We’ve missed the duck pithivier by one week. They just changed over to their summer menu.
Aria Crawl/Bang
Highly successful and will do this every time we stay here. FTC is always on point.
We perhaps ordered too much at LoS and did not have the appetite to go full scale on our Aria crawl.
Bardot -
Perfect frites with a garlicky aioli that I will happily eat with anything. The Midnight in Paris cocktail was a perfect drink…grapefruit, orange…super refreshing on a warm day. I had two.
Carbone -
The folks manning the bar here are on point. Gregarious and knowledgeable. And if you need a stiff old-school cocktail, come here. The margarita and the White Lady (it has egg white!) were solid, well-balanced, and are like cocktails of old yore. We only had room for the Caesar salad, and they brought out the full gamut of welcome dishes for us…lovely chunks of parm, picked cauliflower, a full bread basket of 3 different types of fresh bread, and salami. If I wasn’t so full from the last two stops, I could easily polish off more than 3 pieces of parm. The salami came to room temperature and had a lovely barnyard-y funk that I adore. The salad was easily the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had…garlicky, creamy, cheesy, and super well-dressed without being overdressed. Going to have to eat this every time we stay here. We even got the lovely rainbow cookies, too. Service was exceptional at the bar.
Julian Serrano -
Met my cousins who arrived into town late for the last stop. The Pineapple Smash cocktail is super refreshing and delightful, if you are a pineapple fan. We were pretty full from our other stops so we only tried the pan con tomate and the paella Valenciana. Pan con tomate is one of my favorite Spanish tapas, and this one does not disappoint…fresh tomatoes rubbed on crispy garlic-scented bread with a drizzle of Spanish olive oil. The paella…I had problems with it. The chicken was hideously overcooked and there was little to no soccarat in the pan. But the cousins were hungry and they didn’t mind. Also ordered the tuna cones (which they loved) and the asparagus a la plancha (gotta have something fresh and green). I’ve been to both Julian Serrano and Jaleo and I think I’m more of a Jaleo fan…also you lose me when I don’t get soccarat. We walked in at 10PM and the kitchen closes at 10:30PM, so that may have had something to do with it.
nice banging. glad you got to try carbone’s caesar, it really is perfect. and gotta love those crispy, chewy croutons. next time try the off-menu meatballs, probably the best i’ve ever had. now they just need to open for lunch, dammit.
Sparrow + Wolf
Pre-Raku bang. It was great that Sparrow + Wolf is different with a full bar program and different dishes. We did cocktails and lighter snacks at the bar.
The cocktails here was just stupendous. Well-thought out and balanced…and a steal at $14 for the most expensive drink.
Pretty Bird - gin based with citrus and elderflower
I liked Flock & Fowl, and the Detroit pizza at Pizza Rock was pretty great and super decadent. Also enjoyed Tacos El Gordo when I went at the end of a looooong night (so take that with a grain of salt / ymmv)
My brother still frequents Wicked Spoon at the Cosmo. The husband and I quit buffets years ago shortly after our first and only visit to Bacchanal (maybe about a year after it opened). It’s too much food for us now and we hated waiting in line for a table to open up.
It was my first time spending a good amount of time downtown. I have to say it was a fun break from the strip, which is now all consumed by clubs and fine dining and shopping. It was nice to be able to just easily walk casino to casino and gamble easily. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few years more stuff opens up downtown.
I think the pizza at Pizza Rock is pretty tasty, too! We had one meal there the one time we stayed downtown. If it was convenient, we would go back…but in our trips since, we’ve been regulars at LoS and Raku.
Ditto. Added Eataly bc the kids love picking at cheese, bread, charcuterie and the parents love buying a bottle of wine downstairs in the market and paying $20 corkage for stemware.
