Sterling Spoon Cafe - Silver Seven Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Silver Sevens Casino  4100 Paradise Road  Las Vegas, NV. 89169

Website  (702) 733-7000 x8106

Open 24/7 – Daily Specials 11AM – 11PM  Their Menu 

 We were staying at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino but wanted to find a more quiet setting to have breakfast.  So we went off strip and discovered the Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino. We were immediately attracted to the free, front of the building self-parking with only a short walk to the hotel and casino entrance.  After two days of valet parking and associated fees this was a refreshing change.

As is the usual in Las Vegas, gambling is the business and rooms, food service and entertainment are the lures to the gambling mecca. The Silver Seven offers three choices for food and drink for its patrons.  The Corona Cantina Bar, open Daily 2PM to 2AM: It is a TV and video game bar with a limited menu of snack and fast foods. The S7 Buffet, and buffets are very popular in Las Vegas, its hours and days vary depending on the specialty items. Our choice for breakfast was the Sterling Spoon Cafe.

 The casino was nicely lit and clean with adequate ventilation. We walked up a short flight of stairs to the restaurant area, and were quickly seated.   The area is spacious with a self-serve buffet area to the left of the dining area.   We ordered from the breakfast menu, received our water and coffee in short order, this is where it stopped.

We ordered: The Silver Sevens Breakfast ($7.77) 3 eggs ( ordered over easy), bacon and hash browns with sour dough toast,  Sausage Biscuits and gravy ($5.99) and New York Steak and eggs; ($10.99)  (ordered over easy and the steak medium rare)

After 20 minutes our orders arrived, besides our party there were about 5 other couples, all of whom had been served their orders. The exception was one couple who arrived after we did, and incidentally, received their food orders just before we did.

My order, the Silver Seven Breakfast, arrived with rubbery, over done eggs, and greasy flaccid bacon with almost done hash browns.  The toast was so drenched in butter that it pooled on the plate, so much so that when the toast was held at an angle the butter dripped onto the plate.

The steak and eggs arrived with over well eggs, but in only slightly better condition than my eggs. Unfortunately, the steak was cooked well done (if you are a medium well done steak lover you what a crime it is to cook a steak well done).  The only order that arrived in good condition was the biscuits and gravy.

We told the waitress about the eggs, the steak and our other concerns. To give credit where credit is due, we soon were able to explain the condition of the food to the manager. He offered to give us something else or to recook the items (I am curious, how does one recook over done eggs or recook an already over cooked steak?).  We said no and wanted the items to simply be removed from the bill.  This was done with some reluctance; they removed the cost of the eggs and steak (a la cart cost) and presented us the new bill.  It is interesting note is that after this the waitress never came back to our table, to offer us any water or coffee refills.  This was our clue to exit I would suppose.

The casino offers free parking and very cheap rooms, on line you get mixed reviews but the review of the food was considerably better. Perhaps this was just one of those bad days for the café that are so hard to live down. They did respond to our complaint and made offers to try and resolve the issue. I am considering that I might go back for a second time just to see if our experience was simply a fluke or if the food is up to par.

Top of the World Restaurant

Top of the World Restaurant
Stratosphere Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

The Stratosphere Hotel and Casino is the tallest free standing observation tower in the United States. It is 1,149 feet tall. The Top of The World Restaurant, a rotating structure, is situated at 800 feet and boasts a 360 degree panoramic view of the metropolitan Las Vegas area. It makes a complete turn every 80 minutes. Diners ride a dual elevator to their destination at an astounding 1800 feet per second, or in simpler terms, 2-3 floors per second. Situated at the east end of the strip it’s the closest to the historic Fremont Street District.

Our reservations were for a table 0n the outside rim closest to the window and the view; one can also request the inner rim. The restaurant rotates so slowly you are unaware of its movement. An inner ring rotates clockwise with a cart showing samples of the lusciously decadent deserts offered. Once seated, we ordered a bottle of wine and sat back to take in the view and relax before ordering our entrees. The menu offers separate entrée ordering or you can opt for a tasting menu at a fixed price. We each ordered from the general menu so we could sample the various dishes.
You have several choices for salads and we chose Caesar’s all around; they had crisp greens, a lovely hint of anchovies and fresh grated cheese. I ordered the pheasant, Michael and Uncle Mark the rack of lamb, so I got to taste the lamb twice, goody for me. The pheasant was cooked to perfection with nice grill marks, it was moist and tender with a marvelous mild taste. The rack of lamb stole the show; it was tender, juicy with a mild taste absolutely a young scrumptious lamb.

