Aug
22
Built in Ireland, Sent to Vegas, In New York..??
Filed Under Restaurants, USA - Nevada | Comments Off
Only in Vegas would you find a Irish Pub that was built in Ireland, shipped to Las Vegas Nevada, and then installed in a New York inspired hotel. Nine Fine Irishmen is just such a pub. Located on the strip in the New York-New York Hotel & Casino.
If your interested in what the name is all about click here for a bit of history on the nine fine Irishmen and the rising in 1848.
I was able to check out the place during a recent trip to Las Vegas. The atmosphere of the main room was what I would expect from an Irish pub. Beautiful dark woods and a variety of paintings and artifacts. I’ve never been to Ireland so I guess in the spirit of the Hollywood back-lot environment that is Vegas, if it appears to be authentic, based on our expectations and stereotypes, then it is authentic.
As I said the main room was really nice, we were seated in a upstairs side room that was very small, and maybe “pub like”. A room just large enough for four tables, it would have been great for a group of 10-12 people, but for four separate groups it was a bit uncomfortable.
The food was also right on point. The Nine Fine Irishmen pub serves both Irish and American food, I enjoyed my fish and chips and a pint. The bar offers a great selection of Irish beers and whiskeys.
Food is available 11am - 11pm daily. Bar is open till 2:30am. On the Strip at 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. (702) 740-6463. Website at: www.NineFineIrishmen.com
To maybe get a more authentic pub feel, and to reduce the tourists influence, check out these other off the strip Irish pubs in Vegas:
- McMullan’s Irish Pub, West of the Strip at 4650 W. Tropicana Ave
- J.C. Wooloughan’s in the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, 221 North Rampart Blvd, (702) 869-7725.
Photo Credits: Exterior Courtesy MGM Mirage / Fish & Chips © John Ormond.
Aug
21
Las Vegas White Tigers to Burgers
Filed Under Restaurants, USA - Nevada | Comments Off
If you are a tiger in Las Vegas and you decide to bite your master’s face off, a word of caution….they will turn your cage / habitat into a restaurant, a pretty good one at that.
In fact, I think I’ll enjoy the new BLT Burger restaurant in the Las Vegas Mirage Hotel and Casino more often than I ever did the famous white tiger show of Siegfried and Roy. You can only really enjoy a stage show once, a good restaurant you can review and enjoy over and over.
The new BLT Burger in the Mirage has a modern decor with subtle references to classic diners of the past. The white and chrome of a traditional diner have been replaced with warm earth tones and bright accents.
The long hours (open till 2am on Sun and Tue-Wed, and till 4am Mon and Thu-Sat) will make this a favorite for those leaving the Mirage’s shows or night clubs.
Created by Laurent Tourondel; a top chef known for his previous work in Vegas at the Palace Court Restaurant in Caesars and several New York eateries including the original BLT Burger location.
And as you would expect the burgers here are top rate. Made from certified Angus beef ground fresh daily, the same used at the chef’s BLT Steak restaurants. Add some Jalapeno poppers, fried pickles and mozzarella sticks and you’ve got something more than just a burger joint review, you’ve got a great meal.
In step with it’s location BLT Burger offers some burgers you won’t find in their other locations. The Stripper Burger is served naked, without a bun that is…. The spicy buffalo chicken burger is covered with hot sauce cooled a bit by Maytag blue cheese and buttermilk dressing. And for a back to basics test I tried a simple cheese burger and was delighted. It was cooked perfectly and was full of flavor. What I thought was a small piece of aged cheddar cheese on top packed a delicious punch.
For a change of pace I tried the salmon burger and was very impressed. Cooked perfectly and with all the fixins I requests.
But what would a burger be without a creamy milkshake? BLT Burger has 20 different flavors to choose from. Beyond the expected flavors are the more unusual. How about a Twinkie Boy? It’s a milkshake from Twinkies, ice cream, and caramel syrup. Adult drinkers can add a shot or two of something like Kahlua or Bailey’s.
You can check out BLT Burger on the web.
Aug
19
Las Vegas Hilton… What A Mess…
Filed Under Hotels / Resorts, USA - Nevada | Comments Off
You would think a hotel operation as experienced as Hilton, established in 1919, would have figured out how to keep a hotel clean. Especially one that is as well established as the Las Vegas Hilton known for it’s convenient location next to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
I expected better, especially after the front desk told me at check-in that I had been assigned a newly renovated room. The room was nicely decorated with updated furniture and wall coverings. But I was quickly disappointed to see that the renovation was poorly executed. No real skin off my back, the room was OK, but it is just a shame to see things that should have been done right.
They updated the furniture in the room but it appears they put no effort into the rooms permanent fixtures. The doors looked as if they had multiple coats of paint, the most recent layer which had chipped off due to poor surface preparation. Several different colors of old paint could also be seen splattered on the chrome plated door hinges. The electrical wall plates were old and dirty, surrounded by nice, clean, wallpaper.
And it appears Hilton doesn’t really care about keeping the property nice and clean. Upon arrival I found trash from the previous guests in the bathroom. During my four day stay the hallway was never vacuumed. And on my last day someone finally cleaned a mirror in the elevator lobby where someone had written “clean me”. Other public areas on my floor were also very dirty. Las Vegas Hilton Website.
Housekeeping staff didn’t seem to have a problem trying to put a shrunken bed skirt on the bed.
It appeared that a previous room inspection resulted in this arrow being placed to point out poorly painted area. Or maybe it was another guess, disappointed with the Hilton’s attention to detail.
Door looked like it was as old as the original Vegas Hilton hotel. That would be just fine, but it was chipped and had been poorly painted several times. You can also see the almond colored electrical wall plate in a bathroom that was accented in gold, black and white. The yellowish wall plate looked old and out of date.
A used Q-tip from a previous guess hung around for four days. Note the care taken by Hilton workers to keep the furniture leg clean.
Mirror in the hallway had a message for “Kat..”. I’m not sure if this was a message between hotel staff, or if a guest was having fun with the chance to express themselves. It took two days for someone to wipe it off. Note that the mirror wasn’t ever really cleaned, it looked like someone took a piece of paper or a dry rag and wiped the message off but didn’t bother to properly clean the mirror. Other areas of the elevator lobby were also very dirty.
Not sure what this powder was on the floor outside my room. It appeared during day two of my stay and was still found when I left on day four. During that time it spread down the hallway.
HEY HILTON! How about a towel rack in the bathroom, maybe on this wall.
