I've not had any time to discover the fine dining in this city yet, so when my parents called and said they were dropping in for a visit this weekend and to book some restaurants, I was stumped. First of all-- President's Day weekend. Second-- Valentine's Day. What the heck. Anyway, after scurrying around to find some places, I've come up with the following:

Shintaro @ Bellagio, Fri.
Jasmine @ Bellagio, Sat.
Alize @ Palms, Sun.

Are these places any good? Zagat rated them as the tops of their fields (Japanese, Chinese, and French, respectively), but I prefer recommendations from people I know that have taste... and if you drive a G, you have taste. Anyone heard anything about them? Sat. night was a stretch, cuz finding a restaurant reservation in Vegas on V-Day is kind of hard. I'd prefer not to eat at the Bellagio two nights in a row, but I had to fenagle that reservation. Any ideas??

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

geo,check out RESTAURANTS AT THE VENETIAN i go to vegas few times a year and venetian is my home away from home.so far i've try delmonico steak house,postrio and royal star,they're all good

 

Second vote for Delmonico steak house at the Venetian. It was really good.

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2003 CB Coupe 6MT
Z-tube
Stillen Hi-flow

 

I really want to try out Delmonico; I've heard nothing but good things. Thanks! I'm a liiiittle critical when it comes to my food, just FYI. Here's an example...

[Food Critic]
I ate at Postrio a while ago, and the food was... okay. That would've been a small problem, but the downright anemic portions made me wonder where exactly my $40 entree was hiding on my plate [img]/w3timages/icons/frown.gif[/img]. The hilariously inflated prices of their wines, (combined with their wait-staff's complete lack of knowledge about any of them) made me think this was another restaurant that slapped a well-known name on its sign, grabbed a handful of mediocre-at-best recipes, and paid a string of short-order cooks to half-fill giant plates with their "taste sensations" that fall short in being anything near tasty nor sensational.
[/Food Critic]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

Geo, forget the fine dining for now and go to IN-N-OUT Hamburgers! You said that you haven't tried them yet. The fine dining can wait. Take care of the "basics" first! I'm just rattling you!

2003-G35C-5AT Laser Red/Black/Prem/XM/Tint/Chrome 17's/Black Badged

 

also these are the two places that i like to try but never did: for a big juicy steak (if you're into 'cow') try ALAN ALBERT'S 740-4421 and for seafood lover try ROSEWOOD GRILLE 792-5965 saw their ad with a guy holding the lobster and the claws of that lobster are as big as the guy's head.not saying that they have a lobster that big avaiable [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] seafood is my 'thing' you know...

 

You know, I get Zagat's every month, and In-N-Out has repeatedly been rated near perfect for food quality. Of course Environment, etc. doesn't get perfect, but still... Gotta try 'em. Steaks are wonderful, and I love a nice juicy one, but when I go for finer dining, I think of skillful dishes. Mmm...

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
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Oh Geo one thing about Delmonico, when you get a steak have med done or else they burn it. I mean thats the only thing I didnt like is that when I asked for well done they burned the outside of the steak but the inside was still pink. Go figure.

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2003 CB Coupe 6MT
Z-tube
Stillen Hi-flow

 

I can't eat a steak if it's any more cooked than Medium Rare. My mother was trained with chefs that said they get insulted when someone orders a steak anything over Medium, hehe. Damn french.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

Geo: Hey, there is an In & Out by UNLV. We should swing by there some time. I thought the only one out here was west of Tropicana.

 

The only one I know of was the one we went to at like 3am thinking it might possibly be open. Of course we ended up at Del Taco... surprise. Oh wait, do you remember that? [img]/w3timages/icons/blush.gif[/img]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

1 word

Delmonicos

Best steak I have even eaten.

2004 Twilight Blue Coupe
6 spd
Premium Package
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Geo, I'm with you.. there are only 3 ways to cook a steak: Rare, Medium Rare, and Burnt. My grandfather likes his steak well done with ketchup. Blech. A good steak doesn't need any sauce.

Doesn't Emeril have a restaurant at one of those strip hotels? How's that rate in Zagat?

 

Del Monico's Steakhouse is Emeril's restaurant and it is a good one! Put in my vote Good luck with reservations, though. We had to put ours in a month in advance last year.

 

Ok, one more place.

The Stratosphere Tower Restaurant has great food. Not quite up to the prices, but still very good. Also, you will definitely get enough to eat. The atmosphere is killer and I think any date would be impressed by the place.

Keep in mind that everything is a la carte. Dinner for two with drinks, tax, and tip will run $100-150(entrees are $20-40). So it is a bit less expensive than Delmonicos. You need reservations. Also, it is a long walk from valet to the tower(you get a free ride).

Another secret: if you want a ride up the tower but don't want to pay, go to the Tower Lounges happy hour....or go to the restaurant for lunch where the full course meals are all $15 or so.

The best things I have ordered there were the prime rib(not the blackened version), the lobster tail, lobster bisque, and the scampi apetizer.

Make sure you go after dark so you can see the entire strip lit up.

Also, best buffet for the price is Alladin. Belagio is better, but not by much and costs $10 more. Many in my party did not like the "exotic" food at the Bellagio buffet, although I did. Alladin buffet is $20 most nights and includes crab legs. Just be aware that if you show up after 4pm you will probably have to wait in line at least 30 minutes to an hour, if not more.