It has been exactly two years since I last visited Las Vegas. Then I concentrated on the MGM/Mirage group of hotels. This time it was the hotels of Harrah’s including: Caesars Palace, Rio, Paris, Bally’s, Harrah’s, Imperial Palace & Flamingo. (I did not get to Harrah’s, Imperial Palace or the Flamingo). In 2007 I stayed at Harrah’s in New Orleans for the wine and food festival and asked them to reach out to their Las Vegas counterparts to assist me.
It must have been a world’s record but all four of my Continental flights left and arrived on time. One key for the always busy New York airports is to take the 5:45AM LaGuardia flight (through Houston). It is the first flight of the morning and the plane originates there.
If you think New York taxis are expensive wait until you take one in Las Vegas. The 10 minute ride from the airport to the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino, my home for three nights, was $17 with tip. Additionally if you want to pay by credit card there is a fee of $2.95. I took advantage of the early arrival to try the spa ($22 additional a day) and tour the hotel. It sits five minutes from the strip with separate free shuttles (every half hour) to Caesars Palace, Bally’s/Paris and Harrah’s/Flamingo. The Rio is an all-suite hotel with 2,560 rooms in two towers. Highlights include a bowling alley, the aforementioned spa/fitness center, and nightly free 15 minute Masquerade in the Sky Shows. They reminded me of Carnivale and featured floats that suspend from the ceiling above the casino floor with performers dancing and singing.
My first appointment was with Ryan Voss, Wine Director for the Rio, Bally & Paris hotels. I had last visited the Wine Cellar just after it opened in 1997. They still carry over 1,400 wines at retail, 100 wines by the glass and a 50,000 bottle wine inventory. The wine bar has munchies and cheese platters to enhance your wine enjoyment. There are custom wine and food dinners served right in the Wine Cellar. The oldest bottle in stock is an 1800 Thomas Jefferson Madeira. The 1924 six liter Mouton Rothschild sells for $200,000. There are 170 vintages of Chateau d’YQuem dating back to 1855 which can be yours for a mere $1.5 million. It was an all Rio day when I attended the Penn & Teller show that evening. Their magic act involves a lot of audience participation and was great entertainment.
I first met Adam Carmer nine years ago when he was the maitre d’ at Kokomos at the Mirage. Adam has taught wine and hospitality courses at UNLV since 1996. He now owns Adam’s Ribs, a BBQ restaurant opened in April 2007. I was here to see his Freakin’ Frog Bar/Lounge located across the street from UNLV. What drew me there was its collection of 900 beers. Above the bar is the Whisky Attic, a private club with over 600 whiskies including Rye, Irish, Canadian, Bourbon, Scotch and International products. Adam told me it is the largest collection in a whisky-only bar in the world. If anyone knows of a larger collection please let me know.
Mid-day I visited the newly opened Town Square Mall located a few minutes from the strip. When complete this 1.5 million square foot center (22 buildings) will have 150 stores. It is set up as a small town downtown with streets making it very easy to navigate. The Children’s park area was the largest I had seen in a shopping center. There is a 42 foot tree, climbing ropes, a fort, hedge maze, a Princess Tower Playhouse and a fountain with 35 jets for splashing. I had lunch at Louis’s Las Vegas. His Fish Camp is next door and features Low country (South Carolina) cuisine.
My busy day continued with a shuttle ride to Paris and The Eiffel Tower Experience. An elevator takes you up 48 stories over the strip. Night time viewing, with all the lights, is breathtaking. Dinner was at The Eiffel Tower Restaurant, a mere 100 feet up. My window table afforded a panoramic view of the strip (albeit at a lower level) including the Dancing Fountains at the Bellagio. The restaurant is operated by the Lettuce Entertain You folks who operate 31 restaurant concepts, mainly in the Chicago area. The food and service was Five Star. Their wine list contained over 1,000 wines including 47 different half bottle selections. Almost the entire list is French and California with 16 vintages of Chateau Latour & 17 of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The 1982 Chateau Petrus is the most expensive at $12,000 & a DRC Le Montrachet 2003 is $4,600.
I finished my day at Jubilee, a Don Arden production at Bally’s (next door to Paris). This classic show just celebrated its 25th year. It represented the last of the lost art of Las Vegas extravaganza’s with costumes by Bob Mackie. There are 100 performers including 50 topless dancers. The costumes, singing and dancing brought back memories of my first trip to Las Vegas in 1955. The special effects (Titanic and Samson segments were spectacular) and the between scene “Ed Sullivan variety acts” made me long for that lost art form. It might not be “hip” but you will still shout “hooray”.
My last day gave me the morning free to once again use the Spa at the Rio. The fitness center led to the whirlpool, sauna and steam rooms. Rejuvenated, I met Alejandra Gilbert, the public relation person for the Rio at the brand new RUB BBQ (Kansas City style) restaurant. Owner Andrew Fischel was in town and we chatted about his New York City and now Las Vegas operations.
I took the shuttle bus to Caesars Palace where Alyssa Bushey, from the public relations department, led me first to Payard Patisserie & Bistro whose signature shop is at 73rd Street & Lexington Avenue. Francoise Payard intends to repeat his success in Las Vegas. Bradley Ogden’s son Bryan runs the Las Vegas operation of Bradley Ogden’s namesake restaurant at Caesars Palace for his father who became a super-star chef in the San Francisco area. I had eaten at Rao’s in New York exactly once and considered myself lucky. The original restaurant is at 114th Street off Pleasant Avenue and has been duplicated with two rooms of 10 tables each to replicate the New York City restaurant. According to insider Michael Ciravolo, "You got a better chance of getting hit in the ass by lightning" than ever getting a seat. Even the photos hung around the two rooms were taken from the original location. There is also a “feast area”, bar and outdoor seating, including a Bocce ball court. Frank Pellegrino Jr and his wife Carla bring a New York attitude to Rao’s Las Vegas (his father is co-owner of Rao’s New York). Here, as in all the restaurants I visited, there is a connection to ownership. No absentee or TV chefs here.
We had dinner at Guy Savoy in the Bites & Bubble Lounge area. Son Franck and wife Laura moved here for the March 2006 opening. The family has five restaurants in France. They have a 1,900 bottle wine list including: 14 Krug Champagnes, 23 Le Montrachet, 42 DRC’s, 14 vintages of Chateau Mouton & Lafite Rothschild, 13 Chateau Margaux’s, 15 Chateau Petrus, 29 Guigal Grand Cru Cote Rotie’s and 17 vintages of Chateau d’YQuem. It was back to the Rio and a visit to the 51st floor VooDoo Steak & Lounge. The outdoor area gives one another panoramic view of the strip.
There were new restaurants, hotels and shopping areas being built as I drove around town. Stay tuned for Part Three in two years.
For More Information-
www.harrahs.com
www.visitlasvegas.com
www.freakinfrog.com
www.townsquarelasvegas.com
www.guysavoy.com
www.payard.com
www.eiffeltowerrestaurant.com
www.louislasvegas.com
www.rubbbq.net