Yum in Vegas!

Vegas is known for fine dining and celebrity chefs.  Unfortunately, many of these fine restaurants are not family friendly (ie., do not have high chairs, and would not tolerate the occasional shreak from our sweet little Sam).  We did however, find wonderful fare for our family while in Vegas.

On the night we arrived, I suggested the IN-N-OUT Burger.  Dennis said, "What's that?" 

Yes, it is true, Dennis had never heard of this burger joint confined to only Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.  

This was a new experience for our whole family. 

We loved the simplicity of the menu (burger, cheeseburger, fries, drinks and shakes - that's it!) and the fast paced atmosphere.  The clerk took my order and rattled it back in no time.  The food was delicious:  fresh, never frozen beef patties, toasted buns, a wonderful Thousand Island sauce, light crispy fries and creamy, delicious shakes. 

Yum. 

And we fed the whole family for $24!  Dennis took the kids back another day while I was at market. 

On our first full day in Vegas, Dennis went to market while the kids and I saw the sights.  We started at MGM Grand, where they saw the live lions, then went to Rainforest Cafe.

I was expecting basic chain restaurant food.  I ordered the China Island Chicken Salad, which was delicious.  The kids enjoyed their food, too.  The atmosphere was great for kids -- just like a rainforest complete with robotic elephants, monkeys, cheetahs, snakes, crocodiles and lots of other animals.  Every so often you would hear the sound of thunder, rain, and different animals.  My only complaint?  At $9.99 a pop, kids meals were expensive!  We visited the shop adjacent to the restaurant, where we took a quick snapshot in front of this elephant.

That evening Dennis ordered pizza in for the kids while I attended the World Market Center Alfresco event (this deserves its own post!).

On Tuesday, we headed over to the Venetian.  The kids loved watching the gondolas in the canal and looking at the overhead murals.  For lunch, we ate at the Grand Lux Cafe , which my parents frequent when they come to Vegas.

My bacon cheeseburger and fries were one of the best I've ever had, and the kids shared an order of pasta carbonara, which they scarfed down.  Here they are enjoying their spaghetti.

Sam liked it, too!

One of our kids' favorite restaurants in Amarillo is Pei Wei.  We told them that P.F. Chang's was like the "mother ship" of Pei Wei, so on our last evening we dined at P.F. Chang's in Planet Hollywood.  The food was, as always, delicious. 

I was still hungry for dessert, so Dennis suggested we pick up a "to go" dessert from one of those finer restaurants. 

I wasn't about to argue with him, so I went into Fleur de Lys, since I had become a fan of Chef Hubert Keller on Top Chef Masters. 

The staff could not have been more gracious, but informed me that the desserts do not travel well.  I insisted, since I was only taking them up to my room in the same hotel.  I ordered my Chocolate Fondant Cake (basically a molten chocolate cake) and Nutella Creme Brulee and eagerly waited. 

It never occurred to me that such a nice restaurant would not have plastic/to go flatware. 

When I got to our room, I realized we would be eating these delicacies with our fingers.  We did.

What a mess.  And YUM!