You have this list written out anywhere? Would love a "To Do" list for my next trip.

"20 Vegas Restaurants" you say? Hmmm.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/10...-they-1406561/

Thanks for the suggestions.

The reservations were made by one of the couples that we are going with, as was the next days dinner at Lavo. They are into the club scene and trying to act like they are hip twenty somethings, so I'm sure they will like it. If the food is good, my wife and I will be fine. We have been married long enough that going to a super "romantic" place isn't that big a deal.

Have there been any reports about the new Heritage Steakhouse in the Mirage? I've been to just about every other place in town and want to see if I should try the new steakhouse when I'm there for the Super Bowl.

I've had several friends say it is superb. It will be our big dinner place next months visit.
For a place only open a few months, it gets 4stars on yelp, and 4.5 on tripadvisor. Together, thats a pretty good endorsement.

Addenda: just read this from LVEater-
MIRAGE — Tom Colicchio's Heritage Steak was named one of the 25 Most Important Restaurants of 2013 by Zagat. The venue, which opened in August, was the only Las Vegas restaurant to achieve this prominent recognition. [Zagat]

Ate there in September. Great selection of cuts, prepared in a various ways. But the wood fire adds a different touch to steak that I enjoyed. Plus there are a great variety of apps and sides, which I always find appealing. Order a bunch and share. Wine selection suburb. Grayhounds are perfect!

Talk about Heritage shows why this thread is so useful because the talk prompted me to go to the Mirage's website and check Heritage out. Some interesting dishes but I think we'll stick with Stripsteak for our big meal the next time we're in Vegas.

Here's my guess on Heritage, not having been there but having been to Craft in LA many times and Craftsteak in Vegas a couple times-

It will be very good mostly and occasionally meh. Probably overpriced, but what isn't. My problem with Collichio's restaurants is that they're capable of being great and sometimes are, but aren't consistent enough considering the price point.

eco,

Great description of his places based on my experiences in NYC and Vegas. I'll still go try heritage though, lol.

Yeah, I'm going to hit it up while I'm there too. I have to try the new steakhouses unless the reports are terrible

I'm a huge bourbon fan, any insight into where I can find pappy van winkle in vegas while eating or at a bar, or the best selection of bourbons at a poker room?

Bal,

Delmonico steakhouse at the Venetian.

I imagine the new whiskey bar at the MGM (I haven't been).

I'd actually be pretty surprised if you were able to track down Pappy.

Delmonico's has all three

That's awesome. Good for them.

Hit up Bouchon, L'Atelier, and Cut during last weekend's trip. Short trip report with a couple pictures coming soon. Posting this so I actually do it.

Craftsteak too

Alright, mini food trip report. Brief background: this was my first Vegas trip after my divorce was finalized, and while my ex-wife and I were almost entirely on the same page when it came to Vegas one way we were VASTLY different was when it came to food. Her taste buds are extremely vanilla: pretty much chicken. Like, just chicken. She'd occasionally venture to halibut or scallops, but that was exotic as it got. It always killed me that we would go to Las Vegas a few times a year and end up ignoring the great food options available. Poker has been going well for me, and I decided to make up for lost time this trip and spend some of those winnings on good food. While my only PLANNED good meal was L'Atelier, ended up hitting up both Bouchon and CUT.

First stop was Bouchon. I got in around 9:00 pm on Thursday and while I wasn't famished I was hungry, so headed up there to catch them before they closed. Paired up the seared foie gras and the duck confit appetizer with a glass of Woodford:



I love foie gras, and this didn't disappoint. It was served on a bread/muffin of some sort that I should have asked about, because it was really delicious. Hard to describe; it was kind of like a corn bread, but firmer. With the foie gras juice soaked in, it was really, really good. The duck was excellent as well, although I'm not a lentil fan so that didn't do much for me.

