An evening at Stripsteak in Vegas

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I was hoping to find out that the rumors I'd heard about fine dining in Vegas were true, and so far, so good! Tonight, we had dinner at Michael Mina's Stripsteak, in Mandalay Bay. It was relatively quiet in there when we arrived, but got progressively more crowded as the evening wore on. We were seated at a small table, with very comfortable chairs, which told me that they hoped diners would linger and spend a lot of money. With their prices, that would be a fairly accurate prediction!

I perused the menu, and not being overly hungry, selected a lettuce wedge to start, following by a truffled macaroni and cheese. Our waiter, who was especially kind and attentive, brought over a selection of french fries, fried in duck fat. I had seen it on the menu and was curious, so I was excited to give it a try. The first was a paprika fry, paired with a type of barbecue sauce. The second was a truffle fry with a truffle sauce, and the third was an herb fry with ketchup (homemade, but still ketchup). Since I'm not a sauce with my fries kind of girl, I mostly stuck with sampling the plain fries, and they were delicious! Once you go duck fat, you can't go back! I particularly liked the herb and truffle fries. The were all crispy and very salty, encouraging us to drink more of the beverages we had ordered. My pepsi didn't last very long!

The waiter then brought over some foccacia, which was extremely light and fortunately lacking in rosemary. I only had a little, as I was saving up space for my meal! The wedge came out first, sitting on a light avocado sauce and accompanied by crumbled bacon and cheese, as well as tiny hardboiled eggs. It was also salty, which was unfortunate, but mostly good. The waiter had warned me that the macaroni and cheese would be too big for just me, but when it came out, it was in a tiny cup. Its richness overpowered its size though, and it was truly too much for me to handle! I enjoyed what I could and then ordered a jasmine tea to sip over our shared dessert of Dunkin' Donuts (yes seriously). The tiny sugared donuts were joined by salted caramel (Starbucks does a similar hot chocolate - what's with the salted caramel people?!?), a caramel (maybe?) ice cream, and jasmine-infused melted chocolate. They were delicious, though the donuts were a tad stale and crumbly. All in all, highly enjoyable, and terribly filling!

We wandered back over to THEhotel, passing by the gigantic wall screens showing various sports and odds. We managed to catch a great hockey fight with Donald Brashear, and I had the sudden thought that there are people in casinos all along the strip who are losing everything they have. What a sad thought, which reminded me that each person we see here has their own story, making the whole place endlessly fascinating.

Tomorrow the conference begins - I still won't be leaving the hotel, but perhaps I could stand outside for more than five minutes!

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