Brazilian, Japanese, and Peruvian cuisines. Not exactly what you think of together, huh? Sushi Samba, in the Palazzo, Las Vegas, aims to meld these three cuisines into one restaurant. I admit, I went there for the Sushi.

My husband wanted Shibuya. I wanted something new for the sake of something new. Since we were staying at the Palazzo, we decided to try Sushisamba.
Though I am a bit of a food connoisseur, I do not claim to be familiar with South American fare. Because of this, both my husband and I decided to get the modified Omakase, tasting menu for only $100 per person. This was not supposed to be available unless the whole table got it, and my Mother-In-Law was not hungry enough. (She ordered a lamb chop and grilled asparagus that she raved about.) Though our waitress was very helpful and worked with the chef to make us a modified version. We also made sure to let it known we wanted Toro (fatty Tuna, yum) and Kobe beef whenever possible. What a great experience! Our meal included such things as Kamomoto Oysters from Washington State with some kind of soy sauce, slivered Kobe beef with mushroom sauce, and a selection of Sashimis, one with an awesome citrus sauce. We had Lobster, Scallops, a traditional Brazilian Seafood Stew, and an assortment of great desserts, including mochi ice cream, my favorite. Even the drinks were different. I had a Figo, a fig martini drink. If you like Sake, there are many to choose from here. They even have a Sake Sommelier, along with a wine Sommelier. If you have too many drinks, like I did, you’ll even find that the bathroom stalls are interesting. Each stall is a tall cylindrical pod and you can see parts of the restaurant from the sinks through slits in the walls.

I have advised that you try the $20 trick for room upgrades at check in. However, I have never had one turn out quite the way things did last month at the Palazzo.
We asked if there were any upgrades at check-in, using our $20 bill as an eye catcher. We were told that “yes, actually, there is a $1600 a night suite that is available, for a mere $100.” This was a hospitality suite and it had a huge patio overlooking the golf course or pool. We’d be insane not to take it, right? So we did.
When we get to our room, we found it arranged in such a way that we could not even access the Murphy bed without moving a massive table and eight chairs. Then, the bed had no linens. There was no mini bar, as promised. And the room just looked as if it were still under construction. (Keep in mind that the Palazzo had been open for eight months and claims to be a 5 Diamond hotel.) Oh, and let’s not forget the patio. It was large, but that’s where the compliments end. It had no view other than a 15-foot high stucco wall. We called the front desk and were moved to a different hospitality suite. The second suite was just as bad as the first. There were no bed linens, the furniture was not arranged for habitation, and the patio was just as uninspiring. There was still no mini-bar, and there was even a broken chair. Frustrated, we called registration again. We asked to simply have a regular room, and get a refund on our “upgrade”.

Granted, we realize what the pupose of the hospitality suite is; parties, and meetings. All the same the decor and condition of the rooms were overseen by a blind, insomniac wrestler.

All of this had taken about an hour and a half.
Once we arrived at the regular room, which was a suite, we were greeted by hooks on the wall rather than Art. The room was definitely an improvement, but still felt and was unfinished. We had probably five locations in the room, where there were beautiful metal hooks on the wall, where presumably the Buonarotti and Caravaggio replicas were supposed to be. Once the previous check-in saga was over, however, the lack of Art seemed bearable. We told the housekeeping crew, but nothing ever got delivered.

At checkout we spoke with a manager who was extremely apologetic and encouraged us to contact a manager immediately when anything like this happens. He gave a decent chunk of food and beverage credit and allowed us to stay in the room till 6PM since we had a late flight out.

Overall, the Palazzo seems a nice enough place. I’d like to believe my crazy experience is a fluke. Though, I will not be putting them on my high-end recommended list. That honor belongs solely to the Wynn, with the Bellagio, Venetian, and Mandalay Bay close behind.

Shibuya Japanese Sushi Restaurant at the MGM Grand

Shibuya at the MGM Grand is one of my favorite restaurants. It is a Japanese restaurant that we love for the sushi. My husband’s favorite is the standard menu fare tuna tartare. It comes in the form of a cylinder minced with truffle oil, sea salt, and a dab of caviar on top and a garnish of gold leaf.  This is also one of the few sushi restaurants that carry toro, in the form of otoro for connoisseurs. It is always delicious. The sushi is always very fresh and served at the perfect temperature. Don’t worry if you don’t like sushi, they also have very good steak and from what I can tell, chicken. It’s not in my nature to order chicken when there is Kobe steak carpaccio and sushi available. One of the many times we ate here, I had the 5 course chef special. What a treat! I had everything from toro (excellent fatty tuna sushi mentioned above), to Kobe carpaccio, to sake (salmon sushi) with caviar. If it wasn’t upwards of $150, I’d do that a lot more often. I love it when they carry mochi ice cream. If you don’t know what mochi is, you’re missing out. It’s a gelatinous sweetened pounded rice around ice cream balls. Yum.

