I’ve just returned from the 2009 BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas, the third such event I’ve been to and the fourth time I’ve been to Vegas. We left home at 4:00 am on Wednesday, October 14 and returned around 1:30 am on Monday, October 19. Five days away from home means an awful lot of eating out, and since we were sandwiching (no pun intended, I don’t think) our meals in between a lot of other things, we really didn’t pay that much attention to the quality of the cuisine. I’m sure there’s a lot of incredibly fine dining to be had in Las Vegas. We just haven’t had the time to go looking for it yet.
Having said that, here’s what I ate and drank while I was in town:
- Burgers at In-N-Out (my friend Josh ordered for me so I could get one done properly — the hot peppers just make the whole thing even better)
- Excellent draft beer and high quality bar food at The Pub in the Monte Carlo (the flatbread pizzas are excellent, as are the scrumptious onion rings)
- The usual more-food-than-anyone-can-eat breakfast at the Black Bear Diner (Jim and I managed to eat there a second time on our last day in town)
- A very good dinner at Garden of the Dragon in the Hilton (oh, and the house specialty drinks were quite good, too)
- Another very good dinner at the Yard House out in the ‘burbs, in a very Vegas-y shopping mall (the sliders that my friend Phillip ordered were quite possibly one of the best things I tasted the whole time I was there)
- Very nice cocktails at the Rhumbar at the Mirage
- A halfway decent burger at the Paradise Cafe in the Hilton — this was a meal of expedience
- Cold beer fresh from the bathtub in a suite at the Hilton
We were disappointed to discover that Hacienda Margarita in the Hilton no longer serves dinners. This has been one of our favorite meet-and-greet-and-drink-and-talk spots, and the food was cheap and pretty decent. The margaritas were good, too. They still serve those, but I never got one this year.
Dunkin Donuts does not exist on every street corner in Vegas. Jim drove 30 minutes one way to get 2 dozen donuts and a box of Joe while we were there. Some people got to go to A&W Root Beer and have a float. I wasn’t one of them.
It was really nice to have a home-cooked meal last night, I can tell you that.
We ate at Hubert Keller’s Burger Bar in Mandalay Place. Excellent! I mean –it was really good. Some people complained about the price, but frankly, it was on par with what Red Robbin charges.
Another one of our group went over to Fleur de Lys, Hubert Keller’s other place. He said it was WONDERFUL. But, I will say if you’re staying anywhere except the Mandalay Bay, take a cab. The walk from the MGM through Excalibur is crazy.
I really liked staying at the Renaissance right next door. It was so easy. No taking that monorail. And the food downstairs was excellent.
Comment by Kanani — October 21, 2009 @ 10:04 pm
I never cease to be amazed at how long it takes to get from one end of any given hotel in Vegas to the other. This is probably a good thing — alcohol has lots of calories.
I’m taking note of your dining experiences, Kanani — maybe next year we’ll branch out a little!
Comment by Lisa — October 21, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
[...] You find the original post here willkillforfood.com/ … | Lisa [...]
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