Week 88 Streets of New York Pizza

Welcome back food and fashion lovers. I hope your February was great. Can you believe tomorrow is March 1st? Crazy how fast this year is going! Anyway, for all of the new likes on the Facebook page, just wanted to give you a quick thanks. 

Remember, you can always find our blog on the LV Informer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/ and as mentioned above, we do have a Facebook page, so check it out and hit like if you have a chance, http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants.

What Teray Says...

This week Brett and I wanted something quick and easy to eat being we were going to be heading off the next day for a staycation. I had gotten a Groupon about two weeks back for Streets of New York, and it was perfect for a quick meal. 

Streets of New York is located on Ft. Apache and Tropicana, which is less than 10 minutes from our house. We went at around 8:30 on a Saturday night, and the place wasn't too crowded, which is fine with me, because I was able to hear Brett talk and relax. Sometimes when we are out I get so overwhelmed with the noise and people watching, I don't get to enjoy the company of Brett to the fullest with all of the distractions. 

We were seated right away by a very friendly hostess. He was a young guy with a nice demeanor and he got our drinks right away and brought us some menus. We decided to go for the beer battered combo for our appetizer which consisted of zucchini sticks, mozzarella sticks and onion rings. The portion size was very good and plenty for the two of us. For dinner we ordered the Classic # 7 pizza. You can only get this if you dine in the restaurant. On the Classic #7 was salami, capacola, swiss cheese and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and Italian dressing. It was like a pizza and sandwich combination and it was fabulous! I would definitely recommend that if you go there. To drink we got a pitcher of Bud Light and for dessert we got the Passion cookie which is like a pizookie, a huge chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, which was my favorite part of the meal. Yum. My mouth is watering thinking about it. Overall, the food was delicious. 

Now, I know Brett is going to compare this to real New York. He has only been there twice, so I am not sure it is fair that he compares it. He didn't grow up less than an hour away like I did and spend most of his life visiting there. Here's the thing, nothing in Vegas will ever compare to New York, it s not even fair to compare. It is totally different and both have delicious food. People wonder why it is not the same and I was always told growing up it is the water which leads the bread to tasting better leading to things such as pizza and bagels tasting better. I will stick by that idea for my whole life. For Vegas NY food, this was delicious. 

As for the service, the staff was very friendly, but our waitress was nothing to write home about. There was only one other table besides us and she didn't really check on us or anything. We didn't need anything, but if we did then we probably would not have gotten it during dinner. As for the atmosphere, I really liked it and the concept and think it would be a fun place to go with a group. 

Overall, I rate Streets of New York 4 out of 5 and would like to go back for the lunch special. 

What Brett Says...

Like Las Vegas New York City is a epicenter for good food.  The best of the best can be found in both cities.  One thing I have learned in my years living in Las Vegas is that Sin City has the worst pizza of anywhere I have been.  NYC on the other hand has proved it's pies are the best, time and time again.  I was there for three weeks in 2012 and every chance I got I was grabbing a slice.  So this week we ventured out to solve the problem with Vegas, finding a place that makes great pizza.  What better place to start then "Streets of New York."  They make pizza, sandwiches, and pasta.

I was expecting a small pizza joint with a couple tables and counter service, I mean that is NY pizza.  Well they opted to go with more of a corporate restaurant feel.  There was a good amount of tables, a bar area, and a see through kitchen area.  We grabbed a booth, they were pretty dead so we had choices.  The place had a good layout and it looked good, more importantly it looked clean.  This is a place where the cleanliness actually stood out.  It also had more of an East coast feel to it, more wood and less modern.  It isn't a bad thing, sometimes you have to get back to basics and give people comfort.  They also have a television that streams their deals and advertisements, I bring this up because they have a slide that offers Military, Police, and Fire a discount...I think 10-15% off.  That's great, they serve and help people and protect us.  Now the part that frustrates me, on a small soap box, why is it that business refuse to recognize EMS?  The military fights for our country, police enforce laws and protect us, fire protects property and saves lives...EMS specifically saves lives yet we never get a discount.  I don't advertise being a paramedic when we go out but it would be nice to just be included in the category as important.  I am use to it, literally no where offers EMS a discount like military, police, or fire.  Whatever, I don't do it for discounts.  Off my soapbox.

