las vegas Archives - My Healthy, Happier Life

Last night, Theodora and I decided to trade in our dancing shoes for a more relaxed evening involving wine and wonderful conversation. We were able to snag a table at Julian Serrano for 8pm, early enough to make a reasonable bedtime but late enough to enjoy the people watching.

Located in Aria Hotel and Resort, the restaurant was open and very bright, the perfect spot for a relaxing evening.

The tapas style restaurant’s menu was a bit overwhelming and everything sounded amazing. We made our choice a bit simpler by trusting the waiter’s opinion and making sure we chose a dish from each section, ranging from verduras to carne.

Our first choice, the drink selection, was definitely the easiest as we were both craving wine after many nights of vodka and seltzer.

Our dishes came out as they were ready, so we were able to take our time and enjoy each dish without worrying that other dishes would get cold.

Our tapa choices, from top to bottom and left to right were as follows:

Pan con manchengo: The simplest dish of the evening was also one of the most delicious. The toasted bread was topped with a simple tomato and garlic chutney before the manchengo cheese was placed on top.
Grilled Sea Scallops: This dish was the least memorable, lacking seasoning and flavor. But, the scallop itself was very fresh and cooked perfectly.
Ahi Tuna: This dish was delicious and the Asian flavors offset the rest of the tapas flavors perfectly. The tuna was served in two ways, tartare and in a roll form. The light wasabi foam was definitely one of my favorite parts of the dish.
Grilled Calamari: The whole calamari was grilled perfectly and deliciously seasoned with lemon and garlic.
Sauteed spinach: I can’t wait to recreate this dish at home. The spinach was accompanied by raisins, pine nuts, and pears before a drizzle of vinaigrette. It was warm and delicious and the spinach wasn’t completely sautéed by instead lightly wilted.
Flank steak: This was one of the dishes our waiter highly recommended and it didn’t disappoint. The steak was quickly seared and paired with Japanese eggplant between each piece.

As we finished our last dish, we realized we weren’t full and ordered two more tapas, truffle and mixed mushroom risotto and truffle salmon. Clearly dancing through the nights, raising our glasses, and laughing burned lots of calories and boosted our metabolisms this weekend.

Both were very rich and we were only able to eat a few bites.

We enjoyed one final toast to the wonderful weekend before heading back to our hotel.

While Theodora was at the ATM I decided to use my last dollar bill in the Irishman slot machine. I finally had luck and won!

As soon as I won the $10 I cashed out which allowed me to leave Las Vegas $6 richer than I came. Maybe next time I’ll have more luck.

I’m not in route to Savannah for my mom’s 60th birthday tomorrow! Hopefully all my connections are smooth and I’m able to catch up on sleep. I definitely think a 4.5 hour nap will occur on my first leg to Charlotte!

See you in Savannah!

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After a day of fun in the sun and exploring Vegas, last night Theodora and I spent another long evening on the dance floor together!

We took a cab from our hotel to dinner and were surprised how much traffic there was on the strip and how expensive cabs are in Las Vegas!

Due to traffic, it cost $13 to go 2.5 miles! But, our cab driver gave us a Las Vegas hotel and economy lesson while were with him so at least it wasn’t all bad.

A few readers recommended Tao since a dinner reservations not only gets you in the restaurant and lounge but also free admission to the nightclub which can run as much as $20 per person and often has a line over an hour long. We were apprehensive to go to Tao while out here since there is one in New York, but we’ve discovered that most restaurants here are chains. In addition, neither of us have been to Tao in ages and remembered having good experiences before.

The 42,000 square foot hot spot did not disappoint! We had a perfect table for two in front of the huge statue and were able to people watch during our meal.

The Asian influenced menu includes many items intended for sharing such as dumplings, edamame, and wontons.

We took our hilarious waiter’s suggestion and ordered the lobster and mushroom steamed dumplings along with warm edamame.

I am still thinking about those dumplings, nom nom nom! These two items were the perfect sized appetizers to enjoy with our vodka and seltzer before dinner.

Since we knew we wanted to share our main course as well, we chose a few of their sushi rolls. Neither of us have enjoyed “fancy’ sushi lately and instead have become more accustomed to sushi served in tin foil boxes and delivered to our door step. It was a nice change of pace though we both missed our brown rice!

