Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Las Vegas! I miss you!

Christina got me thinking about Vegas. About all the great things to do there and about all the things I really want to do while I'm there this time. Everything I wrote is in this blue color. Stuff I pulled off other websites is in black. I tried to link everything up so ya'll would know where it came from. If you have more information about Vegas that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about it. I LOVE Vegas.

Hotdog - Gold Coast - 10 am-7 pm - 75¢ The 75¢ hot dogs served from a vendor's cart at the Gold Coast also move up a notch on a seasonal consideration (#9). It's baseball season, after all, and they're available right there in the sports book where the games are constantly televised. And unlike the ballpark (where the dogs cost five times as much), these come with fantastic fixins', including sauerkraut, relish, and onions.
Link
I don't think it was the Gold Coast, I think it might be next door, but the 1/2 pound hotdog is definitely enough to share!!! Buy one and split it just for the novelty. I smothered mine in the runny cheese they have, but it didn't really save the taste. It was still a boiled hotdog. hehe. I won't order that again, but it was DEFINITELY worth the giggles the first time. The margaritas sold with the 1/2 hotdogs are okay, not great on taste, but pretty strong on the tequila. My boyfriend, loved the strawberry shortcake (I think it might have been $1.25). Fun for a quick lunch.


Barbary Coast - (Check Prices) The Victorian coffee shop is a nice one, especially if you can enjoy a decent breakfast with sausage, hash browns and eggs for about $3 late at night.
Link
I haven't tried this place yet, but I think it is worth looking into, so I posted it to help remind myself. Generally speaking, we weren't up late enough to do any of the midnight dinners, or at least we weren't hungry at that time. Still a very cute idea. I think my goal might be to stay awake long enough to get some late night yum-yums.

Link to Free/Cheap things to do in Vegas
The fountains at the Bellagio are very neat. You have to show up a little early or you won't get a front row view. When the fountains aren't going, hehe, I always thought it was fun to watch the ducks/geese (I'm pretty sure they were unwanted guests). One thing I've read a lot is to watch your purse/wallet at the Bellagio fountain show. You get packed in pretty tight with people pushing forward trying to get a better view, so remember that there are pick-pockets in the crowd.

The show at Treasure Island is fun, but if someone so much as sneezes, the show is cancelled due to wind restrictions. It is definitely worth a watch, plus it is free! The same wind restrictions limit the Mirage's volcano from going off, but when it does it is pretty neat. The volcano erupting didn't ever seem to draw much of a crowd, so it is a great thing to watch at your leisure.

I adore the circus --just blame it on the 6-year-old side of my personality-- so I love all the free shows at Circus Circus. You get to watch high-wire trapeez acts and clowns and skits...very fun! I never really figured out the schedule for shows, we just would walk in and within 30 minutes or so a new show would be starting.

Link to Cheap Food choices in Vegas

For breakfast I would recommend La Salsa Cantina. There are a few of them on the Strip and breakfast is $3.95, not huge portions but enough. I know there is one inside Desert Passage (Planet Hollywood) and on by MGM in the mall with M&M World.
I haven't eaten here, but once again, something I plan to check out when I'm in Vegas. I loved the Desert Passage Mall. Hehe. How cool is it to have a random mall inside a casino! I didn't do any shopping while in Vegas (hadn't really budgeted for it) and to be honest, I thought the prices were a little high (I'm from the midwest, everything is cheaper here =0p ) but it was still a great time for window shopping.

A great list of the Buffets
We loved the spice Market Buffet inside of the Alladin (I think it is "planet hollywood" now). We'll probably make that our first stop when we get into Vegas after checking into the hotel. A great big meal, a quick nap (or vice versa depending on how I feel after the plane ride) and then lots of fun!

Excalibur's buffet was okay, but I won't eat there again.

The boyfriend and I both really enjoyed the Buffet at Treasure Island named Dishes. At least I'm fairly certain it was at treasure island. Believe it or not, he LOVED their salads which were made to order right in front of your eyes. I liked the sweets (suprise, suprise!) but come on! When was the last time you saw cotton candy on the sweets table. hehe.

As you can probably see from that link, buffets get MUCH more expensive for the "dinner" hour. However, if you don't mind eating a little early, figure out what time becomes "dinner" and show up 30 minutes early. That should get you through any line and into the buffet for "lunch time" prices. Plus, if the buffet changes out food from lunch to dinner, you actually get more choices most of the time =)

Other random thoughts:
Jimmy Buffets Margarita Ville is fun. It has a fun atmosphere with a giant blender full of booze. hehe. The hamburgers were yummy and the drinks were good. The prices weren't awful, but it was slightly pricey. I thought it was worth it, but I've always been a Jimmy fan.

