A dozen years ago or so, Las Vegas hotel casinos like New York New York and Treasure Island–with their roller coaster rides and "arrggh matey" themes–took a stab at appealing to a more wholesome revenue stream. But in the past couple years, the Strip has essentially abandoned any pretense of "family friendly."
Now the angle is all about conspicuous consumption. Ferragamo at The Forum Shops. $500 spa treatments at the Bellagio. And the restaurants of internationally known signature chefs at The Wynn.
I can't afford the ankle-strap pumps, and a $150 massage is extravagant even for me. So in the spirit of investigative blogging, I did a little restaurant hopping. After all, a girl's gotta eat.
The MGM Grand is home to two restaurants by Joel Robuchon, one of those intimidatingly fantastic French chefs one reads about in Saveur. We dined in L'atelier de Robuchon, essentially the bar/low rent district of his signature restaurant next do
or. And by low rent, I mean it cost almost $80 each for one "small plate" (smaller than appetizer) and drinks. Yikes!Our waiter at L'atelier, Namid, was very patient in a guide-the-Clampetts-
through-the-intricacies-of-nouvelle-cuisine sort of way. I ordered the chestnut veloute with caramelized foie gras and crispy bacon. And, my god, it was good! The foie gras was earthy and smooth on the tongue, and the chestnut veloute - the foamy stuff - had a complementary, nutty sweetness.
I asked Namid how often Chef Robuchon visits the Las Vegas restaurants, since this is an issue of some contention in the food world. (Steve Wynn has made a marketing angle of the fact that the celebrity chefs at his restaurants are required to live in town.) Robuchon visits about once every two mon
ths. "Does Chef create new dishes in collaboration with the Las Vegas staff, or is he more 'professorial' when he comes into town?" I asked. "Oh, definitely more professorial," Namid responded.We adjourned to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for dessert. A much more rambunctious atmosphere welcomed us there, and we enjoyed after-dinner drinks and a lovely chocolate so
uffle topped off with a warm cream sauce. Tres jolie!Connie had exhorted me via email to dine at Sensi in the Bellagio, and so I stopped in one night for dinner at the restaurant's bar. You can bump into some interesting (in a good way) folks at the bar of a posh restaurant, particularly in a tourist town like Vegas. And you often experience that "six-degrees-of-separation" thing. Chrys and Jim were enjoying a pre-Cirque de Soleil dinner, and it turns out that Jim and I had a connection through my former employer.
I had the Tuna 3 Ways appetizer, which included hamachi with a cool, coconut sauce that was just lovely. And then, based on the bartender's recommendation, I ordered the braised short rib as my entree. "Slow cooked for over 24 hours," John explained in a charming, low voice as if he were admiring the scent of my cologne, rather than describing a tarted-up pot roast. But it was melt-in-your-mouth good, though I probably left two thirds on my plate (a drawback to dining alone - no one with whom to share). And there was that foamy stuff again, which I really didn't feel added much to the party. Must be a chef thing.
Finally, while Las Vegas hotel casinos are home to some of the most exciting (and expensive) dining in the country, the ubiquitous buffet is still a staple in a town that welcomes over 30 million visitors each year (seemingly half of whom zip around on motorized wheelchairs). And normally I would never recommend a buffet, but Gardunos Mexican Cafe in the Palms is an exception. I met friends there for Sunday brunch, which included made-to-order fajitas, enchiladas, cocktail shrimp, fresh guacamole and salsa, and bottomless margaritas. But best of all, Gardunos offers poolside tables - much more pleasant than the typical view of slot machines and gift shops.
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