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Wining and Dining at Picasso

By on January 14, 2012 in Las Vegas, Restaurants, wine

One of our favorite restaurants in the world is Julian Serrano’s Picasso, located in Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel. Over the last few years we’ve become friendly with its sommelier, Robert Smith MS, who makes sure that the wines accompanying our meal are its equal in beauty and quality.

Another reason we love this restaurant is the availability, upon request (and not widely promoted) of a completely vegetarian tasting menu. Having a multi-course vegetarian feast at a AAA Five-Diamond restaurant is a true joy.

Yes, the room is gorgeous and filled with a dozen Picassos and a field’s worth of blossoms. But the food, wine and service manage to outshine the ambiance. The words dont do justice to the beauty and flavor of the meal, but heres what we ate and drank last night:

Vegetarian Menu

Heirloom Tomato Salad
Gazpacho Sauce
2007 Riesling, die Leidenschaft, Weinhof Andorfer, Kamptal, Austria

*****

Farcie
Sautéed Artichokes, Zucchini Sofrito, Pepper and Sautéed Onions
2007 Cuvée Roucaillat, Hautes Terres De Comberousse, Coteaux Du Languedoc, France

*****

Butternut Squash Ravioli
Brown Butter and Wild Sage
2005 Vouvray, Moelleux, Cuvée Château Gaillard, Vigneau-Chevreau, Loire Valley, France

*****

Vegetable Ragout
Symphony of Vegetables with Court-Bouillon Sauce
2009 Enamore, Allegrini + Renacer, Bodegas Y Viñedos Renacer, Mendoza, Argentina

*****

Fromage
2009 Chambolle-Musigny, Vieilles Vignes, Frédéric Magnien, Burgundy, France

 

Disclosure: Absolutely none. We paid for all our food and drink, with pleasure.

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Getting To And From The LVCC

By on January 3, 2011 in Las Vegas

If you’ll be attending CES this week in Las Vegas, you won’t be alone. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that about 120,000 others will be doing the same thing.

Unless you’re staying a short walk away at the Hilton or the Renaissance, getting to and from the Las Vegas Convention Center can be a time-consuming nightmare. Between drivers, taxis and shuttle buses, traffic to and from the place gets gridlocked. It can take less time to walk from The Strip, and that’s saying something. But with weather projected to be quite chilly this week, walking a half-mile or more might not be your cup of tea.

My recommendation is to take the Monorail. Often it’s not the most convenient mode of transportation, seeing as it’s located at the back of he hotels on the east side of The Strip. But for CES it’s perfect. It glides above the traffic and delivers you right to the Convention Center. It costs $5 each way* – more than a free shuttle, but  less than you’d spend on a taxi. Either way, you’re likely to save a lot of time, and your time is worth money, right?

*If you’re going back and forth more than once a day, you can get a one-day pass for $12, or a 3-day pass for $28.

Bonus tip: If you’re staying on the south end of tThe Strip (Four Seasons/Mandalay/THEhotel, Luxor, Excalibur, NYNY, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, etc), board at the MGM Grand. It’s where the Monorail originates, so it’s your best chance at getting a seat, and the cars will be quite crowded by the time you get to the Convention Center.

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The Cosmopolitan LV’s Fresh Approach To Twitter

By on December 31, 2010 in Las Vegas, Travel, twitter

I’m not privy to their (social) marketing plans, and I’ve not yet seen the property (although I plan to visit next week when I’m at CES). But I’m impressed and a bit charmed by The Cosmopolitan LV‘s approach to Twitter.

It doesn’t merely tout its rooms, rates, restaurants and entertainment offerings, thank those who do so, or respond to feedback.

Rather, the Twitter stream strikes me as a complementary extension of the property’s overall branding: self-confident; interested in a wide swath of (smart) popular culture; unafraid to extol the virtues of others’ brands and accomplishments; playful; fun. They tweet about art, architecture, film, food (and not just their own restaurateurs), drink, music, and more. Some recent examples:

In short, by telling us what IT likes, the Cosmopolitan is subtly suggesting why WE might very well like IT as well. That’s refreshing and clever. To whoever’s behind the feed, and the overall marketing strategy, I say “well done.” If the property itself is as creative and entertaining as the marketing – and from early anecdotal reports, it is – I’m sure I and many others will have lots of fun there.