You can order steaks, surf and turf, pork chops, free range chicken, duck breast, salmon, cod, prawns, lobster to name a few, there is something for everyone. Several savory sides such as Foire Gras tater tots with homemade ketchup, yam puree with brown butter and pan seared mushrooms with garlic to name a few. The menu’s change so you can experience something new each time you go. Items are ordered separately so you can eat as much or little as you like, serving sizes are adequate for a robust eater.

Prices are $15.00 to $40.00 for appetizers, salads around $12.00, entrees from $40.00 to $80.00 with sides at about $10.00. The tasting menu with selected wines runs around $130.00 per person. Reservations are required and business casual attire is required. We devoured our meals with gusto and finished our wine wishing we could linger longer. Sadly, a mandatory engagement beckoned us to depart; perhaps that was better or I would have tried one of those sumptuous desserts.

Le Cirque in the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas

I think perhaps once in every one’s lifetime they should really dress up and dine out with a touch of opulence and elegance. Le Cirque is just such a place, not only to experience some quality French food, but to be pampered to the extreme. I had on this occasion my son and brother in law accompanying me for this adventure in dining.
Since dress codes are enforced I made sure that both my companions had the appropriate dinner attire. Dressed to the nines we ventured down the elevator and traversed the casino to the main entrance of Le Cirque. It is small, intimate and very formal; we were greeted immediately by a hostess who checks our reservations. Our table was not quite ready so we were required to sit in the entry lounge which consisted of a small seating area and an ornate bar which would seat about 4 guests. Quickly our drinks arrived and after a brief period our table was ready.
The matre’d came for us and the waiter carried our beverages into the dining room. We were seated at a table for four complete with white linens, china and crystal. Menus were passed out and soon we were ooing and awing over each offering. My brother in law was having difficulty with the menu, he had forgotten his glasses, but our ever so aware waiter soon presented him with a pair of reading glasses kept for just such occasions.

The décor is in pastels of pinks and yellows with a whimsical circus theme. Fine tapestry materials are draped from the ceiling with circus murals painted on the walls. The dining room is small and intimate but the tables are far enough apart to provide you some privacy. You are also afforded a view of the inner garden and fountain through a large window. Conversations were kept to a respectable level so there was no chatter or distractions; clearly each diner was there to enjoy the food to the maximum.
The menu features fine French cuisine whose offerings change seasonally and in some instances daily. There is an option to dine prix fixe three-course dinner or choose the five-course option which changes nightly. An expert sommelier is available to help chose the right wine for the menu and also to select one to your budget. The three course dinner is around $95.00 and the five course $115.00 plus the cost of your wine. We chose the three course dinner and the sommelier helped us pick a nice wine to accompany entrees but stay within our budget of $40.00 per bottle, a nice red which came from Paso Robles California, my childhood town.

We dined on Bass (Chilean Sea Bass - Herb & Ginger Chilean Sea Bass, Hon Shimeji Mushrooms, Swiss Chard, Citrus Vinaigrette), Chicken ( Poulet Rôti Contiser à la Truffe Noir - organic Roasted Chicken, Black Truffle, Macaroni au Foie Gras) and Veal (Filet de Veau - Milk-Fed Veal Tenderloin, Pink Lady Apple Beignet, Creamy Polenta, Prunes & Armagnac Preserve) and we sampled each other’s dishes and to our delight each was suburb. The salad was served first along with an assortment of bread. The main courses along with our sides came next; not huge nor were the offerings small. There was enough to satiate your appetite but not enough to send you out with a bloated feeling. I need to add that Le Cirque makes an absolutely marvelous cup of coffee; one could almost chew the richly roasted coffee beans.

Open Tuesday –Sunday from 5:30-10pm, no children under age 12 are allowed nor are cell phones, cigars or pipes. Reservations are absolutely required.
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S (Bellagio Drive) Las Vegas, NV 89109 (702) 425-6502
http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/le-cirque.aspx