Vegas Day 1: Chinois and "Wing It"

We arrived in Vegas last Sunday for our third annual trip to the NAB Convention. Joining J-Bends, Niko and I on his inaugural trip to NAB was the Sanch. RRR also came along for the ride, however, I couldn't convince her to actually come to the convention with us; I guess the pool at Caesar's is a bit more inviting.

After settling in, we decided to walk through the Caesar's Forum Shops to find some lunch. After weighing our options, we settled on Wolfgang Puck's Chinois. We started our meal with the very tasty chicken and shitake spring rolls. The rolls were crisp and juicy without being overly greasy and the chicken was very flavorful. The portions were a bit small however, and the four of us wound up with about half a roll apiece.

I chose the firecracker shrimp for my main course which consisted of shrimp in a spicy yet tangy sauce accompanied by bok choy, water chestnuts and basil. The vegetables provided the perfect amount of crunch and the spiciness of the shrimp was just about right and some sticky rice certainly helped balance out the bit of heat from the dish.

After spending time at an Avid off site at the Hard Rock Hotel (complete with open bar and a few hors'douvres) we regrouped at the hotel and decided it was time to get a bite to eat. It was decided prior to leaving that this was going to be the one meal that was not preplanned and it was a bit disappointing for J-Bends to learn that "Wing It" didn't mean chicken wings and beer.

We ventured over to Mandalay Bay and had a casual meal at Burger Bar. I had a delightfully medium rare burger with mushrooms and onion rings and we ordered some sweet potato fries for the table. The fries were crispy and wonderfully salted and the onion rings were far above average. Thick rings of onions that didn't fall out of the batter after a bite.

The burger fared equally as well. The quality of the beef was outstanding and it was perfectly charred on the outside and bright juicy pink on the inside. What a way to kick off the week.

Note: I refrained from snapping photos to ease my co-workers into what was sure to be a photographic nightmare....

Rao's: It's about frickin time!

Day three in Vegas was our "free day" and after breakfast at Caesar's Augustus Cafe (where a three egg omelet is really a 24 dollar six egg omelet) we decided to relax by the pool. Like everything in Vegas the Caesar's pool is a bit of a sight with its Roman columns and Jacuzzi spas but certainly worth the trip. Despite the gale force winds that blew a few lounge chairs into the pool, we decided to hang for a bit.

The omelet eventually wore off and J-Bends and I decided to get a bite at Snackus Maximus to keep us going until tonight's dinner at Rao's. (Side note: Is that not the best name ever for a poolside snack bar?) We split an order of the spicy chicken nachos and an order of eggrolls. The nachos were quite tasty with the zesty seasoning of the chicken and fresh tomatoes and guacamole. The eggrolls fared equally as well and the dipping sauces (including a nice mustard) were lightly fried without being greasy. Of course the main goal of the afternoon was how many times one could work Snackus Maximus into the conversation! Awesome!

Dinner tonight was the long-awaited trip to Rao's. When I had called to move our reservation from Sunday to Wednesday night, the reservationist informed me that our 9:30pm reservation could be easily moved. A trip to the hostess stand en route to the pool moved us up to 8:15pm - no problem. No problem? Well... after being told that our table was being cleared and we will be seated shortly we watched as a few groups of goombahs were escorted into the dining room. When I asked the hostess what happened to our immediate seating, she explained that OOPS! someone was seated at our table and now we had one party in front of us. When I put up a bit of a stink, she agreed to buy us a drink at the bar to let us cool our heels. I must say, I certainly didn't feel like I was a valued customer.

J-Bends and I took this opportunity to enjoy an expensive glass of Brunello di Montalcino. When the bartender started to pour, I realized this wine was from none other than everyone's favorite Mafioso psychiatrist, Lorraine Bracco. Suprisingly, the wine was dry, tannic, full-bodied and quite impressive. Not too shabby, Lorraine, not too shabby... I just might forgive the shoddy treatment at the front of the house.

We eventually began our meal with orders of cold antipasto and meatballs. The prosciutto was a bit thicker than I am accustomed to but lean, salty and delicious.

Unfortunately, Niko and J-Bends did not partake in Meatball Madness so they couldn't compare to mine, but to be honest, the Rao's meatballs were darn pretty good. Beefy and dense in a sweet marinara sauce; not the best I've had in a restaurant but certainly up there on the meatball leader board.

J-Bends had veal marsala for her main and while she did enjoy her meal, I don't think Rao's veal stood a chance against the previous night's veal-a-palooza at David Burke. Niko had Rao's signature lemon chicken and I went with my perennial Italian favorite, frutti di mare.

Rao's version was a nice departure from the norm. The generous portion of fresh seafood was the bulk of the dish with just enough fresh squid ink pasta not to throw the carb-pasta ratio out of whack. The spicy tomato sauce was thick and chunky but in perfect proportion to the seafood.

While I wasn't completely knocked out by my meal here; I was certainly pleased and impressed on quite a few fronts. Enough to overlook the diss at the front of the house and I sealed the deal with an obligatory handshake from the owner's son, Frank Pellegrino, Jr.

Perhaps a trip uptown to the original is in order... Can someone help me get a reservation?

Vegas! Finally!!!!!

Shockingly, we made it to Vegas during last weekend's Nor'Easter with only a two hour flight delay and despite the hordes of annoying fliers who descended upon JFK. Coupled with every engineer, editor, cameraman and producer in the tri-state area trying to get to NAB to say it was hectic was a bit of an understatement.

Foodie's main concern, however, was our Sunday night reservation at Rao's. The more our flight's departure time got pushed back, the more I saw my chances of eating at Rao's slipping away. The reservationist was quite helpful over the phone and I finally admitted dining defeat and pushed our reservation to Wednesday evening. Alas, Michael Mina, perhaps it was not meant to be...

Of course Foodie was packing because God forbid I travel without snacks! While I did not get to enjoy a relaxing Italian feast Sunday night I did get to enjoy a lovely sandwich from my local gourmet store, The Garden of Eden. Garden of Eden can be a bit pricey but for 7 bucks you get the mother of all sandwiches.

I devoured the Italian sandwich which includes prosciutto, sopressata, mozzerella, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil with a light basil vinaigrette. They pack so much into this sandwich that half is plenty for me and unfortunately I couldn't persuade my travel companions to partake in the other half.

By the time we landed, retrieved our luggage, checked in and got to Caesar's we were pretty beat. Our upgraded rooms made up for the travel delays but food was not on the brain. We had a drink in Shadow and I called it a night.

I needed my energy for the dining experiences ahead...oh yeah and for the convention too!