QAW was a long time contributor to this board who tragically passed away in April of 2018. Truly a great man.

I'd love to know your favorite places. I've been coming to LV for too many (not enough?) years, 30+. The scene there has morphed more than mosy any other city in America. Jeez, I can remember saying that the Big Buffet at Bally's was one of the best breakfasts in Las Vegas.

One thing that has happened, at least in my opinion, is the strip establishments have thrown quality of ingredients out the window for margins. Example, SW at the Wynn used to serve some rockin' beef USDA Prime beef. But when the bean counters took over they decided to raise prices, lower standards and stick it to the consumer. So now instead of listing USDA Prime beef on their menu the list "Prime Cut" beef. There are other examples but with prices spiraling out of control upwards I have no tolerance for 95% of the strip restaurants.

LoS remains one of our favorites. Loved Esther's Kitchen up until our last trip but will give it another shot I suppose. Chengdu, Raku(s), Lamaii, In-n-Out (yeah I know, but from the East Coast so I always have to satisfy the urge...), Soho (satisfied my sushi itch but I am super intrigued with Kame) all have been in our rotation. I'll admit, I'm a sushi snob and while that is very self deprecating to admit, its sadly true. Kame look like it could be KILLER. The other is New Asian BBQ. We hate getting raked over the coals on strip to satisfy our Peking duck craving so it looks like it could fit the bill, along with the rest of that menu.

I'm sure I'm forgetting other places and will be happy to share.

I'll play along, for a minute. Asian BBQ & Noodle was a favorite of the late great QAW. He introduced it to me probably 8 years ago. Was always a hard place to visit as a tourist as its hours were not conducive to our schedule (golf, sports book yada yada). The new place looks killer and maybe I will give it a try in June when I visit.

Chinatown has so many great places and they certainly are not all Asian as I am sure you well know. One of the things this board used to be so good at was wading through all the BS reviews of those paid to make places look good and give honest to goodness feedback. Heck its was here that I met the Honorable Dave Feldman and in turn he introducing me to the great QAW. This time of year always brings a bit of sadness as he loved March Madness and I loved his insight at this time of year. But the years have eased a bit of the pain of his passing and now I am truly honored to have been lucky enough to have forged a relationship with him.

Long live QAW and long live the greatness of the Las Vegas Chinatown food experiences!

Next time the porchetta is a must. Could be one of my favorite bites I have had in Vegas the last year. And a close second if not tied...yes the cauliflower. Impossibly crunchy crust (rice flower) and as you mentioned, flavor bomb of intense proportions! Have not had the pleasure of going to Lamaii yet but may try in April. Any words of advice for me Mr Feldman? Audience is me, Keith and my son who has not been to Vegas. We are booked Monday night so need that Sunday night dinner. Considering LoS, Lamaii, Esther's, Mott 32 (although after being at Decoy just the other night may have pushed Mott 32 way down. Nothing better than that duck, anywhere.) Factory Kitchen (staying at Palazzo hence the 2 restaurant recs there) and really, any place. Hope you're well.

Thank you Dagney. Both Japanese options look great but I may opt for Shirahama as I love the look/reviews I have read. I work in the seafood industry and I am pretty picky about going to seafood restaurants but really good, authentic sushi is such a treat. (Although the more I read the more I like the sounds of Sushi Tadokoro...) As for Born and Raised, I am not sure. It falls into one of my pet peeve categories. Steak places that do not sell USDA Prime but charge as if they do. I started to notice this trend several years ago in Las Vegas when the head of F&B changed at the Wynn and there was a distinct decline in quality at the flagship SW Steakhouse. They went from listing their "USDA Prime" descriptions to "Prime Cut Beef". I noticed it at their other restaurants too. And this trend seems to be catching on more than most people realize. So that is my long winded way of saying unless it is in writing on their menu I generally will not order steak out anymore.

Again thanks for the suggestions and I can't wait to come to San Diego.

As a person who used to regularly view and write on CH I welcome you. There are others with much more patience and advice than I but here are my $.02. Steakhouses in Las Vegas are very hit and miss. And the true example of that is Carnevino. Hideously and outrageously expensive for the inconsistency. You may have a great meal and you could have a bad meal but you will always pay out the nose.

