Las Vegas Part II

  The food at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill was as delicious as it was nice to look at

 With all the people in Las Vegas there’s a lot of mouths to feed and The Strip does a good job of having something for everyone. In our week here thus far, I would like to think that Melanie and I had a suitable sample of various offerings. We didn’t head for the classic inexpensive buffets as we are trying to watch our portion sizes. Well, we did that OK with one notable exception.

The Food

 I start with the notable exception, Hash House a Go Go. Melanie has gotten me watching food shows and one we recently discovered is "Man vs. Food" in which host Adam Richman travels to various cities and attempts to satisfy his inner gourmet-and glutton. Following his lead, on our second day there, armed with a 2-for-1 lunch coupon, we hit the Imperial Palace on Las Vegas Boulevard, home of HHAGG. Melanie ordered Andy’s Sage Fried Chicken Benedict, which Richman featured, while I choose the Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles. I think the table legs buckled just a bit when our plates were set in front of us. Mine consisted of two fried chicken breasts atop four thick waffles with barbecue sauce ringing the plate. I finished a chicken and a half and three of the waffles, although I think I could have held up my end had I not also taken part of Melanie’s (delectable) monstrosity of biscuits, eggs, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken covered with a layer of fried-yes fried-cheese. Melanie covered it succintly saying "I’m drunk with food."

Cabo Wabo
 Sammy Hagar’s indoor-outdoor joint located between Paris and Planet Hollywood on Las Vegas Boulevard draws you in with its good music-to be expected from the Red Rocker-and keeps you there with its atmosphere and good Mexican food. We went on a Tuesday night but it felt like a weekend. The waitresses were dancing on the bar then handing out free shots of tequila for anyone with an ID card, then handed out free shots of tequila for anyone singing karaoke. Too bad free shots of tequila didn’t come with ordering a meal.

Le Burger Brasserie
 Located inside between the casinos of Ballys (our hotel) and Paris, we expected to find a burger joint and for me it became so much more. Looking for lunch before I headed to Ballys' sports bar to watch the Redskins’ game Sunday afternoon, we landed on Le Burger Brasserie. We had walked by it before when it was closed, so I didn’t notice the words after the name-Sports Grille. Melanie was a good sport, being hungry helped, and we got to watch the day’s early games on multiple televisions while eating a delicious hamburger cooked to perfection. It was reasonably priced and we enjoyed the food so much we made it back for lunch two days later. They have a few items other than hamburgers; chicken and some salads, but it was the beef that brought us back.

Mesa Grill 
 Another show Melanie has got me watching is "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." So when she mentioned he had a restaurant in town, of course we had to go. Located in Caesar’s Palace across the street from Ballys, it’s food fit for a king or an emperor. I always thought at fancy restaurants you paid a lot for a little portion of pretentious-looking food. Nothing could be further from the truth at Mesa Grill. The food was beautifully arranged, like artwork on a plate, from the appetizer through dessert. I started with barbecuedduck ($11) followed by New Mexico pork tenderloin ($32)–three great portions of spicy meat-which Flay is known for, then Melanie and I shared dessert, a crushed blueberry lime tart ($12). And I can’t forget the basket of bread which included three different types of bread and a delicious corn muffin. We killed that basket off quick and got a refill. Service was attentive from start to finish and we had to wave them off to stop them from refilling our water glasses. I don’t think we’ll see a restaurant of this caliber back home in Grovetown.

The Accomodations 
 Everything taken with a grain of salt as the room at Ballys is paid for by her work since she’s attending a conference in the hotel. The room is decent, and the hotel convenience store is open 24 hours a day. The pool is fairly large and waitresses will bring drinks to your lounge chair. Its location is in the middle of the strip on Las Vegas Boulevard across the street from Caesar's Palace and Bellagio, which has a good water show every night on the hour beginning at 7 p.m. For the cost of the room, which I think runs close to $200 a night I would have thought that internet access would be free, not $14 a day and I chose not to workout at their gym which would have cost me $22 a day. I don’t know what policies the others have, but I imagine Ballys is in line with the other major hotels.