It seems that the same folks continue to post on here, but for the sake of updating some of my prior posts, here is a quick trip report from my past week in Las Vegas. We did a lot of great eating, trying a few new places and sticking with tried and true old favorites to fill out our week.

We started with the three course $28 lunch at Lago since we were staying in the Bellagio and it was convenient after our long flight. We've been there a few times before and the food is very good (with a few duds if you don't choose wisely). The atmosphere is pleasant, overlooking the fountains, and the service is great. They have some nice craft cocktails which we enjoyed with the fixed price lunch. We were pleasantly surprised that the portions were full sized. All that we chose from the somewhat limited prix fixe lunch menu was excellent. For dinner that night we went to Chada Thai and had a variety of dishes that we shared. I still maintain that their oysters are some of the best anywhere. For dessert we drove over to their new dessert place, Patio Desserts and Drinks, but the menu didn't excite us so off we went to Gelatology where the daily flavors were delicious and interesting as always.

The next morning took us to Hexx as my husband likes that place (a lot more than I do) because he wanted one of their awesome bloody marys and I had coupons for BOGOs from myvegas.com so breakfast it was. The service is always great there although I find the breakfast menu nothing awe inspiring. I ordered a fruit plate which is the second time I've had one there and I must confess that its nicer than most in that they always include unusual and seasonal fruit. This time, along with some of the usual summer fruits, it included dragonfruit and mango. The fruit plate is quite large and includes three mini banana muffins. My husband had the hash which he loves there. Add to that the beautiful weather and great people watching, I couldn't complain. Dinner that night was at Picasso. This was the third time we've eaten here. The first was nice and the second was on Christmas Eve which I've previously complained about on this board. The manager bent over backwards to insure that our Christmas Eve dinner was but a distant memory. Comped champage plus one comped dinner, a great table, awesome service, and terrific food, made for a very pleasant evening.

The next morning we again used some my vegas bogos for the Bellagio buffet. Nothing great but enough choices to make a satisfactory meal. That evening took us to Therapy. I had been trying to get there for awhile now and finally got everyone on the same page. The menu and instagram pix had looked interesting and it did not disappoint. Everything the four of us ordered was enjoyed by all. Highlights were the gnudi, the brussel sprouts and the empanadas. Being right near Container Park made for some interesting wandering around and people watching.

Friday morning was just stuff from the Bellagio, pastries from Jean Philippe (my husband loves their blueberry brioche) and I had a terrific farro and fresh turkey salad from cafe Gelato. Dinner was at the Veranda in Mandalay Bay/Four Seasons as we were going to see Dave Chappelle there afterwards. We had eaten dinner at the Veranda on our last trip and were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The food was still excellent although the service was not very good. This was extremely frustrating as we were somewhat limited by time constraints but overall, an enjoyable meal.

Saturday we were off to Babystacks. I am not a pancake lover yet there is something about their pancakes that I just love. This time on my recommendation, my husband had the red velvet pancakes which he enjoyed, my son had his usual hash, and I tried the lemon ricotta pancakes which were also delish. That evening we had dinner at Twist which has now moved to the top of my favorite Las Vegas restaurant list (knocking out Joel Robuchon). This was our second time dining there and again it did not disappoint. For the money, I think it is a much better value than Guy Savoy and Robuchon (although nothing compares to their bread and dessert carts). The food is always interesting, beautifully plated, and the service is top notch. The cocktails are quite nice, as well. We did the wine pairings this time and they don't skimp on either the quality or quantity.

On our last day we again got miscellaneous goodies from the hotel and for dinner got take out from Pizza Rock to eat at our son's house. The two pizzas we ordered were good, although nothing that you can't find in any city around the country.

Overall, another great week of eating and weight gain!

Just returned from another Vegas jaunt. Ate at a couple of old family standbys (Chada Thai, Todds), but had two dinners worth mentioning, albeit for different reasons. We've had breakfast at the Veranda (Four Seasons) countless times, but when they offered 50% off your dinner check if you booked on Black Friday and ate sometime in December, we couldn't pass that offer up. What a pleasant surprise. The service was terrific. The food was devine. I'm still dreaming about their beet salad. The mushroom tagliatelle was perfectly cooked and so flavorable. Between the four of us, we tried many items and each was a hit. Although this dinner was a veritable bargain, at full price it still would have been worth it. A definite keeper to be added to our regular rotation.