SW at the Wynn used to have it all. A great scene and great beef. But changes by the bean counters in F&B has seen them change from USDA Prime beef to "Prime Cut Beef" from the finest midwestern ranches. A total scam and they have raised the prices to boot. Other restaurants are following suit too so be careful. If it's not labeled USDA Prime, then it ain't Prime no matter what a server or menu says.

I recently ate at The Palm and wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

Have had great steaks and times at Bazaar Meats, Prime, CUT, and Jean Georges. A friend just last week went to Heritage and loved it. Gushed about it to honest. Charlie's Palmers in the Four Seasons has always been reliable albeit a bit staid. And then there Smith and Wolensky's. Never bad never wow. John Curtas a local food writer in Vegas recently talked about Oscar's Booze and Beef being very good along with a "killer happy hour".

Choose just one and I'd prolly have to say CUT. Silly expensive but always great with some killer sides and appetizers. Bazaar is close second (best steak tartare in the US!) along with Prime (opulence and style).

butterfli, I don't know if you have been to the Palm recently but I would suggest avoiding it like the plague! We just returned from our yearly trip and could have had THE WORST meal in my Las Vegas career. Service was spotty by a waiter who was too high to really care. The chef must have been high too as no chef in his right mind would have sent out these dishes. And the manager must have been high too as he argued with us until the end saying that we were all wrong. I'll let you decide. Below are pictures of our medium rare to rare prime rib and our veal Milanese. Oh wait...how about bartender who made Dark and Stormys with white rum. Then when asked if they had dark rum he responded "Oh,was I suppose to use dark rum? I promise I'll make it up on the next one." Guess what...

You mention Chada Thai, have you been to Chada Street? Very worthy.

Chengdu Taste is a FANTASTIC Sichuan restaurant worth a trip, albeit void of ANY atmosphere.

There is a new place in town called Wolf and Sparrow. A friend of mine just ate there and really liked. I have been told that the cocktail program is so emphasized that it has limited the beer and wine selection a bit. Not bad just limited. But early reports are the food is fantastic. Still early but worth a look.

There is also the new Lucky Dragon casino that houses a few restaurants that seem like they can be promising. I don't know of anybody who has gone so I cannot speak to the quality. Maybe you could be our guinea pig ;-)

Flock and Fowl is also an worthy destination. The two who made Fat Choy (have not been since they left but it was good when they were there) popular now run F&F.

Maybe one of the reasons is a decade ago those $20pp meals are now $30...and even harder is having it fall in to the category of edible. We can mention Tony Romas $9 prime rib and $13 lobster and prime rib. Binions has several chicken fried steak, chopped steak options well under $20. Even the place inside The Hard Rock has a secret deal worth checking out, the $7.77 gamblers special at Mr Luckys. But oh, the quality. There are certainly many of these specials, especially away from the strip at the casinos geared more for the locals but I'm not sure too many are "Chow" worthy, if you will.

Dave's list is pretty good and as he mentioned will challenge the $20 threshold at dinner. I'd throw the Oyster Bar at the Palace Station in there. Lines can be excruciatingly long and the $20 limit will be pushed but you WILL NOT get a bigger portion of better food anywhere else, I don't think. It's not the best but some items can really hit the mark. And they have specials at certain times that make it worth while.

Oh and one more. If you're at Red Rock they have a good $5 breakfast special almost, if not every, day worth ordering at Grand Cafe. Bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns and biscuit and gravy. Not gourmet but definitely tasty.

For breakfast I would suggest trying the Veranda in the Four Seasons. It is an excellent spot for breakfast and when the weather is comfortable sitting outside is tranquil and relaxing. Not to mention the food is excellent. Tableau at the Wynn is another place that is great and like the Veranda, when the weather is nice the outdoor dining is a great option. If I pick one over the other I would lean to the Veranda. It is also an option for dinner. Although it not as nice as some other restaurants, it is really an underrated dinner option.

