yes- was all set to post this morning, but I forgot to re-size it & don't have a program to do it @ work... grr....

Has anyone eaten @ Daniel Boulud?

Here is the 'slot machine cake'.. although the picture really doesn't do it justice.... I loved how the third reel was still 'moving'. Since I didn't know they were doing that, I was SO surprised...

What was also nice about the staff at Bartolottas is that they knew a control freak when they saw one... I showed up 1/2 an hour early to put things on the table & see the cake and they couldn't have been more helpful.



We just made our Christmas reservations.... We couldn't decide between going back to Guy Savoy for the 4th (!) time or Alex, so we decided to be gluttons and do both... Alex TR to follow.

stack at the Mirage is REALLY good... Hot rocks are ****ing kick ass.

Re: Corkage, thankfully most of the restaurants that matter are either in the burbs or on the strip and not in the city proper.

I go out to eat like 2.5x as often now that I bring my own booze most of the time. Such a huge cost saver.

I'm heading out to Vegas this weekend and we're currently discussing restaurant options. I'm really pushing for the group to eat Sushi, but the girls aren't a fan of raw fish. What alternatives are there for the girls if they decide to come eat with us at Nobu and don't want to pay too much?

I'm looking at the $100 Omakase Sampler Meal btw.

We tried to coordinate a wine tasting last year with Mike L but hit a brick wall at the restaurants we called on the strip - likely because of the number of bottles we were bringing but the excuse was the legality.

Ate at Delmonicos last night once again with some 2+2 friends. As usual it was good, but not stellar. One of the guests had the Gumbo which he said was lacking any "bam!", I had the lamb which was good but overpriced for the serving size. The chicken was good but not incredible and the steak was average-great. I also had the butternut ravili with pulled duck which was interesting and I would order it again but I've had better presentations. The potatoes au gratin werent as good as they were last time I was there.


Delmonicos not my favorite option, I keep finding better spots for price to performance for similar cusine. I still havent tried Emril's other places such as Table 10, anyone have any feedback? I should say however that the staff is fantastic, the crew is really outstanding. The waitor told us a story about the gumbo, they used to make it with steak cuttings until Emril put a stop to that, Gumbo does not have steak in it, period.

Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at MGM is awful. Maybe the worst meal I've ever eaten in a sit-down restaurant in a Vegas casino. I had the gumbo you're referring to there, I think. It was completely tasteless. It actually felt like eating unseasoned oatmeal it was so bland and homogeneous. I don't remember what I had as an entree but I remember it was unremarkable. The waiter was this scrawny kid who couldn't have been over 19 who said "Bam" every time he put anything on the table. Water- "BAM." Bread- "BAM" Soup- "BAM" Entrees- 1 "BAM" per person. I was really excited for him to deliver the check with a "BAM" too, but sadly he didn't pull the trigger.

I haven't tried Delmonico's or Table 10. It seems to be pretty much consensus that there are much better steakhouses than Delmonico for the same price and given that and my experience at Emeril's and his awful tv show/persona I've never wanted to try Table 10. To be fair, I just looked at the menu (http://www.emerils.com/restaurant/11...10/dinner-menu) and if that stuff is executed well it looks like food I'd love. If any Table 10 fans want to set me straight, I'd be very happy to hear that its good.

Agree that Emeril's Fish House sucks.

Table 10 is one of the better qualityrice places on the strip. It's essentially cheap compared to most places and the food is very good.

Delmonico's food is, to me, essentially the same as most of the steakhouses in town. What sets it apart is service that is better than the others. Frankly, I get a great meal at all of the places listed here: Prime, N9NE, Craftsteak, SW, etc. I do not get the same consistency of superior service at the other places that exists in Delmonico.

Plus, their corkage is a mere $20 a bottle and frequently gets waived.

To those that have been to both:

Please advise:

Cut or Carnevino.... I can't decide....

I have been to table 10 and iirc the service was very good. The food doesn't stand out in my mind, so I'm thinking it was good but not great, however I am not into a lot of the food on the menu, so might have just not been my type of food. I'd definitely say its worth a try if the food interests you. Also they have bar-type(one long counter/bar top facing the kitchen) seating next to the kitchen where you can see everything that is being cooked, if your gonna go I'd suggest reserving seats at that table.


need help:

I got family coming into town this week, and my sister is a vegan(no animal products whatsoever). Does anyone know of higher end restaurants that offer a vegan dish or two? Only stuff I came up with was some asian places that have tofu and vegetable dishes. couldn't find a single steakhouse with a vegan dish other than a veggie side dish, even the salads on their menus would have to be changed. or maybe more importantly than finding a place with vegan dishes on the menu, can anyone recommend a place where the staff is very open to changing menu items to suit the customer?

I've had excellent service every time I have been to Prime. Plus their patio where you can go afterwards for drinks/dessert is the best place to watch the Bellagio fountains. IMO I think I'd choose Prime if I was going out to dinner with 1 or 2 others, but Craftsteak for a larger group. I've gone to Craftsteak with a group of 10 and I still thought the food/service was very good, I just think Prime has a bit more intimate atmosphere.

I have been to N9NE and while the atmosphere was a lot different, in terms of the steak I thought it was definitely lacking. for me if I go to a steakhouse I am going for the food, not for the atmosphere.

