Vegas Vacay Day 3, Part 1.5

I was so excited to share my divine Craftsteak experience with you, dear readers, that I skipped over a bit of day 3 of my Vegas vacation. Forgive me?

I had been contemplating which shows I wanted to see, and could afford, since I arrived in Vegas. It was very unusual for me to go on vacation without at least a general plan of events. I'm a planner, I come by it honestly as my Mom is a planner too. We couldn't decide what we really wanted to see, or what was really worth seeing. So we spent the first 2 days of vacation getting acquainted with the Strip and asking questions. By this third day we were ready to see a show!

In the early pages of the free tourist guide there are 3 discount ticket sellers for same day shows. After the Shark Reef Aquarium tour with my New York Cathlete friend, I randomly picked one and called to find out what shows were discounted for the evening. After listening to the very very long list- TWICE, and talking to Mom on the phone with bad reception- TWICE- we finally decided on *drum roll, please* (this is anti-climatic if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, sorry) Cirque du Soleil's Criss Angel show at the Luxor. This show just sounded really cool to me. I saved about $100 by buying them on the same day- and doing lots of walking.

When I bought the tickets on the phone I was at Mandalay Bay. I had to pick up the tickets at the company's booth outside of MGM Grand which is kiddie corner to MB. That sounds like a fairly simple and short walk, right? No, not right! I took the free tram from MB to Excalibur, which took 15 minutes to go 1 long block. No, it's not faster to walk. I found that out on my way to the Shark Reef Aquarium earlier in the day. From Excalibur I walked to the first pedestrian bridge which is a couple hundred feet from the actual corner, and then I had to walk to the second pedestrian bridge that brought me to the front of MGM Grand. I thought the ticket booth would be right there in front of MGM Grand, because that's what the rep on the phone told me. That wasn't exactly the case. So I walked about 20 more minutes looking for the booth. Yay, I found it! Booo, I had to stand in line for 45 minutes. It was a crazy busy street with swarms of people everywhere. I was very far from my comfort zone! I finally get my tickets. Yay! But, booo I had to go to Luxor to actually choose specific seats and the earlier I got there the better. So I did my walk in reverse except I got off the tram at Luxor instead of going all the way back to Mandalay Bay. That took a full 30 minutes.

Here's the view from the first pedestrian bridge.

The view from the second pedestrian bridge. Luxor is the shiny pyramid. Mandalay Bay is the gold building to the left of Luxor. 

Nope, not there yet.... 

This is the front of MGM Grand. It's really, well, grand. New York New York is across the street, on the left side of the picture. We never got a chance to go in or ride the roller coaster. Bummer, but I think we spent our money and time wisely in Vegas. How many people can say THAT? ha! 

Here is an escalator to one of the pedestrian bridges.., 

A better- though not great- view of NYNY from a pedestrian bridge. It was built to really look like the NYC skyline so all those 'little' buildings really is one big building. Yay for palm trees, too! 

A good view of the roller coaster! Riding this coaster was on my wish list, but after Craftsteak and shows spending $15 to ride this just once felt a little silly.  

A glimpse of the gorgeous mountains that unfortunately you can barely see from the Strip. Can you believe all the street lanes and traffic?!? 

At this point I had walked 75 minutes for these discounted tickets. To go across the street two times! Vegas is insane! I had already been walking most of the day. I was pretty worn out by this time. It's not over yet though! I had to walk BACK to MGM Grand to meet Mom for dinner at Craftsteak. After dinner we had to walk BACK to Luxor for the Criss Angel show. I added it all up, best I could figure, to be at least 6 hours of walking. I definitely earned that Craftsteak meal of a lifetime!!

The Criss Angel show was definitely worth it, though! We ended up with crazy good seats so all that walking was worth it. The show was very entertaining and mind boggling! He is truly the best illusionist ever! Criss Angel was much more personable and down to earth than Mom or I thought he would be. We loved his show, but there wasn't much 'Cirque'ness to it. I'm not sure how the Cirque de Soleil fit in. Still, it was a fantastic and, yes, magical way to end the evening.

