Vegas eats
Hi friends! How’s the morning going? Hope you’re enjoying the day and had a great weekend! We got to enjoy a little Vegas getaway with our friends Betsy and Jeremy. Betsy and I had both talked about going to the Pac-12 tournament for a while since we all love basketball, so a couple of months ago, we decided to go for it and book our plane tickets. With everything going on, it’s been something that I’ve looked forward to, and it was definitely worth the wait. We’re very fortunate that madre offered to stay in San Diego and watch the girls. They got to enjoy special time with their nana, and Tom and I got to spend some time together. Also, I slept in until 10:00am TWO DAYS IN A ROW. It was everything.
(Flooded with emotions after the overtime Wildcats loss.)
We had so many awesome adventures, but for this post, I’m going to focus on the eats!!
Lately I’ve been trying to amp up the whole foods, protein, produce and decrease my sugar intake. It’s become so much easier to eat well while traveling as more options become available, but there’s the constant temptation of decadent food. Usually when I’m on vacation I’ll usually enjoy the avalanche of sweet treats and alcohol, but found that I really enjoy having a balance between healthy energizing food + the soul-hugging stuff in there, too. I just chose what was “worth it,” and rolled from there.
(Cake pop = worth it. I’m on Snapchat now if you’d like to say hi! Fitnessista)
Some of the spots where we dined:
Hash House A Go-Go
Hash House is AMAZING and the portions are ridiculous. I got 2 scrambled eggs, chicken sausage and fruit. It was perfect.
Wolfgang Puck’s
We went here after the basketball game, and ordered a bunch of appetizers to share: french fries, crab cakes, and chicken wings. Everything was delicious -and way better than I was expecting- but my favorite part was the chicken wings. They were crisp and spicy.
For my entree, I ordered the chopped veggie salad with feta + chicken on the side.
For snacks, I grabbed Starbucks oatmeal to mix with protein powder and mixed nuts
+ bananas with almond butter.
(I also carried my glass water bottle around to encourage myself to drink lots of water)
Saturday night, we dined at Craftsteak, a Tom Colicchio restaurant at the MGM. Apparently fancy restaurants offer prom picture opportunities? haha.
I had a Downtown Abbie while we perused the menu,
(it tasted candy and was infused with cherry and lime)
and we decided to do the Chef’s special. Each person picks what type of meat/entree they’d like, and then you receive shrimp cocktail for the table, 3 salads, 4 vegetables, 3 entrees + dessert. It was just as insane as it sounds.
Betsy and the boys rolled with different types of Wagyu steak, while I chose the seafood trio: salmon, lobster, and crab.
This is what our table looked like! It was the meal to end all meals.
Shrimp cocktail, Caesar with anchovies, buffalo mozzarella and a warm frisée salad (not pictured) to start.
And then the main courses: asparagus, mashed potatoes, risotto (which was my fave!), pots of lobster with butter, steak, and the aforementioned seafood trio
We definitely had our work cut out for us. It was SO much food, and everything was absolutely delicious. It was the type of meal that lasted 2+ hours with great company and conversation, and many bites past the “full” point because everything tasted so good.
We were ready to wave the white flags of defeat when dessert arrived.
Monkey bread with cinnamon ice cream, cheesecake, various sorbets, fresh fruit, and brownies with ice cream.
I know.
The meal was incredible, and I know we’ll definitely be back. The prices were high (such is Vegas), but you got a lot of high-quality food for what you pay for. The atmosphere is perfect for a romantic Vegas date night, too. I highly, highly recommend it!
The next day, we slept in, and were back at the airport ready to head home.
A Krispy Kreme to bid farewell.
Have you been to Vegas? Where’s your favorite place to eat?
We’re big fans of Mesa Grill, Tao and Mon Ami Gabi. More of my favorite Las Vegas restaurants and recaps are here, here, here, and here.
xoxo
Gina
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San Diego has a Housh House, too.. It was our favorite breakfast place (since Snooze was always a hot mess..). They have awesome dinner options too for date nights.
yes! i guess it’s in hillcrest, too? our server was saying it’s the only one that’s independently owned
Yes! So a great stop before exploring Balboa *HASH house, geez…
Must try the Bloody Mary!!
Awww! My hubby goes to Vegas every year for his annual “boys trip” for sports betting and tournament. I always want to go, but I guess I’ll have to wait till the rest of the guys get married and then we can have a our own girls trip complete with candy flavored drinks and allthegoodstuff
so fun!!! yes, definitely! or even bring along a couple of your girlfriends.
I’ve actually never been to Vegas but trying to remedy that soon. I’m kind of obsessed with Tom Colicchio so I’m super jealous you visited one of his restaurants- glad it lived up to the hype/pricetags!
it was 100% worth the hype and price tag
I love reading posts about Vegas. ONE DAY I will head on out there. My husband is out there every year for work so it never hits high on his wish list for travel spots so I keep hoping maybe my work schedule will align with one of his conferences so I can tag along and see all the sights – and eat all that amazing food!!!!
