Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Vegas Baby!

My best friend and I were in desperate need of a mini-vacation. Luckily, I spend too much time on the road and stay at a lot of Hiltons. So we were able to get a free weekend together in Vegas. My adventure started early in the morning at the Reagan National Airport where I was delayed because the AirTran desk hand checked in 3 flights and about 40 of us were bumped from our flights because of it. I made it to Atlanta and was put on standby, where I got to wait for the next flight which was 9hrs away. Luckily, I was able to make it onto the only AirTran flight out of Atlanta to Vegas and was able to get to the land of sand only 12hrs late.

A great friend of mine from work picked me up from the airport so I didn't have to worry about getting a cab. We went to the hotel, picked up my bff, and headed get my tummy some much needed food. I worked in Vegas for a short time and came to know & love the availability of great LATE night food. One of my favorites is Bootleggers Bistro. It has been open since 1949 and has huge portions, which is exactly what I needed. I am mad about the garlic knots & homemade marinara sauce that they serve and ordered one of my favorites, Seafood Diavolo (hot of course). As I was incredibly tired, I did not take any pictures but take my word that this is a place for you to try when you are in Vegas. It is off The Strip, affordable, late night foodie friendly, & has a great Old Vegas history that they will love to share with you.

My best friend is not an adventurous eater but luckily I have earned her trust over the years and she will try new things with me. We had no interest in roaming The Strip to find someplace to eat and since we just finished shopping at The Forums, we decided to look in Ceasar's Palace for a place to have dinner. I love Japanese food; sushi, teppanyaki, soba or udon noodles, sake....mmmm...and the smell coming off the teppanyaki grill as we walked past Hyakumi made me bring my best friend over to the menu and start to give her the pitch as to why we should eat there.

After a day of shopping we wanted someplace quiet, which is hard to find in Vegas, so that we could relax out of the heat and chat. I suggested Hyakumi, so that we could sit at the teppan table, watch a chef cook for us and then relax eating the fresh grilled food. Lucky, for both of us, my pitch work and we made reservations for the next available teppan table. After a 30 minute wait we were seated & began with Lychee Sake Martinis.

Onion Volcana



Boy were we in for a great teppanyaki cooking show & equally great food. As is customary with teppanyaki, a few grilled shrimp for each guest is also part of the dinner. The teppan chef shows off his knife skills with the preparation and cooking of the shrimp. So even if you don't want to shell out the extra money for shrimp for dinner, you will always get a few.




The Volcano smoke





On the other side of this, if you are allergic to shrimp PLEASE let the chef know before hand so that you can enjoy your dinner anaphylaxis free.









Dinner is served


We both had the filet mignon and chicken combination. The filet was cooked perfectly for each of us; as my best friend prefers her's "very dead" and I prefer mine at medium rare. They were both juicy and tender.







If you are a fan of teppanyaki and are near Ceasar's Palace I recommend going to Hyakumi. The food and service were great. The atmosphere was perfect for what we wanted; quiet, Japanese influenced, and all about the food being cooked in front of you. The price is high but it is comparable to most places to eat along The Strip.


Bootlegger Bistro on Urbanspoon
Hyakumi on Urbanspoon

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