ENCORE, ENCORE!!Steve Wynn does it again, and we're glad he did!! The Encore hotel opened last night. I was lucky enough to be an invited guest, so I was in the hotel for the ribbon cutting and Steve Wynn's speech. At 8pm the hotel was open to the public and high rollers from all around the world were the first to place their bets! It was very exciting. I went with two others. We started in the hotel lobby bar. It had gorgeous red decor and a really cute small plate menu that also boasted an impressive cocktail list. I had a glass of champagne. one of my friends has scotch. They had a really extensive list if you are a scotch drinker. After drinks, we decided to walk around and make our way slowly to Botero, their steakhouse. I wasn't excited about going to a third steak house for the third night in a row (if you read my LA blog you would understand), but this was WOW. It was the most amazing meal of my life, well, so far. There was nothing wrong with anything. The service was incredible and food impeccable. Everything was perfect! The food came out pretty quickly between courses. Normally, I wouldn't like this, but I understood. It was their first night of service and they were fully booked. It was better to receive my food slightly fast than to go hours between courses. I think on a normal night they will get the timing better. It wasn't too fast. I didn't feel rushed or anything, but I prefer to eat slower when I go to fine dining restaurants. They had a really impressive wine list. I ordered a glass of red when my steak came. They also had alot of scotches and other spirits to choose from. I ordered a hangar one lime on the rocks to start. Which is my cocktail of choice if it is available. The decor was stunning. There was a huge fountian and statue in the middle of the restaurant and also an amazing open view to outside. The them was black and white without being too black and white. They splashed in some orange, green and brown so that it was easy on the eyes. The paintings were unique and fun to look at it. We each picked an appetizer to start. I picked the seafood crudo. It was a selection of raw fish (so fresh and amazing that I even ate salmon!) prepared different ways. The salmon was in an olive oil, citrus garlic marinade. The tuna was topped with extremely small diced mango and avocado. It's an obvious combo, but it works. The yellow tail had jalapeno peppers on it with mixed greened and the hamachi had some sweet glaze on it. We also ordered the Dungeness crab angiolotti. The pasta was light and fluffy. The textures went really well together. They were rich, without being overbearing. It was creamy and light and the crab just dissolved in your mouth. Our third appetizer was the parmesan gnocchi with a sweet tomato sauce. It melted in your mouth. It was amazing. It wasn't too dense, and it was cooked perfectly. You taste how fresh it is. They brought us out bread with olive oil. I tried the cranberry variety, it was fresh, warm and delicious. Our steaks came out. I ordered the 8oz filet, rare. You can choose between 3 preparations: chimichurri, peppercorn and traditional. I ordered mine chimichuri style. It was well seasoned, but didn't overpower the taste of the meat, which was phenomenal!! I was cooked perfectly. The steak knives were the sleek silver kind that I think are just so sexy and classy. I barely needed to apply any pressure with the knife, it just sort of sliced its self. It was perfect and delicious. I couldn't have asked for a better steak and it went perfectly with my wine, which I wish I could remember what I had. I am pretty sure it was the only merlot by the glass. After dinner we ordered two desserts. The first was the cheese cake sushi roll. The outside crust was fried so that it was thin like seaweed. Next to the dish there were thin slices of pineapple that looked like ginger. The chocolate dipping sauce looked like the soy sauce and then there were red dots of strawberry puree accenting the dish. It was a perfect bite if you combine everything together and how innovative and refreshing! It was really good. We also ordered mini jelly donuts with a caramel peanut butter dipping sauce. I loved the dipping sauce, but the donuts were really nothing special, but they were still pretty good. The meal was perfect. I would definitely go back and if you are visiting Vegas MAKE A RESERVATION NOW!!!! We walked around the hotel a little bit. They have a Chanel store with one of a kind haute couture Chanel items. They a few upscale boutiques, one for clothing one for shoes. They also have the second Manoli Blahnik store in the US in this hotel. They have a huge rock and republic store. I think it is their second or third store. Their Rolex store i the only licensed Rolex store, which means that it has every model in stock! Everything about this hotel is so luxurious and the decor is really sexy, modern and bright. It is not cheesy Vegas at all. Steve Wynn has done it right. It is simply elegant, and beautiful.
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