Now onto the service; it definitely had it's goods and bads.  Everyone was polite and friendly.  We were sat quickly, felt very welcomed.  Unfortunately they only time we saw our server was to place our drink order, food order, and pay the bill.  Our drinks were brought by someone else, our food was brought by someone else, someone else checked on us throughout the meal.  Service was great, we just rarely saw our actual server.  We were never neglected, I would just expect that we would be paid attention to considering we were one of maybe 3-4 tables.  So, kudos to the staff as a hole.  It seems like they know they have a weak link and more then made up for it.  I hope she tips them out well, but I doubt it.

Onto the food, what we came here for.  Hoping and praying we have found genuine NYC pizza.  I decided it was Saturday night, I worked all week and I ordered a pitcher of beer.  Nothing makes pizza better like having a buzz.  We decided to start with the "beer battered combination" which had zucchini slices, mozz sticks, and fried onions.    Pretty standard appetizer but what they do is give you a decent amount and somehow made it in such a way that wasn't super oily.  It was all really good and you didn't really feel like it was deep fried.  Now onto the pie.  We decided to go with "The Classic #7," I mean keep it simple and go with what they call the classic.  They probably make hundreds a day.  It had salami, capicola ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and seasoning.  I'm not one to put lettuce and fresh tomatoes on a pizza but I'm open minded enough to try it.  I'll admit it was really good.  I would happily eat it again, it did take some skill to eat it like a slice but I pulled it off and enjoyed it.  I would have loved to try a white pizza, which is what NYC pizza is all about, but they didn't have one on the menu.  I was really surprised, I mean you could build your own but to not even have it on the menu?  Regardless I was impressed with everything I ate.

Overall...I am torn.  The place was dead but you aren't going for the crowd.  The feel of the restaurant is good and comfortable.  I think it is safe to say our issue with our server was a fluke based on the rest of the staff.  They do honor two out of three branches of public safety as well as the military so that is a good thing, with a little downside.  The food wasn't up to par with actual New York pizza but it was far better then Las Vegas pizza.  I think this place would be a hot spot if it was in a better location (Hacienda/Ft. Apache).  

Rating 3.75 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thank you to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I love a dress that you can dress up or dress down. You will see you I shared two ways that you can wear it. The one on the far right is just if you wanted to dress it up, the lace in the dress do the shining. The back is also open, I will post a picture of that on the blog. The second way, in the middle, is how I wore it last night. Brett and I decided to go to a more casual place for dinner so I through on a brown leather jacket and some combat boots. I love the tough girl chic look. I paired it with some girly, flower accessories from Sparkle by Patty's Closet to complete my look. This dress is one of those pieces that you can wear to many occasions, so I suggest you add it to your wardrobe. You can find this at the Rainbow location. 

If you aren't lucky enough to have a PC near you make sure that you check out their online store at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com.  You can also access their FB page which are linked above in the description to see pictures of new items on shipment days (Tuesdays and Fridays) and keep up to date on all of the newest store openings and events. Tell them Teray sent you!

Until next time, cheers to spring being in the air. <3 xo

Week 87 Shabu Shabu

Happy Sunday Funday everyone! I am happy we had a little bit of time to relax today, so that Brett and I could get this review done. Plus, having a nice day to just enjoy each other and chill out is always a plus, especially because we are so busy. 

Rememer you can always find us on the LV Infomer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/ . We also have a Facebook page, (thank you for all of the new likes this week), so feel free to check us out, and like the page if you want to; we'd appreciate it, http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants.

What Teray Says...

So this week not only did we do one of our favorite things, double date, we double dated with two of our favorite people Abbie and Marco. I asked Abbie if she could choose the restaurant being she lives over in the Henderson area, we don't frequent there as much being we live in the southwest. She picked Shabu Shabu on  W. Horizon Ridge. 

