Cosmopolitan, Craftsteak, New Year's Eve - December 31, 2010

Late start to the day, and I was famished.  Since Babe and I were going to indulge ourselves at a steakhouse tonight, we decided to head over to Aria to share a crepe at our beloved Jean-Philippe Patisserie.  We headed out the lobby of Tower 3 and walked on Harmon Avenue to the Strip.  It isn't too far of a walk, but the temperature outside was 37 degrees, so needless to say, we walked as fast as we could to get indoors.  I think it was the coldest I've ever experienced in Las Vegas.  Nighttime temperatures were to drop to 28 degrees!

On the way to Aria, we decided to visit the new Cosmopolitan hotel, which just opened December 15th.  The interior was very glitzy, full of crystals, and lots of contemporary artwork.  The Cosmopolitan is owned by Marriott and partnered with Ritz-Carlton, and has its own players card called "Identity".

lots of crystals

pool on the strip, loungers in the water itself

cute loungers beside the pool with view of the strip

I found the other shoe!  (see Shanghai Expo blog entry)

you can buy portable art via these cigarette-like vending machines

There was no easy way to get to Aria from the Cosmopolitan.  Let's just say that Babe and I know every nook and cranny of the Cosmopolitan hotel as well as the walkway down Harmon Avenue, and all the stores in the spiral-like 1st floor of Crystals mall.  A positive way to look at the experience was that it burned many calories to eat this:

this time, mint chip gelato instead of mango

We headed back to the MGM and tried to see lions at the Lion Habitat, but the lions were not around.  There was still an hour before dinner, but I was hungry (what else is new) so we squatted at the food court, had a small McDonalds fries to stem my hunger.  Then it was time for our 6:30 reservation at Craftsteak, a Tom Colicchio restaurant.  He is known for being the head judge on Top Chef.  It had gotten mostly good reviews on Yelp.  I actually booked this reservation before booking at the Signature, so it was a coincidence that the restaurant was in a convenient location. :)  I was hesitant to try another steakhouse after having eaten at Wolfgang Puck's CUT the month before, but this restaurant exceeded my expectations, despite it not offering a gourmet "mac-and-cheese" side dish.  The atmosphere was nice, the service exceptional, the food delicious.  I would definitely eat here again.

I had chosen what I wanted to eat even before entering the restaurant  (lobster bisque and braised short ribs), but after the 3-course menus were explained to us, I changed my mind from ordering a-la-carte to selecting a set menu.  You have to share the set menu with everyone at the table.  Even though it's 3-course (appetizer, entree, dessert), the meal is served family-style, and you get a bunch of appetizers, side dishes and desserts with your entree.  The steaks are the regular size portions too.  After eating an $85 Wagyu ribeye at CUT a-la-carte, the $130-per-person Wagyu set menu seemed to be a good value, so we went with that.

I explained to the server that I wanted to have the lobster bisque, and he said it was no problem, and then also served us a bunch of other appetizers!  I think if I didn't make a request, he would have offered us some shrimp appetizers instead, based on what I heard at the next table (more on that later).  We enjoyed some buffalo mozzarella, roasted red peppers (I normally don't like them, but they were very good!), and a Caesar salad with smoked paprika croutons and mild anchovies.  The lobster bisque was the best I have ever had.  It was a half-portion too.  I can't imagine eating a whole portion as it was rich.  The soup was filled with so much lobster (not tiny pieces, but actual large chunks!) that I asked Babe to check his soup to make sure he had a lot in his too, in case there was some unequal splitting.  We also got a pan of warm bread rolls, which melted in your mouth.

Next came our two entrees, which was Wagyu ribeye and filet mignon.  A plus to family-style is that we could share the meats and it would also be cooked exactly to request as "medium rare" could be easily seen by the chefs.  Our side dishes were mixed mushrooms, brussel sprouts with bacon, and Yukon mashed potatoes.  They were pretty good-sized!

restaurant steak knives

Wagyu rib eye, yum

Wagyu filet mignon, so tender

mixed mushrooms

there must have been a stick of butter in this

bacon makes everything better

I only ate one slice of filet and one slice of ribeye as I was so full from everything else.  Good thing that we had a kitchen back at the Signature, so we could enjoy our meal again for lunch the next day.  The servers were very willing to pack up our food and even included some disposable silverware packets. (probably the most expensive "take-away" food ever)

So many desserts!  I didn't know we'd get this much variety.  Ice cream can't be packed up, so we had no choice but to eat every single bite.  What a terrible predicament! ;)

cinnamon monkey bread with banana ice cream

dark and milk chocolate ice cream

vanilla bean cheesecake a-la-mode

baked apples in caramel sauce

This was an awesome meal.  I was so glad I wasn't going to write a bad review.  Some Yelpers complained about being seated in the main entrance in view of people passing by.  I definitely wouldn't be happy sitting there, but the restaurant is pretty big, and if you make reservations way in advance, you probably won't get those tables.

I mentioned earlier that there were some diners next to us.  They were seated after our order was taken.  By the time we paid for our meal, they had just gotten their entrees!  It took FOREVER for them to decide what to order.  It was a family of four:  Mom, Dad, and two daughters.  The dad asked the server (same as ours) what seemed like hundreds of questions about the set menus:  "So-and-so doesn't like to eat such-and-such, can we substitute that for this?" and so on.  The server was patiently answering every one, though I could hear a bit of frustration.  Babe could see the two daughters rolling their eyes.  When they finally ordered, Babe and I were already enjoying our steaks.  It was funny to see them receive the lobster bisque.  I think that it normally isn't offered on the 3-course menu, but they'll accommodate requests.  A whole serving then gets split up amongst the number of people.  The table of four received little coffee mugs with soup, and not like the fancy soup bowls Babe and I got.  They received their entrees when we got up from the table...I heard them say, "We didn't need all these steaks!"  They'd probably write a bad review on Yelp.

We went back up to the room to put away our food, relax and digest before braving the crowds on the Strip for the New Year's Eve countdown.  It was super cold that night so we were bundled up in sweaters, jackets and scarves.  The sidewalk outside of the MGM was blocked off from the street with waist-high metal enclosures and concrete L-barriers.  We had to hop over a metal enclosure to get into the street.  With Babe's help, I managed to climb over with my 4-inch boots. :)  I would be mad if I stayed at the Excalibur, as it seemed they were really blocked off and people had no way of fighting through the castle entrance to get onto the Strip.  It was kind of amusing to see them crammed in there.

Ten seconds to midnight, lighted signs on the Strip displayed a countdown timer.  At midnight, fireworks exploded off the rooftop of the MGM, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Caesar's, Treasure Island, Venetian, and the Stratosphere, all synchronized.  It lasted for several minutes, culminating into a fierce ending.  I'm glad they had fireworks this year, as two years ago, when I went with my parents, there weren't any due to the Monte Carlo rooftop fire.

Happy new year to my babe...may each new year continue to be even better than the last.  Happy New Year to all!  Thank you for reading my first year as a travel and foodie blogger.  Hope to entertain you even more in 2011, especially when I go on my 8-week sabbatical this spring. :)