Vegas on a budget -- somewhat

Recently I made a business trip to Vegas. I was there for 9 full days. My business hotel was the Bellagio and the company did not pay for a rental car. Also, any cab rides (except to/from airport) would have to come out of my pocket. I was on a fixed meal per diem per day.

I did a search of LTH, chowhound, and Las Vegas Advisor for restaurant recommendations. I tried to stay within a budget and I was (mostly) a single diner.

BREAKFASTS

The first was at the Peppermill. I had their corned beef hash. I thought this was good, not great. It had too much hash and not enough CB. It came with 2 very nicely done eggs, sunny side up. I didn’t understand why it was served with 3 very thick cut cucumber slices. This had no impact on what I thought of the hash.

Breakfast at Bouchon was a big disappointment. I had a great seat at their 5th floor outdoor patio (view of one of the pools). And although it was about 9:30 AM and already 100 degrees out, I was quite comfortable in the shade. I was going to order their French toast, but I let the waiter talk me out of it (big mistake).

I had their omelet special, described as ham, cheese and tomato. It included a side of bacon or sausage and Bouchon breadS. It was the breadS that sold me. I had read that their breads were terrific. Oh, I knew I should have changed my order when I didn’t even get my choice of cheese for the omelet. Well this was one of the smallest omelets I have ever seen. It had a little bit of ham and the tomatoes were 2 cheery tomatoes cut in half and served as a garnish. My bacon was not edible. It was served in a tangled mound, rather than as slices. Latter I kicked myself for not complaining, but I don’t often in those situations.

Oh, the Bouchon breadS I was so looking forward too was one slice cut in half. This could have been my fault in understanding the waiter. Actually this one slice was really good. The service was extremely slow, maybe because I am a single diner.

I had breakfast at Café’ Bellagio. I had a VG lobster & crab omelet. It was a nice size. Service was average.

LUNCHES

The Carnegie Deli in the Mirage. WOW. This was one of the best meals I had in Vegas. I had the Woody Allen sandwich. It was $21. But it was HUGE and it had some of the best corned beef and pastrami I have ever had. I took ½ away with me and finished if for dinner. Their sides looked good and their cheesecakes called to me, but I was full.

The 4 people at the next table seemed to have the right idea. They ordered one sandwich and split it. They had 3 sides and 1 huge cheesecake. The menu noted there was a $3 sharing charge. Given the amount of the food I thought this would be worth it.

I tried Fatburger. I had picked up some recommendations on this place and thought it would be a nice economical lunch. There was a couple in line with me from Dallas who also raved about it. However I thought it was garbage, which is where the burger went after 2 bites. I was hungry so I finished the sandwich with just the condiments. Cheap, but YECH!

DINNERS

Mandalay Burger Bar. This was an impressive stop. They have a great selection of beers. Their ‘thing’ is build your own burger. They had a regular beef burger, American Kobe, bison, and veggie. They also had like 25 or more toppings to mix and match. I had the American Kobe which was terrific with a Portobello mushroom. I also had 3 VG beers and a fried garlic pickle appetizer that was terrific. While this was not a cheap meal I would recommend it. Service was excellent.

A friend of a friend who lived his first 30+ years in Chicago and his last 20+ in Vegas agreed to meet me for dinner a couple of times during my stay. He picked me up at my hotel both times.

First night we went to the Golden Steer Steakhouse. He said it was Sinatra’s favorite. It was in a strip mall, but inside it was an old fashioned ambiance type steakhouse, very classic during the 50’s and 60’s. Everything was ala carte. We split a Caesar salad. They made it at your table and used a raw egg in the dressing. I haven’t seen that in a long time. We each had a big sirloin. I wanted to get a baked potato, but they were huge. My friend thought the steak was enough for him. I decided the price was not worth a few bites. This was a very good meal with prices comparable to Chicago steakhouses. Service was excellent.

