I generally don’t like Chinese food.  You can ask anyone. But, after going to Zine in the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas, I may be changing my mind!

For my daughter’s 21^st birthday, we went to Las Vegas and stayed at the Palazzo Hotel.  We went to Zine because she was craving Chinese food and we got a comp on the restaurant.

We ordered the Sampler appetizer, which included dumplings, spring rolls, shrimp tempura and shi-ma.  All I have to say is “wow!” The dumplings were delectable.  The consistency was perfect.  You barely needed to dip them in the sauce because the flavor was so rich and tasteful.  The spring rolls had only vegetables in them and were crunchy, but not greasy.  The shrimp tempura was light, crispy and flat.  We found it interesting that it wasn’t round.  It also had a perfect consistency.

Next we ordered Beef Chow Fun, which had a delicate texture with an excellent flavor. We ordered it with Fried Rice, which had a blend of pork and shrimp and yet was light and airy tasting.  The pork was thinly sliced unlike the cubed pork that you get in a typical Chinese restaurant. The Honey Glazed Shrimp had mayonnaise sauce, which was sweet and tasteful surrounded by glazed walnuts that melted in your mouth.

We paired this with plum wine and a Mondovi cabernet.  Although the Mondovi didn’t really go, I enjoyed it immensely. Zoey loved the plum wine.  She felt that it was the right choice for a 21-year-old who doesn’t like red wine because of the bitter taste.  She said it was fruity, sweet and didn’t taste like wine, but more like juice.

According to Jian, our waiter, Zine opened five years ago.  When it’s slow, the chef comes out and discusses the preparation of the dishes with the guests.  There are a couple of private rooms that holds between 6 to 12 people.

When asked what his favorite dish was, Jian said, “The Peking Duck. It’s not on the menu but if a guest requests it, the chef prepares the dish in an authentic style.”

He also mentioned that the Chinese New Year gets busy in the restaurant and he recommends reservations.

Zoey and I were so full we couldn’t even finish the three dishes.  Jian asked if we wanted to see a dessert menu and when we looked, we both agreed that the Red Bean Pancakes were the way to go, but we couldn’t order a thing more.

I highly recommend this restaurant and look forward to going back when I return to Vegas.

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• Don’t know what to do with your 21-year-old daughter? Take her to Vegas!

Las Vegas can get pricey, especially when you frequent famous chefs’ restaurants. But there is a new restaurant in town located at the Venetian Hotel, which won’t empty your pockets but will fill your belly with a great meal. That restaurant is Rattlecan.

When you walk into Rattlecan, located near the front lobby of the Venetian Hotel, you will enter a restaurant that looks like it was transported back in time to Manhattan’s East Village. Cool graffiti lines the walls of this chic burger joint, which was designed by Antonio Ballatore. His friend, Chef Sam “Sammy D” DeMarco, makes burgers that are truly creative and unbelievably good-tasting.

My daughter, Zoey, and I went there one evening prior to seeing a show. Once we went through the door, toured the restaurant, and tasted the food, we were fans.

The bartenders were amazing too. They had at least five signature shots. I tasted two: Upside on Backside and Hey Kool-Aid. The “adult” drinks were sensational. Both Zoey and I had a McTwister, an alcoholic drink that tasted like fruit punch. All of the drinks were mixed perfectly.

When we sat at the table, Janelle, our waitress, greeted us. She fit in with the décor and was incredibly upbeat and welcoming. The Assistant Manager, Michelle Bautista, also came over to say hi and welcome us to the restaurant.

For dinner, I had the signature dish, “The Rattlecan”, which consisted of a burger with cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, pickle, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, and crinkle-cut fries. I added avocado to make it more delicious – and even more fattening, but I didn’t care. It was my last night in Vegas and I wanted to enjoy the experience. And eating “The Rattlecan” was an experience I truly enjoyed!

Zoey had the Fat Caps, which consisted of a juicy delectable burger with portabella mushrooms, caramelized onions, Brie, balsamic glaze, and truffle mayo. She said it was “the best burger” she ever had.

We also had wedge cut sweet potato fries that were just as yummy. They were so big, it looked as if the chef had taken the whole sweet potato and quartered it. The regular fries reminded me of the old fashioned fries we used to get at Nathan’s at Coney Island.

