The Forum Shops @ Caesars Palace, 3500 Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas +1 702 792 6888 11:00am – 11:30pm daily www.thecheesecakefactory.com
You can’t go to Las Vegas and not see the opulence Roman inspired luxury hotel and casino, Caesars Palace in the heart of the famous Las Vegas Strip. In a world of marble, you can wonder aimlessly for several hours shopping through 160 luxury specialty stores, extraordinary and over the top attractions and fine restaurants.
Located in the far north side of The Forum Shop mall; a good 15 minute stroll from the strip, you will stumble upon The Cheesecake Factory. This American chain restaurant will have you in a head spin with the largest menu selection we have ever seen including appetizers, pizza, pasta, pasta, seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches and 50 cheesecakes and desserts! The extensive menu has something for everyone.
We kicked off our dining experience with carbs. Who doesn’t love pasta? These Fried Macaroni and Cheese balls were served with a marinara sauce. These killer macaroni balls had a crispy golden brown crumb coating and a generous amount of cheese on the inside. These indulgent-tasting balls are a great appetizer and although naughty they were so yummy. We also ordered Quesadilla with all the Mexican flavours we love; grilled flour tortilla filled with melted cheese, green onions, chilies and garnished with fresh guacamole, salsa and sour cream.
We settled on a pasta and salad for our mains; Shrimp with Angel Hair and Sheila’s Chicken and Avocado Salad. Tossed through the spaghetti was a handful of shrimps, arugula (rocket), sautéed tomatoes, lemon, garlic and herbs. This dish lacked the wow factor we were expecting with these ingredients and the basil-garlic parmesan sauce. The sauce wasn’t super creamy and the texture of the tomatoes was over sautéed.
The incredibly healthy Sheila’s Chicken and Avocado Salad was a treasure trove of goodness on a plate with fresh avocado, mixed greens, carrots, cilantro, cashews with juicy and tender grilled chicken pieces. Tossed in a citrus-honey peanut vinaigrette this ridiculously delicious vinaigrette created sweet moments in each mouthful with the sweetness of the honey and zing of the citrus. Topped with salty crispy crunchy fried tortilla strips, this salad goes to an all-star status.
The Cheesecake Factory offers a causal dining experience, attentive service, relatively affordable prices and generous portion sizes; so much so that we think you will be taking leftovers home with you! We hate admitting to defeat, but we didn’t have room to try a signature cheesecake. Next time… it will be the first thing we order from the menu!
If you haven’t dined at a Hard Rock Café somewhere in the world, you are missing out. 4TBs have dined at several Hard Rock Cafés around the world, and they all carry the same vibe and feel with a super cool atmosphere. The famed rock souvenir restaurant chain features memorabilia from decade’s worth of rock and pop artists. Adorning the walls everywhere you look, there is so much to see you won’t get bored.
Known around the world for amazing food, drinks/beverages and music, Hard Rock Café, Las Vegas is located on the famed Las Vegas Boulevard and features the world’s largest Rock Shop. Serving burgers and American classics, the portions sizes are large, the service is great and the waiters are engaging.
A delayed flight into Las Vegas from San Francisco, it was fitting we kick started our Las Vegas experience by dining at Hard Rock Café at 11:00pm. With the kitchen closing in ½ hour, our waitress cheerfully greeted us to a table, super prompt taking our food order, informed us when the kitchen was about to close in case we wanted to order something else to eat and also called last drinks so we didn’t go thirsty! Let’s say our waitress was phenomenal going out of her way to ensure we had everything we needed. The 27 hours flying must of showed on our faces.
We started with a Jumbo Combo; a delectable array of Hard Rock’s most popular starters. Big enough to share, we enjoyed Santa Fe spring rolls, hickory smoked chicken wings, onion rings, potato skins and tupelo chicken tenders, all served with four different sauces for mixing and matching. We appreciated trying a couple of each starters and happy when one each of the starters remained on the plate that we didn’t have to share as we all had our favourite.
