A Week in Vegas

Is a week in Vegas too much? If you stay on the strip… yes!

Exploring the Valley of Fire

My friends and I went on a girls trip to Vegas for the long weekend! It was a lot of fun, but just hitting the max of how long you should be in Vegas.

Here’s a rundown of the highlights of all the fun things we did! Feel free to reach out if you need any recs!

Vegas Highlights

• Vegas Strip

  • Water Fountain Show at Bellagio

  • Lava Show at the Mirage

  • Conservatory Garden at the Wynn

• Valley of Fire

• Restaurants & Bars

  • Superfrico

  • Toca Moderna

  • Jessie’s BBQ

• Casinos

  • Black Jack & Craps - I lost more than I would’ve liked , but at least I had a fun time doing it!

Day 1 - Arrival Day

Loving all the decor for Chinese New Year

• Flight from JFK to LAS
  My friends, Diana, Imen, and I few in on a late flight after work from JFK to LAS.

• Check in at the Aria Resort & Hotel
  The entire hotel was decked out for Chinese New Year, which in absolutely LOVED!!! In hunger upon arriving so late, we checked out the mini bar, you would not believe how much a bottle of water and a rice krispy treat cost… the prices were $25 & $12.50, respectively - how crazy is that?!

• Dinner at In-N-Out
  A trip to the west coast and late night cravings aren’t complete without a trip to In-N-Out and my double double did not disappoint! I did have to hold off on the milkshake at that hour though 😆

Day 2

• Lunch at Din Tai Fung
  I had always heard great things about Din Tai Fung and it was right next to the lobby of our hotel, so we had to try it! The food was pretty tasty, however coming from NY and being Chinese, I did feel like it was a bit overrated and I’ve had better. Am I happy I tried it - yes, would I go again… likely not

• Hello Kitty Cafe at Fashion Show Mall
  We were exploring Vegas and stumbled upon the Hello Kitty Cafe at the mall, it was SO CUTE and PINK! If there were ever a cafe that described me, this was it! I was also pleasantly surprised how yummy the Hello Kitty cupcake was!

• Dinner at Jessie Rae’s BBQ
  My friends and I decided to get off the strip and go to a local must go to spot and ended landed at Jessie Rae’s BBQ for dinner. When we first arrived, it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere outside a dimly lit restaurant, but this was it. We had taken a 15 min Uber, so we had committed. My friend Diana and I split the a 3 meat platter and went with the Brisket, Baby Back Ribs & BBQ Chicken with Tater Tots. The food was AMAZING 🤤, some of the best BBQ food I’ve had and definitely want to return next time I’m in Vegas! We met an older couple, who frequent Vegas for trade shows and this is their go to spot, where they even know the owners.

Day 3

• Brunch at the Henry
  Imen and I got a yummy brunch at the Henry in the Cosmopolitan. I had a very tasty truffle fried chicken sandwich - Vegas is delivering on food!

• Pool Day!
  Diana was working today since she started a new job, so Imen and I decided to hit the pool, despite the 50 degree weather. We were happy to learn that the pool was heated (as was the hot tub), ironically the life guards were dressed in parkas while we were in our bikinis! 🤣

• Dinner at Sen of Japan
  We met up with my friend Paul who is a pro-poker player in Vegas for omakase at Sen of Japan. The sushi was great and the staff was super nice. Not sure if this is a Vegas thing, but interestingly enough, we noticed that their omakase had a bit more cooked dishes than you would ever find at omakase in NYC.

• OPM at the Cosmopolitan
  After we finished dinner, we headed over to the Cosmopolitan with Paul, his girlfriend Lindsay and his friend Henry to see OPM, which their friend Patrick happened to be one of the performers - a juggler!
  The show very raunchy and a lot of fun! The show was a raunchy variety show with a space theme.

• Drinks at the Chandelier
  After the show, we wen to drinks at the Chandelier and were joined by Patrick, who also happens to be one of the top jugglers in the world! It turns out he peaked as #2 in the world the same year I peaked as Miss NY 😅
  Imen also tried an interactive drink, which involved eating a berry that will alter the taste of the drink (and make your tongue tingly)

• Clubbing at the Jewel
  Next, I took Imen to her first club in Vegas, Jewel. Thank you to our new promoter friend Regan for hooking us up! (Message me if you want his contact information)

Day 4

• Day trip to the Valley of Fire
  Vegas is a desert, so we decided to take a day trip to the Valley of Fire. We figured we should probably check out what else Vegas has to offer aside from shows, food and gambling, and you can only spend so much time on the strip as a tourist…
  The Valley of Fire was GORGEOUS! There were all different colored mountains and formations, there were even hieroglyphics on one of the old rocks!

• Lunch at Eataly
  When we returned we took a little break and went to Eataly and met up my friend Antonio, who is the head pizza chef and an international pizza award winner!

• Dinner at China Poblano by José Andrés
  We checked out China Poblano a Mexican and Chinese fusion restaurant. The food was OK, not sure I would recommend or go again. However, I will say the terra cotta soldier chocolate mousse dessert was fun to eat - you needed to break him open (like a chocolate bunny), to get to his insides and eat him!

• Drinks at Toca Moderna
  This was Diana’s last night in town, so we had to do it big - we went to Toca Moderna, which may be my favorite spot for drinks in Vegas. In addition to an awesome cocktail menu, while we were sitting at the bar, we saw a fire eater aka a woman on the bar just eating and playing with fire. But back to the drinks, Diana and I both got some really cool and tasty drinks that were lit on FIRE! 🔥🔥🔥 I am by no means a pyromaniac, but they were pretty cool! We topped off the night with good vibes, good music (that DJ was on fire, metaphorically speaking this time) and a churro ice cream sandwich!

Day 5

• Hello Kitty Cafe Truck
  Diana did not make it to the brick and mortar Hello Kitty Cafe, but our hotel was very close to the truck version, so we headed there for breakfast! Crazy enough, there was a long line for this cafe and barely one at the actual cafe.

• Drag Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s
  We had brunch at Hamburger Mary’s off the strip. Sadly, I was disappointed by the caliber here, I think coming from NYC and the Vegas Strip to this local show, it just did not compare and the food was subpar and gave me a stomach ache.

• Playing Tourist on the Strip

• Dinner at SOL Mexican Cocina
  We couldn’t decide where to get dinner and ended up SOL, which was actually a great choice! We all loved our entrees and had happy bellies!

• Absinthe
  Absinthe, what can I say about Absinthe… before even leaving NY, 3 of my friends from differ parts of my life all recommended to see Absinthe, in addition to a guy from Vegas on my dating apps. With all these recommendations we decided we had to see it. My boss described it as Magic Mike meets Cirque Soleil - after seeing it I would say it is more of a Magic Mike meets a raunchy variety show.
  The show was even MORE raunchy than OPM and had a lot of wonderful acts from acrobats to sword eaters. I came to learn from our new friend Patrick that they are owned by the same group and that he had actually developed and sold the rights for the juggling act in the show!
  If you go to Vegas and have done the typical shows, I would highly recommend seeing Absinthe

• Clubbing at XS

Day 6 - Final Day

• Knights Hockey Game at the T-Mobile Arena
  This was my first EVER hockey game, it was so much fun! The Knights and their fans really make the game and ambiance so much fun! I was sad they did not win their home game, but was so much fun!

• Dinner at Superfrico
  Superfrico is a speakeasy Italian restaurant next to where the OPM theater is in the Cosmopolitan. I just love Italian food, but little did I know, they would also have performers to the style of OPM performing little acts throughout our meal!
  
  

• Flight home LAS > JFK