Vegas trip for the two of us!  It was wonderful, just a weekend alone.  Every single time I finally get alone time with David, I realize I forgot how much I enjoy him.  I feel really strongly about dating your spouse.   I did not date in my first marriage, I tried to, but he had no interest in it, and eventually found myself sitting ignored during the nite.  It is so different in this marriage, we actually enjoy each other, and do not run out things to say, but can also sit in silence.  So off to Vegas for the weekend to enjoy our marriage and each other!

We flew out of Detroit on Spirit, $54 flights each, each way, We only brought a single carry-on that we shared, and a backpack for David, A small duffel bag for me, we like to travel light.  We did have a drink on the plane, why not start the trip with a nice drink then a nap,  David says drinking on a plane is like twice as much under the higher atmosphere.

I watch endless hours of food network, and we attempted to visit as many restaurants that I see network stars that I watch on TV.   This post will focus on the food we ate in Las Vegas.

I am starting with our favorite dining choice, Nobu inside Hard Rock Cafe.  There are two Nobu restaurants in Vegas, I am sure they are equally tasty, but we only tried the Hard Rock Cafe experience.  We had a 9pm reservation, since we watch Cirque Du Soleil’s Ka, at 7pm.   I had always heard the rich and famous talk about Nobu, so when we saw this Groupon, which is now closed, but pops up every once in awhile, even the server says he buys this coupon when it is available.  It was $100 for two, reservation was required to meet the groupon deal.   We had a slightly different menu, but we loved every bite.

The Black miso cod was the BEST thing I have ever eaten EVER.  I cannot compare it to anything as I have never tasted anything like it.  I tried to use this recipe link:   https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-nobu-miso-marinated-black-cod-117238

to make it myself at home, but the cod I bought at my Kroger store, and it smelled bad before I even started the recipe, so I am working at finding a quality fish store near me and I will try again.  The half eaten meal is the Black cod, it was so good we could not even stop to take a picture until it was almost gone.

Even though Nobu was by far the best food we ate, we enjoyed every choice we made.  The first night we arrived in Las Vegas late,  after dinner service and right before closing of most restaurants, so we chose to eat close at Gordon Ramsey’s STEAK, inside our Vegas hotel – Paris.  A link to the STEAK restaurant and menu is at:           https://www.caesars.com/paris-las-vegas/restaurants/gordon-ramsay-steak#.WkBnc1WnHIU

 

We just wanted a snack, so we sat down and chose two side dishes of a rich and so creamy pot of Macaroni and Cheese with peas topped with a buttery crunchy crumble crust and a single appetizer of a dungeness crab cake.  The crab cake has such a great flavor and HUGH chunks of crab both inside and on top, with different small drips of spicy jam sauces across the plate.  Our choices were perfect sized for weary travelers ready for a long night rest.    Honestly it was incredibly tasty, and not because we were hungry and tired, because it was incredible.   We did sit next to a group of four truly over sized  men who had the traditional Gordon Ramsey Beef Wellington and steaks, and even they could not finish it, so the portion sizes are plenty.   The menu was simple but focused, and the interior look was high end British Neon mixed pub style decor.

 

The next morning we woke up late and ate at Yong Kang Street Dumplings and Noodles, and inside the Paris Hotel, it is set up like an outdoor Chinese Cafe.  We ordered Hot Chicken DanDan Noodles, with the softest texture Chicken (like velvet) and flavor filled broth for me and Japaneese Shrimp Udon Noodles with some unusual red hind, radish looking tofu fish flavored pieces for David.  We also had a steamed pork bun served from a steel side cart being wheeled thru the restaurant.  All too much to eat this early, but so very tasty and we left the restaurant ready to take on the Daytime Vegas Strip.

We walked 10 miles up and down the strip and stopped inside Ceasars Place at first we wanted to eat at Mr Chows, but they did not open until dinner time, so we stopped for a Bite to eat at Bobby Flays MESA grill.  I had Roasted Pumpkin Soup, which was a powerhouse of separate flavors, HOT Spicy, Maple Sweet Pumpkin, crunch seeds, cool and hot all separate spoonfuls, until I stirred it all together and it was perfection. I also had the Tiger Shrimp Corn tamale, which was also a blend of all the spicy, sweet, rustic, perfection.   David had the New Mexico Spiced Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, minus the onions (David has a allergic type reaction to onions), he thought it was everything hours of forced Beat Bobby Flay TV would be, a winner for every show, well what I figure as 9.5 out of 10 viewings.  Hard to beat because the best of all flavors combined and perfection cooking.

The next morning we ate early at the local breakfast site, not worth mentioning and took a bus trip to Hoover Dam (I will post on this in the near future).  We ate a DAM Dog (beefy hot dog) bought a We ate a Dam Dog sticker for my Father to replace the current one salt worn sticker on his Jeep from his late 1990s visit.

After returning we got off the bus early at the Luxor Hotel to save the walk down the strip and walked our way back to Giada De Laurentiis new restaurant, Giada, at The Cromwell Hotel.      http://www.giadadelaurentiis.com/vegas/

We arrived  at Giada’s later in the evening, almost closing time and got some of the best seats, big windows, right on the strip, it was dark and the strip was lit up and you could see the Bellagio fountains from this second floor prime spot.  The inside of the restaurant is classy comfort style, filled with movie posters from Giada’s Grandmother, the Italian movie siren, Silvana Mangano.  We ordered the Creamed Brussel sprouts, and a small Antipasti Platter to share.  There is a tasty Bread platter with each meal, which was perfect with the Antipasti Platter.   Another perfect small meal, in fact this meal was so wonderful, we came back the very next night and ate a full meal of Lobster Ravioli and the Antipasti platter again.

We also had a quick lunch right at the end of service 1:45pm at the Bellagio Hotel Olives, since it was at end of service we were seated at the Balcony, just in time for a fountain show, right in front of us, the Ricotta Ravioli and Chicken Parmesan was just the perfect meal for the two of us.  We really enjoyed the view and the food.  I wish I took food pictures, but I was in awe of the fountain show view, I highly recommend you sit on the balcony, make a reservation.  We felt like royalty, how often can you say that in life.

Right before we shipped out we walked or rode the local bus, up and down the strip our flight left as a red eye Sunday at 11pm, so first we ate at Guy Fieri’s at the Linq hotel.  This was the only location we had to wait more than 5mins our entire dining experience.

The interior was full of happy drinkers, and diners with a bar cool atmosphere, I read the designs are based upon Guy’s tattoos.  Skull napkins, upscale BOLD.  We were sitted outside on the patio, and it was alittle chilly that night, but zipped up I was warm.   I ordered the Trash Can Brisket Nachos, and David had the Bacon Mac and Cheese Burger (minus onion and tomato).  The servers bring out the Nachos in a mini trash can, then the slowly lifted it up so the nachos spill out in layers …

… mixing all together in a huge cheesy pile.   So much food, I could not even half finish it, but what a tasty meal.  The Brisket in the Nachos were crispy end pieces, and the Cheese sauce was smooth and rich, and oozed thru all the toppings.  David 100% finished off his Huge Burger, every bite he took the mac fell over the sides and burger juices dripped down on top of the macaroni.