As both zook and Dave stated, Sage is a good option. While I agree it is beautiful and table spacing is great, it is a tad dark and while not loud, it is not quiet. In Aria I would also look at Bardot Brasserie for some delicious French fare. Also in Aria is Herringbone (mostly seafood theme). I have never been so I cannot comment on the quality of the food but from all accounts, it sounds like it would be a great option.

I would also look at Picasso in the Bellagio. It is one of, if not, the most beautiful restaurant in Las Vegas. The restaurant houses many original Picasso pieces of art, down to the rug, which I believe is not a Pablo Picasso design but rather one by a relative. The food is excellent and service professional. I would suggest dining there on the earlier side and not during holidays as it can suffer from service let downs, as zook can attest (I have eaten there a minimum of ten times and can say I have never had a bad meal or a bad time). Try and snag a table against the window and watch the Bellagio fountains in the background. There is also patio seating if the weather cooperates. That is my favorite spot!!!

Addressing your North Rim question first, yes, very desolate in terms of exciting or even good food options. Grab some snacks, sandwiches and/or other provisions and bring with you. I did that trip several years ago and was astounded to the mediocrity of food options.

Dave's idea with Tiki and Chada is a great option. Another option in that direction is drinks at Tiki and head further up Spring Mountain to Raku then Sweets Raku. The desserts at Sweets are so beautiful and for a birthday it would be great. They have some fun drinks so this could fit the bill.

Another option is to head downtown. Personally I avoid that area but I've also been to Las Vegas more times you have years probably. Being newbies it is definitely a place to see at least once so you can scratch it off the list. Go to Carson Kitchen for dinner. Cocktails at Velveteen Rabbit, Herbs and Rye or The Laundry Room.

Lastly, another option would be to do a crawl centered around the Bellagio area. Have drinks somewhere in the Bellagio overlooking the fountains. Go across the street to Mon Ami Gabi and request a table outside. Food is good bistro food but it's the setting that is fairly magical. The freak show that passes by on the Strip and the Bellagio Fountains in the background are a great show. Then grab desserts at HEXX (I have not been but I have heard decent things) in Paris or go back to Bellagio and go to Jean Phillippe.

First off I want to thank you all for the comments on this thread. I am very OCD when it comes to cooking my prime rib and reading through this post has taught me many things. In the past I always seared the outside of my pr to get that golden color. But many times my pan wasn't big enough and I would generally get many burnt edges. Turning the oven up at the end is the perfect solution. As others have done, I will summarize my cooking process.

I had a 7 pound 12 ounce USDA prime rib roast from Costco (originally 18 pounds but cut off some individual steaks). I was appalled by the price of individual steaks ($22.99 for the rib cab...seriously? And I do not like their new practice of cutting the cap away from the eye.) so I decided to cut individual steaks from a whole roast which was $11.99 a pound, boneless (prefer to have ribs but oh well). I used my own proprietary rub (salt, thyme, rosemary and a few other herbs and spicing) and let it sit on the meat for about 3 hours before cooking. In the past I have never salted the beef prior to putting in the oven but the compelling evidence states otherwise so I went with it. And the other step I never o is to let the meat come to room temperature. This time it did sit on the counter 2 hours prior to entering the oven but I do not think it mattered much. And from what I have read, I do not think it matter much. I put the roast into a 200 degree oven and when the internal temperature reached 124 I took it out. I then ratcheted up the oven to 550 convect and waited for the oven to come to temperature. I also waited for the internal temperature of the meat to plateau, which it did at 129. Once the oven reached 550 I put the roast in for 6 minutes and pulled it out. It was perfectly browned and as you can tell by the attached picture it did not cook the interior at all. I'm sorry I did not take a picture of the whole roast, just the piece on my plate. And finally, in the past I never cut my prime rib unless I let it sit for over 30 minutes after I remove it from the oven. I followed all your advice and after the quick blast at 550 I was carving about 5 minutes later. Perfect!

Again thank you all so much for your tips and experience. I made what I considered the best prime rib in the world even better.

