Raising the Bar

It was sort of inevitable, really. After years of hotel and restaurant hopping in Las Vegas, Anh & I have racked up a number of memorable experiences. However, this trip, the bar was raised to a new level. We discovered the definition of luxury, and it's called Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I was so sad when we had to checkout and move over to the Four Seasons for Anh's conference. That statement alone should convey how marvelous the hotel is. I mean the Four Seasons is faaaar from a slum!The layout of the hotel is unusual, but genius. When you arrive, you take an elevator to the Sky Lobby on the 23rd floor where you can enjoy an incredible view of Las Vegas Boulevard and complimentary tea service during the check-in process. Talk about service!Not only is the decor fabulous, but no detail was overlooked. There is storage for everything, and all of the electronics, lights, and window coverings are remote controlled.The bathroom features a soaking tub and a tv in the mirror for entertainment. I'm telling you, I did not want to leave! Oh, and I've saved the best bit of info for last. This property is brand new in the struggling Las Vegas City Center complex, and as a result, they are featuring some low nightly rates to drum up business. You'll pay top dollar over the weekend, but if you book during the week, like us, the sames rooms are a faction of the price.Unfortunately, we weren't able to dine at the hotel's restaurant, Twist. Like everything else at Mandarin, it receives rave reviews. I figure this gives us an excuse to book a second stay at my new favorite hotel.We'll also need to return for another mid-week visit to test out the pool/spa area. Our ziplining adventure prevented us from fully exploring the amenities during this trip. Another highlight of our trip was happy hour at Chef Michael Mina's American Fish in Aria. What a great budget-friendly way to try a high-end restaurant! The small plates are roughly $5/each, and the featured cocktails are $7. We ordered everything, and delicious doesn't even begin to describe was served!While American Fish is beautifully decorated, the view from MIX Lounge at THE Hotel stole the show. The drinks are pricey, but you won't find a better place to watch the Vegas sunset, and that's priceless. Here's another tip...you must use the restroom here. "It's quite the experience!" is all I'll say! Now, I should be sharing pictures from the Top Chef-quality meal we had at Chef Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak at MGM Grand, but I was so thoroughly overwhelmed by the experience that I forgot to even take the camera out of my purse. Anh and I shared the experience with Brad and our buddy, Alexis, who flew in from California to spend a few hours with us. I'm not kidding...hours. We felt loved, that's for sure.

The four of us ordered the Wagyu tasting menu and were treated to four varieties of perfectly prepared Waygu steak plus an assortment of appetizers, sides, and a ridiculous dessert spread. Seriously, I can't come up with adjectives to describe this dining experience. The food and the company was perfection. I felt like Anthony Bourdain, my favorite celebrity foodie. Sorry, no budget conscious tips for this one. This is where you'll spend all the savings from the other stops.

As proof that we did something other than eat, I'll share a few tourist snapshots. For a second time, we ventured away from The Strip choosing to explore downtown and Fremont Street. We made a pit stop at the pawn shop featured on the History Channel's Pawn Stars. The plan was to go inside, but like any other tourist trap, there was a line to get in. Anh and I weren't that motivated to see it especially when the guys from the show weren't on sight.So, we continued on to Fremont Street. I've been to this area only once before during my first trip to Las Vegas in the late 90's. Wow! It has been cleaned up significantly. I would recommend going at night to see the canopy light show.Getting back to the original purpose of the trip, Anh's conference, I purposefully failed to mention that we also met up with our long-lost friends, Farid & Sarah, who were also attending the conference. Sadly, Anh & I were only able to spend about an hour with them because they were enjoying a family reunion of sorts with brothers, sisters, grandpas, and grandmas from California, and we all know that family comes first. Seriously though, it was good to see them even if only briefly, and by not featuring them on the blog, I hope to motivate them to plan a family trip to see us. An hour just doesn't cut it, buddy!!!

I know I've blabbered at length about the wonderful experience we had eating our way across Las Vegas, but none of it would be a memorable without the company we shared along the way. Vegas will always be our reunion spot. The sights are beautiful, the food is top notch, and the entertainment is limitless. However, it's the people that make our trips memorable. We are so very lucky to have such great friends!!!

