Another trip for the books! A new hotel, new restaurants, and a new show! We hope you can learn from us on where to go, where to stay, and what to eat!
While Omicron is running around town, we took our chances and explored Las Vegas. There were some others who ventured out like us, while it felt that many stayed home. We don’t know about you, but for us, when in Vegas, it’s not the more the merrier, but rather less is best! Navigating Las Vegas Boulevard while packed is never an easy task.
This time around, we decided to stay at the Luxor Hotel & Casino. Located at 3900 S Las Vegas Blvd, this hotel is at the far end of the South Strip right in between Mandalay Bay and Excalibur. While this is not the end of the strip that we prefer to stay on, we wanted to give the recently renovated rooms a chance in the pyramid tower. Fun Fact – The pyramid elevator at Luxor is rated the #2 most unique elevator in the world. It sits at a 39-degree angle and travels diagonally from floor to floor.
For those of you that don’t know, the Luxor hotel is Egyptian themed and has two towers and a pyramid full of rooms. It features the Titanic and Bodies Exhibits, the Blue Man Group show, and the Nurture Spa. Upon arrival, we were impressed with our room…it was spacious, modern, and seemed to have nice luxuries. After getting settled, our opinion changed a bit. The room was priced reasonably, but the bathroom door was corroding and would not shut, the bed was hard as a rock, and the room window was tinted so dark that you couldn’t enjoy the view of the strip. Don’t get us wrong, the room was clean and quiet, but it did not feel like it was renovated, or competitive with the other popular hotels on the strip. We likely will not stay here again, but it was still worth the experience. If the opportunity is right, we would consider giving it another try. It is a good option for those who want a cheap room or don’t plan to spend much time in the room.
While this trip was fairly spontaneous, we still had enough time to lock down some reservations and plan for new eats…
~ Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen – Located right outside of the Caesar’s Palace Hotel & Casino, this restaurant will make you feel like you are on television. Inspired by the reality series, this restaurant has a red and blue side just like the show; one side prepares the appetizers, and one side prepares the entrees. We eagerly ordered a few dishes:
***Signature Lobster Risotto – Butter poached lobster tail, truffle risotto, and crispy onions.
***Signature Beef Wellington – Beef prepared medium rare and wrapped in a flaky, golden-brown puff pastry with mushroom duxelles in between. Served with potato puree, glazed root vegetables, and red wine demi-glace.
***Prime Dry Aged New York Strip – Santa carota beef, glazed maitake mushrooms, and shishito peppers.
***Baked Macaroni & Cheese – Made with smoked gouda and crispy prosciutto.
***Sticky Toffee Pudding – Served with dulce de leche ice cream. Fun fact – This was Gordon’s mother’s recipe and is made with dates.
We really enjoyed this restaurant and look forward to going back at another time. There are a couple of things to be aware of when visiting Hell’s Kitchen; MAKE a reservation, as this place is super packed, and know that the menu changes from lunch to dinner.
~ Roy Choi’s Best Friend – Located in the Park MGM Hotel & Casino, this was our favorite eat of the trip. Roy Choi describes this place as “the remixed and remastered collection of the evolution of our Los Angeles – its food, its music, its culture.” You might wonder why the heck we would want to go to a place with the LA vibe, while we are trying to get away from LA, but this spot has a mixture of LA and Vegas. Roy calls it, “Los Vegas.” It’s got nightclub vibes with a live DJ, Urban LA art on the walls, and the best Korean BBQ food we have ever had. We ordered a plethora of dishes here…don’t judge:
***Mixed Tempura Plate – Shrimp, sweet potato, carrots, and green beans.
***French Fries – Prepared with ramen dust and a side of sambal mayo.
***Kogi Short Rib Tacos – Korean BBQ, salsa roja, cilantro-onion-lime chili soy slaw.
***Street Corn – Lime juice, tajin, cotija, cilantro.
***Garlic Chicken – Soy-marinated jidori thighs.
***Kimchi Fried Rice – Caramelized kimchi, poached egg.
Where do we even start? Obviously, we ordered WAY more than we could eat, but everything was delicious. Our favorites were the Garlic Chicken, Street Corn, and Kimchi Fried Rice. The French fries tasted like ramen noodles which was cool, but fries are fries…nothing mind-blowing. The short rib tacos are spicy, so if you are sensitive to that, beware. We are drooling just thinking about going back to this place.
~ Secret Pizza – The not-so-secret pizza joint at the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino. Either way, we finally got to try it! You will find this hole in the wall on the third floor; look for the hallway of record covers. Pizza is sold by the slice or by the box. Offering just about any topping you can imagine; you will have the choice of grabbing a fresh piece as is or name your toppings to be added and they will prepare it right in front of you. It’s worth the wait and the reasonable price for Las Vegas late night eats.
