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If you have not been to Las Vegas in recent years, you may not believe the changes that have been taking place. Las Vegas has been in the middle of its own makeover, focusing on world-class cuisine and wine lists by attracting some of the world’s best chefs, including Guy Savoy, Mario Batali, Hubert Keller and Thomas Keller. Las Vegas restaurateurs also have attracted an impressive number of Master Sommeliers to pair each course perfectly. Don’t worry if you are looking for something edgier than just a food and wine adventure – Las Vegas keeps all of your senses engaged over the next three perfect days. Day 1 – Setting the Mood Before you get too comfortable in your new surroundings, head off to dinner at Kerry Simon’s Cathouse within the Luxor Hotel and Casino. The restaurant was inspired by 19th century French bordellos, complete with peepholes and adorned with various old-time photos and authentic bordello props. Begin your truly sensual experience with a glass of champagne, and prepare yourself for a feast of flavors. The menu features various aphrodisiacs and small plates, such as oysters or Steak Carpaccio, but do not discount the side dishes, especially the truffle Macaroni and Cheese. Each dish consists of the freshest ingredients available, and the menu changes with each season.
Once you have had your fill at the Cathouse, it is off to New York, New York Hotel and Casino for Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, the first "adult-themed" Cirque du Soleil show, billed as "The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil." The show is intended for mature audiences, and delivers a tour by the “Mistress of Seduction” into the erotic and sometimes taboo with various acts, including the iconic “Water Bowl,” where a young couple looses their innocence by gliding through a glass water bowl while performing an array of acrobatic poses. “Dance on TV” reminds couples that there is more to life than Sunday football on TV, with a steamy way to grab any man’s attention. Zumanity's music is an eclectic mix of rock, classical, urban, tango, and world music influences. It has lush, sensual rhythms, seductive melodies, and provocative lyrics that are not for the faint of heart.
Your day begins with breakfast, Thomas Keller style. Head off to the Venetian Hotel and Casino and into Keller’s Bouchon. Unlike its Yountville namesake, Bouchon is open for breakfast and brunch. Start your day with some classic croissants, brioche, french toast and other breakfast classics that rival any Parisian bistro.
After breakfast, take a short 20 minute drive off the Strip to Silverstone Golf Club. Silverstone Golf Club features three Bob Cupp designed nine-hole golf courses - the Mountain, Valley, and Desert. They feature lush ryegrass fairways and bentgrass greens, and awe-inspiring views of Sheep Mountain. As an added bonus, golfers can play a tenth hole near the clubhouse that comes in handy for settling all those on-course wagers if you're even after regulation play. There also is an on-site golf academy, and the driving range and other practice facilities here are among the best in Las Vegas.
Heading back to the Strip with a healthy appetite, be sure to head back to the Venetian for lunch at Mario Batali’s Enoteca San Marco. Located in the faux outdoors of Piazza San Marco in the Grand Canal Shoppes, Enoteca San Marco’s “sidewalk” patio seating is a perfect spot to simply sit and people-watch. For additional entertainment, the patio seating is located outside one of the performance stages where minstrels, musicians and opera singers perform while you eat and drink authentic Italian food. Be sure to order the Italian small plates, choosing from fried items, meats, cheeses, and vegetables, but leave room for the Margarita D.O.C. pizza or any of the other pastas, pizzas, salads, and entrees.
After lunch, browse and shop through the Venetian Grand Canal Shoppes featuring galleries, jewelry stores and plenty of high fashion designers to satisfy the shop-a-holic in you. Once you finish shopping, take a relaxing ride in an authentic Italian gondola, while the gondolier serenades you with Italian standards. If you aren’t completely shopped out, you can head back to Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile Shops before settling back in your hotel room and getting ready for dinner.
Dinner tonight is at David Burke, in the Venetian. Like most other restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip, David Burke was a huge success in Chicago and New York, before Chef Burke brought his playful and innovative dining style to Las Vegas. Start out with the “crisp & angry” lobster cocktail; this appetizer has intense chili oil and herb flavors that are not for the faint of heart. If spicy is not your thing, then try the day boat sea scallops “Benedict” or the “foie gras two ways” appetizers.
For the main course, Burke continues to play with your preconceived notions of what food should be with dishes like the roasted halibut T-bone and the lobster “steak.” If you are not a fan of seafood, you may want to try the roasted California duck breast or the dry-aged, bone-in New York Strip with shiitake mushrooms and smoked Gouda croquette.
