A week on the Vegas strip
An entire week on the strip! Yes, I can hear my liver screaming at me for the debauchery I am about to descend upon.
The week I spent recently in Las Vegas was all about being on the strip, instead of my usual wondering off into the real, maybe not so exciting city, away from the strip.
But staying on the strip comes with a hefty price tag. It takes money, a lot of money, to enjoy an entire week indulging oneself in the adult playground of America. As it is commonly referred to as the city of lost wages.
My week in Vegas started off with a shot, of what I call heroin (Jameson whiskey) to calm my chicken disorder known as: “I hate flying because I’m wacko afraid” of flying…before I board my flight from San Jose, CA. to Las Vegas, NV. The bars at the airport don’t open until 6 am, so I try not to fly any earlier than 730 am.
Food and Booze on the Strip
Carmine’s restaurant is located inside the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino.
This behemoth of a porterhouse steak was medium rare. Cooked to perfection in my mind. It fed 4 of us comfortably.
Carmine’s is “family style” which means every order is sizable and meant for multiple people to eat.
Gordon Ramsey Steak House is located inside Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
I’m not a big fan of Gordon Ramsey or his yelling, cussing and screaming on TV. However, his steakhouse at Paris Vegas, although super pricey, was good!
I ordered 3 ounces of Japanese Wagyu A5 steak as an appetizer. It melted in my mouth the second it hit my tongue. Not a whole lot of chewing necessary. It cost $40.00 per ounce.
The next course I ordered at Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse was the bone-in rib eye steak. Ignore that green junk on top of the steak. I’m aiming for the steak itself. Medium rare, full of flavor and so tender you could cut the steak with a butter knife.
The only word I could use to describe this steak is “phenomenal”!
With drinks and steaks for 4 people the price tag was just over $600 including tip.
Next on the food list was a place called International Smoke located inside MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.
This restaurant was all about smoked ribs. I bought the international combo which consisted of American Ribs with BBQ sauce, Vietnamese Ribs with a chili-lemongrass sauce and Korean Ribs with a great tasting Sesame-Gochujang sauce. The meat was tender, easily fell off the bone and the flavor of the smoke was perfect. It paired well with Jameson on the rocks!
The restaurant has other food for you non-rib folks. They serve burgers, steaks, fish and shellfish along with many appetizers and drinks.
Sake Rok is located in between the T-Mobile Arena (hockey stadium) and New York New York Hotel and Casino.
We stopped in for a bowl of ramen and some drinks. The ramen soup base was miso and it had: pork belly, a hard boiled egg, fish cakes, ramen noodles and seaweed. Great tasting on a cold Winter Vegas day. The gyoza (pot sticker) was made of pork and pan fried.
Buyer beware! A meal for two people cost us just over $100 before tip. That’s two bowls of ramen, two appetizer plates of pot stickers and two drinks. The sake alone was $35.00!
I can tell you, off the strip, a couple miles away, is a place called “SOJO” ramen. The cost there for two ramen bowls, two appetizers and two drinks was $35.00 total. The same price as the sake at Sake Rok!!
But that’s life on the strip. And I made the choice and paid the price for it.
Mon Ami Gabi restaurant inside Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino is a wonderful place to have some French food. It has a nice dining patio that overlooks the strip so you can eat, soak in the sun and people watch for hours.
I kept this meal simple since it was in between lunch and dinner time. The French onion Au Gratin soup baked with gruyere cheese was fantastic. The charcuterie board and cheese platter was a mix of fruits, olives, nuts, cheeses, salami, liver pate, headcheese and bread.
Vegas Nightlife
There are a lot of things to do at night in Vegas! When I visit the city I pick one or two things to do each night. Keeping it down to that many things helps prevent you from being overwhelmed and over-partied. Spreading it out each night is key to survival.
O’ Shea’s is my go-to place. You can sit at the outside bar and drink Jameson and people watch, you can gamble or you can listen to a live band and play beer pong all night.
If you like large crowds, crazy loud DJ music and high priced drinks then Omnia nightclub inside Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino is your place to be! Omnia is a top rated night club in Vegas. Known for its massive chandelier hanging above the dance floor that moves with lights flashing…is a sight to see. This club operates from 11 pm to 4 am. VIP table and bottle service starts at $1,500 on up to $5,000 or more depending on your group size. Or you can pay about $50, give or take, at the door and roam around with no table service and pay for individual drinks at the bar starting at about $25.00 a drink or more.
After a night of drinking there is one place to go at 4 am and it’s called White Castle! They are open 24 hours. I ordered 20 of these little burgers and might have eaten all them! It helps you vomit something back up instead of your stomach lining in the morning!
The Morning After
The morning after is always a harsh reality. Head throbbing and body aching, you dread the moment you have to get up. Your eye lids are stuck together, your mouth feels like cotton and you are hoping you die soon. But just like your gambling skills, you just aren’t lucky enough to die. Instead, you get out of bed, maybe throw up and head out the door to find some hang-over food and drink to remedy your sorry ass!
Black Tap bar and restaurant inside the Venetian Hotel and Casino is the answer to your prayers! A thick juicy burger with a runny egg on top is a gift from the Gods to you. It’s called the Truffle Burger. Wagyu beef, smoked gouda, baby arugula, truffle-yuzu vinaigrette, black truffle mayo, sunny side up egg and bacon. Along with a pile of fries. Amazing food to soak up whatever is left in your stomach from the night before. The $22.00 burger price tag was totally worth it!
And to help kill the pain is a hefty dose of Bloody Mary with Tito’s Vodka. The best remedy ever!
But Wait, There's More
Next stop was Nine Fine Irishmen located inside New York, New York Hotel and Casino. It’s a bar and restaurant with the typical Irish pub food. But today was about the “hair of the dog” recovery so having a Guinness and a few shots of Jameson was the theme. This establishment also has a patio on the strip with its own bar for those warmer Vegas days.
Vanderpump is located inside Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino.
If you are a fan of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Then you will recognize this cocktail garden from Lisa Vanderpump.
I had their version of a bloody Mary with a beer back. It had jalapeno infused vodka. It was spicy and it tasted good.
Well, I survived all 5 days on the strip. I don’t recommend anyone try that unless you are a professional. There are a lot of amateurs out here! 3 days max is my advice to you. It’s good for your liver and for your wallet. Thanks for the week Vegas! See you next time. Cheers!
Good job 3,4,5 night stays 4 is about right. Living on the Strip ,Ouch to the liver and wallet! But what the Hell!
LOL…Thanks Kevin.