“People who love to eat are always the best people” – Julia Child

While this may not be true of everybody, good food does make for happier vacationers. Our first mentionable food spot was dinner out for the first night in Las Vegas. Now, after a day of running through airports and getting settled in, fancy is not the name of the game. But that also doesn’t translate to room service by any means. A good friend of mine had suggested a few places to me, the first being Giordano’s Pizza. And let me tell you, their tag line of being the best deep dish pizza on the strip is well earned.

Giordano’s isn’t too terribly far from the Mirage. In fact it is right across the strip from the Bellagio. There is a small outdoor seating area on ground level; considering it was February and quite windy this was a no go for us. We chose to take the elevator up and eat in the main restaurant area on the second level. We went early as to avoid the crowd. Giordano’s doesn’t have a large amount of seating, doesn’t take reservations, and (spoiler alert) each pizza takes about 45 minutes to make after you place your order. If you were to wait until say 7:30 or 8:00 you may not get to eat until midnight. It might be a sacrifice worth making though.

They hand throw their pizzas which you can see as soon as you walk in the door. They also cook them deep dish style in a cast iron skillet. So much crispy, golden crust ensues. Yet still soft and gooey inside the crust. Each of us did our own individual size pizza and not a single one was all the way eaten. It was so good you didn’t want to stop but the portion size was just too large. But don’t worry if you go and get hooked, their pizzas are available for delivery off of their website to anywhere.

Another personal dinner favorite of mine was Gordon Ramsey’s Steakhouse inside the Paris resort. Again, we chose to do dinner early in light of having enough time to get to our show in the evening. However, unlike Giordano’s, Gordon Ramsey’s does take reservations which I would definitely suggest.

I have seen several restaurants make use of enticing their guests to order dessert by parading a tray by to let the visual get you. This was the first time however I had ever seen a rolling, mirrored pyramid of raw meat getting shown around. When it is time to order entrees the waiter will roll it up table side. Diners don’t pick their exact steak off of this tower but do pick which cut of meat they would prefer. Our party chose the American Wagyu Filet and Rib Cap. Now, at around $100 per plate, I’m thinking this better be pretty good. Let me tell you right off that it did not disappoint. I’m pretty picky and this was by far the most flavorful and tender steak I have ever eaten. Paired with their silky Potato Purée I wasn’t even thinking about the price tag.

I’m sure dessert would have been quite the experience as well had the portion size not been what is was for the entree and we hadn’t had dessert for lunch earlier.

The first time I had a crepe was in Paris, France long about fifteen years ago. You know it was fabulous if it still comes to mind after this long. Much to my dismay, I haven’t found a comparable one in the United States until now. I just knew that there was no way the Paris resort could call themselves a full experience without a good crepe inside. Sure enough, Le Creperie is magnificent. There are quite a few options including more savory style crepes if you don’t have a sweet tooth. But if there is sweet available it’s got my name all over it. I chose to go the simple route with the butter and sugar crepe with chantilly cream. It was absolutely melt in your mouth perfection. Maybe it’s a good thing that dessert was a no go at Gordon Ramsey’s, it would have been hard to compete with the best crepe in fifteen years.

Last but certainly not least, you can’t do Las Vegas without the famous buffets. Personally I feel like the Bellagio takes the cake out of the ones that we visited. The had the largest selection. Everything was cooked properly and kept at the correct temperature. And the displays were fabulous. I can only speak for the dinner buffet but you get what you pay for and we did not leave disappointed.

Good food is an essential part of a good vacation and Las Vegas has it in spades.