Another night we went to his favorite Italian restaurant, Roma Deli. I started with a cup of their Pasta Fagioli, which was good. I then had spaghetti and meatballs. While I thought the serving size was good for the price, I was greatly disappointed in the dish. The pasta was overcooked and the meatballs were bland and did not have what I would call a quality meat taste.

Of course I didn’t say anything to my friend but I would rate this place below average. The service was excellent. The owner stopped by and talked to us, he was very friendly with a heavy Italian accent.

I had received a coupon from Harrah’s for their Italian restaurant, Penazzi. I figured with the coupon it was worth a try. I was pleasantly surprised. I started with an average salad. I thought their bread was decent. My main course was Pasta Carbonara with imported bacon. I had to ask. The waiter assured me that it was pancetta from Italy.

This was an excellent dish, very rich, one of the best of this style I have had. Service was efficient, but not fast, but I had told them I was in no hurry. With the coupon it was priced very reasonably. Oh, no one stopped by my table to talk to me about my meal, but I didn’t mind.

D.


Peppermill Restaurant
2985 Las Vegas Blvd

Bouchon Restaurant & Bakery
5th floor Venetian

Café Belagio
Near the conservatory
Belagio

Carnegie Deli
Main floor Mirage

Fatburger
3763 Las Vegas Blvd S.
Near the MGM

Burger Bar
Mandalay Bay

Golden Steer Steakhouse
308 W. Sahara

Roma Deli
5755 Spring Mountain Rd.

Penazzi’s Italian
Harrah’s Casino

Oops forgot to mention one of my favorite stops. Café Gelato in the Bellagio. This was located between my meetings and my room. For 7 days I walked by it at least 3 times per day. My will power to avoid fat laden ice cream was weak on 3 occasions. But WOW, while expensive the selection of ice creams and sorbets was huge and terrific. I had a sample of 2 on each visit and purchased 1 of them each time.

I highly recommend this place.

D.

No trip to LV would be complete without a lunch or dinner at Lotus of Siam.....
Well worth the cab ride.

Thanks for your great report-
I also was very dissapointed in my dining experience at Bouchon, doubly so because I was the one in our group who had chosen it-
While the tower of seafood appetizer we had was perfect, pristine and beyond reproach,
(albeit at towering prices) everything else was so highly salted as to be nearly inedible,
(and I actually LIKE salty food).
I also found their highly touted frites, which someone else ordered and I tried to be no great shakes,
reminding me of expensive McDonalds as much as anything else...
also for me their offerings were very out of sync with the season at the time we were there.
Very heavy and winterish, and we were there in early September...
Ah well..

The true surprise gem for me was the Italian restaurant at the Hilton
I think it was called Andiamo, where we just had apps one night before a show-
fabulous service fabulous food.
Proscuitto, fruit, breadsticks, sounds simple, but incredible quality, presentation, and service.

Thanks for the report dodger! We're headed back out to las vegas in september, staying at the mandalay bay for 4 nights, and will have a rental car. We're just starting to think about places to hit this trip, so your post came at a great time.

mhill95149, you are probably right. My pre-trip research indicated that LoS was a true gem. My search produced a lot of places I would have liked to go, but given circumstances and budget I had to make some choices.

I obviously did not comment on every meal I had over the 9+ days, as I didn’t think LTH’ers would have found them relevant.

D.

Gleam, if you get downtown on Fremont street, consider Hugo's in the cellar of the 4 Queens.
We had a wonderful old school romantic dinner there that was the standout of our trip.
Roses for the ladies, tableside salad service,
chocolate dipped fruit to finish, and coffee brewed in some kind of interesting science-fair inspired creation.
While the dinner price seems on the higher side everything is included except an appetizer,
so it's actually a nice value.
While the apps sounded good, the portions were so generous that for us, none was really necessary.
I would go back in a heartbeat, but it was very "old school".
Duck a L'Orange (GREAT duck, BTW)
Filet Mignon Oscar topped w/ crab and hollandaise, YUM
We also had a superb Pinot Noir- their wine sommelier was wonderful in helping us pick out something exactly to our taste and budget.

