things to do in Vegas

[JodyH]

I'm headed to Las Vegas for work next week.
I'll be there from Monday thru Friday, staying at the Tropicana and taking my wife.
I'm not a gambler or drinker so that stuff doesn't interest me.
What's some fun stuff to do/see within walking distance of the Tropicana between around 6:00pm and midnight?
Good eats in that area?
I will have my car, but would prefer not having to drive too much.

:cool:

[PPGMD]

I enjoyed seeing the Blue Man Group the last time I was there.

[JSGlock34]

Of the various Cirque du Soleil shows, I found Ka at the MGM Grand very enjoyable.

[Josh Runkle]

Cigar Smoker? Rhumbar has a decent selection of cigars and Mohitos, salsa dancing and James Bond movies. Weirdly, it works. Business-trendy is the typical dress.

Malls are plentiful in that area. Walk any direction and you'll find one.

Food:

Most of my friends/coworkers/family like Burger Bar, though I do not.

Two of my favorite places are off-strip: Marrakech and Firefly. Neither look nice from the outside, and when I had gone to both on a recommendation, I almost didn't go in when we got to the door. Both are usually rated in the top 10 restaurants in Vegas on various sites (Yelp, Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor, etc). They are AMAZING!

If you like fatty thanksgiving food, try "The Bobby" from Capriotti's. It's a thanksgiving sub.

It's very cliche, but frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity is delicious.

Fine Dining: The Barrymore, Sage, Scarpetta, Le Cirque, Mix and tons and tons of other places. You really can't miss in Vegas.

Gun Shops:

The gun shops in the area all cater to people from repressive countries and repressive states (like California) and maximize firearms rentals, which are most notably machine guns. Personally, I find that pretty boring, but if that's your thing, "the gun store" is on the east side of town. Machine Guns Vegas is north and west off-strip. Both are overpriced, but if that's not something you can ever do in your area and that's your thing, then stop by. There are tons of other gun shops, but probably all like you have back home.

Shows aren't really my thing, but if they're yours, there are tons of places online that sell discounted tickets.

[markp]

Penn & Teller at the Rio (http://www.riolasvegas.com/shows/penn-and-teller.html#.UkyvbobEPW5)

[JV_]

IMO: As you venture out you'll want to be ON the strip, or far away from the strip, not near it.

[lightning fast]

Cigar Smoker? Rhumbar has a decent selection of cigars and Mohitos, salsa dancing and James Bond movies. Weirdly, it works. Business-trendy is the typical dress.



Did you mention Vegas cigar spots and NOT mention Casa Fuente? Shame on you. :p


The Neon Sign museum is really freaking cool. If you have half a brain, you can get in cheaper than what they're asking for admission. It's a small place. I won't pretend it's worth the nearly $20 admission.

[Josh Runkle]

Did you mention Vegas cigar spots and NOT mention Casa Fuente? Shame on you. :p



Casa Fuente is an Arturo Fuente place (who in my opinion makes bad, overpriced cigars, especially Opus X...rated #1 when they were the #1 advertiser) Also, the quality of the cigars there leaves something to be desired. I did see Dennis Rodman last time I was there, though (during SHOT).

[Shellback]

I'll be there from Monday thru Friday, staying at the Tropicana and taking my wife.
I'm not a gambler or drinker so that stuff doesn't interest me.
What's some fun stuff to do/see within walking distance of the Tropicana between around 6:00pm and midnight?
Good eats in that area?
I will have my car, but would prefer not having to drive too much.

Aria is the newest, most happening place to be on the Strip and is an easy walk from the Tropicana. Recommending restaurants is difficult without knowing your budget or your tastes. You can get a good $10 meal, In N Out Burger, or spend $500 on a super fancy meal.

If you like hiking Red Rock canyon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Rock_Canyon_National_Conservation_Area) is a nice scenic drive that's about 30 minutes from The Strip with nice hiking trails or you can just stay in the car and enjoy the scenery.

The Titanic artifact exhibition sounds pretty cool and gets good reviews. Bodies, the exhibition, is also a good one if you're into cadavers.

Fogo de Chao is a great Brazilian restaurant. If you go there, go for lunch, it's much cheaper and just as good. Go hungry it's a meat fiesta!

I think Hoover Dam's pretty awesome if you've never been and it's less than an hour from the Strip. The Stratosphere sucks but the view's incredible from up top.

The aquarium at Mandalay Bay is OK. The fountain show at Bellagio is really cool. Dinner on the balcony at Olives watching the fountains is a great date for you and the wife. The Cirque du Soleil show "Love" is pretty awesome if you like The Beatles.

A great Spanish tapas restaurant that I usually recommend to all LV visitors is Firefly (http://www.fireflylv.com/). Excellent food, very affordable and close to the Strip without tourist prices. LittleLebowski really enjoyed it when he was here.

If you're into Sushi I'd recommend either Yonaka or Sen of Japan. They are by far the best in town, phenomenal really, and are off Strip so they're more reasonably priced and you don't have to deal with too many tourists. The restaurant manager of Yonaka is a friend and I can get you taken care of there.

If you want phenomenal Italian food I can get you into Il Mulino at Caesars. They're a famous New York restaurant, the service and food are exceptional, but reservations are a pain. However, I know the ops mgr. for the U.S. and could get you in without much of a problem there as well.