Jaleo in Vegas is VERY hit or miss and I get the service complaint. I've had things there that were exemplary (a couple of the paellas and the Iberico bellota. The stuff is like crack!) while others poor. One time I bit into the cartilage of a squid. Man was it off putting! And when it was brought to the attention of the servers they could have cared less.

There are a couple of authentic type sushi places off the strip you may want to look at, Kabuto and Yui. Again, I'm not a huge fan of Vegas sushi (I'm a bit of a sushi snob) as for the $ I have never had that "wow" experience.

Lastly, take a look at Bazaar Meats. It's another Jose Andres place that is by no means just steak. Some really fun eats and a good atmosphere, albeit a bit $$$.

My wife's cousin (a SF resident himself and one who lives to eat) just spent several days in LV and LOVED his meal at Le Cirque. While not cheap was over the top delicious with the service was spectacular. If you are looking to spend substantially less I'd consider keeping your Le Cirque reservation and doing JR another time.

While not "special" I would consider doing one of your large dinners at a buffet, Wynn and Bacchanal Buffets being the top choices (I'd take Wynn over Bacchanal but Bacchanal does have the option of showing up and getting a seating time). As to the sushi request, my $.02 is that sushi in Las Vegas is inferior to what you will get in SF area. And while Nobu is good, it is NOT worth the $, not even close. And fwiw, yellowtail and jalapeno sashimi is on a lot of different menus that are not specific to Nobu. Personally I'd go to Yonaka way before I would go to Nobu. While Yonaka may be half the price what it doesn't offer is the glitz of a place like Nobu. If you want the glitz of the strip and don't care about $, consider Morimoto at MGM along with Nobu.

I'm not familiar with the Oyster Bar at Caesar's but am very familiar with the one at the Palace Station. Seating four people at a prime time will require at least 1 hour (closer to 2-3 during the weekends). Even at off times there will be a wait. The food is good with portions being massive. Our group doesn't mind dining here as when we go one person waits in line while others gamble (some people in line my grumble).

Momofuku is new and has garnered much attention. Having dined three times at Ko in NYC, I am intrigued to try Momofuku at the Cosmo. With that being said, it has not gotten "great" reviews in Las Vegas as of yet. The knock on the place is that much of the food tastes the same, an umami tsunami, if you will. I never noticed that at Ko in NYC but to be fair, my last meal there was over 7 years ago.

Lastly, Spago in Caesar's has been in Las Vegas forever yet it always flies under the radar for consistently being excellent. They take larger parties and always excel. Yes its "Wolfgang Puck" and being from California you may be looking for something else. I will also say that their long tenured chef, Eric Klein, left in late 2016 and I have not been since he left. But I would doubt that the Wolfgang Puck machine would put a chef at the helm that wasn't highly qualified.

Thank you all sooooooo very much for all your contributions! Clancy's sounds like a must and hopefully I will be able to "take advantage" of the $.25 martinis at Commanders. I have always wanted to go there for a Friday lunch and I am going to try and make it happen this trip, as long as my daughter isn't dancing that day.

Zin, someday we are going to cross paths! Too many times we are a week or two away from touching down in the same place. I love your suggestion of Brown Butter Southern Kitchen, I'm excited to try it. And OMG the egg, crispy pork belly & fried green tomato sandwich at Patois sounds amazing. I can't wait!!!

The Cosmo is very close to Aria and if you are looking at a more wallet friendly alternative to Twist with a bit more "life" if you will, look at Sage. It is a very nice restaurant that comes close to hitting the excellent mark. Plus it is a fairly cool atmosphere, both on the bar area and the dining room.

Back to the Cosmo, take a look at the brand new Momofuku. Have not been to the Vegas outpost but Ko in NYC was exemplary the two times I went, but that was years ago. So far it is getting good press. And speaking of new places, Morimoto in MGM is also getting great press. I'd opt for that over L'Atelier if you are headed to MGM.

If a $65 veal parmesan or a $30 penne vodka does not shock you, try Carbone. And the same could be said of Milos in terms of prices (the lunch is a sort of a deal but careful for the abundance of uncharges).