My evening wasn't quite over yet, though. That's Day 3 Part 3, though and it involves exotic flowers, a flirty encounter, and fire.

Vegas Vacay Day 3, Part 2

The third day of my Vegas vacation was my favorite day. The highlight of my favorite day was eating at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak restaurant with my Mom.

This was the finest, most delectable meal of my life. The restaurant is simply and elegantly decorated with rich woods, beautiful and creatively used flowers and whimsical paintings of cows. We had 2, count 'em 2, waiters. That is such an insufficient term, though. They treated us like a combination of royalty and family. The warmth and friendliness of these gentlemen was genuine and sincere. One of them even offered to take the above picture for us. 

There are numerous fine restaurants to choose from in Las Vegas, and choosing wasn't easy for me. I choose Craftsteak because it serves grass-fed beef and farm fresh produce. And because I'm a long time fan of Tom Colicchio, if you can be a fan of a Chef before trying his food. I honestly never thought I'd have the opportunity to dine at any of his restaurants. As a cancer Survivor, I truly appreciate the grass-fed beef options and rich vegetable choices. I thought it was so cool when I saw a list of farms and food artisans on the menu! I was nearly giddy from the moment we walked in! 

In the spirit of celebrating my Remission and improving health, we splurged and ordered the Chef's Beef Selction 3 Course Meal and a glass of red wine. The wine list was a really big book, it was really nifty.  I choose the Pascual Toso Reserve Malbec of Barancas Vineyards. It was THE best Malbec I've ever tasted! Well-balanced with just a hint of sweetness, and it had the most amazing purplish red color.

Each of the 3 courses has many components which was a very pleasant surprise. We couldn't believe how much high quality food was in each course, especially compared to the previous night's small yet very expensive appetizers at Stacked. 

This First Course

 Italian Buffalo Mozzarella with Red Pepper coulis and hazelnuts, perfectly Grilled Shrimp....

and Frisee, Poached Egg and Smoked Bacon salad (my first experience with eating a poached egg on a salad, it was to.die.for.).... 

and Roasted Beets with Clementines  (heavenly, and also a great cancer fighter).

Most amazing first course of my life! I would have been thrilled just to have eaten that course by itself. Thankfully, I didn't have to. 

The Main Course

Yukon Gold Potato Puree (silky smooth, perfectly seasoned divineness) served in a hot copper pot, Asparagus with Lemon Zest (incredibly fresh!), Assorted Sauteed Mushrooms, New York Strip steak medium rare served in a hot copper pan and....

Filet Mignon cooked to perfect medium in another copper pan. 

I'll never be able to eat steak anywhere else again. These steaks were melt in your mouth, superbly yet simply seasoned and roasted majestically.  

The Third Course

 These were the kind of desserts you see on Top Chef. It was thrilling to eat such well crafted food!! 

First came the coffee- in a coffee press just for our table! And little pieces of sugar, not cubes, pieces of sugar. I found those pieces of sugar immensely delightful. I'm not a big fan of coffee, but this coffee was special. Smooth, rich, and remarkably fresh. 

The desserts filled the table! We gleefully yet somehow gracefully indulged in Chocolate Ganache Cake with Creme Fraiche (chocolate perfection!), Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Strawberry sauce (insanely delicious)...

and Grapefruit Sorbet (interesting and unique), Hazelnut Cocoa Chip Ice Cream,  fresh Dates, Kiwi and Oranges. I haven't eaten many dates in my life, but I would joyfully eat these everyday.

Dining at Craftsteak was by far the culinary highlight of my life. I am thankful to be alive and healthy to have enjoyed it with my Mom. Thank you, Tom Colcchio,  Matt Seeber, and all of the Craftsteak crafters. Most of all, thank you Mom for this once in my lifetime vacation and incredibly marvelous and memorable meal.