A weekend of Las Vegas dining


Continuing the expansion of thoughts as detailed on the trip report from my mid-September trip to Las Vegas, here’s a review of my epicurean delights…

Breakfast on Saturday, September 12 – I am all for a wonderful sit down meal at a locally owned restaurant with spot on service by a well-trained, conscientious staff member providing me with a sumptuous banquet of flavors.  But you know, McDonalds serves a purpose, too.  In this case, it was a Sausage McMuffin and cup of coffee (to go) the McDonalds at the Lake Forest (IL) Oasis at 5:00 AM CDT.  Because Southwest Airlines “won” the battle for Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport, they’ve celebrated by keeping round trip fares to Las Vegas around $400 each.  Our group was instead able to get a round trip out of Chicago’s Midway airport for about $250, with our flight leaving at about 7:20 AM CDT.  But to pull that off, I had to be awake at about 3:15 AM and out of the house shortly after.  I had driven halfway to Chicago before realizing that I was getting hangry.  For $1.39 on the Dollar Menu (with a $1.39 coffee also from the Dollar Menu, too) the Sausage McMuffin certainly hit the spot at that time and place.

Lunch on Saturday – An old standby for our group is the Coronado Cafe at the South Point Casino.  Our group enjoys their poker tournament, and a 2:00 PM start time gives us the option of a pregame lunch or a post-game dinner.  In this case, we needed a full meal and went for lunch.  A past staple of the Las Vegas Advisor Top 10 Values list, the Coronado Cafe has a $14.99 special for a slice of prime rib or a porterhouse steak (with soup or salad and a potato).  I had often had the prime rib, and it always scored, so of course, this time I tried the porterhouse.  Tough to tell if I got the porterhouse or the tongue of an old work boot.  Tough, overdone and full of gristle.  My betrayal of the prime rib was penalized harshly.

Dinner on Saturday – A very successful day at South Point for three of the guys in our group (two buddies split first and second place in the tournament and I crushed the dollar video poker) had us offering to buy our fourth buddy and a local friend a nice dinner.  So at around 6:00 on a Saturday night, the five of us stood in South Point porte-cochere while simultaneously contacting steakhouses for impromptu reservations.  We tried a total of 12 places (from the underrated Circus Circus Steakhouse and the Golden Steer to downtown favorites Andiamo Steakhouse and the Triple George Grill) with no success.  So we decided to head downtown and walk up Fremont East for some ideas (Side note; don’t ask why we didn’t try Primarily Prime Rib or Silverado Steakhouse which are both at South Point.  All I can do us shrug my shoulders sheepishly.)  We ended up at Hennessey’s Tavern.  Likely because we were frustrated by not finding a more formal place to spend our winnings, but none of the five of us were impressed.  Service was so-so, and my Reuben sandwich’s bottom slice of bread had turned to mush.  Even the buffalo fries (which were tossed in buffalo sauce, then tossed with bleu cheese crumbles) had to be sent back for being cold.  I can say – unequivocally – that when a McDonalds breakfast sandwich in Chicago is the highlight of a day’s dining in Las Vegas, that’s pretty sad.

Breakfast on Sunday, September 13 -Usually, Sunday breakfast on our poker trips is a Dunkin’ Donut at Fremont while looking at odds in the sportsbook. But our early flight on Saturday had us to bed early and allowed us to get an early start and a good Sunday breakfast.  We chose Eat (and it officially has a lower case “e” and a period at the end, but that doesn’t actually make sense in the middle of a sentence.  Sorry, Chef Natalie).

My country fried steak with breakfast potatoes is in the foreground and is easily the best country fried steak I’d ever had. The breading was light and crispy, the steak was tender, and the country gravy was clearly made in-house.  This, my friends, is what I think of in casual Las Vegas dining, and we were off to a flying start.