SO no mention of it in this thread so maybe its not considered "fine" dining. However, my girl and I hit up Nove Italiano in the Palms not to long ago and enjoyed it alot. Its on like the 60th floor or something so we had great views and its a cool atmosphere. Our waitor was awesome too. We had an appetizer, 2 entrees ( I think I got either Veal or Chicken Parm and it was really good and alot of food too), and we also had a couple of their Patron grapefruit drinks that were tasty. We passed on desert. Also, after you eat you can walk right into the Playboy Club too without waiting in line or paying cover. I think I spent somewhere between $100 to $120 for two. Heres a link: http://www.n9negroup.com/#/nove/main/

Carnevino by a mile, unless its too expensive your budget then switch to Cut. Carnevino's $400 truffle tasting is sick, I am tempted my my lady friend is out of work and I would feel horrible spending money like that when she has no income.

Nove is just average Itallian-Ameriucan fare, nothing special, I've eaten there twice and although the meals werent bad, they werent anything to write home about. The staff is poor, no knowlege of the food preparation or the wines on the menu, the waiter even apologized for the chef's ridiculously large portions (she said the owners are in a huge argument with the chef and he refuses to alter the menu or his serving sizes). Its still worth the visit for the view alone, the best feature of this place is the decour and the view by far.

I find the service at Craftsteak as good, if not just slightly better than Delmonicos. I cant compare the food, its a different experience IMHO. Although I am not a fan, I understand why many others live Delmonicos, its just not my ideal choice.

Yeah, well I said that its prob not considered "fine" dining but thought I would post a TR since no one had mentioned it and some people are probably intersted in some cheaper options as well. I was also staying at the Palms Place and had some comped food credit at any Palmsr restaurant. I'll def hit up N9ne next time I stay there.

just booked my reservation at Prime for jan 3rd. a little disappointing there is no wine list on the website.

Thanks, TT... you said the magic word..truffles... mmmm

maybe your lady friend needs a good dinner as a little 'pick me up'

Corkage list, though some of it is out of date.

http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/ctable.cfm?id=13

I'm really surprised at the complaints about the Emeril restaurants here. The one time I've been to the Fish House in MGM it was exceptional, granted it was one time and we didn't have a waiter BAMming us every time he came to the table. But the food was incredible and the service was great. Also ate at Delmonicos last week for the 1st time and had a great meal there too. Service, as has been mentioned here, was also exceptional. In both cases I had specials of the day for my meal (tasting menu at the Fish house, and a bone-in filet at Delmonicos.) My wife ordered off the regular menu both times and also loved both meals. Haven't been to Craftsteak, Prime or N9ne, but Emerils two places are right up there wiht the best I've had in Las Vegas. Wife was also very impressed by the wine list at Delmonicos. She's very much into wine and would be able to appreciate such a list.

In addition to being impressive, the wine list at Delmonico is probably the most fairly priced of any restaurant in Vegas.

Took my GF to Michael Mina's in Bellagio for her birthday last night. I'm a red-clay hick and thus do not know much about high-end dining. Seemed very much the stereotype of the fancy-schmancy food-as-art place - ambiance not to impressive and a relaxed dress code, but great service, tiny, artfully arranged menu, small portions of very high quality food, etc.

Started our meal with one of those wacky 'hi, here's something wacky the chef whipped up and we hope you enjoy it' bits, a truffle-cream-and-mushroom soup that's one of the greatest things I've ever put in my mouth. From there we shared a mixed-greens salad featuring lots of beets and lots of red lettuces, two of my favorite rabbit foods, and a trio appetizer consisting of three arty scallops. One was chopped and bathed in a spicy cream sauce of something my GF recognized but I didn't - very tasty, with a complex burn that got steadily hotter as you ate. The second was whole in some kind of lemon-butter sauce and the third was, if you can believe it, a 'dessert' scallop, covered in sweet crumbs, golden raisins, sliced grapes and raspberry sauce. Wild. All were good, even the last, though we felt it was the least successful of the three, maybe just b/c we got to it last and it got tough, but a dessert scallop is obv not the most intuitive creation.

From there, main courses. I had one of the featured themed trios, the 'American 'Kobe' Ribeye and Potatoes.' This turned out to be three slider-sized slices of rare beef in three subtly different au jus sauces, served with their own miniature potato dish. I would describe myself as reluctantly delighted with the dish. One can't help but feel as though someone is pulling a gag on you when you're served a tiny saucepan of creamed potatoes and six steak fries in a tiny cup with sauce, but the flavors get you over it in a hurry. My GF's rack of lamb and mixed vegetables was less of a production and similarly excellent.

Having not dined at this sort of establishment in quite a while I was a little surprised at the portion sizes - without the outstanding bread cart this wouldn't be a filling meal for an average appetite, but as it was we ended up declining dessert in favor of dessert drinks - a 20 yo tawny port which was just short of outstanding and a coffee and Bailey's which was what it was.

Not an experience I'm accustomed to, but the price ($150/per, two courses, + $100 wine which was one of their less expensive options) seemed a shade high even for this sort of thing. Not somewhere I'd dine frequently even as a baller, but a very enjoyable experience that I would recommend trying for sure if you've got the mobnies.

You are probably more of an expert at this than I am, but I had exactly the opposite impression. I saw generic, everyday wines for 150 a bottle and don't think I saw a single option under 100.

I ate at CUT the night before and it was much more reasonable.