Our roll choices, from top to bottom, were as follows

TAO Angry Dragon Roll with Eel and Kabayaki Sauce

Spicy Lobster Roll with Shiso and Black Tobiko

Chef’s Roll with Tuna, Salmon, Tobiko and Avocado

After our delicious dinner, we walked two flights up to the night club portion of Tao. It was packed with beautiful people, different DJs and music in every room, and decorated with naked women in tubs with flowers, red lights, and multiple dance floors.

We spent the next three hours posing for pictures.

Making friends with two guys from Kansas who happen to have bottle service! Score!

Theodora was really, really happy at this point!

I really wish you could see this guys diamond stud earring. Also, Theodora and I have decided that a wedding ring makes any girl 10x more attractive to guys.

By the end of the evening our feet enjoyed their table service sofa area. Also, please check out the hostess in the left hand corner of this picture. Yes, that is what the hostesses wear in Las Vegas.

Oh, and last but not least, my Dr School slip-ons have paid for themselves ten times over since I bought them the weekend of my sister in law’s 21st birthday. These roll-up slip on shoes cost $10 at CVS and have seen the floor of Tao Las Vegas, Marquee NYC, and Eye Candy Dance Club. By the way, when did I start going out dancing every weekend?

We made the smart choice of closing our blinds this morning when we went to sleep and therefore were able to sleep for 7 lovely hours! We woke up starving once again since we haven’t been eating any late night food after our long nights of dancing and drinking.

Red, White, and Blue in Mandalay Bay delivered on our cravings for something savory. I devoured this grilled chicken “burger” complete with grilled mushrooms, onions, ketchup, and mustard. It was exactly what I was craving. Ten glasses of water, one pickle, and a few tater tots later I feel like a human again!

Now if the sunshine could just return to Las Vegas for one more afternoon by the pool. Oh well, we may have to head for the outlets instead. Winking smile

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When I’m in Las Vegas, I lose track of time, especially in the clubs. Last night, Theodora and I partied like rockstars with my co-workers enjoying four hours of dancing and drinks at Eye Candy in Mandalay Bay. But, as you know by now, every great party has an even better after party, and for this reason I didn’t get to bed until past 5am.

Needless to say, when I woke up 8:30 this morning I was more than a bit tired and me legs were sore from dancing.

But, I forgot about that as soon as I saw this amazing site out our hotel window. Evidently the weather listened to our prayers and instead of rain, storms, and temperatures in the 40s, we were greeted with blue sky and sunshine!

After an hour of reminiscing about last night’s escapades in our room, our stomachs were growling. Since we were both pretty tired and hungry we didn’t want to walk too far for breakfast. Yelp recommended Raffles in Mandalay Bay for their delicious pancakes and savory dishes.

We were able to sit near the windows, enjoying views of the pool and palm trees. I knew I wanted something a bit larger than a normal breakfast, but also knew that I’d never want more than one or two bites of something really rich like eggs benedict or pancakes. Luckily, Theodora went with the pancakes so I was able to enjoy a bite of hers.

I made my own egg white omelet including lump crab, asparagus, onion, tomato, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese. I substituted a biscuit for my normal wheat toast and as didn’t touch the hash browns.

Other than Theodora’s fake scrambled eggs, we really enjoyed the food and we felt ten times better after breakfast.

After being inside all week, I was craving sunshine even though the temperatures were still in the 50’s. We laid by the pool for an hour, reading and napping, staying warm in long pants and sweatshirts.

After an hour it was warm enough to change into bikinis and hoodies! Didn’t you know that all the cool kids wear their Lululemon hoodie at the beach?

After four hours of relaxation, we were both antsy. We decided to take a walk down the strip, which unfortunately reminded us more of Times Square than Vegas. But, the sun was shining and we have realized that we’re perfect travel partners so the laughter was helping balance the stinky tourists and sketchy strip club promoters.

By the time we reached the Cosmopolitan Hotel it had been 6 hours since brunch. We stopped in Jaleo, one of Theodora’s favorite Washington, DC restaurants for a glass of cavo and a few tapas. It was the perfect way to satiate our hunger until our 10pm dinner reservations.