If you are looking for a more cutting edge experience, this isn't it.
But if you want an evening that makes you think ol' Blue eyes might be around the corner....
ahhhh......

http://www.hugoscellar.com/
Four Queens Casino Hotel
202 Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
(702) 385-4011

In that Vegas 'somewhat budget' category, IMO would include Rosemary's Restaurant:

http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/

And...there is a continuing lunch promotion, 3 courses for $23. Print out the coupon from the website. Quality & value abounds.

jnm123 wrote:In that Vegas 'somewhat budget' category, IMO would include Rosemary's Restaurant:

http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/

And...there is a continuing lunch promotion, 3 courses for $23. Print out the coupon from the website. Quality & value abounds.

Thanks. Rosemary's for lunch was definitely on the list.. hopefully we make it there.

Gleam---

Been to Rosemary's twice for lunch, never for dinner. Think the lunch provides a better value. Highlight was the starter course 'Hugo’s Texas BBQ Shrimp with Maytag Blue Cheese Coleslaw'. Sounds kinda weird but trust me, the flavors match perfectly.

Just returned from Vegas and, as usual, two of my three breakfasts consisted of donuts from the Donut House, which is located in a strip mall on the corner of Paradise and Flamingo. Delicious custard filled bismarcks, or as I call them Boston Creams. Paired with a crisp on the outside, soft on the inside blueberry cake donut one day and a melt-in-your-mouth glaze donut the other, this place makes me sad about the dearth of a good, basic donut shop on the North side of Chicago.

Las Vegas Donut House
4080 Paradise Road
Las Vegas - (702) 794-0411

Since moving to San Diego I've been to Vegas numerous times for work/fun.

My recent trip brought be to two places. One which I wont name due to the embarrassing service. The other was CUT in Palazzo (Venetian second building).

I often stay at the Venetian/Palazzo and rarely eat there. This time I was too tired to leave and sat down for a good steak dinner. It was exactly that. Our service was great. It all started with a warm greeting and a formal introduction to our table. That simple gesture lead to a great overall experience. After being seated we were offered drinks and some quick crackers (quite messy but delicious). They then brought out the tray of steaks carried that night as a demo (similar to Morton's demo when you sit down explaining each steak) T .I quickly found out that our waiter had been a chef for 20+ years and spent a good amount of that time running culinary operations at Caesars before being laid off. He took genuine interest in my past as a cook and it felt great to feel on the same page as a waiter and not just one thats being pampered for a tip.

I ordered a 16 oz. bone-in NY while my friend ordered the Short Ribs. The NY was GREAT and I've had steaks ranging from Morton's to David Burke's Primehouse to Custom House. For a mere $56 I was presented with a steak that appeared to have eaten a small horse and tasted better than caviar. I let our waiter choose my sauce and side a la carte and was happy to hear that he chose what I would've anyway. The sauce turned out to be a peppercorn sauce which was good, but I didn't even eat since the steak was great alone. The side was a basket of frites which would have me eating until this very moment if they were bottomless. I was able to try my friends Indian 5-spiced short ribs and was almost as impressed. The flavor was a bit 'fragrant' to me, but I know that's how they were to be made and one reason I wouldn't order them. Not a bad thing, simply a difference in taste.

Along with our entrees was a bread service that rivals the best. With a choice of 4-5 breads I chose Focaccia and Pretzel bread. The Focaccia was mind blowing. Atop the bread were caramelized onions which packed a flavor as if they were glazed in a reduced flavor concoction. I could have eaten that by itself and been a happy man. After slowly peeling my away from the bread I was able to eat my meal and finish a great night.

Before leaving we were presented with a small plate of 'parting gifts'. On the plate were two meyer lemon meringue tarts and cashew/caramel bars. Each were great and the caramel bars were even dusted with a himalayan salt.

Again I can't say enough about our experience. If you're open to a decently priced meal ($100+ including 3 course) try CUT by Wolfgang Puck.