The Traveling Michigander

The Chicago Tribune has an article on the 10 most-asked traveler questions. An interesting one was about resort fees, their opinion being only the most shady having them. But most large Las Vegas resorts have them, even if you don’t intend to use the exercise equipment or access the Internet. Suck? Yep, but that’s how Vegas operates.

Speaking of, if you are a Vegas-phile like me, check out the Las Vegas Advisor Question of the Day. There is usually something interesting. Another good one is Stiffs and Georges, David McKee’s blog, with lots of information on the gaming and hospitality side of Vegas.

Andrea and I were in Las Vegas last November so she could attend a conference and I could be somewhere other than home. We planned one fancy dinner, to get away from the normal struggles of getting a 2-year old to eat, and Bouchon was it. Aureole in Mandalay Bay was a close second, but as enticing as waitresses on strings was, we decided against it this time. But next time, for sure, we’re going there.

We managed to arrive only slightly late for our reservation at the restaurant. What can I say – my hair is a quarter of an inch long, and I just couldn’t do anything with it. We took the Las Vegas Monorail from the MGM Grand (our hotel for this trip) to Harrah’s, and it was a short walk from there to The Venetian. Well, relatively short – we still had to walk the eight and a half miles through the casino to get to the street.

Bouchon is located on the 10th floor of the Palazzo tower. The resort has the ability to make you feel more important than you actually are because of the sheer magnificence of the place. Hey, I’ve made it – look at these awesome building I’m walking through. I’m somebody. There was more marble between the elevators to the restaurant door than is in all of Lansing. A lot more.

We ordered the still water, which was a mistake because we had to pay for the still water. If you don’t want to pay for water, remember to ask for tap water. I’m not against paying for water if I happened to be in a desert and would die without it within the next hour. Well, come to think of it, I was in the middle of the desert. But I was pretty far from death.

Before the meal we were served bread and warm pistachios. Yes, they gave us nuts. I don’t usually receive nuts pre-meal, but it was a nice touch. We ordered a decent bottle of cabernet franc, mostly because it was one of the cheaper bottles of wine on the menu, being around $40 or $50, if I remember correctly. In Lansing, a cheap bottle of wine will run about a third of that, but we weren’t in Lansing. It’s a fancy restaurant – you’re supposed to overpay for everything.

I had the boulin blanc (which looked like a brat but had a very smooth taste) served with creamy mashed potatoes and prunes. Yes, prunes – those wacky French. Andrea chose the steak served with French fries. The fries were my favorite part of the meal, and I munched on them all through dinner. You just can’t go wrong with fries.

For dessert, Andrea had chocolate mousse and I had doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce. Fries and doughnuts – does that sound like an expensive meal? And during dessert, we were privileged to listen to some blowhard at the next table try to impress his friends with his knowledge of wine and his ability to be rude to the waiter. Here’s my wine tip – if you like it, drink it, and don’t worry about what goes with what too much.

After our meal, we wandered out into the pool area adjacent to the restaurant. I had to fly home the next morning – a 9:00 AM flight – so we enjoyed a few minutes more of peace before heading back to The Strip and back to the MGM.

Quick update: I saw a post on My Luscious Temple about Bouchon and thought I would post it – there are some nice pictures.

The opening of City Center in Las Vegas brought back found memories of my trip last August. Construction was really humming and despite a previous walkout and financial issues, everything looked nice from where I stood. Of course, where I stood was behind the fence along Las Vegas Boulevard, but the next time I’m in Vegas, I’ll actually get inside those buildings.

Aria is 4,000 room hotel, and sometime after I see Beatles LOVE, I’d like to see the Elvis show that Aria hosts. If it’s still there – I don’t get to Vegas as much as I would like. And City Center is so big, it has it’s own tram system.

The Harmon is a hotel without a casino. Yes, such places do exist in Vegas. It looks pretty slick in its varying shades of blue glass. It reminds me of Greektown Casino in Detroit, without the cold weather and urban decay around it.

Jockey Club are those white buildings squeezed between City Center and Bellagio. Sure, the views may not be great, especially if you have a room on the south (City Center-facing) side, but you can’t beat the location on the strip. And they have suites and kitchenettes for you with long stays. Lucky SOBs.

So was it worth destroying the Boardwalk casino to make room for the gargantuan City Center? I never went inside the Boardwalk, but it did have a (non-functional) roller coaster on the roof, and you just don’t see that sort of thing too often.

And if you like seeing things blown up, and you know you do, check out Vegas Tripping for video of the Boardwalk coming down, as well as other casinos being reduced to rubble.

I had my first stay at the MGM Grand recently. I like a place that has wildlife statues waiting for you just inside the doors. The shiny lion awaiting guests gave me some great decorating ideas for my living room. Though I don’t have my own gift shop (though that does give me ideas), and zero slot machines, I’m sure the lion could guard something, and even a pretend lion would be a better home defense system than either of my two cats.

The check-in procedure was a free-for-all – you stand in a big line and hoped to make eye contact with one of the platoon of employees at the desk. A queue would make a big difference. The banks and amusement parks have figured this out, so it’s not a secret. Maybe it’s not feng shui, or its too banal for an enormous casino to have mouse mazes, but it would make the process easier.

Because our flight arrived early in the morning, our room was not ready. We had a drink at Rouge, one of those bars where you have to be rich, young, and dressed in black to fit. We were none of those things, but we went anyways – we are just as capable of buying $12 drinks as the next guy.

