they serve honey, apricots and cherries. What flavor it adds, simply delicious. Our meats were mortedella, prosciutto and salumi. It was very, very yummy. After that we ordered pizza One pepperoni which was actually made with sopressata which had quite the spicy kick to it. The second pizza was the Prosciutto and Arugula with mozzarella. This pizza was to die for. I was really surprised at how much I liked it, I am a very picky eater, but I would order this again in a minute. The Prosciutto is put on after the pizza is baked and adds so much flavor. This was an amazing lunch. We enjoyed every bite. I was especially happy at how much my friends husband liked it. He is very anti celeb chefs and was quite impressed with the whole meal. Fresh is the word that comes to mind when I think of the food here. Everything is fresh and perfect. I will probably eat here every trip we take from now on. This was our 3rd visit and we have no been disappointed. I can still taste the different cheeses the parmigiano was probably the best I have ever tasted and when put with the prosciutto it was perfect. Total Bill with tip was $156. The bartender was awesome and truly knew everything there was to know about the food. He took pride in what the kitchen there does and with good reason. It is overpriced due to where it is located, but the food really is THAT good.


    Botero @ Encore:

    We dined here Monday night. I had told them it was my friend’s birthday when making the reservations. We arrived right on time and were told it would just be a few minutes so we sat at the bar and had drinks. Linda tried a Sangria which she only took about 3 sips of (the doctor told her she could have a glass wine but for some reason it didn’t sit well with her), Marc had the grape crush which actually had grapes in it, I had the leechee martini and Dale had Knob Creek. We enjoyed our drinks for a bit and then were seated. Our waiter Michael was great. He explained a lot to us and gave us some time to look over the menu. I didn’t need to order a drinks as Linda’s sangria was huge and she didn’t want it so I drank it. It was made with Gold wine which actually had gold flecks floating in it. Very refreshing and light.
    I need to add that the room was gorgeous, the ceiling was brown with lots of circles, in the center of the room is a huge Botero statue, there are 2 Botero paintings one behind the bar and the other in the main dining room. Out on the patio which overlooks the pool area was another Botero statue. The silverware was thick, not heavy but think and in a funky shape. The napkin rings were brushed silver and chunky also. the tables all had brown placemats that they took away after dinner but before dessert. The room was breathtaking with pillars around the center, lighting was perfect with just one spot shining down on the center of the table. Bright enough so that you could see but dim enough that it didn’t light anything but the center of the table. There were three votives on the table also. Wouldn’t you know I almost burned my cashmere sweater when I was putting some food on DH’s plate. Let me tell you burnt cashmere smells as bad as burnt hair. Thankfully no scorch marks on my light gray sweater though.
    We ordered appetizers Marc ordered the Crudo Tasting which consisted for Tuna with Avocado and Soy, Halibut with spicy tomato, Salmon with Meyer Lemon and Hamachi with Tangerine. I tried the tuna and it was fantastic. Dale, Linda and I split the gnocchi with roasted tomato sauce and parmesan shavings. All I can say is it was the best gnochhi I have ever had. It was homemade and you could immediately tell. It was light and fluffy just as it should be and the sauce was perfect no acidic taste at all. While it might sound crazy, ordering gnocchi at a steak house, I just knew I wanted to try it as did the other two. We enjoyed it. I was tempted to cancel my steak and order it for dinner I could have just continued eating it. For dinner we obviously ordered steaks, I had the 8 ounce filet, Linda had the bone in Ribeye, Dale and Marc both had the NY Strip. I mistakenly ordered my steak medium and unfortunately they overcooked it, or I really wanted Med-rare. Either way, it was not cooked to my liking. I did not complain as the steak still tasted good and I finished almost every bit. Everyone else was happy with the preparation for their steaks. For sides we ordered whipped potatoes and French Onion Potato gratin. I didn’t try the french onion but the whipped potatoes were perfect, it was a good portion for two to split, it would have been iffy if we were trying to split it three way. The whipped were perfect, they truly tasted like potatoes, which may sound weird but if you tried them you would know what I meant. Not too much salt or pepper just perfectly done. Service was attentive without being intrusive. We were able to enjoy ourselves. My only service complaint was the runner who after dropping off our meals didn’t ask us if we needed anything when in fact we needed spoons for the sides. We had used the spoons that were on the table earlier for the gnocchi. Other than that I can’t complain about service at all. In fact I had to think hard to even find a misstep. For dessert we ordered the cupcakes with ice cream. These were wonderful, there were 5 different flavors, I tried the chocolate mint, the vanilla and the strawberry. The strawberry was amazing the cake so moist. I would order them again. For Linda they brought out a plate with a candle and chocolate covered strawberry with Happy Birthday written in chocolate. Very nicely done. Total Bill before tip was $413.00. We left an $85 tip. The bill included the drinks at the bar (4), a glass wine at the table and 2 beers. I would think the drinks came to almost $100. I know the drinks at the bar were $16 each. It was well worth it. Linda did have a gift card that someone had sent to her so we used this. It was for $180 so we ended up only paying a $160 each. It was well worth it. It would have been worth the $250 if we had paid that too. I would seriously go back just for the gnocchi, they were THAT good. I would also like to add that though we were dressed, I almost felt underdressed here. I was wearing a beautiful light gray cashmere sweater and gray slacks with high heeled shoes.