On the flip side, we had 6:30 reservations at Picasso on Christmas Eve. We chose Picasso sort of by default as Twist was closed for the holidays and Le Cirque had a holiday menu that didn't excite us. Our 6:30 reservation wasn't honored until 7:30, with nothing more than an apology from the manager. Once seated, the menus were brought along with the extensive wine list. The amuse bouche was brought to the table before drink orders taken. (The two different house cocktails we ordered were excellent). After perusing the wine list for several minutes, inexplicably, the waiter came and removed the wine list from the table without asking us if we wanted to order any wine (we did). By then our appetizers arrived. We summoned the manager to ask about ordering wine so she sent the waiter over to take our wine order. No apologies, just took the order and took off. Not an ideal start to our evening. However, the food was terrific. We had eaten here a couple of years ago and enjoyed it but never felt compelled to return due to the limited, repeating menu. Once we got some alcohol to drink, we mellowed out, the poor start to our evening fading away as the delicious food was eaten. Still, when spending ~$700 for dinner, the lapses in service were inexcusable, even taking into account the full restaurant and the holiday.

I'd like to buy a cookbook gift for each of two friends who cook. One tends to cook for large family gatherings with a basic, no frills, no fussiness style. She tends to look at a recipe and then tinker with it rather than follow it to the letter. The other friend generally cooks for her family of two. She likes to explore and isn't afraid to seek out and use unusual ingredients, but she's not big on baking. She tends to follow a recipe to the letter. Neither would be interested in anything that requires protracted cooking techniques. Do you have some good recommendations for me to buy for them?

i found a recipe for pear/Apple/cranberry crisp that I'd like to make for Thanksgiving (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12123/ap...)

The recipe seems straight-forward enough, especially after reading all the comments about it.
It says it makes 8 servings and calls for four pieces of fruit and is cooked in an 8 inch square pan at 375 for 45 minutes. I was also looking at Ina Garten's crisp recipe which also says it serves 8, but her recipe calls for 10 pieces of fruit and cooks in a 9x12 pan. I'd like to bake mine in 8 individual ramekins that are 1 3/4 tall and 4" wide.

My questions are:
Are my ramekins an okay size to use or are they too shallow?
Do I fill them nearly to the top with the fruit leaving just enough room for the crumble?
Do I need to double the Allspice recipe to fill the 8 ramekins?
How long should they bake for and do they still bake at 375?
Can I make them ahead of serving time, and if so, if I make them the morning of, do I have to refrigerate them or can they sit out after baking?
If I can make them ahead, at what temperature and for how long do I reheat/warm them? Will they need to be foil covered when reheated to avoid burning?

I know, so many questions for what should be a simple recipe, but I'm a crisp and ramekin novice! Thanks so much!

Ate at Fiamma for the second time, the first being eleven years ago. No more freebies (cheese and Frito misto served first and complimentary Lemoncello after the meal). The food was very good, as was the service, but despite that, there was really nothing that stood out and left us pining for more.

Night two brought us to Twist for our first time. Several times over the past year or so we thought we'd finally make it there, but was then deterred for one reason or another. The current menu sounded good, so off we went. This was a stellar meal from beginning to end. The room is beautiful, the view outstanding, and the food exceptional. The service was polished yet informal. We felt there was value to the menu and pricing. We did add one course to the current tasting menu as I can never resist an interesting egg dish and this one did not disappoint.

An early dinner at Lago one night to use the food and beverage comp from the Bellagio. This was my second time here and my husband's first. We both enjoyed the six different dishes we ordered. Of those, the mushrooms were nothing special, but oh, that octopus and fregola in squid ink was divine. We also shared the gnocchi, eggplant pizza, stuffed calamari with shrimp, and short ribs. The short ribs did not look very appealing but they were just fine as the sauce they were drizzled with was quite yummy. There are some interesting craft cocktails made here, as well.

Our last meal out was a breakfast at Hexx as I had a groupon from there to use. We ordered two of the three new menu items, the corned beef hash (very interesting recipe and beautiful to look at) and the Johnny cakes. The Johnny cakes were not inundated with corn as I would have preferred, plus there was a huge glob of maple butter on top with candied bacon stuck in. There was way too much butter which killed the joy in eating the bacon. Serving the butter on the side would have improved the dish immeasurably to me. The maple jalapeño syrup was good but could have used a bit more heat. They, too, have some interesting cocktails. Prices are high plus they carry the dreaded 4% strip (rip off imho) surcharge, so having a groupon helps considerably.

