This entry was posted on Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 1:22 am and tagged with American , Las Vegas a

Ever wonder how you can take in an unobstructed view of the glittering lights of Las Vegas Boulevard? Well, wonder no more! The Top of the World and Level 107 Lounge at the Stratosphere Hotel, Casino, and Tower is a fantastic spot for a casual bite and you can enjoy the views without breaking the bank! Way at the edge of the strip sitting 844 feet in the air you can enjoy a panoramic view of Las Vegas while watching adrenalin filled visitors take on the thrill rides outside the observation deck.
Philip brought us to the Top of the World Level 107 lounge for a "light snack" after breakfast at Bouchon and before his birthday dinner with friends and a second birthday dinner at Lucilles Smokehouse with us. A small secret from the local is to hit up this place during appy hour because you can still have the same fine dining quality as the Top of the World Restaurant at half the price (though the ambiance is different I'm sure). Between hotel california lyric meaning 4pm to 7pm everyday you can enjoy half price appies and 2 for 1 martinis hotel california lyric meaning while sucking in the great views of the strip. I must say though, keep your eyes looking out the window because the inside décor is a little dated. There is the old musky feel to it- Old Vegas I call it.
The Flash Fried Calamari was nice and crispy and the seasoning was very light (a little too light for my liking). The portion was pretty generous even if it was at full price. There was a duo of sauces at work here, a tomato concasse (basically crushed tomatos) hotel california lyric meaning and a wasabi sour cream on top of a balsamic reduction. Both sauces worked hotel california lyric meaning well with the calamari, but I think that s because the calamari was lacking in flavor. Personally, I preferred the tomato based sauce more than the sour cream, but then again, I do have a tomato sauce problem.
Beverly's hotel california lyric meaning favorite here was the Wagyu Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio. This was another generous portion for this style of dish. The tenderloin was finely sliced and definitely requires some good knifing skills here. The Australian Wagyu was topped hotel california lyric meaning with fried capers, parmesan hotel california lyric meaning reggiano and drizzled with white truffle oil. The perfectly marbled slices simply melted in your mouth the moment it touched your tongue. I am not really a fan of the strong acidic saltiness in capers even though I 3 salty foods so I was surprised by the big change in flavor after a light fry in the pan! The little seeds literally blossomed and were no longer slimy and acidic, but they were crispy and light leaving that nice saltiness I love so much without the acid. The fried capers added a different texture and enhanced that natural beef sweetness in the Wagyu. Who knew that a simple fry in the pan would bring this plate to a whole new level.
One of the things I try to avoid when dining out is having to debone anything on my plate. Fish, ribs, crab, lobster, if it's not easily accessible, I forego it altogether. hotel california lyric meaning I was ecstatic when I found out that the Lollipop Chicken Wings were actually semi-deboned. The chef takes the drummets and slides that meat right to the top leaving you a nice bone handle to cleanly devour this normally messy dish. All you need to do is hold the bone like a lollipop and munch away on the crispy buffalo sauced chicken. This was just the right spicyness and the chunks of creamy Maytag Blue Cheese helped cool down my tongue. The dish was a favorite hotel california lyric meaning of mine and Charlotte s and we ended up ordering 2 of them. So much for a light snack…
Can't forget about those 2 for 1 martini's! These were the best deal of all! Not only do you get full sized martinis, they encourage you to take them "to go" if you can't finish it in the restaurant! Mango Madness is currently my favorite-it tastes like holidays in a glass. Beverly hotel california lyric meaning enjoys the Lemon Drop only until she cleans the sugar rim off and then she passes the drink along, since she drinks like a gerbil anyway it doesn't really matter if I am sharing drinks with her
This entry was posted on Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 1:22 am and tagged with American , Las Vegas and posted in Appy Hour , Casual Dining , Fine Dining , Lounge . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.