You know what? The Rattlecan was the best burger that I had ever had too and I’m not kidding. It was scrumptious. Each bite was like a culinary delight dancing in my mouth!

After dinner, Zoey and I decided to ride the Pickle, a fun rodeo-style ride shaped like a pickle.

Rattlecan also has a small game room and black lights to make some of the graffiti stand out.

This isn’t an ordinary burger place. This is Rattlecan, and it is tastefully yummy. I highly recommend it and look forward to my next trip to Vegas to experience the delight again!

Article first published as Restaurant Review: (Las Vegas): Rattlecan on Blogcritics.

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Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. Individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

If you are in Las Vegas and looking for an entertaining, upbeat show, then Rock of Ages is the show for you!  Playing at The Venetian Las Vegas, Rock of Ages is comical, plays great music from the hair bands of the 80’s and tells a love story that is witty and fun.

The story takes place at the Bourbon Room in the 1980’s when men wore their hair long and women wore their hair high. Rock and roll was the music of choice even though new age music was also extremely popular. It tells the story of Drew, played by Justin Mortelliti, (who wants to be known as Wolfgang Von Colt) from South Detroit and Sherrie, played by Carrie St. Louis, from a small town, who meet each other at the Bourbon Room. They both want to follow their dreams – Drew as a rock and roll singer and Sherrie as an actress. Instead, they end up as a pizza delivery person and stripper/dancer on the Hollywood Strip.

Toward the end of the show, they realize they both love each other and return to the Bourbon Room, where they work, get married and even have a child!

The plot gets complicated when Stacee Jaxx, played by Kyle Lowder, comes into the picture and when Drew tells Sherrie on their first date that they are just “friends.”

The narrator, Lonny, played by Mark Shunock was incredibly funny. He was hysterical and had the audience in a roar. He is definitely one to watch.  His performance was brilliant.

Some of the most memorable songs included: “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Keep on Lovin’ You” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”  The onstage band was made up of excellent musicians that kept the show upbeat and fun.  When I turned around, I noticed that everyone in the audience was dancing in their seats!

I saw this show originally in New York Off Broadway. I liked it, but didn’t love it.  This Las Vegas performance, I loved.  The actors were incredibly talented and engaged the audience.  The entire crew did an amazing job.  It was one of the funniest shows I have seen in a long time and along with being funny, it was simply pure fun.

I took my 21-year-old daughter to the show with me and I was a little afraid that she wouldn’t like it because the music was “old” for her.  But she also loved the performance.

Following the show, we went to the Bourbon Room, modeled after the bar in the show. There was a man there who claimed to be “brothers” with Stacee Jaxx.  He walked around the bar with his flashing lights engaging the audience. He spoke with everyone. He got people up to dance and he even got them to jump rope!

We stayed there for a couple of drinks, watched videos of old hair bands like Twisted Sister and Bon Jovi and then left to go into the casino.

What a great activity to do if you are in Las Vegas, I would highly recommend both tickets to the Rock of Ages followed by a drink or two or three at the Bourbon Room.

Article first published as Restaurant Review: (Las Vegas): Rattlecan on Blogcritics.

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Disclosure: I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period. Individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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• Don’t know what to do with your 21-year-old daughter? Take her to Vegas!

If you ask me what my top 10 list would be on all the things we did.  I would say that if you take your 21-year-old daughter, you should consider:

1. Canyon Ranch Spa (make sure to have a stone massage, it was so relaxing!)
2. Rock of Ages
3. The Bourbon Room
4. Le Reve, the Dream
5. Rattlecan for amazing burgers at a relatively inexpensive rate
6. Shopping at Caesars Palace The Forum Shops
7. Shopping at the Fashion Mall and catching a fashion show
8. Drinking a cosmopolitan at Parasol in the Wynn (The white Cosmo was the best I ever tasted.)
9.  Zine restaurant for Chinese food
10. Spending a lot of quality time together talking about everything!

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS
I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein. However, individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

For years, I’ve been telling my daughter, Zoey, when she turns 21, I would take her to Las Vegas.

The last time I was in Vegas with my daughter was when she was 5-years-old. My husband, Brian, and I bought into the whole marketing twist that Las Vegas was a family vacation.  When we got there, Brian and I look at each other and said in unison, “This is not a place for little children!”

That whole marketing campaign was a bust and that was the last time you heard that Vegas was a family place.  Now, 16 years later, Zoey and I are back in Vegas having a bonding experience.

Day 1:
We arrived at JFK early.  We flew on Delta and once we parked my car in long-term parking, we took the Airtrain to terminal 3.  Little to our knowledge, there was no short cut into the building.  We had to walk outside for a while and up a hill to get inside.

When I got to the gate, I asked the attendant if I could get an upgrade since it was a special occasion.  They wanted to give me one upgrade and not the other so I didn’t take it.  Instead the flight attendant told us that she would take care of us. And she did. She served us free drinks and food during the flight.  It was incredibly nice!

We took a cab from the airport to the hotel.  It cost us about $25 and the driver was sharing his insights with us on what to do in Vegas.

When we got to the Palazzo, we were both struck at how gorgeous it was.  It was huge and luxurious.  We found it eclectic and inviting.  We checked in with ease. The front desk staff was wonderful.

When we got up to our room on the 40th Floor, we walked in to a magnificent suite with two queen size beds and a sunken living room.  My daughter’s eyes lit up when we noticed on the table on the far left of the room a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and two large boxes of cupcakes.

They were from my friend, Dawn Britt, who is the Communication’s Director at the Las Vegas Sands. She knew we were coming into town. I met her at a PR News seminar I gave a few months back on content development. Since then we have been corresponding and I told her that I wanted to blog about the experience of taking my daughter to Vegas for her 21st birthday.

It was so incredibly nice of her to do that.  We both felt so welcomed.

Since we didn’t know how to turn off the lights (we were exhausted), we left them on and fell asleep.  It wasn’t a good sleep because every time we turned over, the light flashed in our eyes but we chalked it up to the experience.

Day 2:
We had scheduled spa treatments at the Canyon Ranch Spa, located in the hotel. But before that, I went to the gym located in the Canyon Ranch Spa and ran three miles on the treadmill. The gym was spotless. I couldn’t believe how many people were there at 6 am.

When I went back to the room to fetch my daughter for breakfast, we went back down to the spa level and had a relatively inexpensive egg breakfast with homemade whole-wheat toast and fruit.  It was delicious!

After that, we went for our Hot Stone Massage at the Canyon Ranch.  It was a 90-minute massage in separate rooms. Within moments of lying on the table, I went into a deep, relaxation mode. All I concentrated on was the hot rocks circulating around key areas of my body.  It felt amazing.  (If you never had one, it’s worth the experience!)

The Canyon Ranch Spa is gorgeous. It is the nicest day spa I have ever been to (and I’ve been to a lot). The spacious locker room includes several huge showers that you don’t mind taking while barefoot. It’s that clean!

The spa also had a co-ed area with a wave room and sea salt steam room. For women only, there were a hot tub, sauna, steam room and a tropical shower area. We could have stayed the whole day there, but we didn’t.

After our massages, we got a peppermint manicure and pedicure. The women who worked on us were so friendly. The thing about getting these services done was that we walked away with all of the files and instruments they used on our nails.  The other thing that struck us was that they gave us the nail polish at the end. My biggest complaint about getting my nails done is that sometimes within days, my nails are all chipped.  This enables us to touch them up.

I also experienced a foot analysis. At the Canyon Ranch, they have an area that they focus on feet. I had my free analysis where I was videotaped to see my gait and how my feet land on the ground.  The therapist recommended inserts for my shoes, but I was a little hesitant because of the price. It was more than $100 but since I’ve been having some problems, I may go back during the trip and buy them. (I did go back and ended up returning them.  They just didn’t work out!)

After going to the Canyon Ranch, we were so relaxed. We decided to catch the David Copperfield show at the MGM Grand. Before the show we went to Shibuya where we had sushi.

Shibuya must think of themselves as if they were Nobu, but they aren’t. The sashimi salad was good, but there was very little dressing on it. My daughter requested more for the side. There was also only three pieces of fish – one piece of tuna, salmon and white fish. (At Nobu, they give you at least six pieces of tuna.)  The black cod was incredible though.  It came with spinach and was paired perfectly.  We followed that with a couple of rolls, which were really good, but not spectacular.