Hardrock Cafe and Nascar Cafe. Both are cute, but I'm not sure I'd ever visit them again. Maybe for the novelty value, they are worth the trip, but the food wasn't all the great. It was very "pre-fab" food. Or, in other words, any 16 year old could have pushed a button on a microwave in the back to cook it.

Excalibur --while the food wasn't great, they did have some fun stuff going on upstairs. They had a free magic show. Sure, it was targeted at kids, but I loved it anyway. They also had some cute booths that did face painting (did I mention I act like a 6 year old sometimes?) and hair wrapping. Tons of fun! They have an arcade (I think it is called the midway) that has a bunch of cute, fun prizes. An easy way to spend $30 and an hour or two of your time.

Speaking of arcades, there is one on the strip too. I think it might be near the M&Ms store, there is a staircase in the middle of the sidewalk going down. I thought it might be some sort of subway entrance at first glance, but down inside is an arcade. I thought it was a fun stop over, plus it was well air conditioned inside which was nice since it was 110 degrees when we went.

For fancy dining, we dressed up and went out to Emeril's New Orleans Fish House . OMG!!! Yum doesn't even begin to describe it, but if you notice, the prices aren't labeled on the menu. Never a good sign! We splurged here and went big on the food. It was fantastic and worth every penny. The fish house is located inside the MGM grand, and reservations are pretty much a MUST. Dress code is also "nice" so no wearing shorts and a ratty t-shirt =) If the "fish house" part of the name turns you off because you don't like sea food, check out the menu. We had a steak and it was ....*sigh*....no words to describe it....just *heavenly sigh*

On the flip side, we also went to Emeril's Del Monico and we weren't impressed. We're from Missouri, so we love our steak, but for the price, this one wasn't that great. I would have rather spent that money somewhere else....a very disappointing feeling. Now, maybe we just didn't try the right steak for us, but if you want to go to an Emeril restaurant, I'd definitely recommend the Fish House of Delmonico.

This is starting to look like a novel, so I'll stop writing now. Once again, I'd love to hear comments and suggestions about things to do on the Vegas Strip or Fremont Street (we have yet to make it down there on a vacation. This year will be the year to visit Fremont Street!!!)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

amazing thanks for all this great info, I am so checking this stuff out while I am there, you rock thank you thank you thank you
VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

AshleyHami said...

The minimum balance is $1 ;) There is also no penalty for using your money - anytime. I liked them so much I put some moolah into one of their GIC's. I did a one year @ 4% with a 1.5% penalty if I withdrawl the funds earlier. Once I have saved some more I might venture into some Mutual Funds! FUN!!

I understand what you are saying about the lack of physical bank. I still have an account with a "physical" location - CIBC. But I feel really confident going with ING Direct from all of the rave reviews I have heard - from both Canadians and ppl from the US. I looked at a lot of different options for a savings account. Although some online banks offer slightly higher interest rates I wasn't confident with their reputation - or I had lack of knowlege of them.

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll make the right choice for you 'cause hey "it's your money" ;) Lemmie know if you want me to refer you - no worries though!

Congrats on the house thingy!!!

othurme said...

Yolee's Brazilian BBQ is great if you are a big meat eater. It's in a little mini mall off the strip, but any cab driver will know it by name. Soup, Salad and all the steak, chicken, turkey wrapped in back, pork loin, and Brazilian sausage (carved off of swords onto your plate by the waiters) you can eat for like $22.

And if you like fancy food and Japanese, Nobu (in the Hard Rock Hotel) is my favorite restaurant in Vegas. Expect to spend $75 per person or more. Tell them how much you want to spend, what things you like and dislike, and the chef will customize a menu for you. Don't bother with the printed menu. The more your willing to spend per head, the better and you don't have to like sushi to love Nobu, but it's a big bonus if you do.

othurme said...

By the way, Emeril's Fish House is my most frequented restaurant in Vegas. The service is fantastic and that's a big thing for me.

JFarrlley said...

The one thing I can remember about Fremont Street:

Deep Fried Twinkies!

http://www.pbase.com/fletcher_hill/image/47912432

You have to have one (and deep fried oreos too!)

Other than that, Fremont is a great place if you like to gamble in low amounts. You can find quarter blackjack tables in some casinos...

Carrie said...

Ahhhhhh, Vegas!!

I was only there for two days (to get married!), but I want to go back soooo bad. Hubby HAD to have his best friend along to be his best man, so along with him came his domineering girlfriend (ohmygosh we HAVE to go here and see this because I went to see it when I was here with my sister and it was SO much fun, so we have to do it too because it was SO much fun).. end of the story being that neither hubby or I got to do the things we had hoped to do while we were there. I wanted to do a gondola ride at the Venetian, he wanted to see the Bellagio fountain. So we have to go back one of these days! :) Good to find someone who knows a lot about it, I'll definitely come back and re-check here if we ever get a chance to plan another trip!