Next was L'Atelier on Friday before the rest of my crew got into town. Went with the "seasonal discovery menu:"



I'm glad I did that for the first time through, but I think that next time I'll pick and choose, or at least go with one of the "choose two apps, two sides" option. Enough stuff on the seasonal menu that I wasn't thrilled about that it makes sense to pick individually, which would probably end up being cheaper too. Quick rundown of each menu item: the Amuse-Bouche might have been my favorite thing. It was perfection. The Hamachi was also a really pleasant surprise. I'm not a huge sushi fan, but the lemon vinaigrette worked perfectly with the fish flavor, and I definitely wanted more. I don't like Oysters, so those didn't do much for me. I gave one the full treatment, but just shot the others. The French salted butter was delicious . The white onion tart was just pretty:



Tasted good too, but the texture kind of ruined it for me. Hard to cut, little stringy. Not my fav. The foie gras raviolis were another favorite. Again, love foie gras, and the way it's presented in the bouillon you get a shot of flavor each bite. John Dory was very good. I eat a lot of fish, but haven't had John Dory. Who knows how others will compare, but loved how this was prepared. For main course had a choice of quail or venison. Love foie gras, not a venison fan, so this was an easy choice:



I realize this isn't a buffet, but it still made me laugh that there was less food with the "main course" than a lot of the other offerings. Very good, although the foie gras didn't really stand out, and by didn't stand out I mean I couldn't really tell it was there. The carmelization was delicious, but I think that flavor coupled with a pretty small amount of foie gras made the foie gras insignificant. Wrapping it up, deserts were delicious, especially the ginger-infused candied apple.

Service was very good, very personable and open to questions. It took a bit longer than I expected, a little over two hours. It was full, though, and the server indicated it was taking a little longer than normal. By the way, paid $165 for the seasonal discovery; I think the menu they have on the website lists it at $155. Could vary by what they're serving.

CUT on Saturday night was a last minute decision. We were having drinks at Palazzo when one of the friends I was there with broke off for a token appearance with another group while the rest were meeting up with someone else. CUT was there, so I stepped in and got a seat at the bar. I would NEVER hesitate to do that again, even with a couple. It's small and quiet, and with the bartender/server right there the service is excellent. I went with the maple glazed pork belly starter ($17), Nebraska 12 oz rib eye ($59), and the brussels sprouts ($12). Glad I went with the pork belly because it blew my mind, but the brussels sprouts were just ok, and I didn't really need them. Rib eye was also mind blowing, but it started out poorly. When I ordered medium rare she asked if I liked it more on the rare side or the medium side. I said rare, and she said it would probably be best to put it in as rare. I agreed, but when I got it the steak was on the MEDIUM side of medium rare. It wasn't enough for me to make a deal out of it and I would have ate it, but she actually saw the coloring and commented, then insisted that she take it back. Really appreciated that.

Anyway, that's the roundup. Needed to take more pictures, but that's what I've got. I'll hold off on my review of 5:30 a.m. McDonald's breakfast sandwiches for another day.

keep the reports/pics coming Porter. I think the seasonal disc menu has gone up about $20 since Fall

Stk service was OK.. Not good enough compared to their prices .. Spend a little more and goto CUT for valentines day..It's just soooooo much better food/ service

Wj, thank you so much for answering my question.

Also for those interested in checking out heritage steak:

http://www.eatinglv.com/2014/01/top-chump/

Yikes

I'm coming to vegas from Friday-Monday
Ok, a couple questions:

-Joel Robuchon: They are completely booked, but I've read here that if you are dining solo (which I will be) it won't be too hard to get a seat at the bar and eat. How possible is this? This answer determines if I bring a suit for this trip or not. (and stupid question: can I wear sneakers with my suit and tie and still get in?) -- I know I'm a classy mofo.

-Best A5 wagyu steak in town regardless of price, but I don't eat fish or seafood so I can't do a prix fixe menu if it has either fish/shellfish.

-Is there anyway I can make something happen at Picasso with my non fish/shellfish eating?

I'm hoping to eat at Cut one night and Joel Robuchon doing the al a carte menu (if I can get in).

any help is appreciated, so flame away with my sneaker and non-fish questions

Picasso is extremely flexible and will swap in alternative dishes. Just ask.

Take your suit AND dress shoes. Better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it.