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Topic: Things to do in Vegas

Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 01-24-2006 07:13 PM

Any of you really familiar with Vegas know of any fun or interesting things to do while in Vegas?

I'm here for the until Fri. am. and plan on spending as little money as possible. Walking around looking at the shops simply isn't my bag o fun, but the wife sure likes it, and so do some of teh other women in the bunch.

Doing a motorcycle ride tomorrow. Hoping we head out to the Hoover Dam. Would like to see teh Grand Canyon Thursday, but driving around here isn't something I'd like to do.

Anyone?

Thanks!

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-24-2006 07:19 PM

A nice thing to do is to go eat at Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse . I'll definately be having dinner there one night this year. In all likelyhood it may be the best dining experience you have in your lifetime. You can also have lunch there ... fantastic but reasonable burgers and home made potato chips [thumbsup]

. Not all the food there is prepared cajun but if you've never had cajun food this is the place! I've been to two of his restaurants in past years and they are fantastic.

I have to admit that I am not only hooked on his food and cooking but also on his TV show which I rarely miss......

Mark

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-24-2006 07:32 PM

There's a number of ride film attractions in 'Vegas. They're not cheap, but they'll probably cost you a lot less than what you would likely spend gambling. Gotta try out the Big Shot ride on the top of the Stratosphere tower.

Since my day job is "environmental graphic design" (read: sign design), I could spend an entire evening taking photos up and down the strip. If you like the electronic displays at all, the Freemont Street Experience was overhauled. All the colored incandescent light bulbs were replaced with millions of RGB LED clusters.

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Floyd Justin Newton
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 559
From: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 01-24-2006 07:32 PM

Being Cajun (both he and I), I NEVER miss his program.

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Mike Heenan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1896
From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-24-2006 07:36 PM

2 words. Mustang Ranch. [Wink]

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-24-2006 07:39 PM

I agree with Mark... ALL of Emeril's restaurant food is great! I have eaten in his establishments in many cities many times.

But I cannot stand his holier-than-all attitude on his TV show. In the earlier days, he was really a good and a down-to-earth person before he got so full of himself, but then he became a total "Hollywood" asshole who thinks his butt doesn't stink.

The last time I was at his Las Vegas establishment it cost well over $600.00 (less gratuity) for 4 of us. The atmosphere, service, and food was excellent. Thank heaven DTS picked up that tab! HA! [Smile]

BTW Jason... Do go on the tour of the Hoover Dam... including the interior.. it is really cool!

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 01-24-2006 08:49 PM

Do a motorcycle ride out to Redrock Canyon or Mt. Charleston. Both are great rides, though Mt. Chuck might be a tad cool right now even with the little bit of snow that is up there. The old lodge at the top of Kyle Canyon Road, several miles past the Mt. Charleston Hotel, is good for a lunch stop. The Redrock ride is quite nice, especially the 13-mile one-way scenic loop (which costs a nominal Park Service fee). Lunch at Bonnie Springs Ranch is a good way to unwind.

If you do the dam tour, look into doing the Engineer's Tour if they are offering it. That tour gets up close and personal with some of the equipment, whereas the regular tour stays up on the visitors gallery level in the power house. Still, either tour is interesting for the tech folks.

Grand Canyon is quite a drive from here, figure a couple of hours each way for the west rim, and six hours each way for the south rim. There are many flying tours available though. Scenic Airlines (yes, I used to fly for them) has the best package for a day trip out to the south rim, with hotel pick up, air tour outbound, bus tour/lunch/shopping/IMAX on the south rim, return flight, and hotel drop off all in the package price. Takes about eight hours and a couple hundred bucks all together.

Mustang Ranch is only 450 miles away, about an 8-hour drive up US-95 just east of Reno and Sparks. There are other "ranches" much closer though. [Big Grin]

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-24-2006 09:35 PM

Floyd, He's actually Portugeese but has adopted N.O. as his home town. Sometimes he cooks useing Portugeese "foods" that he learned about in his youth.

quote: Phil Hill
But I cannot stand his holier-than-all attitude on his TV show. In the earlier days, he was really a good and a down-to-earth person before he got so full of himself, but then he became a total "Hollywood" asshole who thinks his butt doesn't stink.

I haven't seen that aspect of him yet out of watching probably a few hundred of his shows. But all of us do have bad days once in a while. I find that he's entertaining and really down right funny at times and the audience both live and at home end up inspired to try things they would never have before. His way of cooking certainy has changed my life and eating habits for the better. Can't say that my food bills have gotten any lighter though......