Shabu Shabu is located in a strip mall with a few other restaurants. Something I will say right away is to make sure you make a reservation, which Abbie did, because there are not many tables. There are three tables that sit four people to be exact and one long table that can be different couples or a big group. When we entered the restaurant the hostess immediately said she could not seat us until 8:30. We told her that was fine because that was our reservation time. She was not understanding that we didn't care that we weren't seated right away. Due to the confusion, we decided to wait in the car.

When we went back in Abbie and Marco arrived and we waited about 10 minutes until being seated, being people were finishing up. I was looking around at what everyone was doing while waiting. Shabu Shabu is Japenese hot pot, so in other words, it's Japanese fondu, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. 

While we were having great conversation and enjoying the company, Abbie and Marco explained to us about hot pot as did the waitress. It was the first time Brett and I have been so I know I was happy for the explanation. We read that there was a sharing fee and we did our best of getting around that by each ordering something we would like and then dropping it into each other's pots secretly, dare devils I know. 

For the main portions we got shrimp, scallops, pork, beef and chicken. It also comes with unlimited veggies and rice which is pretty cool. The salad is the first thing that they bring while you wait for the water in the pot to heat up. The waitress then brings out the veggies and other courses and shows you how to cook the food with your chopsticks. It is pretty cool, you only need to leave the meats and fish in the pot for about 10 seconds. The veggies, you dump them in right away and let them cook for longer. 

You also get three sauces to choose from, peanut sauce, a soy type sauce, and a spicy sauce, which alone is out of control spicy, but on food it is amazing. My favorite was the peanut sauce. I really would put everything as my favorite, the food was delicious. Of the main portion of the meal, I really liked everything equally. 

For dessert you could choose ice cream which the girls didn't do but the boys did. As for the service, it was pretty good, nothing to write home about, but I did appreciate the demonstration of how to cook the food. The price was amazing, it was under 100 dollars for  the four of us, not including tip. 

Overall, I would rate Shabu Shabu a 4 out 5 and would like to return to try something else off of the menu, because I bet it would be as good. The thing that brought the rating down was the service, otherwise I would have given it a 5 out of 5.

What Brett Says...

This week we were going out to eat with a couple that we are friends with, they just moved back to Vegas from the Bay area.  We told them to pick, it helps us get outside our comfort zone and in this case got us to an area that we inadvertently neglect.  They chose a place I had never heard of and a type of restaurant I never even knew existed.  They picked "Shabu Shabu Paradise" on West Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson.  Shabu Shabu is a Japanese Fondue restaurant.

I'm kind of torn when it comes the restaurant itself; I have nothing to really compare it to since I had never even heard of Japanese fondue.  It is part of a strip mall, the overall size of the restaurant is pretty small.  What I can tell you I did not like was the layout of the place, the minute you step through the front door you standing over people eating.  There isn't really anywhere to wait to be seated either, theoretically you could wait in the hallway to the bathroom.  There were only a handful of tables, most for four people and one larger that could accommodate a group.  In the tables are built in electric burners which heats up your water; our table had two burners.  As for the atmosphere, it was pretty nonexistent.  Everything was pretty boring, you have the cook top tables and people watching to fall back on though.  

From the minute we walked in the door I knew we would be getting horrible service, I'm beginning to wonder if it is bad service or just a cultural difference.  Then I remember we are in America so I don't care if it is a cultural difference, offer better service.  We had a reservation for 8:30pm, Teray and I walked in around 8:15pm.  instead of being greeted or asked anything the server yelled from 15 feet away (across multiple tables) that it would be 45 minutes for a table.  I informed her that we had a reservation, she replied with "at 8:30."  Teray and I went back out to our car till 8:25pm, considering we now felt awkward.  As we went back inside we noticed a table was open, before we were sat a couple walked in and was immediately sat...no yelling or talk of a reservation.  At 8:30 the couple we were meeting arrived, we were told we would have to wait for another table to open up, apparently the couple that was sat was more important than us.  It wasn't long before we were sat.  Not knowing what to do the server, the yeller, took time to teach us how to cook the food.  The downside to this was that she kept touching all of our food and kind of getting in our faces.  Luckily she was good about getting us vegetable and drink refills.  She was a better server then a host, not really great at either.

