is the nine still any good?

N9NE is still a very good steakhouse. Easily top 10 in Vegas.

Hey, I got a bit of a problem. Staying with a friend who's a vegetarian (ugh).

He does eat cheese/eggs but no fish or any other dead animals. Not sure why, as they are tasty, but he has his reasons.

Any recommendations for veggetarian-friendly restaurants? And if possible, not on the Italian-side.

Indian food always has flavorful vegetarian options.

More specific? I've been to the one at the Rio. Any other recommendations for Indian?

Sage at Aria has a whole section of the menu of vegetarian options.

Mint Indian Bistro is an excellent spot. Definitely blows away the Rio's.

I mean Thai always has vegetarian options so you could go to Lotus as well

Tonight I had th displeasure of dining at 'Batista's fine Italian dining'. It definitely was not. Some people I know from outside of poker who were on vacation highly recommended it, which in hindsight is hilariously unbelievable. It was the worst restaurant ever. I was actually laughing through the whole dinner to the embarassment of our group's token ****. From the hobbling ******ed man who went table to table begging for tips after playing what barely resembled music on his busted up accordian, to the trash style decor that was draped off hooks in the ceiling.... It could almost pass for modern art as the quintessential bad american/Italian **** hole.

It was almost worth going to just for comedic value.

I think we should divide this thread into 2 camps or whatever since there seems to be a big difference of what most americans consider fine dining and what the rest of us think. I mean, to have a standard semiflavoured steak with something standard as mashed potatoes couldnt be considered fine dining. Sometimes thou you just feel like eating a big steak (me included) but if it is very basic then its impossible to call it fine dining.

But with that said, it is still nice to get tips from decent resturants etc since if you are planning on staying here for 2 weeks+ then most of us will not go eat the Joel Robuchon-3michelinstar-resturant on a daily basis.

So it should be like; Nice resturants and then fine dining (more interesting flavours etc). Aiight ?

Anyways, anyone that tried Mario Batali's (Iron Chef) resturant in venetian/pallazzo?

Tried Michael Mina tonight. Service and presentation were both a 10 out of 10 and the food was 9 out of 10 (I don't think I've ever eaten anywhere that I can say the food was a 10 out of 10 btw). The cookbook tasting was the nuts and the wifey had the pre-theater tasting since we ate at 6PM which was worth well beyond the $60 for her three courses. I highly recommend!

Had the 16-course tasting at Joel Robuchon recently. The food was very good but only one course (morels with ravioli) was truly amazing. The inedible garnishes were extreme, at times slightly tacky (a dried starfish was used, and a whole inedible quail egg in a paper nest), but that's a personal pet peeve.

However, the wine pairing was stellar and made the food a lot better than it would have otherwise been-- and that was the cheapest wine pairing at $295 a person. I particularly enjoyed the white burgundy and Quebec apple ice wine for desert-- pairings were playful and quirky.

Service was excellent, until, toward the end of the meal I ran out of water a few times and had to track someone down. Perhaps that sounds needy, but at $1700 for two I feel I shouldn't have to ask for more water! Until that time, service was actually my favorite of any restaurant-- formal but still friendly and warm.

All in all a nice experience but not as excellent as the price tag merits. At that price, I wouldn't go back.

cool tr, i doubt any meal is worth $850/head

Carnevino, B&B, and Enoteca San Marco. Mentioned quite often ITT.

Thanks, and good point.

WHAT THE HELL. I had to ask for more water, too, as well as cream for my g.d. tea.

I totally agree. The food was good, but the service was serious garbage for the price I was paying. I would not return either. In fact, for a honeymoon dinner my husband and I returned to Guy Savoy for a second time instead of chancing it at Robuchon, a place he had not dined before.

Resting on their laurels if you ask me. Also makes me incredibly sad Bar Charlie closed.

I believe he has three restaurants in the Venetian and Palazzo. Do you mean Carnevino?

It's more about price than quality, cause only the former isn't arguable. So a basic 100$ steak does qualify as fine dining in this thread.

FWIW, I've eaten at both Joel Robuchon (16 course), and Guy Savoy. They are two of the best meals I've had in Vegas, with Robuchon probably being the best meal I've had in Vegas.

Guy Savoy was a bit hit or miss. Everything was good at a minimum obviously, but only one dish stood out as absolutely amazing (the Vanilla Sea Bass). At JR, however, 8 of the 16 dishes tasted like something I had never had before, and were all excellent. Screw the naysayers. JR is worth the $400 a head or whatever.

Here's a question...what's a price you wouldn't pay for a meal, even if it was a Robuchon great meal, or even better. What is too much for a meal, even if it is the best meal you'll ever eat?

FleurBurger 5000 at Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay
We start with one of the most extravagant burgers on the strip, the FleurBurger 5000. Created by Chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay, this gastronomic jackpot burger costs a whopping $5,000. What makes this so deliciously costly? Lets start with the Kobe burger topped with Fois Gras and black truffle served on a brioche truffle bun. Then, Chef Keller garnishes it with a special sauce consisting of more truffles. That’s not all. You also get a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1995 poured in Ichendorf Brunello stemware, exclusively imported from Italy. And the best part? The Fleur de Lys team will ship the glasses to your home at no additional charge. It’s a total steal!

http://www.hauteliving.com/2010/01/t...-in-las-vegas/

That is sure something I would not pay. Not even as a billionaire.

Do they still have the "homemade cappuccino" that tastes like Nestle's instant hot chocolate?

What time of the year did you eat there? Maybe it is a seasonal issue--I ate there on 6/27 and they were still serving the Spring menu, which seemed slightly odd.

I used to like this place for a cheap meal but I've been realizing that their prices go up every year. I would never consider it fine dining but I did consider it a decent meal for a good price at <$20 on an avg. plate. Not anymore though, and I'd rather spend a little more per person on a great meal somewhere else.

And often the mashed potatoes aren't just plain ole mashed potatoes but some sort of horseradish/garlic froo-froo mashed potatoes. The mac&cheese @ SW was 'truffle' mac&cheese and was $16 for a little crock of it. Sofa king good.