Your top two restaurants!!

My husband and I along with another married couple will be staying at the NY-NY April 1-3. Seeing as how we are all vegas virgins and have not had a vacation in over a decade. We were trying not to map out or whole vegas trip. However, I watched some special on the travel channel that said you should make dinner reservations 8-10 days in advance. Otherwise, we would be hard pressed to get into any of the better restaurants. None of us are big gamblers and had already agreed that wonderful meals would be our focal point to start our evenings. Yet, with not having ever been we are hesitant to make reservations. We like American, Mexican, and Italian and are looking to spend no more than $60-75 per person. Therefor my question is for you experienced vegas people. If you had to make dinner reservations for only two evenings. What would be your top two must have vegas dining experiences?

btw...this is not to include buffets. We are saving one night for an evening buffet.

Your top two restaurants!!

bump

Your top two restaurants!!

This is tough becuase my top two restaurants don%26#39;t meet your criteria (In my opinion the best restaurants in Vegas are French Bistro and French/Mediterranean). But I will say that I enjoyed Mexican food at Isla and Bobby Flay%26#39;s southwest cuisine at Mesa Grill. There is a decent Italian restaurant at New York New York called Il Fornaio. Delmonico would definately be something to check out and it%26#39;s possible to get within your budget as long as you don%26#39;t get wine or cocktails.

I 2nd every restaurant Jack%26amp;Sally mentioned. ll Fornaio would be great pick since you are staying there and Mesa is very good, though Tex Mex. Isla is another good choice. You can reserve them at anytime.

Since ll Fornaio is at the south end of the strip and Mesa @ Caesar and Isla @ TI are farther north, that would give you starting place each night to hit the nearby casino bars, hear some music and have a drink. Being your first time, you will get to see each casino and night which is always cool.

I%26#39;ve never had a bad meal at The Palm between Caesars and the Forum Shops. It%26#39;s MY personal fav in all of Vegas.

http://www.thepalm.com/menu.cfm?menu_id=461

For Italian I loved Don Vitos at South Point, about 5 or 6 miles south of Mandalay Bay. The website says they are still offering a house bottle of wine with 2 entries:

www.southpointcasino.com/dining/don-vitos.php

There are so many great dining choices in Vegas, it should be very easy to find one close to where you%26#39;re staying.

Il Fornaio is good for Italian and it is at NYNY. BTW, what room type will you be staying in? Some room types are better than others at NYNY...

Delmonico and Kokomo%26#39;s (at Mirage) are both delicious. You are sure to get a zillion different answers. No matter what you chose, enjoy!

I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll really have a much of a problem getting into restaurants at your preferred price point unless you are an a tight schedule and really need to be able dine at the precise time so you can make your show reservations afterwards, etc. That%26#39;s especially true since you%26#39;ll be there on a Sunday, Monday %26amp; Tuesday. I almost never have reservations anywhere and have rarely had to try a second choice once we%26#39;d decided what sounded good to us that day.

As for some recommendations:

I%26#39;ll have to suggest Mon Ami Gabi even though it isn%26#39;t one of your specified types of food. They offer a lot of great fish %26amp; steak dishes along with a great view of the strip %26amp; fountain show, all at a reasonable price.

I like Border Grill at Mandalay Bay for tasty Mexican on the strip at a reasonable price. It%26#39;s not as authentic as the off-strip gem Londo Michoachan, but it%26#39;s quite good and in a better location for people who only have three days in town.

Country Club at the Wynn could fit your bill for an American option. As I recall, you could spend more than your range but careful ordering should keep you in the ballpark. I really enjoyed my meal there last year.

Spago at the Forum Shops is pretty reasonable and tasty.

I could go on %26amp; on, but I already have! Hope this helps!

On Sunday nights, Rosemary%26#39;s on Sahara has 1/2 price bottles of wine. Possibly the best value in town. They also have a fixed-price 3-course dinner that is fabulous and affordable. The food is impeccable and well worth the drive or cab ride.

Try the Bellagio buffet.

bump