Now to the food.  As the customer you do all the cooking at your table. everything is cooked in boiling water.  You are given an assortment of vegetables and tofu, you simply put it in the water for several minutes. We ordered shrimp, scallops, pork, steak, and chicken for our meats; you pick a piece up with chopsticks and move it around in the water for a certain number of passes.  Once the piece of food is cooked you dip it in one of three sauces.  I guess this is a safe business plan since they can't get blamed for the food being cooked wrong.  All the food was pretty good, it wasn't the most filling but it was good.  There is quite a bit of work involved with eating Japanese fondue, I would compare it to eating crab legs.

Overall I would say this is something to try just to say you have tried it.  I would hope the experience would be different at an establishment that offers better service.  Not knowing if another Japanese fondue place exists in town you might just have to go here.  I find it kind of annoying having to do all the work, I though more would be done.  I was expecting dipping into sauces not cooking raw meat.  

Food/experience rating: 4 out of 5

Establishment/service rating: 1 out of 5

What Abbie Says...

My husband, Marco, and I had been planning on joining Teray and Brett on their blog date since the day we moved back to town a couple of months ago.  Being the mother of a two year old, I was in need of a night out, and looking forward to some grown up conversation.  Teray asked that I suggest a place on my side of town since they had been frequenting restaurants near them. (We live on the south end of town, in Anthem).  It didn’t take long before I thought of Shabu Shabu Paradise. 

I had driven past this restaurant located at the corner of Horizon Ridge and Valle Verde dozens of times and wanted to try the Japanese Hot Pot cuisine since the day it opened.  I had the amazing experience of trying Chinese Hot Pot while I was visiting a good friend who spent a year teaching English in Ningbo, China.  I had it a second time in San Mateo, California (a town known for it’s tasty and authentic Asian food) while I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I wondered if the Japanese version was different from what I had already tried.

Teray and Brett arrived at the modest establishment before us.  Since there was really no traditional waiting area, they looked uncomfortable standing in a small corner just feet away from a table of people that were already eating.  It became even more crowded and awkward when Marco and I joined them.  It was a long 5 minutes before someone acknowledged that we had come in and took us to our table.

The restaurant was small and simple.  “Paradise” was not a word that came to mind when I looked around.  It was one large open room with a few four top tables and one very long table that could be used for a large party or shared by smaller parties. Either way, the tables did not allow for much intimacy or privacy during the meal.

Hot Pot tables are all modified to have a hot plate built in to them.  We sat at a four top table, so there were two hot plates each to be shared by the person sitting across from you.  Hot Pot can easily be described as Asian fondue.  Having tried it in the past, I knew a little about what to expect. 

The server, an informative, “matter of fact” Japanese woman, brought out two pots of what I believe to be water and placed them on each hot plate.  The pots had a divider down the center so that each person had his or her own water to cook from.  She then dropped in a small sponge like substance, which she explained would season the water.  As we first looked at the menu, we felt a bit overwhelmed.  Once we located the combo deals, each priced at under $20 per person, things started to become clearer.  We did ask our server for clarification and she seemed a little annoyed that she had to take the time to explain what most people that frequent the restaurant must understand already.  We kept our questions brief and finally decided to try a few different things including chicken, beef, pork, shrimp and scallops.   As the meal progressed, the server became friendlier and less annoyed with the four first time patrons.

As we waited for our broth to boil and our meats to arrive, we dined on a green salad, included with each meal.  The server placed in front of each of us our three sauces. One was spicy, one was a sesame peanut, and the third was some kind of citrus flavored concoction.  I didn’t care much for that one.  It was at this time that I learned the distinct difference between Japanese and Chinese Hot Pot. Chinese Hot Pot comes with flavorful broth that could also be eaten as a soup. Japanese Hot Pot relies on dipping sauces to provide all the flavor. I did not taste the Japanese broth by itself. Perhaps it was the fact that we were not provided a bowl and spoon that lead me to believe it was simply to be used as a means to cook raw foods. Since I drowned most of my food in the tasty sauces, I’m not sure it would have even made much of a difference had the server not added the sponge with the spices.  It certainly didn’t change the appearance of the water.

