Some things in Las Vegas have a way of hiding in plain sight. Aureole Wine Lounge is a fine example of this. Late last year, the Charlie Palmer restaurant in Mandalay Bay decided to update it’s rather austere entrance last year, opening up a huge window to their famous wine tower and dining room; it was a great idea, and arguably overdue, the first real change to the restaurant since it opened in the late ‘90s. At the same time, they also thought to gather some energy from the casino floor by creating a small “wine lounge” in front of the window, with a few select wines by the glass, and some small bites to accompany them.
There is a certain irony in the fact that the first official “tribute” to organized crime in Las Vegas is in the casino hotel which was discovered to be skimmed by the mob more than any other, the Tropicana. Of course, the resort has long since changed ownership several times, and this “Mob Experience” –not to be confused with the Mob Museum in the works for downtown Las Vegas–is one aspect of a major property overhaul which has done wonders with the old dame.
Have you checked out Rocket Fizz? While the Burbank store hardly originated the idea of selling every retro candy and soda pop available–shout outs to Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Highland Park and Powell’s Sweet Shop in Belmont Shores (and 17 other locations)–I’ve been so overdue to check it out that, while I slept they’ve expanded to branches in:
It’s been a while since I’ve attended an art gallery opening where you can’t buy the art. Not because it’s obscenely expensive, but because it’s actually not for sale.
Also, it was all behind thick glass. Which makes me think either someone feels this gold-lame flecked Technics 1200 is the new Mona Lisa, or they weren’t [...]
So it certainly took some guts for Carlos Buscaglia, formerly one of the best Italian chefs on the Strip at the MGM Grand’s Fiamma Trattoria, to take that leap and open up a pizza place on Summerlin’s Town Center Drive, particularly in the middle of a severe economic downturn. Thus far, Due Forni Pizza & Wine seems to be doing fine… but if it fails, don’t blame the food.
…well, at least for me.
For curiosity seekers, this is my thesis paper from 11th grade on why punk rock never made a foothold in America (which was quite true at the time). It failed to take into account the influence of commercial radio, but otherwise, in many respects, it still holds up. At least as [...]