East Coast Gambler

I love a good meal, but I like sharing good eats with friends.  As I mentioned last year in a guest blog at Solo Friendly when I travel alone I usually eat more casually.  If I’m hungry, I’ll eat what’s nearby as opposed to planning my meals.

The Palazzo was my home casino so I mostly ate there.  The restaurant with the best variety at the Palazzo/Venetian complex is easily the Grand Lux Cafe.

I had to catch up with a little work when I sat down for my first bite in Las Vegas.  I really just wanted a beer, but I knew I had a full night of drinking ahead of me so I made sure I had something in my stomach.

I was the only person in the bar area and the lone waitress was VERY attentive to me.  She came over about 5 times while I was on a call to take my order.  The fifth time she came over I felt bad for not ordering and just asked for the best burger on the menu because there were so many to choose from.  Of course, no tomatoes please.  Half a beer later this monster came out!

I don’t recall the name and don’t see it on the menu, but it was braised short rib on a bacon cheeseburger.  Whoowee!  This was overload, but it wasn’t bad.  It was very salty and I didn’t finish the whole thing.  Any more I would have gone to my room to nap.

I don’t think I’d ever order anything like this, but it wasn’t bad and I’m happy to have had something different.  Later that evening I started heavy drinking at BNBLV.

For years I’ve told friends that the Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian has the best steak and eggs in Vegas.  I still haven’t found any better.  This is the best breakfast after a night of drinking.

The steak is seasoned pretty heavily with salt and pepper.  Most breakfast steaks are pretty bland.  I think that’s what makes it so good after a night of drinking too much.

After a night of less drinking I tried a more traditional breakfast at Grand Lux of bacon and eggs.  The bacon was nice and crisp and this made for another winner.  4 cups of coffee didn’t hurt.

Sitting “outside” at cafe at the Venetian Grand Lux is a nice place to people watch.  They sit most single diners outside, so it’s not awkward if you’re alone.

Sometimes in Vegas I’ll forget to eat if I don’t have plans.  My last night was a night like that.  I was having a good time at the sportsbook and lost track of time and after a losing session of blackjack I realized that it was late and I was hungry.  I rolled up to the bar at the Grand Lux once again and grabbed another quick bite.

The waiter recommended something that the restaurant was out of so I ended up trying the pot roast.  This was another experiment for me.  I can’t remember the last time I had pot roast.

The pot roast was ready for me in just a few minutes.  It was very pretty to look at and it wasn’t bad at all.  It probably isn’t something I’d order again, but it did the trick and I was back out for some more blackjack in no time.

The food at both the Venetian and the Palazzo Grand Lux Cafe’s were both good.  The breakfast was fantastic.  The service was excellent.  The only “complaint” I had was a waitress trying to serve me while I was on the phone.  That’s not a bad thing.

I ate more meals at the Grand Lux Cafe than anywhere else.  This is a good option to have at a casino in place of the traditional coffee shop.  The Atlantic City casinos could use a restaurant like this.

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Harrah’s has decided that the best way to make money from their customers if for them to grow to a size where they can’t get out of the casino.

Harrah’s is introducing an all-day buffet offer for their Las Vegas properties.  Here are the details.

For just $29.99, visit any of the following buffets, as often as you’d like, within a 24-hour period:

* Carnival World Buffet at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
* Flavors at Harrah’s Las Vegas
* Paradise Garden Buffet at Flamingo Las Vegas
* Emperor’s Buffet at Imperial Palace
* Le Village Buffet at Paris Las Vegas
* Lago Buffet at Caesars Palace
* Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

I don’t eat buffet’s very often and probably won’t take advantage of this offer, but this seems like a pretty good deal if you enjoy them and plan on eating a buffet for more than once in a day.

Prices range from $15 for breakfast to $27 for dinner.  Lunch is priced in the middle.  So, even if you want to only have two meals you should save a few dollars.  If you have more than two meals you can save a few more bucks.  And if you time your feedings right you can rack up the savings by have 4 meals over 2 days.  Note: You may not be able to get out of the casino.

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The Las Vegas Sun published their Top 10 Steakhouses in Las Vegas + 1 honorable mention.  I’ve been to 6 of the 11.  Not too shabby on my part.  I don’t think I’ll ever go to The Steakhouse at Circus Circus, so I won’t get to every steakhouse on this list.  I was planning to stop by at least one of these places on my next trip and it seems as if my choice is confirmed.

Here’s the Top 10

1. Carne Vino
2. Cut
3. Craftsteak
4. Delmonico
5. Stripsteak
6. Prime
7. Nero’s
8. SW
9. N9ne
10. The Steakhouse

Honorable mention: Golden Steer

I’ve linked to my reviews of the places I’ve been since I started ECG.  I’ve also been to N9ne and Delmonico.  Both of which are excellent and very different.  After my last visit to Carne Vino I find it hard to have that #1, but it’s in the running.  If I were in charge of order here I would move SW up, Carne Vino down.