Mark

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Mike Heenan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1896
From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 01-24-2006 10:58 PM

I would think when his sitcom failed and was taken off the air, that would have knocked him down a peg or two. Bam!

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 01-25-2006 12:25 AM

Heard some buzz on the "M&M Store" - by the MGM Grand ....

-Monte

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 01-25-2006 01:00 AM

Might as well hit a factory then. The Ethel M chocolate factory is in Henderson (of course [Wink]

) and offers free self-guided public tours with samples afterwards. It's a chocoholic's dream come true.

The two free local alternative weeklies here both have extensive sections listing events and other things to do. They both also have lots of local restaurant reviews:

Las Vegas Weekly

Las Vegas Citylife

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 01-25-2006 03:02 AM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
Floyd, He's actually Portugeese but has adopted N.O. as his home town. Sometimes he cooks useing Portugeese "foods" that he learned about in his youth.

According to imdb, he is from Massachusetts. That may sound Portuguese to you, but it's actually a state in the Eastern USA.

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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1506
From: Tucson, AZ, USA
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 01-25-2006 03:53 AM

Mike Heenan beat me to it! [sex]

Maybe they should reschedule Show West to coincide with the big porn trade show and awards that also take place in Vegas. Phil could be Jenna Jameson's "official" projectionist! [Big Grin]

I get sick and tired of all these overblown "celebrity" chefs! Do you all not understand that many ethenic dishes that are considered "delicays" today were origionally quick, po folks food? I have many of my Grandmothers traditional Jewish recipies, and they would blow Emeril and these other yahoos out of the water! Many traditional ethenic recipies are quite simple, and I don't know how many times I have seen these overglorified "chefs" complicate them beyond disaster!

Speaking of expensive restraunts, Tucson has many a highly rated restraunt. I wonder how much bribe $$ are spent by them to pass health inspection, as most are truly disgusting...especially the high $$ resorts. On the other hand, Tucson has many excellent little Mom and Pop diners...their kitchens are usually very clean and their food, although not "fancy" kicks ass over most of those overly rated resorts!

BTW...Emeril is from Fall River, Mass....hopefully Lizzy Borden's parents did not find their way into Emeril's steak house! [Big Grin]

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 01-25-2006 04:29 AM

quote: Will Kutler
I get sick and tired of all these overblown "celebrity" chefs! Do you all not understand that many ethenic dishes that are considered "delicays" today were origionally quick, po folks food?

I think we do all understand that. But it's in human nature to develop, refine, vary things and try new ideas. Otherwise, we would still be sitting in front of the cave and the only delicacy would be buffalo buttocks on a stick. In the context of a cinema website, you could also say, do you all not understand that cinema was originally flickering jerky pictures accompanied by an out of tune piano? But that would make as little sense as what you said.
I am not into all that fine dining stuff myself, but I can see why some people enjoy it so much. In places like these, people also pay a lot for the ambiente, and I am not into that either, but again, if it makes people happy - nobody gets forced to go there.

quote:
I have many of my Grandmothers traditional Jewish recipies, and they would blow Emeril and these other yahoos out of the water! Many traditional ethenic recipies are quite simple, and I don't know how many times I have seen these overglorified "chefs" complicate them beyond disaster!

Then open your own restaurant and blow them all out of the water. Usher in a new era in cooking - back to the roots! The new old simplicity! Eat like our ancestors did! Except that most of our ancestors not too long ago most of the time didn't have enough to eat to begin with, let alone to feast on.
I see a whole new era in cooking: really authentic historical dishes! The Irish "potato plate" - nothing! The Russian "failed crop" soup - water with some tree bark! The Rumanian "goat plague roast" - bones and tendons!
BTW, it's "ethnic", not "ethenic" (from Greek "ethnos"="people, nation").

Speaking of eating in Las Vegas - Paul, what and where was that place again with the all-you-can-eat sushi and Asian buffet? Not fine dining, but pretty good, and a huge selection of sushi and other Japanese and some other Asian food. When my mother and me went there, we didn't all-you-can-eat, but more-than-you-can-eat, and then we rolled across the parking lot like inflated balloons.

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Christian Volpi
Master Film Handler

Posts: 349
From: Arlington, NE
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 01-25-2006 10:15 AM

Two chicks at the same time...that's what I would do.

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