Thinking Of A Vegas Trip

[Moongirl]

im thinking about going to vegas for a long weekend trip... any good advice on where to stay,who is accomdating to our diet needs (ie hotels) where to eat out?

Any advivce would be great.

thanks

[CarlaB]

I'm sure Broncobux will have the best advice.

We stayed at the Westin, right off the strip. There is a restaurant in the lobby and I ate a Fritatta there every day for brunch. They gave us a refrigerator in our room for snacks.

We ate at the Eiffel Tower, don't know the name of the restaurant, but they took good care of me. I remember that I ordered a dessert there and I could tell that they had just removed the cookie from it. The manager was very apologetic and brought me a new dessert that had never had a cookie in it -- so watch for that.

We also ate at Smith and Wollenski, again, they took good care of me and even called the guy who made the ice cream at home to see what the ingredients were (it was gluten-free, btw).

Both of those are expensive restaurants, but we were there with a vendor so we were eating fancy!!

The third night we ate at Spago. I was disappointed because their solution was to just leave all the flavorful sauces off my food. They don't put salt and pepper on the table, so there was no seasoning at all. I expected a place like that to be a little more creative in serving someone with a restricted diet. But, I didn't get sick. I wouldn't bother with them though, why pay so much and have to bring your own salt?

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

im thinking about going to vegas for a long weekend trip... any good advice on where to stay,who is accomdating to our diet needs (ie hotels) where to eat out?

Any advivce would be great.

thanks

I always recommend the Tuscany Suites Hotel and Casino. Its on Flamingo and every room is a suite. The rates are reasonable (in Vegas terms for being on the strip). You will get much better rates Sunday - Thursday rather than the weekend.

As far as places to eat, you have many choices.

I like all of the restaurants in the Mirage (Samba Brazilian BBQ -- they know Celiac and serve you accordingly, Carnegie Deli -- Bring your own bread and have the best reuben of your life or pastrami or whatever, Stack -- upscale, but the chef understands Celiac and how to serve you).

Other good places are Craftseak in the MGM, Fix steakhouse in Bellagio, PF Chang's in the Aladdin, Fatburger (Bring your own bread) on the Strip, In N Out Burger, any of the Buffets for breakfast, Rio's Seafood Buffet at Dinner or Lunch, Aladdin's sushi Buffet, El Molino in cesars Palace, Joes in Cesar's Palace, Simon at Hard Rock - the chef was on Iron Chef!!!, etc)

Have fun and eat a ton!

Bronco

[Lymetoo]

Thanks for the tips on Vegas, Bronco! I will be going again next Spring. I went to Vegas in May but didn't know I was gluten intolerant. I ate at alot of buffets. Can't remember the names of them right now. Great food, but I'm sure I had plenty of gluten there! [wasn't feeling so hot and had D several times]

[popoki321]

I was in Las Vegas in May for my wedding and had a wondeful gluten free time!

We stayed at The Barbary Coast...great little hotel in the center of everything. Not fancey and a little older but I think it's a wonderful value for the money. We had a really nice suite with 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms , Living room, eating area and a bar with a fridge and a sink. No pool but the location makes it worth it. This was my 5th time in Vegas. I've stayed at The Hard Rock ( nice, but off the strip), The Venetian (not a great value for the money), The Rio ( good pool..but again, far from the strip) Harrahs ( good hotel, great location) and The Aladdin ( would not say there again).

This was the first time since getting Celiac Dx.....We ate at Pf Changs twice (at the Aladdin). My server was knowledgable about Celiac and otok the utmost care in serving me. The Asian Pear Mojito's are to die for!

We ate at Aquanox ( at the Venetian) I spoke with the chef ahead of time to make certain my dinner would be safe ( this was our wedding night dinner) It was great! We had a seafood plateau that had an assortment of raw and cooked shellfish. I had an awesome seafood soup for dinner...stuffed with mussels, clams, shrimp, lobster....VERY GOOD!

We ate at The Mirage Carnegie Deli.....good pastrami....bad experience. I was sick for 2 days. I didn't have the bread but they probably sliced the meat with the same knife they cut the sandwiches with? I don't know..but it wasn't a great experience!

We ate at Toby Keeiths - I Love This Bar and Grill- TERRIBLE.......waitress was not helpful in any way. We should have left but we didn't and I ate something I thought was ok and it was not...my own fault...but my husband, who does not have Celiac, wound up throwing up after his meal..so I can't recommend this place at all.

We had Sushi at Nobu ( at The Hard Rock)...Awesome......Best Sushi EVER!

Breakfast was the hardest meal....I had strawberries and cream one morning which was good and I had a lox platter w/cream cheese,caapers and tomatoes that was good ( both at The Barbary Coast Coffee Shop). I brought some things that I could eat from home for breakfast so I usually just had a cup of tea while my husband ate.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

I can't wait to go back....We plan on eating at Samba( atthe Mirage) next time...we had to cancel our reservations because we got so drunk one night and we decided not to eat dinner!

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

When I referred to buffets in my earlier post, I was referring to breakfast buffets.

At those buffets, I normally get cheese and veggie omelettes (made by the omelette dude), fresh fruit and berries, OJ, coffee and occasionally some smoked salmon or salad.

I had the corned beef reuben at carnegie deli (no bread) and I was fine. They serve Boar's Head luncheon meats there, so the meat should not be a problem as Boar's HEad and Cheese are the only things cut on the slicer.

[VydorScope]

I lived there for 4 years... biggest adivce? Levae all credit cards at home

[popoki321]

As far as the Carnegie Deli goes I was told the pastrami was carved by hand , not on a slicer, so I assume that's where my contamination occured. I can't say for certain, but all signs point to that.

I was so afraid to do a buffet....maybe I will try one next time. I'm just so super sensitive and cross contamination seems to be the big problem with buffets. It was so weird to be in Vegas and not go to one!

[CarlaB]

I lived there for 4 years... biggest adivce? Levae all credit cards at home

LOL!! I don't gamble, I take my money straight to the mall, which is funny because in general I'm not much of a shopper. Just doesn't seem like money counts when you're on vacation!

The only buffets I eat at are breakfast buffets. I, too, go to the omlette guy. If the fruit looks safe from crumbs, I'll get some, if not, I don't. I like being able to watch the guy who makes my eggs! I've never trusted breakfast places, so a breakfast buffet is a real treat. I don't actually get an omlette (what good is an omlette with no cheese???), I get my eggs over easy, but they're happy to do that for me.

[Pegster]

We go to LV about 2-3 times a year. We stay at Ballys or Paris usually. I have eaten lots of places and usually I get lots of help from the staff. I take my own muffins (from Kinninnick) for breakfast, and put cheese, rice crackers, fruit, etc. in a cooler in our room. We eat out once a day. There is an OUTBACK on the strip. I've done okay at the Paris buffet because the chefs are very knowledgable. But it's too expensive! The cheesecake factory at cesars always comes up with something I can eat (pork chops and mashed potatoes). It's not too hard!

[Bootin'TheGluten]

We are heading to Vegas this coming weekend for our 10th anniversary. My DH called ahead to two restaurants at the MGM and they were knowledgable and are ready for us. One is called NobHill and the other is a french restaurant. I looked at the menus and instead of pasta they have polenta!

I am planning on bringing some glutino apple bars for breakfast and then will hope for the best for lunch! Dinner is expensive, but for a special occasion it is probably worth it.

Tara