I am looking forward to my yearly visit to Las Vegas in a few weeks. I do have a couple a must do's on the agenda:
New city center
Burger bar in Mandalay bay
Roy's
Maestro's in City Center (wonderful food as I ate there in Phoenix a few years ago)
Joe's Steak and Seafood
relax by the pool
Spa Treatments
Possible Elvis Cirque show?
Rock and Roll Wine at Mandalay Bay
Barrett Jackson Auction

Has anyone tried the Burger Bar and are there any restaurants with exceptional good quality Italian Food? I was told about a place in MGM, but I do not remember the name.
Looks like the weather is holding out well at about 90 degrees. I am used to 112 during the day as I usually travel in May!
I plan to follow up with a trip report!

Lis --

The Italian place at MGM is called Fiamma. It's in their restaurant row across from Shibuya and CraftSteak. I've never eaten there but their menu always looks good.

Two other places I like for good quality Italian food on the Strip:
- Circo at Bellagio - is mostly Northern Italian cuisine and very, very good. But it's also pricey too.
- Stratta at Wynn - more traditional Italian and the prices aren't too bad. They are open for lunch and often have very reasonable specials.

I've eaten at Burger Bar many times and have always enjoyed it.

Have a great trip!

Mike

Hi Lis, It sounds like some really fun plans that will make a great trip report.

As for City Center, wear some good walking shoes. For the planning stages, you might want to visit the City Center website and look at the maps for a general overview. Riding the tram back and forth a time or two kinda helps the general overview. Their website has an art map, where you can see the pieces. No need to memorize anything, but when you see the pieces, you'll know that's part of it. I had been working on a guide and found it a bigger challenge than I can handle at this time. My suggestions are to remember that Aria is pretty big and has several levels on one end, so take your time and explore. Also, don't eat there. There's not a lot to see at Vdara. Cosmo and Harmon are not open yet. I don't think Veer is open to the public yet. Mandarin Oriental does not have a lot of public areas, but what they have is worth slowing down to look at. Take the elevator up to the observation level. Crystals will frustrate you as you walk into dead ends and can't find ways to get to where you want to go. Be patient and be glad you have comfortable shoes.

I've had a lot of burgers in this town, and Burger Bar is the lowest on my personal scale of ratings of the upscale burger places. My opinion is that it is highly over rated. Of course I think you should try it if you want to form your own opinion. It's biggest plus is that you can get almost anything for a topping. If you like to order your burger with asparagus, pineapple, lobster, and all sorts of toppings, this is your place. If you feel lucky, Kerry Simon just opened a burger place at Harrah's called KGB, Kerry's Gourmet Burgers. And if you just want a great solid burger, there are many better options.

I usually eat Italian off the strip and prefer places that have been around a long time. I learned there are as many kinds of Italian cuisine as there are BBQ. I like to eat Italian off the strip at places that have been around forever. Casa Di Amore is popular among the working class. Piero's is very popular amongst the rich and famous. Sinatra at Encore is popular amongst the tourist. If you are going to be here the same time as the San Gennaro Feast, you can try sausage and peppers all night long in a party carnival atmosphere. That's Sept 14-19.

I'm very careful about who I recommend the Elvis Cirque show to, and I have a very good success rate. Basically, you need to enjoy live music, be somewhat of an Elvis fan, and not expect a Cirque wow factor.

The best part of Barrett Jackson to me was the preview areas where you could walk around the cars. The actual auction part was interesting but since I couldn't bid, I got bored easily.

Come to think of it, that burger place at the Mirage is pretty good - I can't remember the name of it. They have really good milkshakes too.

Mike D and JMT,
Thanks to both of you for your valuable comments.
I will take notes and compile an interesting trip report.
As always, I am counting down the days to Las Vegas! There is always something new there!