http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010...-palazzo-rest/
Restaurant Charlie and its C Bar in the Palazzo has closed. It is being reported that star chef David Burke is closing his restaurant David Burke in The Venetian.

These places were probably not doing well, but once City Center opened, these and other places were doomed.

david burke in venetian is basically empty every time i've walked by

I've never seen anyone in that place either. It's a town overloaded with pricy restaurants, they ain't all gonna survive. I wouldn't blame CityCenter.

http://www.eatinglv.com/2010/03/this-just-in/

ZeeJustin, I would love to hear your review of Urasawa as thats probably my number 1 destination restaurant in the US.

If inappropriate here then maybe in the EDF fine dining thread?

Thoughts on Mesa Grill?

it's yummyrific

after drooling over this thread multiple times, I am finally going back to LV on Sunday with the gf. I'd like to eat two dinners capped at $250/each for both of us.

I'd like to eat at two of the following restaurants for dinner and maybe one of them for lunch:

-Cut
-Mix
-Spago
-Mesa Grill

-Is any of these better for lunch than dinner?
-I dont have many fancy clothes. Do we need to dress up at any of these beyond khakis and a collared shirt?
-Are any of these simply not worth it if I cant spend much more than $250? We probably will order a "cheap" bottle of wine with dinner.

Fair. Maybe better than fair. I wouldn't go for anything other than lunch though, sets the expectations too high. Kind of like Olive's in that respect.

Cut can't be done for that price, done well anyway.

Mix probably can't be done for that price and ain't worth it anyway.

Haven't been to Spago, don't care too. Too much LA baggage. I live in LA.

Mesa Grill isn't a destination to me. It's fair, but it's lunch.

Can you send a new list?

the conflicting opinions itt are crazy lol

Cant afford the Wagyu beef at Cut but there seems to be some steak options for $50-60 per person. Meal would be pushing $300 with appetizer/wine/tip though.

I guess I could have put Bouchon on the list. We probably will go to Mesa Grill for lunch as you suggest.

Gf and I have never been to any of these, mind you, so top floor of mandalay bay for Mix would be a first. We both like sushi and I was considering Koi at PH or Shibuya in the MGM where we are staying.

Pass on Mix. Yeah it has the Ducasse name, but that's it. Just feh and the price should demand so much more.

You can probably do Sage at Aria in your price range if you order a less expensive wine and split an app. I had a stellar meal there a week ago.

Sage also works for your attire requirements. They are not open for lunch.

Shibuya is better than Koi.

If you want the same experience as Mix, go to Alize at the Palms. Better than Mix and has the same "amazing views" of Vegas (it's at the top of the Palms).

Aliza is priced slightly cheaper than Mix, but still a Michelin star restaurant. Their Souffles are a amazing.

Thank you for the advice. I might bring an "office attire" getup to be on the safe side/classy.

worst italian food i ever had. almost changed my name. an embarrassment. try noras on flamingo. 10000 times better than this roach trap. tk

have eaten there every time they have a poker tourney. never had a bad meal. its a bobby flay restaurant. tk

bring at least two credit cards. tk

Surprised about the growing hatred towards Mix.

Been a fan for 4 years and never had anything but solidly executed, imaginative dinners impeccably serviced.

Absolutely comparable to Ducasse's Adour here in NYC, but way more fun.

IMO Mix's $90 tasting menu with $40 wine pairing seems very reasonably priced.

On the other hand, our only visit to Alize 3 years back yielded mediocre food and careless, disinterested service

Not hate at all. Nothing really wrong with my meal there (although a snooty hostess did hurt the experience).

Our waiter was good but not super informed.

We had the full degustation menu (I forget how many courses but there were many) only one dish was memorable, the best gnocchi I've ever had. Other than that one dish I can recall none. Oh, I also remmber the freshly baked madelines. As opposed to my dinner at Alinea in Chicago, an 18 course menu which, off the top of my head, I can recall 16 dishes.

The wine pairings at Mix were pedestrian and showed little thought. The white were overchilled, contained 2 almost identical reislings in a row, and many of the wines were served in improper glassware.

Like I said, not really hate, but for the $300+ per head I had much higher expectations.

1) Go online @ Caesar's and check the menu.
2) You have to be a fan of heavy spice mixes with lots of chili's; not everyone goes there.
3) The build your own margarita menu ROCKS! real lime juice - no sweet sour trash - if you want a REAL margarita.
4) Dessert menu is usually suprisingly good.
5) The soup and some of the appetizers star - so lunch is a good option to test drive Flay food if you are new to his tastes.

I enjoy it, but my wife is "spice challenged" so lunch works well to help those that aren't into the intense spices.

6) They have some premium Mezcals that go great w/ coffee and dessert.

ORIGINAL MARGARITA FORMULA:

1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
1 part Controy (an orange based liquer sold in Mexico)
2 parts 100% agave "silver" level tequila

Shaken - served up in a martini glass rimmed with salt. This was Mexico's martini when it was created - orginally named El Picador.

Enjoy.

The point about Cut is that while it's good, you won't get out of there cheap and there are great steakhouses all over town that will be just that half-step lower on prices, putting them in the less wince-inducing category.

Bouchon definitely belongs on the list, it's a perrenial for me. Sage is going to be.

If you want to go to the top floor of Mandalay either go to Mix or the House of Blues Foundation Room but only to drink.

Koi's just a trendy celeb douche farm here in LA, which makes their Vegas version a knockoff of a trendy celeb douche farm. I'm sure the food is fine there but I know it won't wow you. The LA one seemed ho-hum to me. Never been to Shibuya. Never gone looking for great sushi in Vegas because I assume I won't find it unless I'm spending $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

There are 5 reviews at KevinEats.com

I'll give you the short version of my trip.

Decor / service was absurdly phenomenal. We drank a lot of water over the course of the 4.5 hour meal, and there were many bathroom trips. By the end we were making a game to see if we could stealthily walk around in such a fashion that doors were NOT opened for us by the time we got to them. It was tough, but Ryan succeeded.


I think it was the best meal I've ever had in my life (narrowly edging out Joel Robuchon). There was a spoonful of wagyu and caviar that was probably the best single bite of food I've ever had in my life.

The sashimi was all absurd, different cuts of Toro. Lots of Uni was used, and although I hate Uni at most cheap restaurants, it was all amazing. Not too strong.

My only complaint is about the nigiri towards the end. We were asked how hungry we were, and we said we still had a lot of room left. The courses after that point were less interesting. There were about 6 courses in a row with 3 different pieces of nigiri. They were all great individually, but after so many pieces of amber jack, scallop, and things with similar tastes / textures, I was wishing I had soy sauce in front of me, which I feel blasphemous for saying.


Before the nigiri started coming, every course was unique, and flavorful and perfect. So many interesting courses, and none failed.

We sat in a private room, but I wish I was sitting at the bar. Chatting with the chef while watching him do his thing would have been really cool.

Check out the Kevin Eats reviews for awesome pics.

yeah I've read those before and was mostly the reason it was my most anticipated meal. Just wanted a 2+2er's perspective I guess.

This is getting really off-topic I guess, but I would definitely recommend sitting at the bar at Urasawa. The only time I've left there with even the slightest hint of disappointment was when my wife and I ate at the little table just beside the bar (we had a late reservation, and the bar was full when we arrived). Hiro is always willing to chat with the customers, and will often joke around. He's always friendly, unlike sushi chefs at some of LA's other highest quality places.

Would you mind listing a few cheaper steakhouses that are somewhat comparable in your opinion? We're pretty much a maincourse, bottle of wine and split a dessert kind of diners.