The service at this restaurant is also impeccable. When finished with a plate, it disappears before your eyes. When full plates are brought, the waiter explains exactly what is on the plate and is highly knowledgeable enabling them to answer all questions.  Also they are very friendly and are quite ready to explain any sushi or sake nuance to the unenlightened without making you feel dumb.

This is one of those restaurants that, even though I like going to new places, I always seems to end up at. It’s located just past Rouge inside the Studio Walk, across from Fiamma, which is also tasty. Also, if you are a sake drinker, they have an extensive selection to choose from. I am not a fan, myself. Shibuya, however, a big fan.

Palazzo, here I come! I’ll be visiting the Palazzo in a couple of weeks. I was there when it had it’s grand opening, but now that all of the stores should be open, I’m going back. If anyone has any requests or you want to know anything specific, leave me note and I’ll try to find out for you.

It seems like deciding what to wear in Vegas is a big issue for many travelers. First off, just know, that you cannot go wrong. Honestly, every type of outfit you can imagine can be seen there. But also, if you are the type of person who is a closet exhibitionist, you have found your paradise. Legs, cleavage, and midriffs are very normal in Las Vegas. I mean, if I saw some of the outfits in my town, I would do a double take. In any regular setting, many of these getups would be way too flashy, sleazy, or inappropriate. However, Vegas is not just anywhere. It is extremely unique in that it is almost like living in an adult circus. All those glittery, bosom-enhancing outfits that you see on TV really do walk around the strip. Now, of course, you do not have to dress that way. I actually choose not to. I’m just saying that if you have wished for a place to show off your inner showgirl, you can do it here.

The style that I actually recommend for Vegas is a classy, sexy spin. Nice fitting jeans or stylish shorts with cool heels. Or summery sequined tops that flatter your curves are great looks. Trendy, branded items, like your coveted Prada purse, or Manolo shoes are great to show off here. That is not to say that your stuff has to be expensive or a label; just know that you will see a lot of that. In fact, depending on the hotels you plan on hanging out at, you will find different looks. For example, at the Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn, Caesars, or Mandalay Bay, you will see more sexy chic and money prancing around. Yes, I mean labels on purses, shoes, and sunglasses. At Flamingo, Bally’s, Stratosphere, Excalibur, and Luxor, you will see more casual sneakers, fanny packs, and people trying too hard to be sexy. These hotels, while all nice enough, seem to attract the budget conscious who still want to stay on the strip. The remaining TI, Mirage, Paris, MGM, and NYNY you will see a mixture of both since those are middle priced strip hotels that attract everyone.

Just remember, no matter what you wear, you need to be comfortable in it; both in how you feel about yourself and how you plan to move around the town. If you will be cabbing it everywhere, go for the stilettos. If you plan on walking a lot, go for the pumps or sandals. But if there ever was a place to dress however you like, Vegas is it.

Sensi at Bellagio is considered casual dining, at least by Bellagio standards. My husband and I have eaten there twice now, and overall we enjoyed it. While eating at the Bellagio, it’s hard not to compare everything to Picasso, which is an amazing gastronomic experience. One of the things my husband liked the most was the gratuitous use of granite. Walls, floors, countertops, rough cut, smooth, granite was definitely a favorite medium of the designer. Also as a design element, a live lobster and shrimp tank was prominently displayed in the restaurant. Many places will show lobster, but seeing the shrimp was a new twist. The kitchen in also visible, separated only by a pane of glass. Though in a small space, it gave the restaurant a slightly more open feel.

We were told by the check in clerk to try the Chilean Sea Bass, as it is a house specialty. Therefore my husband ordered it. It is served in a bowl with a miso reduction, water chestnuts, wilted spinach, and a nifty ginger foam on top. Although the fish was cooked through, the asian flavors reminded me very much of sushi. I would recommend that dish, as it was delicious. It was priced at $40. I ordered the dry rubbed ribeye steak. It was a bit grizzled, and in places difficult to cut, but the dry rub had an exceptional flavor. It came with about 3 thin waffle cut fry/ chips, and a garlic crème sauce to dip the steak in. We chose not to order an appetizer so that we could get the dessert tower. Anyhow, we filled up on complimentary bread and goat cheese. Yum. Back to dessert. Tåhe “try everything for $38” dessert was a bit overwhelming to look at and disappointing to eat. Neither of us could identify anything that was amazing. The presentation was very nice, it came on a three tiered rack with little bowls and cones of various bite-sized samples, so I can’t complain about the quantity. But the desserts were too untraditional. There were 3 crème brulee, but no original. There was green tea, raspberry, and butterscotch. I would have preferred regular. They were too weird. We both agreed our favorite item was some pistachio ice cream, but it was only about 2 tablespoons worth and we had to share it. The chocolate mousse was decent, and the tapioca pudding was good, but as I said much of what they had used strange flavor combinations, and weren’t that great.
Overall, we enjoyed Sensi. On my own scale of 1 – 10, it probably earned a 7.

