TR - Nov 4-9th Restaurants

I just got back from a 6 day trip to Vegas with some fellow 30somethings so I wanted to share some info with all of you.

The following are some of the restaurants we ate at and how the experience was:

Sidewalk Cafe (Ballys)

Ate at this 24hr restaurant one night after seeing a show. Ordered daily special of 8oz prime rib with 8oz Alaskan crab legs with mashed potatoes and veggies. $16.99...prime rib was tasty but crab legs seemed stale...would recommend restaurant but not for that dish. Service was average.

Wynn Buffet

Had the dinner buffet on a Sunday night. $32.99 included fare such as prime rib, turkey, sushi, crab legs, build your own pasta etc. Desserts included strawberry shortcake, tiramisu, sorbet and a variety of other pastries to die for. Best buffet desserts on the strip but more value can be had elsewhere for hot dishes for that steep price. Service was okay.

Flavors Buffet at Harrahs

Went for lunch buffet at Flavors on a Thursday afternoon. Used a $5 off coupon found in a booklet at the hotel. Reg price $16.99 included carving station, small peel and eat shrimp, pasta, salad, dessert bar. Food quality was poor as was service. Avoid this buffet unless you have indistinct taste buds or miss the quality of the Surf Buffet at the old Holiday Inn Boardwalk. It%26#39;s that bad.

Harbor Palace Seafood Restaurant

Decided to hit Chinatown one afternoon for dim sum lunch and ended up at Harbor Palace off of Spring Mountain Road. Traditional dishes available including har gow, sui mei, rice noodle rolls, steamed pork buns etc. Food quality was average, service wasn%26#39;t bad. Pleasantly surprised by the bill for 4 of us which ended up being under $60. Cathay House up the road is better but more expensive.

All American Bar %26amp; Grille (Rio)

Ordered some take out to bring back to room after being hungry one night. They will automatically add a 15% room surcharge for take out orders which disturbed me a little bit. Had some chicken wings and a cheeseburger which cost $28. Fries were overcooked as were the wings. Luckily, I had asked for the wing sauce to be put in a seperate container because it would not have been edible had it been mixed in. If you enjoy drinking tabasco a la carte, the wings would be for you but for the rest of us, stay away from this restaurant!

Sports Kitchen (Rio)

Located right next to the sportsbook, we decided to grab some lunch there. Similar to a fast food setup but all food is made to order and cooked in plain sight. Ordered some chicken wings and a patty melt for $22. Again, the sauce was pretty much straight tabasco and was requested on the side but burger was good. Would recommend the burgers and the french fries which everybody seemed to be getting.

Grand Lux Cafe (Venetian)

Sister restaurant to Cheesecake Factory, the 4 of us checked it out for lunch. Between us, we ordered a chicken wrap, bacon cheeseburger, patty melt and the max burger. All came with fries which was unfortunate because they were overcooked and tasted like typical McCain frozen ones you can get at a supermarket. Portions were a fair size and we were all full by the end of it. Service was poor to non-existent which is surprising for a restaurant in such a nice hotel. Total bill was $70. Would rather check out Cheesecake Factory next time at Caesars than come back here.

Cheeseburger Las Vegas (Aladdin)

Grabbed some dinner at this Desert Passage restaurant because we did not have the appetite for a buffet. Burgers were generally price between the $9-$11 range but did not come with fries. Ordered a couple of burgers and a side order of fries. Burgers were messy but good and filling. French fries were seasoned and overcooked. Service was average considering there weren%26#39;t many people there. Total bill $32.

I hope this information helps out any of you who may be going to Sin City in the near future. Be sure to check out my other trip reports for hotels, gaming and entertainment we did.

TR - Nov 4-9th Restaurants

Thanks very much for the detailed restaurant reports! It always amazes me how many places there are that I have not had a chance to try after three trips to LV.

TR - Nov 4-9th Restaurants

Thanks for the information! We just got a Cheesecake factory near here and the service is really bad. The food is good, though.

I was there last week also. Had dinner at the Grand Lux after seeing Phantom. waitress was excellent and recommended some dishes. Had the shrimp scampi and it was excellent! 6 huige shrimp and the sause was wonderful. Maybe you should expand your tastes out of the chesseburgers and fries.

Let me correct my typo%26#39;s! huge...not huige!

Can%26#39;t remember the other one!

sauce...not sause!

We went to Grand Lux Cafe after the Blue Man Group show and loved it. One in our party tried the Sunday Night Pasta (which is decribed on their menu as ';Made Fresh Every Day! A Rich Slow Simmered Meat Sauce with Chunks of Beef Short Ribs, Steak, Fresh Mushrooms, Onions, Garlic and Parmesan Cheese. Served over Spaghettini';). Sounds pretty basic and pretty boring, but OMG it was soooo good! And the dessert order of the dozen fresh baked cookies chocoalte chip pecan cookies were amazing. Ate a few of them there and then all of us proceeded to nibble on the rest through out the evening in the casino!

I highly recommend the place as it is a great restaurant that is also open 24 hrs./day.