A Good Time with Great Friends...Oh, and a Super Bowl

Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas...is there any better place to be? It'd be tough to top, let me just say that. The Saints victory was no doubt the icing on the proverbial cake, but the entire weekend was a blast. Anh and I spent Friday night at the Four Seasons which is attached to Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. The rooms occupy the top 4 floors which lead me to believe that the view would be amazing. I'm sure it would have been, if we had been oriented towards the Strip, but sadly we were facing the ugly airport. Oh well, we were only there for a night, and that's about the only complaint I could possibly come up with. You just can't beat the service of the Four Season's staff. They're awesome!

After a meet & greet with the other conference attendees, Anh and I headed off to a late dinner at Aureole in Mandalay Bay. The restaurant is known for it's "wine angels" that ascend a wine tower in the center of the restaurant to retrieve bottles of wine ordered the guests. The higher the wine angel ascends, the more expensive the bottle. Needless to say, our wine angel didn't get too far off the ground. It was the first night! No casino winnings yet! Plus, Anh and I enjoyed the seasonal tasting menu and wine pairing. So, our wine came by the glass. I know...excuses! Excuses!Saturday morning arrived all too quickly. Anh was up bright & early to join his colleagues at the conference, and I made my way over to the Excaliber to meet up with one of our best friends, Brad. Brad is the real reason we go to Vegas. If we didn't go there, we'd never see him because he's a work-a-holic. Although, I'm not really sure whether it's by choice. The company just seems to meltdown when he's not around. Yep, he's that good. Super powers, I tell ya!

By early afternoon, Anh was able to join the party. Brad mentally clocked out for a few hours and took us to a nice brewery off the Strip. I know! Can you believe it? We left the Strip. That NEVER happens. Who knew there was this whole other "normal" side to Vegas. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess I can always pretend that it doesn't exist. Anyway, those normal "Vegas" people know how to make some good beer! Not a big surprise, really.

Eventually Brad's iPhone was ringing off the hook, the text messages were stacking up, and it was clearly time to return to the chaos. We parted ways so Brad could put out the fires, and Anh and I could relocate from the Four Seasons to Aria, one of the new hotels at Vegas' brand-spankin' new City Center. It's definitely not to be missed, but honestly, I was a bit disappointed. Yes, it's flashy and sparkly and glamorous, but it's not really "Vegas." There are no clouds on the ceiling, no gondolas floating through a grand canal, and there was no real theme. It's Vegas dammit! You have to have a theme!

I guess you could say Aria's theme was texture and technology. The designers seemed to play with texture and color. That's a little to artsy-fartsy for me, at least when it comes to Vegas. I want sophistication in NYC or LA, but in Vegas, I want some cheesy murals & over-the-top glamor. That said, the rooms are pretty cool & high tech with automated everything. The lights, entertainment center, and window coverings are all controlled by remote. It's a guy's dream! Me, I used the "Master" switch by the door to turn everything on & off in one click. It was much easier.

Where Aria did impress me was the caliber of it's restaurants. The directory is like a Who's Who of the culinary world. Anh and I had a tough time deciding where to eat, but ultimately we selected Shawn McClain's Sage. It was incredible! The food, the service, everything was top notch. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The same can be said about Jean Philippe's Patisserie. I wanted to sample EVERYTHING on display. He is truly an artist!

On Sunday, we continued our gourmet dining experience with lunch at In-N-Out Burger. This was our 2nd visit to the chain, and it was just as good as I remembered. They make a good burger, but the fries are a little strange. Our buddy, Farid, explained that our taste buds aren't accustomed to the lack of preservatives. The fries are cut from fresh potatoes, never frozen, and they aren't doused in salt. Ah! I have to admit, I missed the salt. The burger was delicious though with exactly the amount of grease I needed after a late night.