The Hickory-smoked Bar-b-que Ribs were a full rack of west Tennessee-style ribs rubbed and basted with Hard Rock’s authentic hickory bar-b-que sauce and cooked to perfection. The meat fell right off the bone and was served with seasoned fries, ranch beans and a fresh coleslaw. Who doesn’t love licking sticky marinade from their fingers?
Three of our favourite ingredients in one meal = heaven. The Twisted Mac, Chicken & Cheese filled us up quickly. The large portion of grilled chicken breast topped with twisted cavatappi pasta and tossed in a lightly spiced 3-cheese sauce with garlic tipped us over the edge. Accompanied with roasted red peppers and romano parsley bread crumbs the meal was served with a side of garlic toast.
There’s always room for dessert… when you can’t decide on one dessert, order two! A country favourite served with Ben & Jerry vanilla ice-cream the Fresh Apple Cobbler was packed with apples and topped with walnuts and a caramel sauce. A divine dessert.
We couldn’t resist ordering the Hot Fudge Brownie. Presented in a gigantic margarita glass with Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice-cream and hot fudge dripping over the sides we went in fast to not waste a drop! The rich soft gooey brownie was layered into the glass with chopped walnuts, chocolate sprinkles, fresh whipped cream and a cherry on top.
With a fully stocked bar in the centre of the café, plenty of seating and booths to watch old music videos from your table, Hard Rock Café, Las Vegas is a fun place to dine at. If you are after a quiet dining spot this is probably not going to be your cuppa tea. Enjoy the rock ‘n’ roll vibe!
burgr
3667 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas +1 702-785-5462 www.gordonramsay.com 11:00am – 12:00am daily
4TBs have a love affair with burgers, and we couldn’t go past trying a burger from Gordon Ramsay’s famous BurGR in Las Vegas on our recent trip to the United States. We rate these burgers Top 5 we have tried worldwide.
Just like Gordon Ramsay’s fiery personality, it’s fitting this restaurant has an exterior glass wall with fire tubes weaving through the window! The restaurant stands out from the pack with its bright coloured walls, booths and overhead TVs creating a snazzy atmosphere. The line was lengthy, but moved quickly and was worth the wait. For a renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR was reasonably priced.
Located in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, BurGR is the only gourmet burger restaurant on the strip to use the method of open flame by hard woods to cook their beef patties. Extraordinarily tasty burgers for the discerning foodie, there are over 12 burgers on the menu to choose from which we are sure would all ooze with flavour.
Calling all burger lovers… you need to sink your teeth into Gordon’s upscale burgers which are a sure-fire hit! The epic burger creations are out there, and we indulged in a Hell’s Kitchen and Hog Burger; both grilled over apple and alder wood. Burgers with attitude the Hell’s Kitchen burger was packed with asadero cheese, roasted jalapenos, avocado, oven roasted tomatoes and jalapeno pesto aioli. The Hog Burger had mangalitsa pork and mangalitsa bacon BBQ pork, vintage white cheddar, pickles, crispy onion and slaw. The buns were incredibly soft, the patties were juicy, mouth-watering and melted in your mouth. It wasn’t an effort to eat these burgers.
With the burgers out of the way, let’s enlighten you on the rest of our dining experience.
We couldn’t go past ordering Firey Chicken Wings tangy hellfire blue cheese wings from the snacks menu. The wings were bursting with flavour and fully covered in the marinade taking these wings to a podium win. You can’t enjoy a burger and not order a side of fries. With 4 different fries’ dishes on the menu, the decision was an easy one; hand cut Truffle Parmesan Fries with truffle parmesan, salt and aioli. Let’s just say these fries didn’t have time to go cold!
Ok, we may have ordered a couple of rounds of the Skinny Screw. Seriously these cocktails went down a treat with Skinnygirl tangerine vodka, fresh tangerines, mint leaves & rock candy syrup.
Finishing with a sugar fix, we couldn’t go past trying the Sticky Toffee Pudding push up pops. The fancy presentation with layers of moist sponge cake and salted peanut ice-cream had us licking the edges of the push up pops.
Overall, a great dining experience with good service and amazing food. Waiters were fussing over Gordon’s entourage as Gordon was in town, but alas we didn’t get to see Gordon at BurGR or on the strip. There’s always next time; right!