Several months ago Steve learned that he would be attending NBA
league meetings and the Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology
(SEAT) conference in Las Vegas. With the Republican National Convention coming
to Cleveland and Quicken Loans Arena, nearly all employees would be required to
work from home. That seemed too good to be true, so in lieu of working from
home, the Cavs decided to send Steve to Vegas.
Tagging along was always in the back of my mind, but the
price had to be right. A free room at the Aria is nice, but I still
needed to get there! Well, my patience paid off and I found a non-stop flight
for $120. The price was finally right.
We departed Cleveland after work on Friday and made our way to Sin
City. I have only been to Vegas once and it wasn’t very fun…Steve has been a
handful of times, but we've never been together. We were excited for
another adventure; after all, our 10-year wedding anniversary was fast
approaching!
We arrived at the airport at 9:00 pm local time and quickly
jumped into a taxi. We arrived at the Aria and stepped into one of the most
beautiful hotels I've ever seen. Incredible. Swanky, fresh and very cool. The
rooms were comfortable and modern.
My favorite room features were the alarm clock (no sound,
just the lights slowly turning on and the curtains opening slightly) and the
goodnight button (we could power down the room with the touch of a
button).
I’d love to tell you we spent a
lot of time outside roaming the strip, but we did exactly the opposite. The
Aria is in an ideal location, but it also offers everything we could possibly
imagine. Incredible food, three pools and a casino. What more could we ask for?
Let me first talk about the food. OMG. The food. I have never
enjoyed food as much as I did on this trip!
After arriving at the hotel just after 10 (1 am EST) we needed a
quick snack. We found Five50 on the main casino level and knew it was right up
our alley. Wood-fired pizza and beer. I (we) visited Five50 three times. I do
love my pizza and their pizza is delicious!
I ordered a slice of the Gotham
(pepperoni, sausage, salami, mozzarella, grana padano) while Steve had a slice
of the Forager (white sauce, mushrooms, bacon, spinach and ricotta).
On my second visit for lunch (no Steve) I ordered a slice of
cheese and a glass of Rose.
On our next visit (yes, my third visit in three days!) we
split an entire Gotham pie with added ricotta. For dessert, we ordered the
Elvis milkshake (banana and chocolate ice cream, peanut butter and
candied bacon) and added a shot of rum.
On Saturday night, we had
dinner at Sage, also located in the Aria. Five50 and Sage are both run by the
same chef/owner - James Beard award winning chef Sean McClain. Another partner
and executive chef is Richard Camarota, also the husband of my HS friend
and college roommate (small world!) Anyway, ironically she was in Cleveland
visiting her parents while we were in Vegas, but regardless, she set us up at
Sage and it was a culinary dream come true.
We started with two cocktails, a little bread with salted
butter and an amuse-bouch.
We opted for the four-course tasting menu. I started
with the artichoke fennel salad with bacon lavender and tangerine while Steve
chose the ahi tuna crudo with sunchoke puree, grapefruit and endive. Both were
light and a perfect balance of refreshing and sour citrus. A nice start to
what would be a decadent meal.
For our second course, I opted for the foie gras brulee with
strawberry compote, toasted cocoa nib with toasted brioche. Wow. It was one of
the creamiest, delicate and ridiculous things I’ve ever tasted.
Steve chose the wagyu beef tartare with crushed caper aioli,
slow poached egg and crispy chocolate. The meat was perfect and the caper aioli
added a nice salty finish.
Next we both ordered the black bass with baby artichoke, bacon
vinaigrette and barigoule sauce. The skin was nice and crispy and the fish
perfectly flaky.
For our fourth and final
course, I chose the wagyu beef filet with porcini mushrooms, bacon and
béarnaise sauce. If I thought the foie gras was the best thing I had ever
eaten, well this wagyu beef took the cake. I had never had wagyu beef before
now and it was magical. Not only was the beef prepared perfectly, but the beef
itself was rich and tasty and just so incredible.
We thought we were done, but we still had one final dish to finish
the meal. This light lemon sorbet was a nice palate refresher and the perfect
ending to a perfect meal.
Bardot Brasserie is the third
place we visited during our stay. Also located in the Aria (I told you we
didn’t venture far!)
Steve was able to join me for brunch on Sunday. We enjoyed
the everlasting Rose in addition to the French omelette with fine herbs,
gruyere cheese, hash browns and salad. The French omelette was perfectly
prepared. Light and fluffy.
We also enjoyed the seasonal
fruit plate with buckwheat beignets and a frozen yogurt pistachio parfait. We
had a great Cavs/LeBron conversation with the bartender as we watched
Believeland in the background. It was a picture perfect set-up.
We enjoyed dinner at Bardot
on Monday night. Once again, the everlasting Rose is what caught our attention
and the menu was intriguing.
We started with Escargots
Bardot. Wild burgundy snails were wrapped in puff pastry with toasted hazelnuts
and a chartreuse garlic butter. They were divine. The combination of the rich snails,
soft pastry with garlic were quite memorable and like nothing we'd ever had.
For our entrees, Steve ordered
the oak-smoked Duroc pork chop with bacon lardons, baby carrots, horseradish potato
puree and a grain mustard beurre blanc. The smoky flavor of the meat paired
very nicely with the salty bacon and grain mustard.
I ordered the Parisian
gnocchi au Pistou with goat cheese, summer vegetables, cherry tomatoes and
toasted pine nuts. I love gnocchi…when it’s prepared like this! The best
gnocchi I had previously was at La Madia in Chicago. I have tried to
make it myself and have tried it several times elsewhere, but no one has ever
come close, until Bardot. Each piece of potato had a perfect sear that added
texture to the light potato dumpling.
I can honestly say that I have never had such an incredible
culinary experience in such a short amount of time. The foie gras brulee and
Wagyu beef filet at Sage and the gnocchi at Bardot are arguably the three best
dishes I've ever had. Thank you Vegas.
While Steve attended his
conference during the day, I spent a little time at the pool. Despite the 110
degree temperatures, it wasn't totally unbearable. I was actually able to lay
outside for a while with an occasional plunge to cool off. Honestly, 90 degrees
in Mexico is much hotter than this!
Well, there you have it!
SMS Trips and Travels goes to Vegas. We leave for our home away from home in
just three days and cannot wait...Ocean Maya Royale here we come!
Cheers!