Las Vegas Eats.

Vegas is famous not just for the fun and sights, but really -for its gourmet food. I had a list going to Vegas of the places we need to see but most importantly, we set aside a budget for good food. Although on the first night that we arrived we decided we'd go to the Buffet at MGM but the line up was enough for us to say - no, we ended up in their casual restaurant called Rainforest Cafe.

You've seen the appies in the earlier pictures and I think B got himself a burger but devoured it fast enough that it did not merit having a snap shot taken. lol. I though, had a chance to showcase my food - Cajun Seafood and Steak as seen here. The skewered shrimp were awesome and so was my 6oz medium well steak! :) The sides were like a vegetable salad trying to be a slaw of some sort. It was good - but not worth raving about.

The next day was breakfast at the MGM Buffet. Unfortunately, there were no pictures of that here as it was a disappointment. I guess we expected more for its price tag. Service though was good but food is not worth the cost we paid, let's just put it that way. Since it was a big breakkie, we did not really had a big lunch, I think we just had sandwiches and Auntie Anne's Pretzel for that. Dinner though was great at the Enoteca San Marco by Mario Batali at the Venetian.

The 'tower' that you see houses their own smoked meat and cheeses. Too bad we can't zoom in as we were seated at the bar area but the big assortment of their own ingredients is very impressive! Service was great and unpretentious. The servers were true-blooded Italians who would speak to us sometimes in Italian and then get embarrassed when we answer back in English. lol They were a young bunch though thus, very energetic as the place is hopping! We were given breadsticks while they prepared our antipasti - which was a trio of cheeses. Now, my loving husband does NOT like soft cheese. But, our Italian server who sensed B's hesitation on the cheese, was very kind to suggest what would be good Italian cheese to start with - that B might even like. Truth be told, I don't even remember them now as the names were all in Italian but they were very good even for B who was dang scared to try 'other' types cheese. In fact, it was too good that this is the remnant of them all. (We finished it too hahahaha). Also, if you notice, to the right side of the picture is a small plate with some kind of a sauce - they actually try to make the dining experience great by making the clients sample their new concoctions. We tried three different types of dipping sauce (1) was a cranberry with some herbs (2) honey dipped with some pickled pears (I think) and (3) is the one that you barely see in here - it's a sauce with truffle essence; All of it were great and they asked us later which one is our favourite. Well, I guess the first one that we finished right away must be the winner, right?

For his entree, B chose a safe one: Sausage and pepper pizza. And, wow is it ever so yummy! It's pretty simple but heck, it was great for a thin crust pizza. It's flavourful and good to the last bite.

While I, had pasta in seafood again. This time, it's mussels and tomatoes. The pasta is fresh (not pasty) and truly al dente. I wondered how it became so tasty without much of a 'sauce'. It was not a white nor a red sauce - but it was sooooo good! Could it be the juice of the mussels that made it all taste yummy? Maybe it's the prosecco I drank with it? lol

We capped the night with a gelato but you know what a gelato looks like, right? :)

The following day is a day dedicated to shopping - so most of it were spent in the Fashion Outlet Mall where we ate mostly mall (fast) food. I don't even remember what I ate - but hubby sure missed the Chinese food so ate ginger beef and some stir fry. And, our dessert was Jugo Juice and Dippin Dots. Funny story on dippin' dots - B did not know what that was! lol He thought it was a decoration of some sort and was waiting for the scoops of ice cream. I asked him to taste the dots and was suprised that it melted like ice cream in his mouth. hahaha

Dinner for this night (3rd night) was at Hawaiian Tropic zone in Planet Hollywood. Originally, we were going to Pampas (Brazilian restaurant) but the place was too crowded and the wait time is half an hour. We were both hungry so we decided to switch joints and ended up in the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. So, yes, we went to a classier place than Hooters because at least, even if the girls were were 2 piece they were covered enough to serve food decently. Am I a good wife or what??? :) What surprised us both though was the impeccable service in this restaurant and awesome food of Chef David Burke! Truly, we were not expecting too much from it (since hello, girls are barely clad in high heels what would you expect? - We were thinking bar food but we were flabbergasted because the meals were really good!

We both had the Market Salad which is a combination of greens with warm bacon, walnuts, pears, cherry tomatoes and chevre. To think, B does NOT eat goat cheese!!! Yes, he liked it - and really if that's all we're going to eat - that's good enough for me. It was so darn good, I swear, nothing was left on the bowl! lol

Hubby had roasted chicken while I had teriyaki salmon. Notice how he's always getting the safe food while I can experiment? ;) For dessert, B had apple tart while I had the flourless souflee cake. Too bad we did not bring our camera for that night - it would have been a nice gallery of great food!The following day was our last night in Vegas so we lazied up in the pool. We had a quick breakfast then stayed for 5 hours in the lazy river with our inner tubes. Some long island teas quenched our thirst and lunch was at the Cabana Grill. As we are not in the mood for rabbit food, we indulged instead in their Special of the Day which was a Cabana Burger. This is my food while B had the exact burger but he had kettle chips for sides.

Dinner for us then was at Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill at the MGM Grand. We had dinner reservations at 7pm so we have tons of time to eat before we go watch Ka at 9:30pm. Right across the restaurant actually is the KA Theatre.

Wolfgang Puck's restaurant was great! Among the three major celebrity chef-run restaurants, I'd say the food we had at Wolfgang's was the best. Next was Chef Burke's at Hawaiian Tropics and lastly, was Mario Batali's. Here's what we had. First we were served a basket of warm bread (that's laden with slivered olives) and butter. I ended up eating most of it as you guessed, it B does NOT like olives. Our appetizer was a platter of meat and soft cheese (buratta) which B loved.

Here is me waiting for our entree...

And B posing for the camera....

B's food is roasted organic chicken with fresh veggies. Notice how he had the same kind of stuff from our last dinner at HTZ???? However, he was all praises on the way the food is cooked - and again, something like a normal roasted chicken tastes very special!

And my choice has also been pretty consistent. This time, it's a striped bass with mango puree paired with California Chardonnay.

Desserts were also fascinating! Hubby ordered Banana Toffee (Banofee) sort of a pie which he swears is the best!

Lastly, my chocolate souflee with vanilla bean ice cream.

We had an awesome time at Wolfgang Puck's. Finally, our last meal in Vegas was a lunch buffet at the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood. We did not try the Bellagio Buffet which is the next contender but we both loved this place for variety and freshness and crepes! ;)

So there you go, the lowdown on the places we've eaten on the Strip! If you are planning to go to Vegas, we hope the stories would help you a bit.