    Hash House A Go Go:

    We were originally going to Bagels N More on Tropicana but they closed so we called and got directions to Hash House A Go Go on Sahara. The restaurant is cute and we were promptly seated. 3 of us ordered the basic breakfast with bacon and Dale ordered the blueberry pancake. Saying it was HUGE was an understatement. There is no lack of food here. Portions were very large. The crispy potatoes were yummy. Total bill I believe with tip was $54.

    Wazuzu:

    We ate here for a late small lunch on Tuesday. I ordered 2 pieces of Tuna sushi, Linda had the california roll, Dale had the chicken satay, Mark had Tuna sushimi and I think eel sushi. I also ordered the potstickers which were amazing. With 3 drinks the meal came to $90 with tip I believe but I can’t find the bill so I am just guessing. I am pretty sure my bill read $45 at check-out but I will have to double check that. Like everything at Encore the details here were amazing. I feel like I keep using that word but the fact is there are no real words to describe it. The dining room was small, perhaps 20 tables or so. Booths line the back wall and then there is the Crystal Dragon that is spectacular to see. Attention to detail is present in everything you see, the water glasses were like double old fashioned glasses. They were black and clear glass. Almost like a hungarian glass goblet style, lots of cut outs.
    The sushi was melt in your mouth perfect and the dumplings fantastic. It was a very good meal.

    Rao’s:

    Our last dinner was at Rao’s. We were promptly seated by the windows overlooking the pool. This was our second time at Rao’s and probably our last. It wasn’t that it was bad, it just wasn’t great. We ordered apps, Dale had a caesar, I had the soup which was tortellini in broth, the menu you said ravioli but it was tortellini. Perhaps they need to learn their pastas. I can’t remember what Linda and Marc had but they shared something. For dinner I had the gnocchi, Dale the penne alla vodka, and again I can’t remember what Linda and Marc had. My gnocchi were a big disappointment. Perhaps the ones at Botero ruined it for me, they were rubbery and not homemade. I expected more. Dale said his dinner was fine and Linda and Marc both said their dinners were good but not great. I think we were all a little disappointed. We split chocolate gelato for dessert, it was probably the best part of the meal. Total for 4 people with 6 glasses of wine, coffee and dessert came to $256 before tip. I had $48 in reward credits so we used that then split the check. Our portion came to $134 I think with tips. Like I said I am not sure I would go back. It just wasn’t all that good.

    Wynn Buffet:

    We ate here for breakfast on our last day. The food wasn’t hot enough but there was plenty of it. I had eggs, bacon, french toast and a few other items. Our total bill was the cost of the tip. Probably $10.



    Final Thoughts:

    Vegas was VERY VERY slow. I have never seen it so dead.
    Dollar Rental Car ticked me off trying to give me a minivan.
    I have no idea why I play VP, I hardly do well at it.
    I love playing Blackjack at Encore, the dealers are so friendly and the pitbosses were great. They made you feel important.
    The Encore Room is by far the nicest we stayed in. We heard no noises from our neighbors unless we had the connecting door open.
    Botero was a true dining experience that will stay with me a long time.
    Red Rock is somewhere I would like stay again. I just would prefer not being so far from the elevator. The room was a long walk.
    If Encore ever sends me an offer I will jump on it. The place is amazing.
    3 nights in Vegas doesn’t seem like enough but with the shorter flights I would certainly do it again.
    This was probably one of our better trips, we really had a good time. Dale had some stuff going on at work yet still he managed to have a great time.
    I so enjoy spending time with my husband he is a lot of fun, I love when he manages to surprise me. The little things are what makes him so special.
    TI needs to get their act together and teach their dealers to have fun.
    Why is it I can get 5 hours sleep in Vegas and be fine, but when I am home I need 8?
     
  2. texas_aggie_girl_93

    texas_aggie_girl_93 VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Nice report. I enjoyed reading, thanks for posting.
     
  3. gotavegasjones

    gotavegasjones VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Great reviews and report. Thanks.

    later, GVJ
     
  4. DebB

    DebB Low-Roller

    Joined:
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    Wonderful details on the food and beverages AND service. Really like knowing why a place is worth raving about or paying top dollar for, and even what made a simple dining experience fun (like servers with good attitude). Better a simple breakfast with a good server than a fancy dinner with hurried, impatient waitstaff.

    Thanks for posting. Never would have considered saving up to eat at Botero til reading your take on the place, including the gnocchi!
     
  5. Dean Martin

    Dean Martin VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    "I have no idea why I play VP, I hardly do well at it."

    One comment re; the VP: I know the whole idea of vegas is to have fun and drink but when you play VP, try playng in the AM w/ your fave coffee drink (versus alcohol at night) and always play max coin in and bankrole your game (less for JOB, more for DDB). It's way too easy to make bad holds when you're drinking... :drunk:
     
  6. IllMarty

    IllMarty Orangutan

    Joined:
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    Nice TR. Lots of good food info.

    Dean is correct on this IMHO. I have made it a ritual to spend a couple hours playing DDB 100 play while enjoying a morning beverage.
     
  7. gmoney590

    gmoney590 VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Great food report; I just shouldn't read these types of reports when I'm hungry and there's nothing like that around here to eat.
     
  8. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

    Joined:
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    Nice report thanks for posting.:thumbsup:
     
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