Bobby Flay's Mesa is very good, especially the New Mexico pork tenderloin. Gordon Ramsay's Steak opened not long ago and it's on my short list of places to go to as well. For a very good, very typical, real English pub with good pub fare I'd go to the Crown and Anchor (http://www.crownandanchorlv.com/) for a bite and a pint.

Honestly there are so many options it's ridiculous. I think if you've got a car, don't mind driving 10 minutes, and want really good food you can find it easily off the Strip and it'll cost you 1/3 of the price. I have a lot more recommendations if you'd like for entertainment and grub just not really sure what you're looking for.

Let me know a few more details and I'll offer more recommendations if you like... I'd hate to be recommending the Taurus Judge when you're really looking for an HK P30.

[Josh Runkle]

A great Spanish tapas restaurant that I usually recommend to all LV visitors is Firefly (http://www.fireflylv.com/). Excellent food, very affordable and close to the Strip without tourist prices. LittleLebowski really enjoyed it when he was here.


Beat you to it ;) It's nice to know someone else has impeccable taste :)

[John Hearne]

It's been a long time, but my favorite bar was the Crown and Anchor. Not that far away but a good locals spot.

[JodyH]

I'm on the corporate Amex, so I'm not eating cheap but I do have to justify expenses.
I've done Fogo de Chao in Dallas and really liked it, will probably hit it one evening.
I do have a fight coming up so my eating can't be too extravagant because immediately after I get back home I'm entering a 3 week training cycle and dropping 15# to make welterweight for Nov 2nd (gotta get one last fight in before shoulder surgery).
Grilled critters and fresh veggies works for me. Japanese, American, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, South American... it's all good.

I'll be in conferences/training every day from 9am to 4pm, so day trips are out.
Looks like evenings are when I'll be out and about.
I'm sure there'll be plenty of shopping, people watching and general sight seeing to keep us occupied for 4 nights.

[Shellback]

Beat you to it ;) It's nice to know someone else has impeccable taste :)

Yeah buddy! Definitely one of our favorites. Somebody else mentioned Yelp and I'd definitely recommend it while you're here as well.

Jody - I'll shoot you my contact info via PM. If you need any help, or anything at all, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

[PPGMD]

Yeah buddy! Definitely one of our favorites. Somebody else mentioned Yelp and I'd definitely recommend it while you're here as well.

Jody - I'll shoot you my contact info via PM. If you need any help, or anything at all, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

*cough*bail*cough*

[CMG]

If you are looking for a good Japanese noodle place Monta (http://www.montaramen.com/) is probably the best place in town.

[LittleLebowski]

Firefly restaurant. Go.

[JodyH]

Firefly restaurant. Go.
So... should I go to the Firefly?
:p

[Josh Runkle]

So... should I go to the Firefly?
:p

Yes. And Marrakech which is across the parking lot from it.

[JodyH]

So far reservations have been made for Fogo de Chao Monday, Marrakech Tuesday and Firefly Wednesday then I'm hitting Crown & Anchor on Thursday.
We'll probably walk the strip and check things out from after dinner to midnight or so.
Sounds like my plans are coming together.

[HopetonBrown]

I know you said you'd rather not drive, but the Hoover Dam sure is cool looking.

[SecondsCount]

I know you said you'd rather not drive, but the Hoover Dam sure is cool looking.

+1

It isn't far and is a nice drive.

[Shellback]

The Hofbrau Haus is cool and you'll be here during Oktoberfest time! :cool:

It's a replica of the one in Munich and they have good food and great beer.

I know you said you're not drinking but it's Vegas... and it seems like everything touristy is drinking.

[JodyH]

I know you said you'd rather not drive, but the Hoover Dam sure is cool looking.
I am driving in from New Mexico, which means I'll be going past the dam at least twice.

[JodyH]

The Hofbrau Haus is cool and you'll be here during Oktoberfest time! :cool:

It's a replica of the one in Munich and they have good food and great beer.

I know you said you're not drinking but it's Vegas... and it seems like everything touristy is drinking.
I drink the occasional beer with dinner, but don't plan on twisting off this trip.
Technical seminars/training while hungover suck.

[JodyH]

The food:
Fogo de Chao was excellent as always.
Firefly was awesome, the lamb chops and the ceviche were especially tasty and the sangria is the best i've ever had.
Marrakesh was a blast and the belly dancers were a treat.
Hash House a Go Go's chicken and waffles lived up to the hype.

The strip...
The human zoo that is the Las Vegas Strip was a interesting experience.
Highlights:
I did snag the hand of a young lady who was either grabbing my butt or trying to pick-pocket my rear pocket (which was empty). She was cute so she got away with it.
The music CD guys wouldn't "give" me a CD, I was disappointed because I was looking forward to the MUC with their partner on the other end of the overpass who tries to make you pay for it. Maybe I looked too eager to play their game. They wouldn't even make eye contact with me. Damn the luck.
I have a cool collection of hooker cards to hand out at work Monday (or maybe take to ECQC and hand out in a evo).
I did play a game with one of the bridge bums, he asked to borrow my comb (I have a shaved head) so I stopped in CVS and bought a cheap Bic shaver and later that night when he tried the exact same joke on me I handed him the Bic. He busted out laughing and gave me a thumbs up.

The entertainment:
The "Miss Asian Las Vegas" swimsuit competition was 30' off of my hotel balcony.
Very nice.

Vegas is an interesting place, but i'm not in any hurry to go back.
:cool: