Trip Index
As you may or may not know, I moonlight as a travel agent and book vacations for family, friends, and the general public in my spare time. I've been working towards my
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)
Accredited Cruise Counselor certification for a quite a while, as booking cruises is not my full time job. For me, the most difficult part of certification is getting credit for ship inspections (touring ships to learn about its features) and I needed five of them within a 2-year enrollment period. As I don't live near a port city that offers cruises year-round, there aren't many options besides spending a lot of time and money to go to Florida, just for a few hours' tour. The inspections aren't always on a weekend either. There is a ship that regularly sails out of Los Angeles but inspections are rarely offered there. Personal cruise vacations could be used as a ship inspection credit, but I didn't have enough cruises under my belt (you'd think I'd be able to!). CLIA must have heard a lot of complaints about this from students; thus, in early April, it announced a new event called "CruisExcellence" that incorporated both coursework and "virtual" ship inspections all in one. The inaugural CruisExcellence was going to be held in Las Vegas the last weekend of April. I really needed those ship inspection credits and Vegas was affordable, so I took a vacation day on Friday and ditched a housewarming party on Saturday (sorry Karen!) to attend the event. Since it wasn't too long after Kaleb's birthday, he decided to join me and make this trip a belated celebration with just the two of us.
The conference was held in
Paris Las Vegas, but the hotel rates were steep. I checked other hotels on the Strip but all were pretty expensive. Searching Las Vegas Craigslist's
vacation rental section, there was a listing for a
Jockey Club timeshare across the street from Paris, where I had stayed before. The price was reasonable at $109/night plus tax. Just before sending an inquiry to the Jockey Club owner, I tried one more search on Craigslist using different terms, and I found an advertisement for a
Planet Hollywood room for $100/night inclusive, available for the three nights I needed! I contacted the poster and it turned out that it wasn't in the Planet Hollywood timeshare (which I had hoped) but a regular room in the hotel. Then I figured out what he was up to...
Total Rewards cardholders are offered free rooms from time to time, and I suspect he was selling his "comp" to me. He was careful with the transaction and not leaving any trackable piece of information, including providing only his email address and calling me through a Google Voice number. Given that the going room rate was more than double what he was charging, the convenience of Planet Hollywood to Paris, and the fact that he was going to check in with me at the front desk, I decided the risk was acceptable and went through with the deal.
Thursday night, we flew Southwest Airlines to Vegas (no Allegiant this time). The flight was a bit delayed so I kept email contact with "Tony" (supposedly his name), telling him that we'd be late arriving at Planet Hollywood. I rented a compact car; I had found a great deal from Alamo using codes found on
carrentalsavers.com, cheaper than if we took taxis. However, parking at Planet Hollywood was a pain because the garage was within the Miracle Mile Shops and we lugged our bags through the mall to the casino. Next time, I'd valet the car, or drop off the luggage at the bell desk, then park the car.
We met Tony at the Starbucks near the casino and he led us to the Diamond line at the front desk (see, I knew it!) and checked in. He told us that he got us a nicer room. (probably more like the regular rooms were sold out so the front desk gave him an upgrade) When we arrived at the room, Tony asked if we wanted to watch any pay-per-view and we said no, so he locked it out. Then he asked if we wanted to have internet access for $12 and we said yes, so I handed over $312 in cash and he gave us his last name to log into the internet. (so I did get some info on him, which was very useful as you will find out at the end of the trip) Tony said he'd call the next day to check how we were doing, but he never did, but nothing ever happened to us in the room, so it all went fine.
The room was indeed an upgrade, a corner Resort Vista Room with a large bathroom, including a soaking bathtub and a 42" TV.
 |
| resort vista room |
|
 |
| large bathroom |
|
 |
| tub and TV |
|
 |
| each room had a Hollywood memento |
|
On Friday, Kaleb and I slept in, then walked over to Paris Las Vegas to have lunch at their counter-service creperie. Then it was time for the first class of CruisExcellence; Kaleb headed back to the hotel room to work on his laptop.
The afternoon course was three hours long, but there were breaks in between, and the conference was nice enough to include complimentary coffee/tea/soft drinks and cookies. After class was over, I headed back to the hotel room to change for Kaleb's belated milestone birthday dinner at the Michelin two-star rated
Guy Savoy, located in Caesars Palace. Reservations were made using
OpenTable.