Sadly, Sunday meant we had to say goodbye to our out-of-town friends that flew in for the conference. They were all doing the responsible thing & heading back to work on Monday. Not us! We were going to stay for the big game! After saying our goodbyes, we went and placed a $100 bet on the Saints, and then joined Brad where we had reserved seats at the bar waiting for us. I could seriously get used to V.I.P treatment.

I think, by now, everyone knows how the game ended. What a game! What a season! What a story! Oh, and to top it off, we had a little extra money in our pockets. Well, until we doubled down on the KU game against TX on Monday. (We won that one too!) We bailed on the celebratory chaos & headed off the Strip with Brad to his favorite tapas restaurant, Firefly. So good! But, again we were off the Strip! It wasn't as weird that time because I could still see the high rises. I knew we weren't off in some bizarro universe.

Having broken away from the Strip's grasp on us, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally explore The Palms & The Hard Rock Casino. Oh my! This is where the young & beautiful go! And, the old & dirty too...no doubt checking out the young & beautiful. I'm disappointed I've been missing out on this fun. It will definitely be on the next itinerary.

Sunday was by far the most unusual experience of the trip. That's not to say it wasn't fun because it really & truly was, but I never thought I'd find myself in the middle of a nature preserve on a Vegas trip. I guess Brad wanted us to detox just a bit before taking us to the airport because he took us on a little pre-flight day trip to Red Rock Canyon. The desert is beautiful. It's not necessarily the kind of beauty I want to see every day, but the sculptural details of the land is really something to behold.

The weather wasn't ideal for hiking, but since we were pressed for time anyway, the driving tour of the park was perfect. We stopped at a little tourist trap with a petting zoo & lodge to enjoy a tasty drink by the fireplace. It was a great setting for a cold, rainy day in the desert while enjoying our last few hours with a close friend. That's ultimately what made the experience special, quality time with Brad uninterrupted by the iPhone.

All too soon, we were headed for the airport and back to our "normal" every day lives. The getaway was great and exactly what we needed. Too bad Aunt Nguyen was left to deal with our 2 rowdy boys...oh did I mention that they were sick, rowdy boys? That's a whole different story. After a week at home with two sick children, I'm thinking I may be ready to go back to Vegas!

Photo Craziness From the Weekend

This weekend, we went photo crazy! I think it's safe to blame our behavior on a good friend, Farid. He flew down for a quick visit this weekend ,and that pretty much sent us into tourist mode with the camera. Actually, it's nice when that happens. Not only do we end up with new family photos, we are forced to take a break from our usual routine and enjoy our little beach town. Too often we get caught up in same ol' day-to-day activities.

On Saturday, Anh and Jax treated Farid to a whirlwind tour of the sights around town. Then that night, we met up with Jay, Lisa, and the kids to celebrate Jay's birthday. It was nice. We ate at a popular seafood restaurant on the Intercoastal that we had all been wanting to try, and I now understand why it's such a big hit with the locals. We had driven past several times, but were scared off by the ridiculously packed parking lot. Factor in a less than impressive exterior, and we just didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Well, behind that shabby exterior is a lovely outdoor patio, shaded by a beautiful canopy of old oak trees, overlooking the Intercoastal. There's even a section of beach complete with a tire swing. Turns out, the food is yummy too. I think it's safe to say that we'll become regulars, along with the rest of the city!Sunday morning, we decided to treat ourselves to another nice meal and headed up to our clubhouse for brunch. After all, it just wouldn't be right to send Farid off to the airport on an empty stomach. Afterwards, we lingered on the lawn overlooking the golf course and once again the cameras were brought out to document the lovely surroundings. I can't believe we didn't do this sooner, considering that we live here.I don't know whether Anh was determined to give Farid the complete neighborhood tour or whether they just wanted to walk off a little of our very filling brunch, but that afternoon, the boys took a stroll along the boardwalk. We joked with Farid throughout the visit about him being the "location scout" for his wife and the kids. If he reports back favorably, then they will book a trip for the entire family. Hopefully, we receive high marks, and we'll see them all again soon. It was so nice having a chance to catch up.