I’ve been considering a couple of steakhouses for my next trip.  CUT and Striphouse (at Planet Hollywood) were under consideration and still are.  Everything I’ve read about CUT has been great, so I don’t think anything will bump that from consideration.  The New York Striphouse is one of the better steaks in NYC.  I’m not tied to that, but I love the vibe and I’m curious to check the Las Vegas location.

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I visited Carne Vino on my spring trip to Las Vegas and had a fantastic steak dinner.  I loved it and spoke so highly of it that my friends wanted a return visit.  I shared this video with people all year around.  Excitement was HIGH.

Our table was in a little room off the main entrance.  The table was a huge square.  The privacy was fantastic, especially when one member of the party gets the giggles.  There was a beautiful chandelier high above the table.

The waiter was fantastic.  He knew the menu very well and was able to answer every question and help guide us on a tour of flavors which was a great tour.

Generally, Carne Vino is an expensive restaurant but I found a way around that this trip.  The table shared an appetizer and  salad.  This worked nicely as we treated the appetizer like the tease it is supposed to be.  The Prosciutto Di Parma and Insalata Romana went very well together.

I was with 5 others and sharing a bottle of wine and appetizers was a great way to start the meal.  The vino may have been the star of the night…but it was time for the main course…

While the wine may have been the star of the meal, but steak should have been the co-star.  Unlike my last time at Carne Vino the steak was not the highlight of the meal.

The steak you see in the video above is the steak that I shared both times I’ve been to Carne Vino – the Dry Aged Bone In Rib Eye.  The steak was cooked a perfect medium and drizzled with sea salt, pepper and olive oil.

Sounds pretty good.  The steak was good.  It just wasn’t great like it was the last time.  The steak was a little dry this time.  When I sit down for a $100/person meal I want perfection.  The rest of the table experimented with non-steak main courses and thoroughly enjoyed everything.  The sides were also very good.

Everyone at the table had enough food and didn’t need or want dessert.  The waiter treated us to some kind of nougat like dessert and an after dinner liquor.  I’m not sure what I was drank, but it was a nice sipping drink and a nice way to cap off a good meal.

Overall, this time a Carne Vino was good – not great.  The service was fantastic and most of dinner was very good, but the main course left a little to be desired.  Having experienced a fantastic meal at Carne Vino before I think I might hold off on a return trip.  There are so many great steakhouses in Las Vegas that there’s no reason to limit myself.  I’d still recommend Carne Vino because the service, atmosphere and most of the food are all fantastic.

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On most trips to Las Vegas I like to take in at least one dinner from a locals type restaurant.  This trip I ended up at Casa Di Amore which had great recommendations on both Yelp and the Las Vegas Trip Advisor Forum.

Casa Di Amore is located about 15 minutes from the strip (on Tropicana) and since I didn’t have a car the offer of a free limo ride was enticing and helped seal the deal for this being a dinner selection.  The limo was an older, (very) worn and essentially an extended town car.  The free ride was nice as my group would have needed two cabs, so we saved a few bucks there.

As we drove up into the strip mall I knew this place was going to either be awesome or awful.  The restaurant was next door too a gun shop, so this kind of set the tone.  I don’t think the insides have been updated in about 30 years and I think that was by design.  The restaurant had photographs of the old Las Vegas casinos and performers.

The photo above is where the 2-man band performed holiday and cover songs.  We were treated to a couple of sets by George Bugatti.  Normally I hate live music when I’m trying to eat, but the volume wasn’t too intrusive and the selections were fun enough not too bother me.

If you couldn’t guess by the name Casa Di Amore is an Italian restaurant.  Everything tasted as if it was made by a friends mother.  For my main course I shared a fantastic Chicken Piccata and Gnocci Bolognese.  Sharing is not only fun, but it’s a good way to sample the flavors and not to overeat – something that happens a bit too often.

Casa Di Amore was a very wholesome type dinner.  It’s another nice off the beaten path Italian restaurant in Vegas.  The last time I went a little out of the way for Italian was to Nora’s, which was phenomenal.  Nora’s is pretty popular and crowded since it’s been featured on the Travel Channel.

If you’ve been there and done that and want another local Italian joint Casa Di Amore is another good option.  The food was very good, but not the best ever.  The decor was nothing fancy, but everything was good and fun.  I’d rate this above average but not great.

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EMI doesn’t allow for embedding of the original “Waking Up In Vegas” video.  I found this remix of Katy Perry’s song on YouTube for this post.  It’s not a great remix, but Katy Perry is still in the video so who can complain?  She’s easy to look at.

I heard this song the other day and thought the subject would make for a fun post.  What do you do when you wake up in Vegas?  I usually do one of a two things…

I’m an early riser no matter what time I go to sleep.  I’m always the first awake no matter who I travel with.

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