Restaurants in Las Vegas aren’t just competing with each other. They are competing to be noticed in the hubbub of the world’s biggest adult playground. Las Vegas Restaurants can’t just be good; they have to be great.

When I got my first restaurant job I was told that truly great restaurants are designed to leave their guests thinking, “great food, great atmosphere, great conversation, great service I just wish I could remember the server’s name.”

By this standard, Luxor’s steak and seafood restaurant, Tender, is a great Las Vegas restaurant.

Food

Oh my, oh my. We started with caprese salads to share and they were divine. I’ll be honest, I’m as sucker for heirloom tomatoes and when they are served along with buffalo Mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked pepper from our table’s own pepper grinder I give up all pretense of intelligent critique. I’m in heaven and we haven’t even hinted at the main course yet.

The main course doesn’t disappoint. Nothing disappoints, but I’ll get to that later. It is apparent that I’m going to be locked away in a pleasure prison for the duration of my time here at Tender and I’m hoping that they throw away the key. When you open the menu you’ll be blown away by the steak, but do yourself a favor and find the seafood section because, oh my lord, can they handle a fish. I had seared yellowfin tuna drizzled with a sweet chili pepper vinaigrette. My playmates that ordered meat claimed that I missed out and I would have proved them wrong, but I had already devoured everything on my plate and couldn’t give them a taste of superiority.

And then there were the sides. Alongside wonderfully prepared classics such as asparagus with lemon citrus olive oil we had the mashed potatoes with white truffle shavings.

Yes, apparently Luxor has the keys to paradise…and my heart.

Atmosphere

Dark wood paneling and sexy, mysterious lighting; I felt like I was in an episode of Mad Men. Seriously, Tender is that cool. I know that all Las Vegas restaurants are cool and that they all have a style and feel, but so far Tender is the first restaurant in Las Vegas that made me feel like Don Draper. All of a sudden I had an overwhelming urge for a cigarette and a martini.

The cigarette was a no go, (this is the 21st Century and Las Vegas has a ban on smoking in restaurants) but the martini was amazing enough to complete my fantasy.

Conversation

How was the conversation you ask? Come on, that is a no-brainer. All my compatriots are accomplished conversationalists and of course I studied with the lovely linguist Gabby Gregarious in Greenwich. (Full Disclosure: I may have made that last part up, but really the conversation was delightful and wide-ranging. My mom always said, “good conversation touches on everything, but dwells on nothing.”)

Service

Our server was attentive, informative, discrete, and flexible. In short, he was incredible. Great servers seem to only exist when you need them: water glasses get refilled without commotion, dishes are cleared interruption, menu items are lovingly described without being read aloud to you. Our server was perfect.

It isn’t easy to create great food. Designing a room’s atmosphere is like walking a tight rope. Conversation is the job of the diners. A server’s job is to be your unseen guide. He/she orchestrates your meal without becoming the focal point.

Luxor’s Tender has got a rare thing in the restaurant world in general and Las Vegas restaurants in particular. A dining experience that doesn’t demand you enjoy yourself, but lets you enjoy yourself, which you will.

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Honestly, I’m not a big meat-eater and the majority of other menu items (Average entree price is $15-$20) were fish or shellfish. This is certainly not a place for the granola-eating-sometimes-vegetarian queer population. There are salads on the menu, but the vegetarian population is obviously not the Flame’s target demographic.

However, if you DO like yourselves some meat (take that as you will), this is a PERFECT place to enjoy dinner before hitting the Fremont Street experience, which is why people travel to Las Vegas. They are serious about calling themselves a steakhouse and even advertise on the menu “we cannot guarantee the tenderness of a steak ordered well done.” In other words… they like it nice and RED in the Flame.

In my welcome package from the Cabana Suites, I also received a complimentary bottle of Woodbridge wine with a dinner for two or more. That was excellent because the Cabernet Sauvignon was a perfect match both for the medium rare steak of my dinner guest and the salmon with dill cream sauce that I ordered.

Items of note on the menu:


• Rib Eye Steak (it’s huge!)


• Creamed Corn (baked in the oven)


• Sweet Potato Fries (perfectly crisp and fresh)

Approximate per guest cost for dinner:


• $25-$50 depending on whether you order lobster

Overall- this was a great find in the downtown Fremont street area and is a can’t miss gem in the Las Vegas restaurant scene.

Kristin Flickinger – Gay Travel Guru Finalist

The MGM Grand is one rocking Las Vegas hotel. Sure, they gave me a kickin’ room and access to a ton of amazing stuff. But you know I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. Honey, this place is

unreal – in the best way possible.

So here’s how the gay friendly MGM rocked my world. I woke up in the super-comfy bed in my West Wing room, looking out over the strip. After I

headed down the elevator to one of the three Starbucks on the property

for my morning cappuccino, I did a spot of work at the comfortable desk

in my room (the hotel provides wireless and high speed internet). Before

my evening packed full of exciting shows and events at the Las Vegas

hotel, it was off to the Spa.

