Vegas on Two Wheels: The Hard Rock Café

Greg Bennett parks his hog at The Hard Rock Café for music memorabilia and tasty food.

This past weekend I laid low within the city! Grabbed some sun, a few shorts rides here and there but when it came down to grabbing a bite to eat, I could only think of one rockin’ place to hit up on two wheels! I am talking about the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Blvd.! Rumble on with me and don’t forget your fork and steak knife, this is Vegas on Two Wheels!

The Hard Rock Café can be found in hundreds of locations across the country and over 40 locations in Asia alone. You would think there Cafes would lose their glitz and glamor possibly quality to the food they serve due to just the sheer amount of locations to control. It happens to the best restaurants and, for the most part, it was expected in my own opinion. I am here to assure you that this is not the case for the Hard Rock Café on the Blvd! In fact, it went above my expectations and then some!

In all honesty, I do not normally visit the strip as a local. It is usually something I bypass on my way to another spot in the valley and with the Café nestled in between Coca-Cola, Ross, and the M&M store, it kind of gets lost in all the neon flare even with the flashing guitar sign making up the front side of the building. This time around, I was stuck at the light at Tropicana and the Blvd coming off the I-15. I noticed it looking down the strip while waiting for the light and thought I would pull into the MGM to park and walk over for a bite!

The ride is super simple and smooth; it’s also quite fun to rev up the RPMs while moving around the Blvd. Yeah, sometimes I like the attention hahaha. The walk from MGM to Hard Rock Café is mostly through the casino so you don’t have to worry about walking in the baking sun for long. After exiting the MGM to the right and walking about a block and a half up the road, you will find yourself in front of the Hard Rock Café!

My first impressions walking into the building is that it was another typical tourist trap. The first floor was a gift shop with an escalator heading up to the second floor. If you didn’t know better, you would think that the escalator just goes up to an extension of the gift shop but that is far from the truth. I grabbed the escalator up just as Stair Way to Heaven started to play on both floors. I could help but chuckle on the perfect timing of the song.

As you climb, the walls around you a decorated in badass-dom! Guitars, drum sets, symbols, mics all used at some point the gods of rock! Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, ZZ Top, ACDC, rock history lining red walls and I was in awe! At the top, the receptionist welcomed me to the Café. It was hard for me to listen to here with full on costumes worn by Amy Winehouse, Steven Tyler, and Prince were encased in a glass wall.

After making it to my table I was impressed by the entire set up of the restaurant. Towards the front of the café is an outside seating area where a live band played all of the most popular rock covers of all time. The music was not overpowering and you could listen and carry on a conversation at the same time. Towards the back, family oriented seating was available so it was not overcrowded with tables.

Obviously, this is a restaurant so food would be the next to strike and I gotta tell ya, the food was killer! The menu itself is not huge like you would get a Claim Jumper but had plenty to choose from! Drinks specials were not over priced and I just had to partake in a Hurricane. The drink was 20 Oz and cost $12 something I would expect from the local casinos or downtown and nowhere near Blvd prices! Two thumbs up for the drink menu for sure!

Now, at the time, I was totally craving a burger so I went with their Hickory BBQ Bacon burger with sautéed onions and fries. The cost, $15.99; The burgers ranged from $12.99 to $17.99 which is slightly cheaper than any other burger on the main strip. What I was concerned with was that I was going to get little for my buck which is typical of the main Las Vegas Blvd. In fact, most places charge you extra to add fries. This time, the fires came with the meal and let me tell you, I was extremely satisfied! The burger was massive and the fries were generously stacked. But the taste….WOW! The burger was incredibly moist, the BBQ sauce was oaky with a sweet front and a slight mild heat to the back and the fries perfectly seasoned, crisp on the outside but soft/steamy on the inside. I was watering at the mouth while eating my burger! It was truly a tasty treat for the taste-buds!

My whole experience at the Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas Blvd. was above and beyond my expectations and I think above the expectations of most foodie joints on the strip! If you’re looking for a rockin’ time, fast polite service, and a killer meal for the buck, then Hard Rock Café is for you! Biker buddies, THIS is a stop you gotta make when your gut is growling for some grub!

[Photos: Greg Bennett]

Greg Bennett

Greg Bennett is the morning meteorologist on KTNV’s Good Morning Las Vegas newscast. He is an avid Harley rider but also is a huge classic car fan and loves to work on both. In his free time, you can catch Greg riding his bike around town, working out at the gym, hanging out with his Pit Bull (DewPoint), or getting his hands dirty by volunteering across the city of Las Vegas.