Following that, I found the David Copperfield show to be a little boring. I thought he would be vibrant and stunning and to me he walked out on stage as if he didn’t want to be there. His personality picked up a bit as the show progressed, but I thought it was going to be more magic and less telling us stories about his life and other people’s lives.

We spent more than $118 per ticket to see Copperfield and I didn’t think it was worth the money. When we sat down at the table, a waiter asked us if we wanted a drink. We asked him for water.  He was pissed. He grumbled a few words and got us our water by throwing it on the table and saying “here’s your WATER.”

The best experience of the evening was when we went back to the Palazzo and walked around Barneys and other upscale stores.  Although we couldn’t afford to buy anything, it was fun to window shop.

Day 3:
We woke up early, hit the gym, had breakfast and spent the day shopping.  We went to The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.  It was enormous!  I had been there many times before, but Zoey was never there and I thought she would enjoy the upscale shops.  We spent most of the day there.

That evening, we had tickets for Rock of Ages, which was a fabulous show.  The music was great and the actors were very talented.  I was totally impressed.  I had seen the show in New York and found that this rendition was much better than the one in the city.   (Another blog post to follow on the review of the show.)

After the show, we went to the Burbon Room, which is modeled after the Bourbon Room in the performance. A hair rocker was getting the crowd into the bar.  He walked around and talked with everyone.  From jump rope with the customers to the dancing waitresses, the Bourbon Room was really fun, especially after Rock of Ages!

After that, we decided to try our luck and play craps.  Zoey, for obvious reasons, never played before but I had.  I didn’t remember the rules though, so I felt as if I were a newbie.  Beginners luck, Zoey kept on rolling the dice and won us nearly $200!

Day 4:
Zoey and I just couldn’t get enough shopping in at Caesars Palace so we decided to go the Fashion Mall.  Talk about big – this mall was gigantic! We looked it up online to see if it was the biggest mall in America, but it wasn’t even on the top 10 list. We were surprised that Destiny in Syracuse and Roosevelt Field on Long Island made the top 10 list.  We both thought this mall was way bigger.

At the mall, we went from store to store checking out the new lines of clothes. As we were walking, a runaway appeared and they actually had a fashion show!  Apparently, they have fashion shows every hour or so on Saturdays and Sundays.  The shows are typically clothes sold at the mall.  It was very exciting with the flashing lights, gorgeous models and fantastic looking clothes.

We walked around the mall for hours.  We had a makeover by Laura Mercier’s makeup artist, Genieveve.  She actually made us look amazing.  It was such a good makeup job that I ended up buying makeup for both my daughter and me.

The other thing that was really cool about this mall was that they had a Me-Ality Kiosk.  You walk into a scanner; the machine scans your body and suggests clothes and labels that would look good on your body type.  I thought it was really cool.  Zoey enjoyed it too. The manager told us that we would get an email with all the styles that would look good on us, but we never got the email.

That night we went to Zine, an Asian restaurant located in the Venetian.  (See upcoming blog post on the review.)  We both enjoyed Zine immensely and decided to gamble some more after we were stuffed.

Day 5:
The last day in Vegas was uneventful.  We went to a small French bistro for breakfast and after that, we had stomach issues so we didn’t do much.  We went to the Wynn and looked at the stores and then we went back to the room to relax.

That night, we went to Rattlecan, a new restaurant located in the Venetian.  It was incredible what the chef could do with a simple burger.  After he got his hands on it, each burger was a masterpiece.  (Review to follow.)

We were stuffed ,but decided to get tickets to Le Reve The Dream at the Wynn Hotel.  Now that was a production.  We both really enjoyed it.  The whole show took place in and out of the water with synchronized swimming and amazing acrobats.  Although we both didn’t get the story line, the athletes in the show were strong, graceful and full of energy.

Day 6:
What a wonderful trip with my daughter!  It was so incredibly relaxing and full of non-stop entertainment.  I love Vegas and now she does too.  She sent me a tweet thanking me for making her birthday special.

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS
I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein. However, individual links could be associated with affiliate marketing sites and through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.