YESSSS. you definitely should! tom often has work trips to vegas, and i try to crash them whenever i can. even if i don’t get to see him much, VEGAS
I added you on snapchat about a week ago but haven’t seen any of your snaps. Are the settings weird or something?
Same! Not seeing any.
haha i am a derp. my settings were still on private! let me know if you see it now 🙂 still trying to figure it out
fail to me. i had it set so only friends could see it. i changed it 🙂 still trying to figure it out
Mm! I could go on vacation to Vegas and be totally content between the pool and the restaurants. I know the buffets there are “the thing to do” and some are totally overrated, but I honestly still dream about the ones at the Wynn and The Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan. Both were heavenly. Looks like you had a great trip! 🙂
i haven’t had either of those! next time, it’s happening
So many good eats! I love going to Paris, there’s this little french bistro that has the most amazing brunch/breakfast.
Mmmm … love that cafe at Paris … the coffee alone!
mon ami gabi! the best 🙂
yes, mon ami gabi! we love that one, too 🙂
It’s not November, did I miss something? Tom’s stache is back!!
it’s an air force thing. mustache march 🙂
Vegas is all about Carmine’s and hanging out at Nine Fine Irishmen and walking downtown with huge slushy drinks. You made me want to plan a trip! Go UB Bulls!
tom LOVES nine fine irishmen 🙂
hope you had a great weekend, too!
Oh man those prom pics are so great. That bottom one is frameworthy – especially with that ‘stache 😉 Miss you guys already!
the stache kills me haha. miss you, friend!
The prom photos are hilarious!!
haha right?! i was like what is happening but she actually did a great job
This all looks SO good! Those desserts… haha. I’ve been to Vegas once and was only there for like 6ish hours and we ate at In-N-Out Burger! Being from the midwest, we were way too excited about it haha.
in n out is a necessity if you don’t have it around you!
Everything looks delicious! I feel like Vegas is really stepping up in terms of healthier options. I was shocked when I stayed at a hotel in vegas that had green juice on the menu. I’ll take crab dipped in butter for dinner and then a green juice in the morning any day 🙂
yes! there is a ton of healthy stuff to choose from. i totally agree- save it for the amazing dinners
I can’t stop looking at these photos. Seriously. Is it strange to hop on a flight to Vegas for dinner tonight?
San Francisco’s Best Spa – Posh Treatments In A Historic Neighborhood
not strange at all 🙂
hope you had a great weekend too!
xoxo
Love Vegas! Your trip sounds fun. My favorite place to eat in Vegas is the buffet spot in MGM. So goooood!!
it was so much fun! they went to that buffet saturday morning while i got some work done. tom was in heaven!
The food looks amazing, but I think I’m even more jealous of you getting to sleep in until 10 AM!! Lol. I have a 1-year old. 🙂
Well now I’m hungry. I haven’t been to Vegas for a few years so I wouldn’t know what’s good anymore. I remember really liking the Little Buddha? It was in the Palms.
I tried following you on Snapchat but haven’t seen your story.
Wohoo Vegas! I’ve only been to a few fancy-esque restaurants in Vegas. One is Lavo. It was very good, but the table next to us walked out on their $500 bill! I also like the rest in the Eiffel Tower at the Paris. The french onion soup is amazing!
*restaurant not rest… wow my brain is not communicating to my hands today! Must be b/c of daylight savings! 😉
We have a Hash House at one of the casinos here in Ct. Huge portions. I had gotten a pork tenderloin sandwich, not sure why they bothered with the bun it looked silly compared to the meat. While in Vegas we love going to Gordon Ramsay Pub as well as Mac Breiner; its Willy Wanka for adults. The dessert crepes are outstanding.
Wow! Everything looks so good…you’re making me hungry!
My husband and I recently went to Vegas. It’s so hard to eat healthy there. I started off good, but the last day or two….
you’re just surrounded by amazing food and cocktails the entire time!
Oh my gosh, that last meal! So many delicious foods! I love the buffets in Vegas.. so dangerous, but so good!
those are tom’s favorite!
I’m a Top Chef nerd (the finale is on this week!!!) so I’m super jealous that you got to go to Tom C’s restaurant in Vegas. I heard it’s amazing. I also love how you incorporated healthy eating tricks for travel. I do the Starbucks oatmeal & banana when I travel, too. Sometimes I mash the banana and incorporate it into the oatmeal to give it some flavor ; )
it was AMAAAAZING. i can’t wait to go back!
love the idea to add banana in there, too 🙂
xo
That food looks heavenly. 2 restaurants I would love to try.
🙂