The server then brought out a bowl of rice and a “vegetable” plate of cabbage, noodles and tofu for each person.  We found out later that we would get free refills on the rice and vegetables.

Shortly thereafter, our thin strips of raw meat arrived with our plates of scallops and shrimp.  The server showed us how to hold the meat between our chop sticks then “swish” it around in our broth to allow it to cook and then let us know how long to cook each item.  I decided it made the most sense to simply dump my entire plate of uncooked veggies into the broth so that I could fish them out with the different meats I chose along the way.  As the meal progressed, we became more graceful with our “swishing” and finally got the hang of things.  After a second round of rice and vegetables we were finally content.  I decided to pass on dessert, but Marco and Brett each enjoyed the only dessert on the menu - a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Shabu Shabu Paradise.  It was a good meal, with excellent company. 

The food was good, but because of ambiance and initial service, I would rate this restaurant a 3.5 out 5.

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thank you to Patty and Juan from Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I am getting so excited for spring with these pastel colors. This top is a light weight tshirt material and has studs on the sleeves for added detail. The graphicof the horse makes it unique. My shorts are a light weight dressy material than can be dressed up or down. I love the crosses on them. This outfit is a funky, yet perfect pairing. I added tights because it was cold, but once the warmer weather comes, I can't wait to mix and match these pieces. You can find this look at the Rainbow PC location. - Teray xo

If you aren't lucky enough to have a Patty's Closet near you, remember you can always shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. Also, make sure to check out their FB page which is linked above. They post pictures of the new shipment items on Tuesdays and Fridays, so you definitely have to check it out!

Until next time, cheers to love and happiness. <3 

Week 86 Sushi Koma

Wow, life has been busy and that is an understatement. Luckily, it has all been in a good way so I can't complain. We know we are a little behind on the blog so expect a new post every couple of days for the next few days. Remember you can always find our blog on the LV Informer http://lasvegas.informermg.com/. We are under the Local Interest section. We also have a Facebook page which we update frequently, so be sure to check that out if you haven't already http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants .

What Teray Says...

Whenever Brett and I don't know where to go we always choose sushi for some reason. We both love Sushi and I feel like we have been to so many all you can eat places across the city, but we found this new gem not too far from our house. Sushi Koma is located at Flamingo and Durango. It is a small place and you probably wouldn't notice it driving by, but it worth the second look which you will come to find as I write my review. 

We were seated and greeted right away when we arrived at Sushi Koma. There aren't many tables there but there were enough for people coming in without a reservation and there were still couples and families at tables and the sushi bar. 

First of all, every single person that works at Sushi Koma is beyond friendly. It was not just the greeting type of friendly; they were very personalable and had great suggestions. The service was top notch. (I had to mention this first because it was so great, you know I normally don't mention it until the end). 

We started off with the seared tuna carpaccio and the seafood toastado based on the recommendations of our waitresses. They were both so out of the box for a sushi place and delicious with a capital D. Some other rolls that we ordered were the SSS roll, the Bank roll, the Rainforest roll, miso soups, the Jane roll, nigiri octopus, red snapper, and yellowtail. Brett also ordered a suprise roll which was really great. 

All of the sushi was fresh, the sauces were amazing, and the portion sizes were perfect. I became very full after not much sushi, but it was totally worth it. Sushi Koma had some of the best sushi I have ever had here in Vegas. 

Overall, I loved Sushi Koma and will be returning. They are open until 3 am too for all of you night owls. Personally, I know I am in bed by that time and so is everyone else that we know, but if you are a night owl, this place is for you. I definitely give Sushi Koma a 5 out of 5 and will be returning for sure. 

What Brett Says...

This week went with a Dragun family standard, sushi.  I personally wish I could live on sushi, if we wanted we could probably do this blog entirely with sushi restaurants.  Unfortunately we didn't think of that in the beginning, we decided to try different places and different types of food.  Teray made the decision and she chose "Sushi Coma" which is at Flamingo and Durango.