The Grand Spa has luxurious treatments like hot stone massages, which is what I had. First, though, I was shown to my private locker, handed a

bottle of water and an enormous, fluffy robe and guided into the

Jacuzzi/cucumber steam/sauna area, then told to wait in the “relaxation

room.” The dark, warm room had overstuffed chaise lounges, magazines,

and orange-infused water. It also had granola bars. Which made me

extremely happy.

May, my massage therapist quietly called my name and then gently guided me down the hall into a wonderfully warm room, where she tucked me under

the covers and asked me if the music, temperature and lighting were

okay. Then she started.

When the stones touched my skin, I think I made a little noise. They were on the verge of searing, for one, brief moment, and then they were melting

into my skin, releasing the tension and stress of the past 24 hours.

I walked out of the spa energized, relaxed and ready for the rest of the day. Which was good, because my day included pool parties, dinner at

Fiamma, the Crazy Horse Paris show, and the Restaurant Week event, Wet

Your Appetite at Wet Republic, part of the enormous pool complex at the

MGM Grand.

Let’s talk a moment about Fiamma, MGM’s Italian entry in the Las Vegas restaurant scene. No, let’s talk about my love of food. Italian food,

specifically. It’s deep and it’s real, people. So when the general

manager came by to suggest that we have the chef prepare his choice of

dishes for us, I was intrigued.

“Bring it on,” I thought to myself.

And he did.

When the pizza margharita arrived, I could tell just by looking at it that it was the real deal.

“Do you have a forno? A wood fired oven?"

He smiled as he placed a piece gingerly on my plate. “Yes, we do.”

Excellent.

Course after course came: caprese salad with colorful, heirloom tomatoes, and bufala mozzarella; eggplant Parmesan; lasagnette of artichoke;

house-made linguine with fresh, black truffle that we could smell as it

approached the table.

This meal was seriously good. I discovered that there is a fine line between needing to eat in order to fuel your body, and eating so much that your

body demands sleep. I danced a delicate dance at Fiamma, aided by an

espresso lovingly prepared and greedily consumed.

And when we thought we could eat no more, a delicious plate of dessert was placed before us. Two diners…three desserts. Perfect.

We had a bomba of crema and raspberry gelato coated in crisp, dark chocolate, a Hazlenut torta, and, of course, tiramisu. All of which were

delightful. Delicate, chocolate, and delicious.

And thus began my love affair with the MGM Grand, a truly grand Las Vegas hotel.

When I came to explore gay Las Vegas, it was with the full expectation that I’d be getting out into nature at every opportunity. I was one of those people that didn’t really think the strip was for me.

I was wrong.

Tonight I experienced something so spectacular, that I travel back to Las Vegas just to experience it again. “Wet Your Appetite,” the MGM Grand signature event for Restaurant Week was phenomenal. From the dozen or so Las Vegas restaurants that participated on-site, to the sneak-peaks at the MGM’s hottest shows, to dancers performing on a plexi-glass stage over the beautiful pool, it was amazing. Oh yeah, and there were mermaids.

That’s right, mermaids.

They were cruising around the enormous pool, flapping their fins. Chatting with anyone who would crouch down to talk with them. It’s safe to say that I did a fair amount of crouching tonight. The mermaids were really pretty.

Like the entire setting at this gorgeous Las Vegas resort and casino, the mermaids were something from a dream. The Wet Republic facility, where the event was held, provides over 4,000 square feet of outdoor event space. Chefs had food stations set with elaborate displays at every turn. The MGM has great fine dining, and Restaurant Week is a brilliant place to experience their contribution to the Las Vegas restaurant scene. Plus, it is all for a good cause.

Restaurant Week is a city-wide benefit for Three Square, a non-profit that works to end hunger in Southern Nevada. With special menus, and special events, over 90 restaurants in Las Vegas participate in Restaurant Week, making it one of the most anticipated food events in the city.

The highlight of my evening food-wise was a little “sweet burger slider” that contained no meat. It had a patty of nutella fudge, was topped with fresh strawberry slices, and had a – wait for it – Krispy Kreme bun. It was pretty much insane.

The highlight of my evening entertainment-wise was seeing a gorgeous performer from Crazy Horse Paris high-kicking on the plexi-stage over the water. And the guys from Recycled Percussion were pretty darn impressive, playing 10-foot step-ladders like drums, as they sailed through the air, sliding past the rungs and playing as they went.

The highlight of my evening overall, however, was feeding a mermaid chocolate mouse with gold shavings, poolside. Yes. I fed a mermaid tonight. I know you’re jealous. It’s okay.

If you find yourself travelling to Las Vegas during Restaurant Week, make sure you get yourself to Wet Republic at the MGM Grand for Wet Your Appetite. I don’t think that there is anything in gay Las Vegas that can top it. There are plenty of places you can swim with the dolphins, but I know of no other place on earth where you can feed the mermaids.