I took a quick, last minute trip to Las Vegas last week. Cliff was there for a whole week for work, so I thought I’d meet him and take advantage of the free room. Cliff was staying at the MGM Signature Suites in a 2 bedroom suite. He really enjoyed this hotel but it was a little hike to the main part of the strip. It is connected to MGM though. It was definitely a quick trip; I left Friday morning and was home late Saturday night. Originally, Cliff was supposed to work most of the day on Friday but we lucked out and he was off all day. Cliff pretty much just wanted to lounge by the pool all weekend but I am incapable of lounging when there is so much food to eat. So we compromised; he sat at the pool while I hit up some bakeries.
I have a love/hate relationship with Vegas. Actually more hate than love. I don’t drink, gamble, or “go clubbing.” Which I think are the top 3 reasons people go to Las Vegas. I hate the crowds and I hate how hard it is to find an exit in the casinos and shopping areas. They really trap you in there. I do love all the food though. Las Vegas is a great city for eating. I like eating my way through all of the hotels. In my 30 or so hours in Vegas I ate at MGM, Aria, Cosmo, and the Venetian.
After I got to the hotel we laid out at the pool for awhile, but I was quickly growing very hungry. We decided to head to Aria to eat lunch. However, on the way there we saw a very large group of people lining up near the garden(arena) at MGM. Turns out it was the Mayweather-Maidana weigh in. We were able to get through security and see the ring. The actual weigh in wasn’t taking places for a couple more hours so we left pretty quick.
The first meal we had was at Lemon Grass at Aria. I really like Aria because there just aren’t as many weirdos around as other parts of the strip. Plus it smells really good. We knew we were going to a buffet for dinner so we just wanted something small for a snack. I had shrimp satay with cucumber salad and Cliff got beef pho. It was the perfect meal for us. Really tasty and not too heavy.
After lunch Cliff and I split up. He went back to the pool and I went on a little bakery tour. I stopped at Jean Philippe Patisserie at Aria first. I went there everyday the last time we were in Vegas. They have cute little cakes and pastries and gelato. I definitely recommend it. Afterwards, I had to go to Caesars to pick up our tickets for the show we were seeing that evening. While at Caesar’s I decided to stop in at Payard to get French macarons. I had heard they have the best macarons. I was super disappointed. I thought they would have cases and cases of fresh macarons but all they had were some prepackaged variety packs. I just wasn’t feeling it so I moved on to Bouchon at the Venetian. This is the place I most wanted to go to while in Vegas. Bouchon is owned by Thomas Keller of The French Laundry. I will probably never get around to eating at The French Laundry but I did make it to Bouchon. I think that there are three Bouchons at the Venetian. 1 is a full service cafe and I think the others are just bakeries. I ordered the chocolate sable sandwich cookie and the peanut butter sandwich cookie. They were delicious, and fairly priced for Vegas at $3.00 each. I also bought a pink lemonade that was the most delicious drink I have ever had. Or maybe I was just dying of thirst from walking all over in the hot afternoon sun. On my way back I passed Giada’s new restaurant at The Cromwell. I really wanted to stop in and check it out but I just couldn’t walk one step further than necessary.
Once I got back to the hotel, which was like, miles and miles away, we hit up the pool one more time before heading out for dinner. We talked Cliff’s colleague, John, into going to the buffet with us. We went to the same buffet that we went to on our last trip to Vegas, The Wicked Spoon. We really enjoyed it the first time so I was afraid we would be disappointed. No worries though. There was plenty of great food to choose from. I had hummus, assorted cheeses, salmon, shrimp cocktail, crab legs, prime rib, mashed potatoes and gelato. Cliff had customized mac and cheese; I think it had freshly shaved truffles, mushrooms, and roasted garlic. He also had lots of prime rib, bone marrow, and some Chinese food. Other options included pastas, fried chicken, tacos, salad bar, escargot, paella, oysters, and on and on. It really is not a typical buffet. Most everything is served in individual containers. The Chinese food comes in little take out containers. If we ever make it back to Vegas we will more than likely visit the Wicked Spoon again.
After dinner we gambled for a few minutes. I lost 6 whole dollars before walking over to Caesar’s for our show. Before I visit anywhere I research it to death. I have always wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas but I’m too cheap to do it. Through my research I learned about Absinthe. I was able to buy us discounted ($90 each) tickets through the discounted ticket booth. Absinthe takes place in a big tent outside of Caesar’s. I really didn’t know what to expect. I also get nervous that Cliff isn’t going to enjoy the shows I pick. And for $180 I was really hoping that would not be the case. There is not much of a storyline to Absinthe but its basically that the producer drinks absinthe and hallucinates. There are about 10-12 different acts that are his hallucinations. I have to say most of the acts were seriously amazing. There were tightrope walkers, tap dancers, trapeze artists, balancing acts and many others that I cannot even describe. What really sets Absinthe apart though is the comedy in between the acts. It is 100% not PC. It is raunchy and there is semi-nudity. They make fun of every ethnicity, sexual orientation, and political view. Basically, no one was safe. It was a really funny and entertaining show. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind bad language and raunchiness. So, not my parents.
The next morning we were super tired so we just hung out at the pool and got some pizza. Pretty much our normal weekends at home!