As you pull into the parking lot you slowly begin to realize that you are about to go to another strip mall sushi place.  They are pretty standard; very bland, handful of tables, a small sushi bar, and horrible staff.  When you walk in the door things change a bit, while it is small and only has seven tables that's where the standard ends.  It had a very comfortable and almost cool feel to it, there isn't much to be done with that small of a space.  The big thing they do that other small sushi places don't do is have personality.  Instead of older staff members that you can barely understand that act like they don't want you there they employ young females that speak awesome English and at least act like they enjoy their jobs.  They had so much personality and it just made it more fun.  They are open late and I could see myself having a good time late night getting some rolls and drinks, the staff would just make it an even better time.  They all helped us and made sure that we were taken care of.  We never felt neglected, service was a highlight here.

Talking about the food at sushi places can be a little difficult, even more so when we do all you can eat.  It is more or less a collective review of the food.  We had appetizers, rolls, nigiri, and dessert.  Everything we ate was amazing, it is safe to say that even with us experimenting nothing was disappointing.  The fish was fresh, the selection was amazing.  There were rolls that we had never heard of, we tried some of them and they turned out great.  

Overall I would suggest you check "Sushi Koma" out, it is an experience.  I think I would like to try it out on a Friday/Saturday night around 1am.  I would recommend keeping your group to less then 4 people.  Service was amazing, food was amazing.

Rating 5 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I love a cute dress, especially one that you can wear in the spring and summer seasons. Stripes are so classic and the color combination gives it a nautical flair. The sweetheart neckline also gives this dress the edge it needs to be taken to night time if you wanted to really dress it up. I just paired it with some flats from Heart&Sole by PC for a casual dinner. You can find this look at the Rainbow Patty's!

If you haven't already be sure to check out the Patty's Closet Facebook page which is linked above. They update it frequently with the newest items from their Tuesday and Friday shipments at all of the Patty's locations. If you aren't lucky enough to have a store near you be sure to check out their online store and website at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. 

Until next time, cheers to spring! xo 

Week 85 Canaletto (In the Venetian)

Welcome back! I can't believe this is week 85 for the blog and we are going strong. This week when we head out it will actually be week 86 but because Brett and I both have schedules like maniacs during the week (our amazing co-workers on both ends can appreciate this) we are a little behind. 

Remember, you can always find our blog on the LV Informer under the Local Interest section http://lasvegas.informermg.com/ . We also have a Facebook page that we update almost daily so make sure to like that if you haven't already, we appreciate it http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants .

What Teray Says...

So this week we combined our dinner date with our friend Adam's birthday. Adam asked us beforehand where on the strip have we not been for our blog and we told him it was basically free choice being we don't head to the strip too much for this blog. He chose Canaletto at the Venetian because it was close to The Act nightclub which we had a table and bottle service after dinner so we did not have to walk to far. 

Canaletto is a little confusing to find, well at least it was for us. It is right at the border of the Palazzo Shops. If we ever go back in that area we will park at the Palazzo. The thing that I loved right away about this restaurant is that it is such a people watching experience. I love to look at the crazies in Vegas. 

When we were seated, which was right away because we had a reservations, our waiter greeted us right away and asked us if we wanted a drink. I had to take a few minutes to decide but I obviously went with a Riesling. I think Brett just ordered a beer and Adam had a red wine. Chelsie and Trevor joined us too at this point and I think Chelsie had Riesling as well. 

We were given a bread plate which was really good; there were all different mixtures of bread. For an appetizer we chose the fruit and cheese plate, which also was delicious. For dinner Brett ordered a pasta and pork dish, which he will talk about in his section. I tried it and it was delicious. I ordered the Barilotti Integral Al Forno, which was whole wheat barrels of pasta baked with smoked mozzarella, chopped eggplant, garlic, spicy peperoncino, tomato sauce and fresh basil. Okay, so as for my food. I love all of those ingredients separate, but I was not a fan of them together. I am not saying this meal wasn't good; I just did not like it. A lot of the reason I did not like it was because there was so much sauce. 

