Biggest Ripoff in Vegas Cusine

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
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I never thought I ever take time to rip a restaurant in Las Vegas on line, but I had to do it in this instance.

I would first state I travel to Vegas typically once a month for business and am very familiar with the restaurant scene (and the many overpriced places as well, afterall most are on the strip). I have come to expect high prices, but I also have come to expect excellent cuisine and top rate service.

Last night, one of my clients wanted to go to Cafe Marterrano on the Rio. Being from Florida, I was very familiar with their location in Ft. Lauderdale, although I have only been there a few times and haven’t been there in a # of years. The experience I had down in Ft. Lauderdale was quite different than I experienced in Vegas.

I will say the quality of the food was…ok. Well prepared, tasted good, but wasn’t inspiring and the prices were out of wack , even for the Strip (I know Rio is off the strip, but it is close enough).

The first thing I noticed, was that menu was nothing like the one I experienced in Ft. Lauderdale. I was very surprised to see the Italian basics, such as veal piccata, veal parmagiana and various other dishes that you would find in just about any garden variety Italian restaurant.

One of the clients ordered a veal parmagiana for a whopping $42. The other client ordered a strip steak (which ended up being smothered in a marsala wine sauce and mushrooms) at …get this !! MP …yep. MARKET PRICE. The veal chop was also listed as MP on the menu…I joked with the waiter and I said was the owner expecting someone to corner the market on beef or veal anytime soon? I just didn’t get it. I asked what was MP, more out of curiosity then because I was concerned. The steak and the veal chop was $58 !!! WTF !!! for a NY Strip steak? They didn’t even list the size of the steak on the menu. STRIKE ONE against Mr. Marteranno.

I ordered a nice rigatoni with a wine reduction sauce and slow roasted pork. I have to say it was a very good dish, it was $28, ok fair price and it tasted very good.

My client, who is also my friend asked me to taste the Veal Parm. I did, ok, it is veal parm. Any self respecting quality Italian restaurant should be able to prepare this in fine fashion with their eyes closed. It was ok, not earth shattering. But at $42, I thought it was a rip off.

The steak my other client ordered, had NO side dish, nothing, just a steak. I didn’t see side dishes on the menu!

I wouldn’t bother with the apps. they were basic b.s. you find in any Italian resto.

You might be asking…what about the wine!

of course, I ordered wine. I looked over the menu and almost fell off my chair.

How about this …1997 Sassacaia…$1350 !! No it is not a misprint. $1350 for something I have in my cellar that I paid about $140 about 10 years ago.

What I did order was Argiano Brunello , ripe old age of 2002 vintage…lol… $199 !! Even my clients were surprised.

I have this wine and I paid $40-$50 a bottle upon release… talk about mark ups.

the whole thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The wine took forever to get “delivered” to the table. The food was ok, not inspiring. The price was astronomical even by Vegas standards.

I do not recommend this restaurant and I scream out loud “STAY AWAY”

Much better choices in Vegas, but this is where my client wanted to go.

Tomorrow. Michael Mina’s in S.F. I love that place!!!

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Pretty aggressive pricing on a steak at a non-steak destination restaurant, even for Vegas.

That Sassicaia is just plain retarded at that price.

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With room rates so low everywhere in Vegas, they have to make their money somewhere!

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2002 BdM for $200 had better say Biondi Santi somewhere on the label.

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I hate to be the contrarian, but if you get hosed in Vegas you deserve it. You have an opportunity to look at the menu before you enter, so avoiding places that put market prices up for cuts of meat or uber-ridiculous wine pricing is doable.

Receiving a mediocre or bad dish, on the other hand, can happen almost anywhere. That sucks and is much more unpredictable.

However, if the client is dragging you to the slaughterhouse (just picked up on that) that is a higher form of torture… [suicide.gif]

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Alan,

What are your favorite places in Las Vegas? We had a great meal and service at Nobhill Tavern (Michael Mina restaurant) in MGM over New Years weekend. Fair prices for Vegas. I was disappointed by Buzio’s Seafood at the Rio. I would love to hear from someone who eats in LV more often.

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Bruce - i like that sushi place in MGM!

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Now you are talking.

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We ate at Valentinos restaurant in the Venetian. We enjoyed our meal in the casual part of the restaurant, but the food was top notch. $28.00 for a filet that was absolutely delicious.

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Yah… Shibuya in MGM… yum… not cheap, but delicious.

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If that is the same Sushi Roku as in Santa Monica, then it has to be good.

I was Vegas in May for a DRC weekend which included a dinner at Robuchon and a lunch at Guy Savoy. Since the wines were provided for us, I cannot comment on the wine lists and pricing, but as far as the food goes, Guy Savoy was amazing. They are not normally open for lunch on Saturdays so we had the restaurant to ourselves. Guy was there overseeing everything, he greeted us individually when we arrived and described each meal as it was brought out. Nothing was amiss, the food was perfectly prepared, hearty and filling. It didn’t hurt that we were drinking some amazing Montrachet, La Tache and Richebourg from DRC. A top 5 meal for me in a year that had some really exceptional meals.

Robuchon was more of a tasting menu, foo-foo type meal. Good, but not worth the money and thanks to the purple decor, I felt like I was sitting in Barney’s living room.