Burke’s signature desserts include a cheesecake lollipop tree, filled with tootsie pop-like lollipops made of cheesecake and encrusted with treats like Heath Bar, chocolate crunch and nuts, and served with bubble gum-flavored whipped cream, which delights your mouth while playing with your mind.
Take a short walk or cab ride over to Treasure Island for Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère (Miss-tair), the first and still one of the best in-house Cirque shows to come to Las Vegas. Be sure to watch out for the pre-show antics of a mischievous character and, whatever you do, do not arrive late to the theatre. The show starts with a heart-pounding opening drum scene evoking wonder and awe. Performances also include a visually artistic Aerial Cube, the adventures of a carefree baby, pole climbers, high-flying acrobats, dancers and other performers that make it impossible to choose a favorite. The 90-minute show transports its audience into a fantasy world and through an array of emotions that can only be described as magnificent journey that must be experienced firsthand. Day 3 As you begin your last day in Las Vegas, head over to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino for a buffet brunch. Much like other restaurants in the Bellagio have redefined Vegas dining, the Bellagio Buffet redefines the culinary experience of a buffet. The Buffet incorporates several live-action cooking stations and some of the freshest ingredients found anywhere. As you go through the buffet lines you may be overwhelmed by the different cuisine options that are available; Italian, Japanese, Chinese, seafood and American fare will satisfy your desire for variety.
Once you have had your fill of the buffet, head to Planet Hollywood Spa by Mandara. The spa boasts an impressive 32,000 square-feet, with over 30 treatment rooms, Jacuzzi baths, a sauna, steam room and fitness center. Some rooms are designed specifically for couples. Be sure to try one of their signature services including the "Ceremony of Love" treatment. This exotic bathing ritual for couples includes your choice of full body, side-by-side massages. For a truly decadent experience, try the Mandara Four Hands Massage. This treatment features two therapists massaging you like a synchronized dance around the body. Using Hawaiian Lomi Lomi and Swedish massage techniques, all your tension and worries seem to evaporate into the fragrant air surrounding you. The spa also offers a full menu of massage services and exotic therapies, plus facials, body wraps, spray tanning, teeth whitening and waxing.
After you have worked up an appetite at the spa, make your way over to Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops for lunch at Sushi Roku. A sister restaurant to its popular Los Angeles locations, Sushi Roku provides a great view of the Strip, while providing a wonderful atmosphere. Even more impressive than the view is Sushi Roku’s ability to provide its patrons a window into the world of traditional sushi while showing its innovative and creative techniques on new world favorites, including yellowtail sashimi with diced chili, tuna Carpaccio with parmesan cheese, arugula greens with soy truffle oil, and foie gras wrapped in yellowtail. For those who do not enjoy sushi, Sushi Roku has a good number of tempura and beef dishes that satisfy anyone’s cravings.
Sushi Roku’s vast wine, sake and beer list is impressive, and offers a wide array of sake by the glass or by the bottle. I recommend trying their sake sampler, which includes Daiginjo, Ginjo and Junmai. They also have a knowledgeable wine steward to help recommend and guide you to a perfect pairings with whatever you order.
Once you have finished lunch, try your hand at the tables or fill the rest of your afternoon with shopping at Caesar’s Forum shops featuring 160 independent boutiques, galleries and main stream shops enticing you with various luxurious items and designer names.
At the end of your shopping excursion, head back to the hotel and change before dining at arguably the best restaurant in Las Vegas: Fleur de Lys at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. If you have had the good fortune of dining at the original Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, you will be surprised and delighted by the differences between the two restaurants. Unlike most chefs who open another restaurant with the same name, Chef Hubert Keller did not try to duplicate the San Francisco menu. Instead, he decided to create a whole new set of original dishes that compliment Las Vegas. The menu changes to reflect seasonal choices from small boutique purveyors that have been handpicked to ensure the highest level of freshness and quality. Diners order from a three-, four-, or five-course tasting menu, with the added delight of choosing various options within each course, including caviar and cheese course selections along with game, fish and a complete vegetarian selection that would satisfy even the toughest carnivore.
Be sure to leave room for dessert that features the ultimate Chocolate Feast. If your idea of complete and utter decadence is death by chocolate, then you cannot pass on this dessert. Although this dessert is big enough to share, consider getting your own. The Chocolate Feast consists of a chocolate brownie, chocolate pot de crème, white and dark chocolate mousse and, to finish, a white chocolate and vodka sorbet.
As your third and final day comes to an end, I can think of only one thing left to do. Recreate the final Las Vegas scene in Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven. Enjoy the water fountain show at the Bellagio, where water fountains, lights and music provide the perfect ending to these three perfect days in Las Vegas. |