We were too full for dessert and knew we would be drinking later on that night so we skipped over it. As for the service, it was good, but not the best; typical from what we experienced lately when heading to the strip. My favorite part of the meal was the people watching and the company. I would highly recommend this place just for the people watching. It is a cool experience too if you are a tourist.

Overall, I rate Canaletto 3 out of 5. 

What Brett Says...

This week the decision of where to go was made for us, it was kind of nice not having to figure it out.  Our friend Adam was celebrating his birthday and was making the decisions...he chose "Canaletto" at the Venetian.  I know we don't usually go to restaurants on the strip, here and there, but you have to do what the birthday boy wants.  Canaletto is an Italian restaurant all the way in the back of the canal.

It is hard to talk about the atmosphere, there aren't many places indoors that you can eat on a patio where people are walking around in "Italy" while there are live musicians on the streets.  Not to far from people floating down the canal in a gondola.  Even though you are inside of a large casino you get the feel that you are actually outside surrounded by an Italian ambiance.  It was comfortable with a lively crowd, it was just fun to relax and have a bite to eat.  

Our server was a older Italian man, had the accent and everything.  At first everything was amazing; he was friendly, conversational, and helpful.  Everything he said and did matched the atmosphere.  Unfortunately that's where it ended.  We had a couple show up a little late and getting the drink menu and server back to our table was a challenge.  Once we placed our food order he completely disappeared, never came to check on us.  Simply put we all felt neglected, which was a letdown because it started off so good.  We wanted to keep drinking but it was impossible since we had no one to take our order.  The final straw was when the check came.  There were two couples and the birthday boy, so naturally the check needed to be split.  We asked our server to separate the check by seat, more or less so we could pay for what we each ordered.  He informed us that he could not do that, he could only split the check equally into three bills.  Well this wasn't going to work, it would be unfair to a have a single person partially pay for two couples, we ended up just splitting it down the middle and taking care of Adam's portion...it was his birthday after all.  But how can you not separate the check appropriately...in Vegas of all places.  I use to be a server and did this automatically and know it is possible to do it after the fact, especially in a premier casino like the Venetian.  I assume it is just laziness on our server's part, but reflects directly on the establishment.

Like I said earlier the service was sub par, which made ordering everything we wanted difficult.  We started with a fruit and cheese plate, wanting to follow it with more appetizers but had to settle for one.  I will say that their cheese selection was very good, I'm out of the game now and couldn't distinguish each type of cheese but they were delicious.  The pairings of the cheeses was great and there were no shocks from one cheese to the next.  To round out my experience I ordered the Tagliatelle Alla Castellana which was a pork tenderloin pasta dish, it had mushrooms and bacon in a creme sauce.  The portion was slightly small but not too bad.  The taste however was amazing.  I really enjoyed it, they combination of flavors made the meat pop.  I would say that it is one of the better meals I have had in Vegas.

Overall I am torn.  The atmosphere was amazing, the food was pretty amazing.  But all that is ruined by horrible service and even worse customer service after the sale.  It got so bad we declined dessert so we could get it somewhere else...which is disappointing at an Italian restaurant.  I think it's safe to go here just pray for good service and keep the check splitting issue in mind.

Rating 3 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week.  Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I will be the first one to say, I never really wear body-con dresses. If it were up to Brett that is what I would be picking every week. LOL. But we all know that as a girl you need to feel like you are having a "skinny day" to wear certain things. Anyway, I love the color and pattern of this dress. The mint green and the laced flowers is perfect for the upcoming warmer weather. You can dress it up like I did for a night out or you can dress it down with some flats and a jean jacket for a brunch or running errands on a spring day. The dress is lined as well so you don't have to worry about the lace being see through. I paired this dress with some nude patent leather pumps and of this gorgeous pastel necklace and earring set that I got at Sparkle by Patty's Closet. You can find this look at the Rainbow Patty's and Rainbow Sparkle location. xo

If you haven't already make sure to check out the Patty's Facebook page and the Sparkle Facebook page which are linked above. They post pictures of new items a couple of times a week, so you don't want to miss out. Also, if you aren't lucky enough to have a PC near you, you can shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com .

Until next time, cheers to the month of love. <3