Lunch on Sunday – Another tradition of the trip with the poker buddies is going to Rum Runner on Tropicana to watch the Green Bay Packers game.  I will detail Rum Runner on a future blog, but it is a Packers Bar in which every TV in the place is tuned to the Packers game when it is on.  But every time we watch the game there, I have to get the 1/2# bacon cheeseburger.  It’s just good… and is a perfect accompaniment for a 25 oz PBR.

Dinner on Sunday – As we were waiting for an early-evening poker game to begin at the Planet Hollywood, I wandered into the Miracle Mile mall to find a bathroom.  However, instinct took me to the right instead of the left, and I instead found Pink’s Hot DogsPink’s started in Hollywood and had been on numerous foodie TV shows.  I decided instantly that a dog had moved ahead of number one.

This Spicy Mojave Dog is a Polish Sausage that tastes exactly as good as it looks.

The fourth meal on Sunday – The rest of the guys hadn’t had anything to eat for dinner, so when we got back downtown after playing at Planet Hollywood, we ended up at the Pop Up Pizza at the Plaza.  Located towards the back of The Plaza, Pop Up Pizza is similar to the New York-style pizza served up and down the strip.  A slice of The White Chapel (ricotta, garlic, and basil) and a bottle of ginger ale was a solid way to end a far better food day.

Breakfast on Monday, September 14 – The choice of a later poker game gave us time to eat at Du-par’s inside the Golden Gate, and the only breakfast entree to have, is an order of pancakes.  Now here’s a tip for you… A “short stack” of two pancakes for $7.75 and a side order of bacon is $5.75 for a total of $13.50.  However, on the back of the menu is the Hot Cake Sandwich for $9.95, which consists of two pancakes, a side of bacon AND an egg.  It’s not really a sandwich, but it is three-and-a-half bucks less.

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Lunch on Monday – One of the poker buddies had a rough weekend and wasn’t winning much of anything.  To add insult to injury, he had watched Rounders before we left, and the scene with Worm in the Taj Mahal and the line “I got comped at the Noodle Bar” had him on the hunt for a noodle bar.  We couldn’t find one at mid-Strip with no notice, so we got him as close as possible with a lunch at The Oyster Bar at Harrahs.  (OK, so this isn’t even close to a noodle bar, but just go with me on this.) This took care of his jones for the short term, and I was able to have a delightful (if not a little expensive at $28) plate of a dozen Oysters Rockefeller.  Better than the food, though, was the service.  We sat at the counter and as I was discussing what I was having with the guys, one of the oyster preparers said that he had overheard the conversation, and if that were my order he’d get it started due to the cooking time.  That was really appreciated, as I hate wasting valuable Vegas time.

Oysters Rockefeller in their natural "before" state.
Oysters Rockefeller in their natural “before” state.

Dinner on Monday – Back to the Coronado Cafe at South Point, as we had headed back to try to recapture Saturday’s magic (Side note; we didn’t).  Our noodle-hunting buddy decided to look at their Chinese menu, and although I am not a big Chinese food fan, I took a look as well.  I shared in his Roast Duck Lettuce Wraps appetizer, which were not particularly awe-inspiring.  For my entree, I chose the Mongolian Beef, which was very good (so good that it almost made me forget that I passed on the prime rib special again) and was served with fried noodles and three dipping sauces.

Breakfast on Tuesday, September 15 – After what seemed like an eternity trying to get an $11 valet charged comped, I was quite angry with the folks at the Downtown Grand.  So how did I take out my frustrations?  I had a competent Belgian Waffle at their S + O coffee shop.  Showed them who’s boss!

Dinner on Tuesday – I skipped out on lunch in favor of not forfeiting a poker tournament that ran quite long.  However, since I started the vacation with a roadside McDonalds breakfast, there was something oddly fitting about eating my final dinner at Wendy’s in the McCarran Airport.  And you know what?  It was fantastic. I’ve never complained about the quality of Wendy’s fast food burgers, and this was certainly up to their standards.

So to summarize, I had some great meals, some lousy ones and some in between.  I love to eat, and I love to explore, so this was a great dining trip.

[Photos: Michael James]

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