~ Giada De Laurentis’ Giada – Located at the Cromwell Hotel & Casino, this eatery is Giada’s debut restaurant. It is on the second floor of the hotel, which provides remarkable views of the strip, as well as the famed, Bellagio fountains. Giada serves a variety of Italian dishes with a California twist, and her recipes did not disappoint. We ordered:
***Giada’s Signature Bread Board and Seasoning Tray – Rosemary and Sourdough bread served with red chili flakes, lemon mascarpone butter, salt, pesto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
***Giada’s Signature Lemon Spaghetti – Shrimp, mascarpone cheese, lemon, basil, and angel hair pasta.
***Cacio e Pepe Bucatini – Pecorino toscano, crostini, black pepper, angel hair pasta, and your choice of meat/seafood. We chose grilled chicken.
The pasta dishes were absolutely delicious, and the lemon flavor was not nearly as strong as we anticipated. It provided a touch of flavor, without overpowering the other ingredients. The bread plate blew us away! You might not believe it, but the seasoning tray seriously kicks bread up a notch. We will forever be serving bread this way at home moving forward. If you don’t believe us, go see for yourself.
In addition to eating our weight in food, we explored the strip as much as possible, furthering our vacation with more new experiences and memories. Some things worth mentioning…
~ SkyBar – Located on the 23rd floor of the Waldorf Astoria, this bar is INSANE! It has arguably the best view of the strip and serves remarkable drinks and sushi. SkyBar is only open in the evenings and has a more serene and relaxing feel than most other options on the stirp, but it is a MUST GO! Our recommendation is to try the Block 16 signature drink! It has vodka, Caribbean pineapple liqueur, passion fruit, and house-made vanilla syrup. It is both delicious and presented beautifully.
~ L.O.V.E Cirque du Soleil – Located at the Mirage Hotel & Casino, this is a see it while you can show. If you haven’t heard, the Mirage has been sold by MGM to the Hard Rock. They will be transforming this iconic hotel into a Hard Rock Hotel; the volcano will be no more, and they will be building a guitar shaped hotel in its place. With that said, we don’t know if this Beatles themed show is going to stay or go. Our advice – go see it. Set to the soundtrack of the Beatles, this show features various Volkswagen cars, an “underwater” scene, a revolution scene, and so much more. It’s a mixture of circus, psychedelic, and sixties vibes. While this theater was the most uncomfortable setting we have ever been in for a show, we still feel this is worth a watch. For those of you wondering, it was boiling hot and you were literally sitting on top of people.
~ Bellagio Conservatory Gardens – As usual, we stopped at the gorgeous gardens. This time, it was the Lunar New Year display, which was Eye of the Tiger themed. Full of inspiration from Asian culture, this Feng Shui guided design is full of lotus flowers, gold coins, and a huge golden Tiger. As usual, it will awaken your senses. As a reminder, this is a free display, and is most definitely worth your time. Eye of the Tiger is set up to stay until March 5.
~ Art-o-mat – This machine can be found inside of the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino. What is Art-o-mat? Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette machines that can be found at over 100 different locations in the USA. You stick $5 in the machine, pull the knob, and get a little piece of art that is the size of a pack of cigarettes. It supports both your health and small business! What you get may be super cool, and it’s a fun little novelty.
~ Slots Slots Slots – As usual we played slots, or realistically, Tyler played slots. The Medusa slot was giving us luck, just like last time, but our favorite slot of the trip was the Smokin Hot Stuff Wicked Wheel Slot. We had tons of luck on this machine!! Even if you don’t win, who doesn’t like hearing Hot Stuff by Donna Summer?!
~ Minus 5 Ice Bar – There are three locations on the strip: Mandalay Bay, Venetian, and the Linq Promenade. Previously, we visited Mandalay Bay, but this trip we went to the Venetian bar. You can find this spot inside of the Grand Canal Shoppes. If you don’t know, this bar is legitimately ice! The walls, the seats, the sculptures, and the glasses are all Ice Ice Baby! This location is smaller than the other, but the energy inside was incredible! You couldn’t have a bad time! The admission is $24 per person if you just want to see the bar for the photos, but if you’d like to drink as well, ask for the coolest experience, it is $49 per person and includes two drinks.
~ Famous Las Vegas Sign – Out of all the trips we’ve taken, we never visited this iconic 63-year-old sign! Located in the median of 5100 Las Vegas Blvd right before you reach the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, we finally snapped our pic! This place always has a line, so come early, unless you just want a picture of the sign by itself! Additionally, the other end of the strip now has a landmark as well, the Gateway Arches. Located at the north end of the strip, right before the Strat Hotel & Casino, stands 80-foot-high twin interlocking arches that hold a Las Vegas sign and more than 13,000 LED lights. Installed in 2020, you now have the opportunity to take pictures at both ends of the strip!
All in all, this was another awesome trip! As you already know, we love Vegas, and look forward to yet another visit. If you have any tips on where to go or what to try, please leave us a comment! We always like to try new things when visiting!
What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas, it goes on our blog,
TnT
PS – Fun Fact – If you are a country music lover like us, Blake Shelton’s Ole Red is coming to the Vegas Strip! It is going to be the biggest of the six locations yet! While it is not expected to open until 2023, it gives us something to look forward to! Just like all the other locations, this one will have signature items unique to its location, so we can’t wait to find out the Vegas specialties! Come 2023, be on the lookout in front of Bally’s Hotel & Casino for the grand opening!