Only had three nights in town this trip so we didn't have much time to try many new places; instead relying on some past favorites. However, our first night took us to Stripsteak for the first time. Let me preface my comments by saying that I'm not a big beef eater, but when the mood strikes, our family generally goes to Carnevino, having tried a few other steak places in town but always finding that we prefer Carnevino. However, my son voiced some previous issues he had with Carnevino, so we decided to try Stripsteak. We really enjoyed it. We were seated in a booth which gave us an opportunity to look out at everyone yet have some semblance of privacy and quiet. The room is attractive. Like all steak restaurants, the prices are very high. Amongst the four of us, we shared a ribeye, filet mignon, American way skirt steak ($82) with sides of fingerling potatoes (good but plain), creamed peashoot tendrils (sounded way more interesting than it tasted...reminded us of the old standard Thanksgiving green bean casserole, assorted mushrooms (excellent), and eggplant. The portions are huge. We shared two desserts: chocolate peanut butter lava cake with vanilla ice cream (the peanut butter lava cake at Hearthstone still remains the best of the best) and monkey bread with banana ice cream. With one cocktail and two glasses of wine, the total came to $480. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but we all enjoyed the meal and atmosphere very much. There was plenty of food in our doggie bags for later in the weekend.

Breakfast the next morning was at Kitchen Table. I know some on this board are not impressed with them, but we love it. The foie and apple pancake is excellent, albeit decadent. An order of an egg mackitchen and a meatless benedict rounded out our order. We left full and happy.

Dinner was at Chada Thai. We ordered a whole bunch of stuff all of which was excellent (oysters, pad hed, shiitake and shimmer mushroom stir fried with brussel sprouts and lotus root, drunken noodle sea bass, crispy soft shell crab with apple, charbroiled prawn and eggplant with spicy garlic sauce and crispy duck with chili and Thai basil. My favorite thing of their menu is the oysters and I can't resist ordering several of them each visit. After dinner we went over to Raku Sweets since my son wanted that in lieu of a birthday cake. The line was long and hot at around 8:30 p.m. We hadn't been there in awhile and apparently things changed since our last visit. No longer do they have the three course tasting dessert menu with the edible menus. Instead they have a two course consisting of an amuse bouche (which this night was a mini panna cotta), and your choice of one of their four main desserts. We opted to skip the amuse and just order dessert. While I can appreciate the artistry that goes into making these beautiful desserts, I can safely say been there done that. The wait isn't worth it and there are so many other places in town where you can get a great dessert.

Breakfast the next day was a return to Babystacks. This was my husband's first time there and he made the mistake of ordering a full stack of the bananas foster pancakes. They were humongous and as hungry as he was and as good as they were, he could only make a small dent in them. The rest of us shared corned beef hash, eggs, and two small stacks of the carrot cake pancakes and the red velvet pancakes. I rarely enjoy red velvet anything, but red velvet pancakes are an exception as I really liked these and I have also enjoyed those on the brunch menu at the Border Grill in Mandalay Bay.

Dinner was a return to La Cirque for the 5 course tasting menu. Reading the menu, it sounded virtually the same as the one we had back in March, but the presentations were totally different. The chilled spring pea soup was amazing as was the sautéed foie gras . However, the upcharged scallop, was a disappointment. The scallop tasted great until I got to the sauce underneath it and discovered it was way over salted, almost to the point of being inedible. Also, the lamb, while tasty, was very fatty which I mentioned to the waiter. He offered to replace it, which I declined and later reported that he mentioned my comment to the chef who replied that that day's delivery of lamb was particularly fatty. Huh? Then why serve it or use it in a different manner. For a restaurant of this caliber those two courses were a disappointment which was a shame as I love coming here. I was happy that we were able to choose any dessert from the menu as their souffles can't be beat.

Short visit, lots of eating. Next visit is in September. Will be returning to Hexx for some meal or another as they are currently offering a groupon that was worth purchasing.

Ate at some old and many new places this trip. Mostly, good eating, but some disappointments.

Day one had us pigging out at the Bellagio buffet for the breakfast/lunch. This was my second time eating here. There are certainly enough choices but it's hit or miss. Had a great tuna hand roll and a serviceable steamed port bun. The ceviche was chock full of seafood and tasty. Forget about their shrimp as it's too watery. Breakfast items serviceable; same with some of the lunch items. I'm a dessert person but wasn't wowed by much of their offerings. On the other hand, thanks to the My Vegas app, it was free so no complaints for the value. Dinner at Lotus of Siam. The three of us over ordered to get to sample as many items as we could stomach. All was very good, but I still prefer Chada Thai primarily because of the ambiance.