Our 15th floor suite looked out on Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard, so we had a great view of the South Strip. The carpet, sofa, and chairs were all wet from just being cleaned, which made us wonder what kind of party the previous occupants had thrown. Whatever it was, we would not be matching their exuberance. Thankfully, there were two dry leather chairs to sit on.

The bed for comfortable, but the pillows were lumpy, and I didn’t get the best sleep there. At night, the room would glow green from the lights illuminated the exterior of the hotel. Just like the Emerald City, or close enough to matter. It was a cool effect, and luckily, when it was time for sleep, the curtains were plenty thick to block out all the light.

The pool area was expansive, with several pools including a lazy river. Be aware that the pool hours and pools that are open change depending on the time of year and day of the week. On Sunday, two more pools were open than the next day, the day I lounged about (of course), and finding a decent spot was a challenge.

And what goes better with a spot at the pool than a pina colada in a little plastic cup that cost $15 and contained little alcohol? Well, not much, let me tell you. But the service was great thanks to Nacho the bartender. You know, I don’t think that Nacho was his real name. Just a guess.

The Studio Walk, the shopping and eating corridor that ran between the casino and the pool, had some beautiful and trendy looking restaurants that would have been nice to try had I had more than one full day in Vegas. Lest you think you can’t get a good deal at the MGM (and I can’t blame you for thinking that), banish the thought. The food court has a McDonald’s and they do have a Dollar Menu. And the sausage biscuit in Las Vegas tastes just as good as it does back home.

If you are in need of some family-friendly entertainment and for some reason have gone to Las Vegas, or if you’re just plain tired of staring at slot machines, MGM’s Lion Habitat is a nice break. I’ve seen it a few times, and both times the lions are just laying around on top of the glass tunnel that leads further into the habitat. I’m glad I don’t have their job – lying around being gawked at seems to have very little job satisfaction. Like auto show models.

I would happily stay at the MGM Grand. It has a nice location on the Strip, plenty to do, and it has its own monorail station. I poke fun at the prices, but it’s Vegas, and it’s a fancy casino, so what can you expect? And that gift shop did have good looking t-shirts, one of which now lays in my closet. Maybe that lion was onto something.

My quest for a good Las Vegas burger took me to Le Burger Brasserie in, where else, Paris. I arrived early because that’s how I roll, and I also wanted to maximize my pool time back at my hotel, the MGM Grand. No waiting is a good thing, especially in conference-happy Vegas.

Because I wasn’t interested in a divorce, I avoided the $777 Kobe Beef burger and instead tried Le PARIS, a burger topped with Brie, caramelized onion, and smoked bacon. It was $12, sans-fries, and I was very pleased with my burger. It was perfectly cooked and served with a few olives which was great – I’m a big fan of green olives. I ate on Monday morning, so I didn’t get to see any games, but the 15 x 15 television screen would make a great spot to watch one.

I recommend Le Burger Brasserie if you’re looking for a decent burger. It is at the very back of Paris, just before Paris meets Harrah’s. And if you try the Kobe Beef burger, let me know how it is.

Quick – was the is the first thing you think about when I say Las Vegas? If you answered “amusement park rides”, you’re not normal. Vegas is a funhouse, but not that kind of funhouse. Still, it does have several interesting rides, and being a fan of amusement parks with some free time, I spent my afternoon exploring one of the many fun sides of Vegas.

My first stop was The Roller Coaster at New York New York. Since it was basically across the street from my hotel, the MGM Grand, it only took fifteen minutes to get from my room to the coaster. (I’m exaggerating slightly – it was probably more like twelve minutes.) I prefer the original name, The Manhattan Express. But, it wasn’t up to me. Perhaps they should have called it “The Letdown Express.” For $14 a ride, I expected more, like naked ladies and free shots at the end. Sadly, neither of those were provided. The ride itself was fine, though jerky. The worst part was the lack of a view. Sitting in the 2nd row, the height of the seats prevented me from seeing the track ahead. Unless you’re a coaster fanatic on a hot streak at the craps table, or you have a free ride, I would advise skipping it.

I made a trip to the Stratosphere for the three thrill rides atop it. At over 900 feet above the desert floor, the location alone sets them apart from ordinary rides. My first ride was X-Scream. A simple concept, X-Scream is a teeter-totter mechanism that launches the ride car over the edge of the tower, giving its riders a nice view of the ground waaaaaayyyyy below. And I have to admit, it was scary. Not underwear-changing scary, but it is a level above any ride I’ve ridden before, and that includes monsters such as the Tilt-A-Whirl.

My second Stratosphere ride was The Big Shot, which shoots riders a hundred feet straight up. I’ve ridden similar rides as the awesomeness that is Cedar Point – the Power Tower is much bigger – and at Disney’s California Adventure, but the fact that I was almost 1,000 above the ground put it on a different level.

Unfortunately, the third ride, Insanity, closed just before I arrived, so that challenge will have to be conquered on a future trip. I was looking forward to that one too, since it hangs riders out over the edge of the tower and then spins them around. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? I had bought three rides, so my third ticket was used to ride Big Shot again.

As for getting to the rides, I stayed at the MGM Grand, at the south end of the Strip. The Stratosphere is several miles north on Las Vegas Boulevard, considered by most to be the end of the Strip. That was too far to walk and still have time to hang out at the pool to enjoy the warm Vegas weather, so I took the monorail, which was very convenient. The MGM Grand has a station attached to the hotel, and it ends at the Sahara, a few blocks south of the Stratosphere. Very convenient. And the $5 one-way charge is much cheaper than comparable cab fare.