We also did an impromptu dinner at Lotus of Siam. They have a great wine list, how many Thai restaurants have '00 Margaux on their lists? One of the locals in our group had graciously provided about a dozen old Rieslings, which is a great match with this food. All of the dishes were very good, but my favorite was a fried langoustine dish. The shells are edible and quite tasty and apparently a natural statin, so they told us. Probably one of the best value restaurants in Vegas.

As far as San Fran goes, I agree that Mina’s restaurant in the St. Francis is great. It is a shame that they had to get rid of the Oak Bar to make room for the restaurant. I am always impressed with Mina restaurants, he is a great chef/restauranteur. When in San Fran, I also like to go to Slanted Door, Boulevard and Ozuma. For lunch, Hog Oyster or Taylor’s in the Ferry Building.

Finally, checked one of my local NYC favorite restaurants and the price for '97 Sassicaia is $595.

Regards,

Jon

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I was dragged by the client. It was not my choice. I don’t mind spending on dinner, but I want a great dinner due to many great restaurants in Vegas. I am used to wine being overpriced in Vegas, but thought it was just a bit over the top.

You are right, I should have looked at the menu, I assumed it was in line with the Ft Laud. location, which is head and shoulders better quality then this place…when I saw steak and veal chop at MP, I knew I was in for a hosing.

On a better note, I am in Sausalito and had a wonderful dinner at POGGIO , which was recommended to me. I had a great Steak Florentine !! (Serge, you reading this?). It was excellent, plus the wine was excellent and the entire dinner bill for my wife and I with tip was $219 and was head and shoulders better. Tonight is the tasting menu (food and wine) at Cavallo Point Lodge. Sunday is Michael Mina’s in SF.

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My favorite restaurants are : and Robuchon is NOT one of them by any means.

For steak: Prime in the Bellagio. Just excellent and consistent.

My top picks are: (not in any order)

David Burke’s (Venetian)

Michael Mina’s (Bellagio…I go for the tasting menu) Good, but I life the SF place better .

Sushi - Like Sushi Samba in Palazzo. But there are a # of great sushi places in vegas.

Romantic Dinner with the “wife” - Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris. I have done the tasting menu and it was excellent. But without a woman by my side, I would pass , lol.

MIXX - THE hotel (Mandalay Bay). nice eclectic food, haven’t been there since a year ago. But it was a great meal.

Seafood - RM Seafood (Mandalay) Alot of folks don’t know about this place, but it is FANTASTIC (make sure it is the upstairs fine dining restaurant, not the quick fare location downstairs).

French - Le Cirque (Bellagio).

Best late night munchie place - Peppermill (on the strip). Funky place, funky late night people and solid food at good prices. NOT GOURMET, but good food at 2 am , lol.

Worst Restaurant Hotel - Hard Rock, every damn restaurant in there sucks (my opinion).

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RM Upstairs KILLS!!! love the place. is that burlesque place still open next door, really fun show?

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Yes, Steak Fiorentino, its early here in Sausalito. It was good, I wouldn’t say it was world class version. But I enjoyed it. They made it with a Ribeye steak. They also offered it FOR TWO on a 3 lb Porterhouse. The wife wasn’t going for it. We also had chicken livers as an app. we shared, it was good. On a bed of creamy polenta.

The wine we had was from http://www.kellyflemingwine.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It was their 2005 Cab. and it was very good, not a big fruit bomb you would expect from Napa. The release price was $85 and the restaurant price was $110. Gotta love these N. Ca. folks pushing local wines. On the other hand they had a 2001 Valdicava at $350, which to me was a bit much. Tignanello 06 was on the list at $165, which is a bit more then double from “street” prices.

Gotta run, heading to S.F. to meet clients shortly.

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Oh come on! The Pink Taco? How could you not like that?!? Blasphemy!

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Serge, can we keep this on the down-low please?

And currently just taking orders for bachelorette parties.

:wink:

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Sucks on the MP deal…its ridiculous…especially for steak. Oh, and those wine prices suck.

Check out Alex at the Wynn…a Vegas must for me.

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hey Serge

I walked past the restaurant where we ate last night after being in S.F. for the day.

It IS Steak Florentine. Also, I ate lunch today at Tedasch (sp?) supposed to be the oldest restaurant in S.F. I had HALIBUT FLORENTINE (double checked the spelling). It was absolutely excellent and it was actually better than the steak I had last night, which I discovered was grass fed organic beef…explains the slightly different taste , then what I am used to.

I also heard about ALEX in Wynn, haven’t been there. I also want to check out Lotus Of Siam, I have heard it is excellent (Vegas). To my great disappointment, Michael Mina’s is not open on Sundays [soap.gif] . We are looking for other suggestions for S.F. area for dinner on Sunday. So if anyone cares to recommend, I have open ears. We were considering a ride up to Napa and eat lunch at Bistro Jeante’ (another favorite of mine). But based on the weather, we might just skip it.

We are having the tasting menu at Cavallo Point (michelin 1 star) tonight, wine and food pairings…so unfortunately I won’t be able to go to my favorite restaurant… as tomorrow night I have a reception to go to at Cavallo Point as well (we are staying here).

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Tadich Grill. Here’s some info. Nice job dining in some fine places!