At a recent trip to Las Vegas, I ate at the Bardot Brasserie restaurant by Michael Mina, at the Aria Hotel. Before dinner, I tried their signature drink called “And God Created Women”, made with Citadelle St. Germain, Angostura bitters and egg white with the wine-based aperitif, Byrrh.
(“And God Created Women” Cocktail Drink)
(Bardot Brasserie Bar)
Las Vegas is known mostly for gambling and shows, but the city has some of the best restaurants in the world. On a recent trip to Vegas with my girlfriends, I ate at two well-known steak restaurants in the city. Interestingly, both of these world-class steakhouses were in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
My friends and I stayed at the Delano Hotel, which is actually a hotel-in-a-hotel inside the Mandalay Bay hotel. There’s also a second hotel-in-a-hotel inside Mandalay Bay, The Four Seasons. The Delano used to be called The Hotel, but the property changed names recently. My guess is that ‘The Hotel’ just wasn’t distinctive enough.
Anyway, the first steakhouse we ate was Charlie Palmer Steak in the Four Seasons Hotel in Mandalay Bay. The second well-known steakhouse we ate at was Stripsteak by Michael Mina in the main Mandalay Bay hotel restaurant row.
My first impression on walking in was that Stripsteak was a bit more casual and relaxed than a classical steakhouse. Stripsteak was bright and lively and even at 6:00 PM there were a lot of people at the bar.
My girlfriends and I went directly to our table. Our waitress was very perky and personable, and not at all snooty like waiters and waitresses at some fancy steakhouses.
My two friends and I all shared our food. The night before we ate steak, and usually one meat meal per trip is enough for us. But for some reason we were still in the mood for steak so we had rib eye steak (again), and Alaskan cod, and Ahi Tuna. But before our main course, instead of the usual bread basket, our waitress brought us the restaurant’s signature French fries — three different kinds with three different dipping sauces. The fries themselves deserve a separate blog post!
The bottom line is that I give Stripsteak by Michael Mina a solid 9 out of 10. Great food, excellent atmosphere, good service, and reasonable prices make Stripsteak one of my highest recommended steakhouses in Las Vegas.
Recently I was in San Francisco for a wedding and I stayed at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. It’s an old hotel, originally built in the early 1900s and had a different feel from the hotels I frequently visit in Las Vegas and also different from the other Westin hotels I’ve stayed at elsewhere. On one evening, I ate dinner at the Bourbon Steak restaurant in the Westin St. Francis. Bourbon Steak is a Michael Mina restaurant. The restaurant is very woody — meaning somewhat dark and traditional. I really didn’t know exactly what to expect but let me get to the point and say I was very pleased with my dining experience.
Before dinner I had a drink at the small bar in the restaurant. I had a glass of Volver house red wine. It was good but nothing exceptional, but the bartender, Adam, was very personable and made the pre-meal drink very nice. Before being seated in the dining room I ordered the house specialty French fries. There were three types, with three distinct seasonings and three sauces. These French fries were really good.
After I was seated in the dining room, I ordered the pan roasted halibut with crab, almonds, and fennel. On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d give the meal a solid 8. Because my friends and I had side dishes of mashed potatoes, and Michael Mina’s special black truffle mac & cheese, and sauteed spinach, the meal was more than filling.
Overall, I give Bourbon Steak restaurant by Michael Mina a strong recommendation. The prices are a bit high but I felt the environment, the service, and food were well worth the price.
