Canadian J: Vegas “Musts” From The Great White North
One of our friends to the north shares his “musts” for Sin City…
I love Las Vegas. I know that probably goes for everyone who regularly visits this site and the great city that bears its name, but since visit #1, I’ve been completely smitten. Just for reference’s sake, my first trip was with a buddy in April of 2009 when I was 26. I’ve been back 12 more times, including twice this year.
As a bonafide gearhead, the majority of my trips to Vegas revolve around racing events such as the NHRA Nationals at Las VegasMotor Speedway or Supercross racing at Sam Boyd Stadium. It’s the absolute perfect trip for a car guy. Wake up, get some food in you, enjoy a day at the races and then get back to partying.
Despite my wife’s constant pleas to find a new place to travel, even she can’t deny that she has an outrageously good time every time we step foot in Sin City. From all my trips to Vegas, which have included my bachelor party, trips with family, friends or just my lovely wife for a weekend getaway, here’s my (“our” to keep the wife happy) “Vegas Musts.”
Cheesecake Factory: I know a lot of people on here, especially those of you from the USA are going to say “Really?? Cheesecake Factory??”. Allow me to explain. We don’t have Cheesecake Factories in Canada. At least if we do, I’m not aware of them, and they’re likely in Ontario which is a 25-hour drive from where we live (Edit: after a quick Google search we have none). My wife and I adore the Cheesecake Factory and especially the two locations in Vegas that we frequent, those being the Forum Shops at Caesars location and the new one in the North Outlet Mall.
Despite the gargantuan menu, we almost order the same things every time, and it’s always delicious. On top of that, we love the ambiance of both locations despite how insanely busy they are, and we always have impeccable service. I can’t remember a trip where we didn’t go to both locations for lunch or dinner at least once each.
Las Vegas Premium Outlets North: I’m not a big shopper, but I can tolerate it for a while. My wife, on the other hand, is one hell of a shopper and loves it, especially at this place. We shop here every time we visit Vegas, and it’s got to the point where we even recognize employees at various stores. This place has so many varieties of stores from high end to mid range (IE: Burberry, Tory Burch, Bebe, Nike) and you’ll often find some great deals along with excellent customer service.
Be watchful though, as it’s obviously a busy place with lots of locals and tourists. So for some things you’ll pay a premium. For example, a medium Blizzard at the DQ near the food court costs more than it does in Canada despite the fact that our dollar is worthless right now compared to the USD. Other than Cheesecake Factory, I haven’t sampled any of the dining options but I’ve never been intrigued by anything in the food court. Seems like pretty generic stuff but it’s always busy so it could all be gourmet level foods for all I know.
Gordon Ramsay BURGR does fries, too…
Gordon Ramsay BURGR: Love him or hate him, the man knows food and the restaurants are proof in my mind. While we’ve sampled his ‘Steak’ location in the Paris and really enjoyed it, we’ve only been there the one time. BURGR, on the other hand, is a spot we hit up every trip, no questions asked. Being from western Canada, the beef industry is a big part of our economy so I’d like to think we know a thing or two about a good burger (but really no more than any food lover in reality….).
The burgers here aren’t cheap, but I wouldn’t call the pricing stratospheric either. Regardless, wow are they delicious. One burger alone will fill up the average person, so we only ever order one side to share and our favorite is the sweet potato fries which are totally drool-worthy. We went with the parmesan truffle fries on one visit, and they were good, but I’d definitely vote the sweet potato fries as the winner. With a great selection of beers on tap, this place is a total winner in our books.
Forum Shops at Caesars Palace: Looks like we’re back at the shopping aspect of things. As already mentioned, we always frequent the Cheesecake Factory here so of course; we frequent the mall itself. This mall is awesome in so many ways I could go on forever. There’s plenty of good restaurants (many of which we haven’t tried since we go to CF so much) and lots of retail stores including some really cool high-end stuff.
If you’re not into the shopping, just walking through this place is entertaining as the art and architecture in various areas is awe inspiring, especially the statues in the multi-terrace area. If you’re the kind of person who needs to escape shopping for a while, it’s, of course, connected to the Caesars Palace casino which is more than happy to eat up your money in one of their obnoxiously tight slot machines.
Breakfast at La Salsa Cantina (PH location): We often stay at Planet Hollywood, which is convenient for us since this is our destination for breakfast literally every morning. I think last time we were there the breakfast special was $4.29 and came with two eggs, hash brown, bacon and choice of soft tortilla shells. Add in 99-cent Bloody Marys, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a delicious breakfast deal that’s easy on the wallet (rare for the strip, I know). If this place isn’t your thing, most of the restaurants in the Miracle Mile shops have breakfast specials of different varieties so you can’t lose.
Casino Royale Bar: They have $1 bottles of Michelob. I don’t think I need so say anything more. I’ve often had success on the slots in this place too, so there’s a double win! Drinkable cheap beer and loose slots? I could spend hours in this place if there weren’t so much else to see and do.
Sprinkles Cupcakes: Here’s another chain we don’t have up in the great white north. The cupcakes are damn good, but they damn well better be since they’re far from inexpensive. But hey, who doesn’t love a well-made cupcake while you people watch in the Linq Promenade?
I think that pretty much sums up my “musts.” There’s a lot of places we go and things that we do most times on our trips, but these are the ones that get done every trip, no questions asked. With Vegas always changing, I’m sure this list will grow as time goes on. Thanks for reading!
Images: [Sammasseur, Movestro, Google Sites, Yelp!, Simon.com, Caesars.com]
4 thoughts on “Canadian J: Vegas “Musts” From The Great White North”
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I understand your choice of the Cheesecake Factory if you don’t have one close to home. I used to make special trips to the Einstein Bagel shop a few blocks behind MGM Grand every time I was in Vegas before I got two of them here in Nashville.
Great article! You must live in Edmonton or Calgary being forced to take Air Canada or West Jet. :-( I cross the boarder and drive to Detroit, MI (one hour away) and sometimes can pay less then the taxes for a flight in Canada. You will have to try Walburgers on your next visit and let us know what you think!
Some great recommendations through your article Thanks for the post.
I was curious to read a Northern point of view, being a typical Los Angeles visitor, but you love great cheap-ish stuff, too! My first-ever Cheesecake Factory experience was also at Caesars. Next time you’re at Linq Promenade, try Ghirardelli’s ice cream. It’s all about the rich chocolate, so share a sundae and still go cheap. And you’ve inspired me to try Casino Royale, again. I haven’t been there in years.