2nd Umami Burger Was Even Better Than The First
If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know that I had lunch at Umami Burger at SLS Las Vegas the other day. This was my second visit to…
Caesars Happy Hour Deals In Vegas
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First Impressions Of SLS Las Vegas
My first impression of SLS Las Vegas is positive but not perfect. Nothing is perfect as far as I’m concerned. I’ve already detailed some of the flaws from the first few days of business in a separate post.
1. The Setup
The pre-opening moniker SLS Las Vegas used to describe the property was “affordable luxury”. That set up for the hotel to be fancy on a budget. For example there’s no way to make Ikea furniture feel luxurious but it can look nice. With that in mind I went in with limited expectations.
2. Casino Layout
I care more about the casino than most of SLS Las Vegas. The floor plan is only 60,000 square feet. If you ever visited Sahara this is 20,000 square feet less. The floor plan is small, which is fine but there are choke points that make it almost impossible to go to certain parts of the casino. The high traffic walkway by table area near the players club and The Griddle is tight and will always be busy. There are similar choke points on the slot floor that will be impossible to walk through because machines are packed so closely. Just scope out areas before sitting down at a table or machine.
Layout aside there are ample 3:2 blackjack games for $5 and $10. Craps has $10 minimums. There is decent video poker and all new slot machines. I dig all of this and wouldn’t mind gambling here. US Poker has a breakdown of most of the games.
Parts of the casino floor seem dark and that can make the tight casino feel almost claustrophobic on busy nights. This feels like a casino I’d visit during the day more than at night.
3. Umami Burger – Sportsbook – Beer Garden
This is the part of the casino I was most looking forward to. A sportsbook that serves good burgers and good beer? This might be heaven. It is and it isn’t. This isn’t a sportsbook.
Umami Burger a sports bar/restaurant with a patio and a place to bet on sports. Burger prices are between $12 and $15. Not too bad for the Vegas Strip. Draft beers are around $9-10 and bottles start at $5. There are no drink tickets from William Hill for sports bets as of opening but I think that will change. If you drink/eat at the video poker bar your drinks will be comp’d while you have money in play.
I really like this as a restaurant. Like I said in Vegas Chatter this is a good sports bar/restaurant but it’s not a traditional sportsbook. It should be packed with sports fans for big events but expect to see kids and families in the mix on other days. Even thought it’s not a traditional sportsbook this is my favorite spot at SLS Las Vegas.
Note, you can still sit and watch games without spending any money. However, if there are paying customers for Umami Burger you’ll politely be asked to leave if you’re not spending money.
4. Dining and High Priced Drinks
Prime At Bellagio, This Is How Steak Dinner Should Be
About a month ago I visited Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio. Dinner was so flawless that I almost forgot about it. Almost.
Prime sits on the Bellagio lake that looks out onto the Vegas Strip. We planned to sit outside on the patio so we could enjoy the Bellagio Fountain Show but it was a bit hot for that. The sun was setting on a 115 degree day and it didn’t seem like the right time to eat steak outdoors. Call me crazy but steak outside doesn’t sound awesome when it’s still 100 degrees outside. We opted to sit inside and ended up with a seat near the window so we could kinda see the show.
Since this was a birthday celebration dinner started with a couple of drinks. Macallan 12 with 4 cubes (of ice) was how I began the night. As usual the ice was nearly melted when the drink arrived and totally gone when I finally got around to taking a sip.
Each section at Prime has 3 distinct waiters. SW Steakhouse at Wynn has a similar staffing model and it’s wonderful. You’re always speaking with someone who knows their section of the menu, be it a drink, food or otherwise.
There’s always a waiter checking in to see if you need something. THIS is how dinner at a $100+ per person meal should be served. Thankfully the service wasn’t the only great part of dinner.
I’m usually a New York Strip guy but recently have found myself enjoying a filet mignon my last few times out. When I saw that there was bone-in filet mignon on the menu, I had to have it. If there’s one complaint about the filet cut of steak is that it’s not flavorful. It makes sense since there isn’t much fat to keep the flavor in. The bone acted as a flavor saver (TWSS).
The bone-in filet mignon at Prime was outstanding!
As you can see I was so excited looking at the steak that I couldn’t wait to take a picture before digging in. The steak was so juicy and flavorful that I almost couldn’t believe that it was a filet. The steak was so gentle to the touch that I barely had to put pressure on the knife to cut it.
At BLT Steak; No Wine, No Cocktails, No Service
I’ve been looking forward to checking out BLT Steak at Bally’s since the great New York City steakhouse was first announced. Last night I finally got to dine at BLT Steak. Since the NYC location of BLT Steak was a favorite when I lived there I was hoping for the same in Las Vegas. Any positive thoughts I had of the food were erased by bad service.
I ordered the Bone-In New York steak. Besides the last, and most important, bite it was really good. I don’t like my steak being sliced for me since it normally loses juice and flavor. This steak was prepared well enough that the flavor wasn’t lost. The last bite was a very charred and too burned for my taste – and I like char. I was saving this piece for my last bite and was disappointed.
The hash brown side was bland but fine. The bacon and jalapeño corn was fantastic. The corn was smokey and a little spicy. The corn was the standout dish of dinner.
Now for the service issues.
BLT Burger Late Night Happy Hour
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LVH Is Out, Westgate Las Vegas Is In. Here’s What To Expect.
Last week LVH was sold to Westgate. In turn the hotel formerly known as LVH, Hilton and International will now be known as Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The purchase price was somewhere around $180 million and the owner says that they will put more than twice that much into rehabbing the old property.
A lot of changes are planned for the new Westgate Las Vegas, here’s what you need to know:
Vegas Vacation Notes
Every trip I take in Vegas I usually take notes whenever I have a free moment. These notes are reminders of what happened and usually lead to bigger articles and posts in the future. As you’ll see this vacation was a bit hazy but here ya go!
Sat
D grill – bat toast
Fremont hotel
DTG – lose BJ
Pizza Rock – NYer. Fantastic
Fremont casino AC awful
D craps 45 minute roll
Pizza rock HH loud
D cafe closes 10p
FSE shit show
$3 3 foot hot dog. Oy.
Sun
D grill
Flamingo “hey, the room is free”
Fab room – bad cell reception/data
Prime
Macallan
Cromwell
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