Ron and I went to Las Vegas for a mid winter getaway. We escaped for four nights and five days of fun in Sin City. Luckily we had no delays in our flights either way - a mini miracle in the UP. We departed on the (god forsaken) early flight and got to the Houghton County airport at about 5:00 AM. With the time change, we got to Vegas at 9:45 AM, with the whole day (Thursday) ahead of us.
We took the courtesy shuttle to the hotel and after the uneventful check in process at the palatial Palazzo hotel, we hit the casino for a bit. The Palazzo and it's sister hotel/casino, the Venetian, are absolutely beautiful places, the top tier on the Strip currently. The resort is the 2nd largest hotel in the world and is just massive. Any thoughts I had of heels were just turned into simply wasted space in my suitcase. As the name states, the resort is modeled after landmarks in Venice, although, the current decor in the grand lobby and atrium area are Asian themed.
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| Atrium at the Palazzo, Jan 2018 |
Lunch was at the Gand Lux Cafe, which was quite nice. They had a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu at reasonable prices. I had a salad, soup and sandwich combo (chicken salad sandwich, creamy chicken and mushroom soup and a garden salad) and Ron had a margarita pizza and salad. A decent lunch for about $25 for the two of us. We also had brunch here on our third day.
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| Ron at the Grand Lux Cafe |
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Our First Meal in Vegas
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I had made reservations at several restaurants and also booked four shows, prior to our arrival. I wanted to make sure we had a tentative, if not definite 'plan' so we didn't sit in the casinos all day - ha. We saw Cirque de Soleil,
Love (a Beatles version of Cirque, at the Mirage), Purple Reign (a Prince tribute show, at the Tropicana), David Copperfield at MGM and Rich Little (yes, he lives!), also at the Tropicana. All fun and all different.
We went up to Fremont Street one of our days. We took the city bus to get away from the glitz of the Strip for a bit. It is so different; so much more laid back and relaxed. You get the feel of the old days; like we stepped back into the 1950s or 60's. We ate at a restaurant in the Four Queens that we had been to about 25 years ago, on our first trip to Vegas. I got a major case of deja vu. The food was fine, I had a grilled cheese and fries and Ron had a burger. I remember vividly when my Grandma and Grandpa were telling Ron and I all about where to go and what to do in Vegas, as they went there every couple of years. They used to stay at the Westward Ho!, which was closed in 2005 and then demolished. Nothing has been resurrected on the property yet.
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| Stepping back in time at the Four Queens |
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| Ron on Fremont Street |
We hit all the hot spots on the Strip: MGM, Cosmopolitan, Mirage,
Bellagio, New York, NY and the Paris, the place where we had an
absolutely spectacular meal at Gordon Ramsey - Steak. I booked the
reservation on Open Table (which is a great resource - I would recommend
to anyone traveling). We arrived about 10 minutes early and we were
seated right away, even tough the restaurant was quite busy. It was
Saturday night at 9:15 PM and we were brought to a nice table for 2, I
was on a banquette and Ron across from me. There was a lovely tasting
menu offered, for $150 per diner, but we decided to go a la carte. The
tasting menu was from Gordon Ramsey's other chain, Hell's Kitchen; I'd
love to do something like this option in the future, and it also gave me
some good ideas for the Miscowaubik Club,
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| Hell's Kitchen Tasting Menu, Jan 2018 |
For our first course, Ron had a green
salad and I had the most amazing asparagus soup. it was made with white
and green asparagus and lump crab meat and herbs. When the waiter
served me, he placed a bowl in front on me with a bunch of crab in the
bottom center. To my naive confusion I wondered what the heck it was.
Then, he presented two small aluminum pitchers which he had in his other
hand and skillfully poured the contents to my bowl, covering the crab
meat, and creating two solid semicircles of color with the white and
green purees. He then topped the soup with additional greens and yummy
things. It was beautiful and delicious. Oh yes, the bread! There were
four types of unique savory choices. One was lemony, one a black
mushroom roll, one with truffle oil herbs and the last a almond infused
artisan slice. Bread is always my weakness.
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| First Course |
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| Close up of the Breads |
Our server brought a meat rack over to us
as we were making our entree selections. A bit pretentious, perhaps,
but fun. I ordered the Filet and Ron the Bone-in Ribeye. There were so
many wonderful choices; I included a portion of the menu for you all to
look at. We shared a side of creamed spinach with panchetta and
Parmesan. It was a lovely meal all around. The steaks were both
perfectly cooked, our server was very friendly and attentive. We were
approached twice by two different managers while dining. I am not sure
why, actually. Maybe because of Open Table? I did give them high
ratings in my review. Well worth it. Foodie Mama recommends Gordon
Ramsey - Steak! I see he is opening a new Hell's Kitchen in Cesar's
Palace this month also. I'm sure it will be a good choice as well.
Oh, we lost our arses in the casinos, but it was still slots -o - fun....
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| Entree Choices. |
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| Gordon Ramsey - Steak. Partial Menu |
