Trip Report - June 16-20

I just got back from five nights in Vegas on the "pretty much anywhere you can reach by bus" plan, and here's what I had:

Sunday dinner - I was staying at the Rio, so right after I checked in, I headed to Carnival World. I expected a little more variety, especially for the price, but the fact that I didn't go to the seafood or sushi stations may have some effect on my opinion here. However, why is it that everybody's idea of a BBQ station seems to be a pile of fatty beef ribs, a pile of stale cornbread, some chicken pieces, and occasionally a pile of "BBQ beans"?

Monday lunch at BurGR (at Planet Hollywood). The burger was excellent - it rivals BLT for the top of my list - and they do go overboard on the fries as well, but when I ordered a pudding milkshake, I was expecting some mixture of the two; instead, it was pretty much a half-glass of milkshake on the bottom and a half-glass of pudding on the top. Was I supposed to mix them myself or something?

I was planning on making my way out near Red Rock and having dinner at Via Brasil, but something in my stomach (and my legs) was disagreeing with me, so I headed back to Rio and went to All American Bar & Grille, where I ordered a dry aged New York Strip (which, they don't bother to tell you in advance, is bone-in - it appears to be the non-filet half of a porterhouse) and a side of macaroni & cheese. I was expecting the M&C size to be something that would fit on the plate with the steak, and was surprised to see it served in a (shallow) soup bowl; I didn't quite finish, especially as the "medium well" steak I ordered was still red near the bone. I expected a little better for a $30 steak that was still only USDA Choice.

Tuesday lunch was at Smashburger on the east side of UNLV (I was in the area to go to the Pinball Hall of Fame about two blocks east). Nothing remarkable, although the burgers I had for lunch this trip did tend to lie in my stomach for a while - something that happened to me last year with a Fatburger as well.

I had a comp for the buffet (Cravings) at the Mirage, so I tried it out for dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary, except that I didn't remember there being very many desserts.

Wednesday lunch was at Burger King - that was pretty much the only place in the area at lunchtime between lengthy bus trips.

Wednesday dinner was at the Ports o' Call buffet at Gold Coast, and it's worth it if you want to turn it into an all-you-can-eat for something in particular (e.g. pizza, or turkey breast), but despite the fact that it had prime rib, it wasn't really worth the effort.

I was downtown on Thursday, so for lunch I had a "four cheese" burger at the 777 at Main Street Station; it appears to be a burger where they melt four kinds of shredded cheese on it - not impressed.

Finally, one of the best "quick eats" I had in Vegas was from an unexpected spot - the meatball sub at the deli next to the Sports Book at the Rio. (Maybe next time I'll try out the half-pound hot dog as well.)

BTW...no, I never did get to the "BBQ Buffet" at Arizona Charlie's Boulder (that BBQ station at the Rio buffet turned me off), and I didn't get to a rodizio either, although I did go to one in Columbus, Ohio the week before, so I wasn't particularly interested this time.