Vegas for Katie's birthday was an amazing 30th birthday weekend trip!

The first day Tim and I got there early and went to Makino, a sushi buffet for you sushi lovers. It had an amazing selection of rolls and nigiri (more so than Todai). We stayed away from the hot/cold food options to focus on the sushi but there were plenty of those, too. And the dessert options (including chocolate fountain!) was also very impressive. It was $14 for lunch which is a great deal. The only down side is that it's off the strip. So, if you didn't rent a car you have to cab $10 each way which then adds to the cost of the actual meal.

We stayed at Treasure Island which is a little older but more affordable.

It's in the middle of the strip which is great, though, to access a lot of activities. But, the gambling floor left a little bit to be desired. Our last night (Sun) we even got kicked off our table at 4am. I thought Vegas stayed open all night! The pool was also closed, but the silver lining is that we got to go next door to the Mirage and use their pool which was fabulous. They had delicious fruity/slushy drinks for $13 which was a steal considering they were pretty much 4 drinks in one. mmmmm. you can see it's the size of my head....

Our first morning we also went to brunch at the Wynn....i will always love their champagne brunch. It's $33-$34 with unlimited bloody marys and mimosas. And they have an AMAZING spread of food. From sushi (standard, but still good) to dim sum (I've had VERY good rice noodles and dumplings there) to breakfast food including omelette station, to a carving station and more! And, as always, the desserts were amazing. From fresh fruit to pastries to homemade gelato. Yumyumyum.

In between amazing restaurant reservations we laid pool-side and gambled. It was a perfect Vegas weekend. Saturday night we went to Bouchon. I was really looking forward to it after seeing Anthony Bourdain go there on "No Reservations" but it left A LOT to be desired. Food was just "ok." The best part was their amazing bread, which they served straight on the table and it was warm straight out of the oven. The thing that spoiled the entire experience was the horrible service! Our waiter was unattentive, forgot drink orders, seemed distracted when he waited on us. Definitely not what you'd expect from a nice Vegas restaurant.

Afterwards we headed to Ghostbar. It's worth the cover just for the view...but I also enjoy the scene there. it's a good mix between fancy club to casual observer. Plus the DJ puts on a good mix of music.

Sunday we went to Onda at the Mirage and also got mediocre service. But this time the food was AMAZING. The bread comes with this roasted garlic, tomato spread that was incredible. Everybody's entree was out of this world from my seafood fettucine, to a veal osso busco (spelling?) to lobster tail. I highly recommend this place for those who love good Italian.

Our last night we ended with a "casino crawl" wihch was the Vegas version of a bar crawl. We just walked through casinos grabbing drinks along the way and ended w. the Bellagio water show. inside the hotel they had an amazing floral display (as always) but this one was dedicated to Chinese New Year.

The trip was perfect in terms of weather, timing (I don't recommend any Vegas trip lasting more than 4 days.....), and of course great company.