Las Vegas Trip 2024
/It’s time for a trip recap of our 2024 Las Vegas trip!
Day 1
The start of our trip was a bit bumpy - our plane was originally delayed due to a problem with the water system (meaning toilets couldn’t flush - nobody wants that). Alaska Airlines found us another plane since the water system couldn’t be fixed quickly, but this one also had a maintenance issue: a coffee machine in the rear galley was leaking water into an electrical system (just what we need). After almost 5 hours of very few updates and constantly pushing back boarding by 15 - 30 minute increments, we finally got on a working plane and in the air (though that wasn’t the end of the debacle - everyone was supposed to be issued a $75 travel credit, but when it came through it was only $50. Alaska Airlines seems to really be struggling and that’s sad.) The neat thing about the aircraft we took was the Alaska Native art on the plane depicting salmon (by artist Crystal Worl).
We finally landed in Las Vegas and hurried to collect our checked bags, pick up the rental car, check into the Venetian (a first time stay for Jeff and me!), and hustle across the street to Treasure Island to see a 9:30pm showing Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere. We were obviously late (I guess that’ll teach us not to buy tickets to anything on arrival day ever again), but were seated quickly and the show was great. We especially enjoyed the pair of male gymnasts who performed a hand to hand act, the bungee artists, and the flying trapeze squad. It turned out to be a nice part of a frustrating day and we would see another Cirque show in the future.
Photo by AT
Photo by JP
After Cirque, we were quite hungry since we hadn’t had time for dinner due to Alaska’s plane shenanigans. We decided to check out Sun’s Out Buns Out at Resorts World since we’d never been able to catch it open on previous trips (their hours are 10pm - 12pm). We ordered a short rib sandwich and a bacon egg and cheese. We thought the food was just ok - the buns were not toasted and the bun to filling ratio wasn’t quite right (too much bread compared to everything else in the sandwiches). We were pleased to find a Randy’s Donuts counter inside the same restaurant and ordered a raspberry jelly filled donut and a butter crumb raised donut. These were quite tasty and served as a nice dessert for an otherwise mediocre meal. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be returning to Resorts World on future trips unless we feel like making the long walk there because a flat $18 parking fee (which was implemented sometime after our previous trip in 2022) for the 1 - 2 hours it takes to explore the food options and eat leaves a sour impression.
Day 2
We slept in a bit before meeting our group to head off strip for lunch. Our first stop was Amano, a spot we’ve seen over and over on social media for some time and had never managed to fit into our itinerary. We ordered a half dozen rosemary garlic knots, a Sicilian baked ziti fat baby pizza, and a Big Texas fat baby. The garlic knots were great, but the real stars were the fat babies. They were huge and overflowing with cheese/sauce and I can’t imagine what all of our faces looked like when they were delivered to the table. The pasta in each was cooked nicely and the sauces were flavorful. The ribs and hushpuppies that were included with the Big Texas were also enjoyable. I preferred the baked ziti version while the rest of the group thought the Big Texas was better. Either way, we were super pleased with this stop, the items we ordered (and that it wasn’t just Instagram “stunt food”), and the service (thanks, Nova!). Some fellow friendly patrons who walked in at the same time as us were also excited to try the fat babies. We waved to them as we headed out and they were equally as pleased.
Our next stop was Buldogis - another restaurant that’s been on our “to try” list for quite a while. We were pretty stuffed from Amano, so we ordered carne asada fries and a bulgogi hotdog to split. The hotdog was exactly as expected and the group found it tasty. The fries were also good, but could be a bit spicy if you got a big dollop of the chipotle aioli.
Our final lunch stop was a repeat from our 2022 trip - Sorry Not Sorry Creamery. This time Jeff and I ordered a flight that included O.G. buttercake, brown sugar milk tea with boba, matcha black sesame, and guava cheese crisp. I liked all of them except for the matcha black sesame, though I think it was hard for that flavor to compete with the others given my ranking of those tastes in the first place. We’d still absolutely recommend folks give this shop a try.
After returning to the Venetian for a bit of a rest in addition to a stroll around the Grand Canal Shoppes, we headed down the strip to the Park MGM for dinner at Best Friend. We ordered an assortment of plates to share: some rolls, the banchan sampler, BBQ platter, lumpia, Kogi short rib tacos (not pictured), street corn, buttermilk fried chicken, and kimchi fried rice. The food was just as good as our previous visit, but we especially liked the fried chicken.
We went to see a 9:30pm showing of the Sphere Experience after dinner. It included some interactive experiences in the lobby with robots followed by a film called Postcard From Earth. The interactive experiences were not my favorite since I find robots a bit creepy. Our group sat in section 307 for the film. This section was a bit steep and the seats were not really how we imagined them - instead they were small and didn’t have much leg room. The film had great visuals, but the story was a little lacking while also feeling a bit preachy (which was a bit ironic given the Sphere and how much energy it consumes). I was pleased that we didn’t experience any physical issues during the film (I was worried since things like Imax tend to make me nauseous and headachy). The group concluded we were glad we went to check the Sphere out, but the show was not worth the $169 + fees per person.
Photo by JP
Photo by AT
A few of us went in search of ice cream or gelato after the show, but everything nearby seemed to close at 11pm. This was unexpected (and annoying) since the Vegas strip seems like a place that would have options until at least midnight. This was not the case.
Day 3
We started the day by meeting up with our group to head to the Cosmopolitan for all the foods. The first stop was obviously Eggslut where Jeff and I ordered Fairfax breakfast sandwiches for ourselves (one with bacon and one with sausage) in addition to the truffle hashbrowns. We also picked up beverages and a raspberry cheesecake donut from District Donuts, chicken tenders from Hattie B’s, beef, chicken, and pork u-wraps and rice cakes from Bang Bar.