We budgeted time to walk from Planet Hollywood to Caesars Palace: taking the pedestrian bridge over to Crystals, then the tram to Bellagio, through the casino to the pedestrian bridge towards Caesars. Guy Savoy was located on the second floor near the Qua Spa. We were greeted by the hostess, who led us to the center of a row of three round al-fresco tables facing the Strip. It was warm that day with a tad of humidity; it wasn't too uncomfortable, but it was nice to have the view of the Strip and some privacy compared to the main dining room. A little wooden stool was provided to park my purse, a nice touch.
 |
| two star Michelin restaurant |
 |
| outside table |
|
 |
| purse stool |
|
 |
| birthday boy |
|
 |
| lucky lady |
|
We were there to experience the "Innovation-Inspiration" tasting menu, adding a wine flight for Kaleb to enjoy. We also ordered Evian instead of tap water in order to not disturb the flavors of the meal. A champagne cart was wheeled out but we declined since the wine flight included a glass.
To start, we received many
amuse-bouches. The foie gras toast was delicious. The waffle was all right.
 |
| foie gras toast |
|
 |
| savory waffle |
|
The server then transformed our table setting...what I thought were decorations ended up being salted and unsalted butter (softened, just how I like it), salt and pepper!
The wine flight began with a glass of champagne (it wasn't listed on the menu so I don't know what it was). Then another set of amuse-bouche followed. I was thinking to myself that we were going to get so full! The artichoke soup was so good and the toasted brioche very buttery. A delectable piece of pork belly was hidden beside the soup bowl (the cylindrical space under the brioche). I was so caught off guard by it that I forgot to take a picture. :( The tomato bread was a bit dry...we didn't finish it.
 |
| artichoke and black truffle soup with brioche |
|
 |
| tomato bread |
|
The bread cart arrived...the waiter introduced all of the selections, and I told him that it was so hard to choose. The waiter replied that we could do a bread flight...why not?! I hadn't even fathomed the option so I was glad it could be done, yay! Unfortunately I don't remember the names of the breads that accompanied the dishes, but memorable ones were a lemon bread and a poppyseed baguette. If you didn't do a bread flight, I think they'd wheel the cart in several times during your meal.
 |
| bread assortment |
The next plate on our menu was delivered: "Concasse of Oysters, Seaweed, Lemon Granite". I liked the mixture of the raw oysters and the lemon ice, with the seaweed adding that extra ocean flavor. The white wine (
Hyppolite Reverdy, Sancerre, 2011) accompanied this dish perfectly. (for each wine, a new glass was always provided)
Next was an impressive presentation of "Sea Urchin and Black Rice" using dry ice. I didn't think of taking video, but these pictures should give you a sense of the clouds of vapor caressing the treasure in the middle. I doubt the dry ice did much to add to the flavor, but the morsel was delicious! It was paired with a
2009 Riesling from Domaine Ostertag, which turned out to be Kaleb's favorite of the entire flight, even though it was a white wine.
 |
| sea urchin surrounded by dry ice |
|
 |
| another view |
|
As this point, I need to mention the wonderful service so far by the all the waiters (several came by the table, both men and women). Every dish was presented to us at the same time with a deft and clean elegance. Our water glasses were never empty. I felt bad for the waiter who scraped up my crumbs after every dish, as many of the accompanying breads were crusty even though I tried to be neat.
The next plate was "Asparagus, Caviar and Fresh Cheese". The cheese was a foam, which was fun on the tongue. The caviar was insanely good, not too salty and the little balls exploded a clean sea flavor in my mouth. Again, the wine pairing was perfect.
(Legras Blanc de Blancs, Chouilly, Brut NV)
 |
| that caviar was delicious! |
|
 |
| bread carcasses, crumbs everywhere! |
|
Then Chef Mathieu Chartron came to our table, rolling a cart to prepare our next entree - "Salmon Iceberg". The raw fish was cooked on a bed of dry ice, then served with a warm broth. He told us to immediately eat it so we could get the sensation of both warm and cold together. Wine selection:
2010 Les Calcinaires, Domaine Gauby.
 |
| "cooking" the fish on ice |
|
 |
| meticulous plating |
|
 |
| the finished product, mmm mmm good |
Next dish was "Lobster, Vegetable Serpentines and Smoked Butter Sabayon". The waiters served us plates containing pieces of lobster with rolled-up veggies, used tweezers to unroll them, then topped it off with the sabayon. My waiter made a slight mess during the unrolling, getting juice onto the edge of the plate and I saw the head waiter giving him the evil eye. Fortunately for him, I wasn't a Michelin inspector! The wine pairing for this plate was a
2011 Mas de Daumas Gassac. The lobster was cooked perfectly.
It was fun to observe the three gentlemen seated at a neighboring table; they were about two dishes behind us and I could heard their commentary about the food. One of the men had eaten at Guy Savoy in Paris, and was comparing each dish. I could see his eyes roll into the back of his head when he took first bites. His companions would be delicately cutting into the entree, inspecting each forkful, slowly placing the food onto their tongues. It wasn't as fun to listen to the other table next to us. An older couple was dining there, a-la-carte, and the man complained to the sommelier about each wine. Their nonchalant behavior made it seem like they ate at this kind of restaurant every day.
