Wednesday, March 5, 2008

BEST RESTAURANTS

* Higher Priced/Fancy

1. Rosemary’s
- off the strip, but worth every penny of the taxi ride
2. Mon Ami Gabi (Paris)
- best food for the price, very reasonable
3. Fix (Bellagio)
4. Aureole (Mandalay- get the tasting menu)
5. Alize (Palms)
- great food, great view of strip, decent service)
6. Top of the World (Stratosphere)
- pretty good food, awesome view, restaurant rotates 360 degrees for view of entire city
7. Olives (Bellagio)
- Perfect for lunch, tables a little too close together, food is awesome
8. Border Grill (Mandalay Bay)
- Decently priced, Nuevo Mexican, great drinks.
9. Boa Steakhouse (Caesers-Forum Shops)
10. Andres (Downtown)


* Fun Restaurants

1. Margaritaville (Flamingo)
2. Kahunaville (Treasure Island)
3. Battistas Hole in the Wall (decent food, great atmosphere, behind Bill's Gambling Hall/Bally's)
4. Hamadas Japanese (off strip--Flamingo Rd.--5 minute cab ride from Bally's)
5. Stack (Mirage—more pricey, but fun menu)
6. Burger Bar (Mandalay Bay)
7. Lucky Chengs Drag Show (on North strip, heard food is just ok, but show is a blast)
8. Capos (off the strip--old Vegas speakeasy)
9. China Grill (Mandalay)
- a bit more pricey, but cool decor. Voted best bathrooms in the world a few years ago!
10. Nine Fine Irishmen (NYNY)
11. Hofbrauhaus (across from Hard Rock--looks almost identical to Germany's original)
12. Firefly and Cafe Babareeba- Tapas style, good for groups


* Best Restaurants with a View

1. Eiffel Tower Restaurant (Paris)- never been but hear it’s awesome
2. Alize (Palms)
3. Top of the World (Stratosphere)
4. Olives (Bellagio- ask for window seat)
5. Mon Ami Gabi (Paris- sit on patio for view of fountains)
6. Voodoo Lounge (Rio)
7. Mix (Mandalay)
8. Panevino (off strip, but closeby)
9. Viaggio (off strip in Henderson/Green Valley, 30 min drive to strip)

* Best Buffets (list of all buffest and prices: http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/buffets.cfm)

1. Paris
2. Circus Circus Steakhouse Sunday Brunch (Steakhouse, NOT regular Circus Circus Buffet)
3. Sterling Brunch (Bally’s—fine dining buffet, approx $75 pp. Good, but for half the price, Circus Circus has it beat)
4. Planet Hollywood
5. Rio Seafood Buffet (may have recently closed--checking into this)
6. Gardunos at Palms—Sunday Margarita Brunch ($13.99 all you can drink margaritas included)
7. Carnival World Buffet- (Rio- the original "round the world" buffet and still one of the best)

* Best Cheap Eats

1. Strip Happy Hours
- Café Babareeba (Fashion Show Mall), Ra Sushi (Fashion Show Mall), Sushi Roku (Caeser's Forum Shops), Chinois (Forum Shops), Planet Hollywood Restaurant (Caesers), Several in Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile, McCormick & Schmick (on Flamingo Rd., near strip)
2. Light Meals/Tapas
-Firefly (Flamingo Rd., near strip) has small, individualized portions for sharing. Great atmosphere, too.
3. Ellis Island
-crappy hotel off Flamingo Rd., 10 minutse from strip) Ask for the $4.95 steak at the café. Not on the menu, but it’s awesome.
4. Terrible’s Casino
-lower end hotel on the corner of Flamingo and Paradise(near Hard Rock)--$1.49 breakfasts with HUGE portions. They also have a breakfast buffet that's really small and very basic, but VERY cheap. On Sundays, it's champagne brunch (all you can drink mimosas, champagne, bellinis, etc) for about $5.00 if you sign up for the players card and use the coupon. Otherwise, it's about $10 per person--still a steal. The weekday brunch is even cheaper! If you can't get a coupon through the players card, check out ebay. They usually have coupons for the Terrible's buffet on ebay. Again, it's not the greatest food in the world (DH ranks it a 6/10), but it is a great deal.
5. Earl of Sandwich
- Planet Hollywood casino, across from sportsbook. Great sandwiches for a cheap price.
6. Capriottis
-best sandwich shop in the world (very creative subs, limited selection though) and only a few in the country, with the most in Vegas. Find one...you won't be disappointed.
7. In-n-out Burger
-Fresh fast food, and I hear it's the best burger ever (I don't eat burgers--I go for the fresh fries!) Closest ones to strip are on Industrial and Tropicana and Maryland Parkway near UNLV.
8. Downtown Casinos
This is what Vegas used to be all about--cheap buffets and dining options. Almost every hotel downtown offers a cheap special on food. It's the best place to get deals on food and drinks.
9. Commander's Palace (Planet Hollywood-CLOSED but theres talk it may reopen)
- Not necessarily "cheap," but a great deal for the price. Their "1880" fixed price lunch ($18.80) along with their $.25 martinis. That's right, you can get four martinis for $1 (limit 4).
10. Palms Steakhouse- business lunch
- Also not necessarily "cheap," but for $19.50 you get a multi course meal of high quality food!

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