Eggslut never disappoints and both the sandwiches and hashbrowns were delightful. I thought the chicken tenders from Hattie B’s were a bit too spicy, but the group disagreed with me. The u-wraps from Bang Bar were great as always, but opinions differed on which one came out on top (AR and I think it’s chicken, but Jeff and JP think it’s pork). We finished off the meal by chopping up the donut and it was probably one of the best we’ve had from District Donuts - would recommend.
As usual, we walked over to the Bellagio to get some steps in after all the food. The current theme is Tea & Tulips. Overall, it was a springy tea party vibe and I was here for it.
The group walked on to Caesars where we picked up cronuts (and a canelé) from Dominique Ansel. The cronuts were quite tasty, but probably not worth the price tag. Jeff and I agreed that we didn’t enjoy the canelé as much as the ones he makes here at home.
We were all ready for a break from walking, so we headed back to the Venetian for some swimming pool time (a first for Jeff and me). The group ended up at the 10th floor pool - we had no trouble getting chairs and everything was very clean (something I was concerned about). The sun wasn’t beating down by the time we got there, which was nice - unfortunately, this meant that the wind whipping through made it a bit too cool. Thankfully, the spa was large and we were able to hop from the pool into it quite easily. It was a nice rest break from all the activity on the strip.
For dinner, we finally got to try Sushisamba (backstory: we had reservations here for my birthday dinner in 2017 when a stomach bug took Jeff and I both out over the course of about 36 hours. It was awful and I was so disappointed). I’m so glad we went here with a group so we could try more dishes! Jeff and I started off with beverages: a Wagyu cocktail and a berry smash. Both were quite tasty. We then ordered a ton of plates for the table: plantain chips, shishito peppers, yellowtail and Japanese Kobe crispy taquitos, chicken, ribeye and sea bass anticuchos (aka skewers), several sushi rolls (I unfortunately don’t remember the exact names), and rock shrimp tempura.
Most of the table agreed the plaintain chips were unnecessary, but I thought they were quite good to start off our meal. The shishito peppers are something we don’t see too often and were exactly as expected. The crispy taquitos were more like little tacos (I think most of us were expecting a nicer version of the roll ups you find in the freezer section of the grocery store), but the flavors were great and well liked. One of the group’s favorite items was the anticuchos (skewers) - they were all cooked and seasoned/sauced wonderfully. I have had an aversion to cooked fish since I was little and agreed to try a bite of the sea bass anyway - I was shocked to discover I loved it. The sushi rolls were tasty, but we didn’t love them as much as the other small plates. We all enjoyed the rock shrimp tempura. We left happy to have tried this spot and would return for a future meal.
Next up was drinks and appetizers at Vanderpump Cocktail Garden in Caesars (as suggested by AT). Jeff had the Checkmate Bitch while I had the Cold Blooded. The group split goat cheese balls, bacon wrapped dates, and truffle puffs. Everything we had was tasty, but a little spendy for the portions (which, to be fair, is expected in Vegas).
We closed out our day with a trip back to the Cosmopolitan for Secret Pizza. The line was long, but not obscene and we got to watch lots of folks waiting for the glass elevators to take them back downstairs since the down escalator was broken and closed off. I ended up with a slice of pepperoni (as usual) and Jeff had a sausage and pepper slice. The pizza was as good as it always is.
Day 4
After checking out of the Venetian and putting our luggage in their storage, we headed off strip to Shanghai Plaza for several lunch bites starting with CrunCheese. This is a repeat from previous trips because we really love the rice cake dog, but we haven’t been able to find it anywhere near us (cough Mochinut needs to take the hint cough). We ordered a rice cake dog with sweet potato, a regular rice cake dog, and a potato hotdog. They were all excellent, as always.
Our next stop in this plaza was O.Onigiri - a spot that serves Okinawa style onigiri that we hadn’t seen before. Jeff and I ordered the the hashbrown (hashbrown, spam, eggs, American cheese, and ketchup) and the spider (softshell crab, spam, eggs, cucumber, and unagi sauce). Both were quite tasty and the spam fit both surprisingly well. We would eat here again.
We also went next door to The Paleta Bar for Mexican ice pops. This spot has been on our radar for a bit, but we hadn’t gotten to visit on previous trips. They had a great selection of flavors and the lady who helped us was super friendly - she offered us tons of samples and advice on what/how to order. Jeff ordered chili mango with powdered chili and chamoy and some strawberries on the side. I ordered coffee drizzled with dark chocolate and topped with graham cracker crumbles. We preferred my pop’s flavor to Jeff’s in the end. The rest of our group ordered various other flavors and we all agreed this was a nice place to grab a sweet.
On the way back to the rental car, we stopped into a little shop called Miniso. It had tons of cute items including branded items from Minions, Barbie, SpongeBob, and others. We especially liked this wall of capybaras.
After finishing up browsing Shanghai Plaza, we headed back to the strip for a final beverage at Magaritaville since most of the group had never been. The drinks and appetizers were ok, but the vibe seemed a bit run down (though the bathrooms were clean!). This location is set to close before June 1, 2024, so that probably has a lot to do with it. We also stopped by the gift shop and they had a large selection of branded merchandise for us to browse.
It was finally time to say goodbye to Vegas, so we walked back to the Venetian, grabbed our bags, and set off to return the rental car and hop on a plane back to Seattle. We got stuck at a light near the Vegas sign, so Jeff took this picture (since we’ve never attempted to go here previously). All in all, this was another great Vegas trip - we’ll certainly be back!