Next on the tasting menu was "Foie Gras, Crispy Quinoa, Duck Potato Chip Consomme". I'm a foie gras junkie, so this dish was the bomb! Incredibly, I enjoyed the flavor even more than the foie gras from
Raku! A glass of
2008 Les Cras, Domaine Mongeard-Mugnaret accompanied this dish.
Our next course was "Smoked Roasted Duck, Fresh Lavender and Baby Fennel". It was paired with a
2006 E Guigal, Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. I love eating duck, so I was happy this was on the menu.
 |
| bright knife |
|
 |
| very tender |
|
Next was "Japanese Wagyu, Sesame Seed and Tarragon Crust, Sunchoke Salad, Sponge Cake". I was actually more impressed with the sponge cake than the meat. But it could be because I've eaten Wagyu before. The wine pairing was a
2006 Margaux, Chateau Giscours.
The cheese course was "Comte Mousse". It was very light and was nice to eat after the meat courses. The wine was a
2010 Les Macherelles, Jean-Marc Billot.
This was followed by a dish called "
Paris-Brest", which I had never heard of before. It wasn't shaped like a wheel, but the whole thing reminded me of a Ferrero Rocher candy. Instead of whipped cream, it seemed like food chemistry magic was used to create a white powder from the cream...very interesting experience on the tongue. A
2010 Uroulat, Charles Hours, accompanied this dessert.
The "Exotic" was a pleasing palette-cleansing foam that tasted like a mixture of lime and lemongrass.
The "Chocolate" course was a decadent chocolate gelato served on top of a block of ice, with a chocolate garnish and some kind of crumbled nuts at the base. The kitchen dressed Kaleb's plate with a candle to acknowledge his birthday. The last wine of the night was a
2009 Cabernet Franc icewine, Inniskillin.
Dessert wasn't over yet...a cart with assorted
mignardises and ice creams was wheeled out. Our stomachs were about to explode, but we managed to find room for a few sweets and coffee. Sorry I forgot the flavors of the ice cream but it was good!
 |
| dessert cart |
 |
| gelato, macarons, jelly, mini madeleine |
|
 |
| gelato and cookie |
|
 |
| chocolate mousse |
|
 |
| French press coffee |
|
We got a copy of the menu and wine flight to take home. After the bill was paid (ouch!), as we were leaving out the front door, the hostess ran after us and gave us a couple of take-home boxes filled with
madeleines, yum!
 |
| cute boxes |
|
 |
| madeleines inside |
|
If you are a Total Rewards cardholder, you get
points for spending money at participating restaurants. Guy Savoy
should be one of them, as it asked for my Total Rewards number on the
OpenTable reservation form, but it turned out later that my account was
not credited. To avoid this in the future, always include your Total
Rewards card when the bill is paid. I would need to visit a Total
Rewards booth in the casino along with my receipt to try to get credit.
For my taste, comparing this experience to
a dinner I had at Michelin three-star Joel Robuchon, I prefer Guy Savoy better. It was less pretentious, yet still had a formal flair. Guy Savoy served less gels and foams (not a big fan of them anyway) but the dishes still contained textures and flavors that entertained my taste buds. I wouldn't go to this kind of restaurant on a regular basis; this experience would be best for celebrating major events like milestone birthdays, anniversaries, getting a big promotion, passing the bar or boards, or even winning big at the tables or slots. Guy Savoy does offer a pre-theater menu, which would be a great way to try out the restaurant without breaking the bank, with the bread and dessert cart at your disposal.
The trip continues with the second day of CruisExcellence along with more yummy eats and an interesting show...stay tuned!
***
Don't miss a single entry, especially if your Facebook feed has too many items...get full updates to my blog direct to your inbox! Click
here
to subscribe. Unsubscribe at any time. Your email address will
never be shared with anyone. Thank you for your readership!
No comments:
Post a Comment