Thursday, January 21, 2010

Celebrity Chef Dining in Las Vegas

This is the first post in a six-part series titled "Celebrity Chef Dining in Las Vegas."
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My favorite thing to do in Las Vegas is to watch the Bellagio fountains.  I never miss it. I can watch show after show after show.  The magic never loses its touch on me, for some reason.  I am just mesmerized by it. Maybe it's the music.  Maybe it's the majestic heights that these fountains reach (with the help of fireworks).  Maybe it's the way the music is timed so perfectly with the artistic movements of the water.
Bellagio Fountains night
Last year on the way to Bryce Canyon, we stayed at the Bellagio in a fountain facing room  for one night (rates were cheap in the dead of the hot summer on a Sunday night).  I just sat next to the window, for about two hours, watching every single fountain show. Every 15 minutes. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Las Vegas CES (58 of 69)
Just a few weeks ago, Bryan and I went to Las Vegas again for our annual CES trip. This time, we decided to hit up a bunch of celebrity chef / famous restaurants.  I believe all of these restaurants or chefs (except for one) have been featured on the Food Network.  The last chef is just super famous.  I have interspersed some pictures from these restaurants with other random Las Vegas scenes.  Can you guess where I went?
Calamari
A signature dish at this old world Italian restaurant was fantastic.
City Center Agate Stairs
Agate stone stairway at the new City Center.
shrimp tamale
Shrimp tamales with fresh corn!
Domo chocolates
One of these restaurant gave a box of chocolates "to the lady" to take home.
Lamb's Brain Ravioli
An eight course pasta tasting showcasing interesting ingredients.
Salmon cavier
Utter decadence!  A gold leaf, caviar, and salmon.
Bellagio Fountains dusk
Of course, I leave you with my favorite fountains, at dusk. This series will continue all next week, as I showcase detailed descriptions of Las Vegas!


*thanks to Bryan for taking the fountain pictures as I was too mesmerized to take any photos

9 comments :

  1. I, too, love the Bellagio fountains! On my first trip to Vegas I got to stay in a room in Caesar's that face the fountains and also spent a significant amount of time just watching them. Of course I couldn't hear the music since I was too far away, but they were still spectacular!

    It's kind of cool how the agate mosaic kind of looks like salumi. Can't wait to read your reviews!

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  2. The Bellagio pictures from the hotel are gorgeous!
    And I'm guessing Mesa Grill (tamales) and Mario Batali's restaurant for two of them...and possibly Joel Robuchon for the last?

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  3. Your photo tour is exactly the way I enjoy Las Vegas - beautiful!

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  4. I really want to go to Las Vegas. Those pics are super pretty :D.

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  5. Joel Robuchon for the chocolates? We went on our one (and only) trip to Vegas. I was actually a little disappointed, but perhaps that's just the foodie snob in me rearing its ugly head. We went to French Laundry in CA and Per Se in NY, and I guess I wanted Joel Robuchon to be on the same level!

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  6. I love watching those fountains, too. I'm not a big fan of Las Vegas. I don't like to gamble and it gets a little too crowded for me, but those fountains bring me peace.

    That seafood looks amazing!

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  7. I am impressed with Bryan's photography :-)

    Looking forward to your LV "Greatest Hits"

    PS. I love the Bellagio Fountain show, too!

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  8. The lamb's brain pasta has got to be a Mario Batali restaurant. I had that dish at Babbo in NY and loved it. So tender and wonderful.

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  9. The pictures of Las Vegas are spectacular!

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