Every once in a while I find a new game or slot that I especially like. There are a few recent finds that I want to mention. First of all, at MGM Grand there is a slot called Pong. Yes, Pong, like 1980’s flashback. It’s a fairly regular electronic slot game until you get the bonus, which happens to be playing Pong against the computer. There is a little dial that you use to move your paddle and try to out play the computer. I just giggled all the way through it. Of course, I didn’t beat it, but hey, it’s been like 20 years…
Another game that I liked was an electronic roulette game at the Wynn. Most roulette games have a fairly high minimum bet, usually 15 dollars at the low end. And you get regular chips to place on the board. I hate that you generally have to reach across people just to get your chips on the board. I usually don’t like them anyway, because in order to get a decent chance at winning, you have to spend more than I am willing, then I still usually lose. This game however, still uses a traditional roulette wheel and ball, but the players get a little station with an electronic touch screen and a lower minimum bet. I think it was $10. You give the guy your money, in my case $40, and your screen shows your balance, almost like a slot machine would. Then you just touch the screen to select your numbers. When you win, it automatically credits your balance on your screen. Then to leave, you just cash out and you receive your winnings in chips, like you would at any table game. I walked away with $130.
The last game I especially like, even though I haven’t won on it, is the new Monopoly game. There are many Monopoly games, by the way. This one, though has a cool looking screen. It looks like a computer monitor with ever changing graphics but with a 5 column cut-out for the slot reels to display behind. My husband likes that sometimes it displays graphics and other times appears transparent. Just the look of this machine is cool. They must know that people will play for that reason alone, because I have never seen anyone win much on it, yet they are always popular. You can find it at most casinos. It is called the Super Cash Grab or something similar.

Saturday, January 19, 2008 was the official Grand opening of the Palazzo Hotel and Casino. It had been open before that, but the big names, Wayne Brady, Aretha Franklin, etc showed up for some Grand Opening hoopla. My husband and I were in town so we decided to check it out. Not surprisingly, it looks very much like the Venetian, but with less extravagance, like murals on the ceilings, and more simple elegance. The casino was nice, similar to the Venetian. There were only a few restaurants open while we were there, but I have heard that many more are forthcoming. Names such as Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Trotter, and Emeril Lagasse will have restaurants there. Also, rapper Jay Z has his 40/40 Club there.

The most appealing elements were the lobby and atrium. The atrium is a grand area with beautiful, huge skylights, a waterfall, various potted greenery, and escalators to the shopping level.
The shopping level is sort of a mix of the Wynn’s Esplanade with their high end names, and the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, sans canal. It actually attaches to the Venetian Grand Canal, but the gondolas do not venture in to the Palazzo shops. The most remarkable store is certainly the beautiful Barney’s New York. The décor inside is similar to that of an art museum. It is almost completely white, open and has a beautiful spiral staircase in the center. As you would expect of Barney’s, there are various designer clothes and shoes to lust over. Don’t worry about your husband, there are many comfy chairs to sit in and play solitaire on his Blackberry.
The remaining shops include names such as Jimmy Choo, Coach, Chloe, Tory Burch, Christian Louboutin, Diane Von Furstenberg, Van Cleef & Arpels, Anya Hindmarch, Poleci, Lambertson Truex, Phillipe Charriol, Edidi, Piaget and Michael Kors, among many others. Less than half of the shops appeared to be open, with many displaying “Opening Spring 2008” signs on their windows.

As far as the suites, which I have only seen pictures of, they appear to be very similar to those at the Venetian’s Venezia Suites. That is to say, they are nice, but nothing we have not seen before. Even though it is being marketed as it’s own new hotel, it’s actually sort of like THE HOTEL at Mandalay Bay vs Mandalay Bay, it is really just an extension of the Venetian. They even share the same players card, called Club Grazie.
So if you are a fan of the Venetian, you might as well check it out. I’m glad I went, since it’s always nice to check out a new property, but I wasn’t wowed like I was the first time I saw the Wynn.