Day two was brunch at the Veranda which is always good and this didn't disappoint. Late night tapas and craft cocktails at Lago which were very good. We had food and beverage credits to use and were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the personality of the bartender who served us. We especially liked the shrimp marscapone stuffed ravioli.

Day three took us to Hexx for brunch. I never get to go here with my family because my son is so opposed to paying their "strip surcharge" of 4%. However, the menu sounded great and the food did not disappoint. The portions were huge. The fruit plate was beautifully crafted and the roasted potatoes that came with the eggs were really delicious....crunchy exterior and nicely flavored creamy innards. When the manager came by to check on us, I mentioned that I hadn't eaten there before because my son is boycotting their surcharge, but that I really wanted to try it because their instagram and twitter feed photos really looked good. He was happy to hear that and brought over the social media manager to accept her kudos. What a pleasant surprise when the bill came...while the 4% surcharge was there, there was also a 30% customer appreciation discount from the manager. Now, that was unexpected but really appreciated. In my opinion, my son is missing out on some good eats here. That night we had intended to go to the Oyster Bar at Station House as a friend had an oyster craving. Unfortunately, the wait was too long and we were starving so we trotted over to Other Mama where she got her fix. Not only did she get her oysters, amongst the three of us, we managed to sample almost all of the daily and regular menu because we were so hungry. I presume it was one of the owner's who waited on us as he was extremely knowledgeable about the menu, the restaurant, and very engaging. I had been wanting to try this place for awhile but we just never got around to it. I know there were some negative reviews about it on this board, but virtually everything we ordered was really good. Only the hushpuppies were mediocre.

Day four started with breakfast at Babystacks. You can really get a sugar rush here if you're not too careful. The service was great as were the pancakes and various egg dishes we ordered Dinner was at Todds as that's our neighborhood go to restaurant and it didn't disappoint. For the price point, the food is good as is the service. They were offering a $20 off coupon which they tend to offer from time to time which is an added benefit. Getting on their email list will get those coupons delivered to you.

Day five had us sweltering at the pool but we still managed to have a very enjoyable outdoor lunch at the Bellagio pool restaurant. The menu had more than the usual pool fare and what we had was executed well. Dinner was at e. I had dined there several years ago but I wanted to treat my friends to the experience as I knew they'd enjoy it. The first time I was there, the social aspect of it was really good as we had a master chef dining that night with us who was quite a character and made it really a foodie evening. This time, the group of nine diners had a nice camaraderie and to me, the food was more interesting the second time around. Because of the cost, it's truly a once in a blue moon type of occasion. The wine pairings alone come at three option levels: $130,300, and I believe $500. Two of us tried the middle option this time while one (and everyone else dining that night) went the "cheaper" route (LOL), We all enjoyed the pairings and I can't say that the extra money spent was worth it. Interestingly enough, at the end of this dinner, two of the diners ultimately disclosed that they work for Jose Andres and travel all over the world eating at his restaurants taking notes to insure quality control. They eat at e every five weeks!!! Needless to say, we then had quite a few questions for them which they graciously answered.

Day six took us to Honey Salt in Summerlin for brunch/lunch. We had a pizza which was quite good and an exceptionally tasty and really beautifully prepared beet salad. We were supposed to try Chef Marc's trattoria that night, but with the crazy weather that day (storms/rain/hail) we didn't want to venture back on the roads to Summerlin after returning to the strip so that will have to wait until another visit. Instead, we decided to stay close and try Bardot Brasserie for dinner. Let me first say that Michael Mina has a great restaurant near my home (Bourbon Steak) but in the past, we were disappointed with his restaurant in the Bellagio, so it was with great trepidation that we tried his restaurant in the Aria. The service was great; but the food just didn't wow us and for the price point, we were all disappointed. So, for me, that's two out of three Mina restaurants that were disappointing. Lesson learned.

Our last day needed to use up the balance of our food and dining credits so we had a very expensive breakfast at the Bellagio Cafe. It was good but certainly not mind-blowing and for the price point, it would have been a major disappointment but for the fact it was free.

Lots of good eating, Hopefully, I'll burn some of these calories in time for our return to town in a few weeks. I plan on trying Chef Marc's and/or Bottiglia if time allows, but since I'll be returning with my husband this time, I suspect we'll return to Carnevino and Le Cirque and whichever restaurant our son selects for his birthday dinner. No worries though as there are at least two more Vegas trips on our schedule before the year is out.