Links:
Cosmopolitan LV Twitter Feed
Cosmopolitan LV website

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The Technology Of Cirque’s Spectacular KÀ

By on February 18, 2010 in Las Vegas

One of the most breathtaking theatrical productions on the planet – I feel perfectly safe making that claim – turns five years old this month: Cirque du Soleil’s KÀ.

If you haven’t yet seen KÀ, Cirque’s resident production at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, put it at the top of your list for your next visit (better yet, plan a visit right now just to see it). Its combination of artistry, athleticism and technology is staggering, and will leave you gasping with disbelief and wonderment.

Even if you’ve seen other Cirque shows, you’ve seen nothing like this. (If you want a sneak peak, watch the trailer or see an excerpt from “G4 Presents “Inside KÀ by Cirque du Soleil.“)

A Bit About KÀ

Uniquely among Cirque shows, KÀ follows a narrative. Its depicts the coming of age of the fraternal Imperial Twins, “through their encounters with love, conflict and the duality of KÀ, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate.”

While the only spoken dialog is a brief scene-setting narration at the top of the show, the storyline is nonetheless clearly communicated through the music, sets and the artists’ performances. In addition to the daring acrobatics we’ve come to expect from Cirque, KÀ prominently includes Capoeira dance, puppetry, projections and martial arts.

And the technology that drives the show? It merits as much acclaim as the performers and creators.

We recently got the chance to meet KA’s technical director, Erik Walstad, who treated us to a backstage and booth tour, and gave us an up-close and personal look at the state-of-the-art technology, much developed exclusively for the show, that makes it run.

For the fanciful, inventive ‘O,’ which opened at Bellagio in 1998, Cirque’s artistic geniuses replaced the stage with a 1.5 million gallon water tank. That allowed Cirque to explore new performance realms, such as synchronized swimming and diving, and to reimagine familiar ones. The artists performing on the Russian Swings, for example, have much more latitude when they can “land” in water, as opposed to on their feet.

The Russian Swings sequence from "O." Photo: Veronique Vial Costumes: Dominique Lemieux.

Into The Void

With KÀ, rather than replacing the stage with something else, Cirque simply got rid of the stage. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Where the stage should be is a vast open space, referred to within the company as the “Void,” that extends five stories below the theater level and some 10 stories above it.

Audience members see plumes of fire bursting out of the Void as they take their seats and await the show’s start.

Even before taking your seat, you know right away that this is no ordinary production as flames emit randomly from the Void where the stage should be.

About halfway down into the Void, looking up at the house. Notice the technician above and to the right of the green column, peering down from stage level.

From within the Void a combination of two primary stages and five further “lifts” appear and disappear as needed. The boat used in the “Storm” sequence, pictured below, is raised to stage level by a lift, but the artists alone create the boat’s motion by rocking and rotating it.

Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

The Tatami Deck

The first main stage, the “Tatami Deck,” is a 30-foot-square platform in the back of the void that extends forward and retracts on cantilevered sliders. “Think of it,” Walstad likes to say, “as the world’s largest  kitchen drawer.”

The breathtaking "Slave Cage" sequence takes place on the extended Tatami Deck. Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

The Sand Cliff Deck

The second, the “Sand Cliff Deck,” is a magical 25 by 50 by 6 foot stage which swirls up, down, and around by means of a hydraulic gantry crane. Think of the gantry crane as a 72-foot tall “H” facing the audience. The Sand Cliff Deck sits on a pivot atop the cantilevered arm extending horizontally from the cross-bar of the H. The crossbar can slide up and down the height of the H, taking the stage with it, and the stage can revolve 360° on its pivot.

To give you an idea of the Sand Cliff Deck’s mass, notice the technicians standing under it in the photos below.

The Sand Cliff deck, resting at stage level...

... and being raised and rotated in preparation for video calibration.

Is that all? Heck, no.

The Sand Cliff Deck tilts from 0 to 110° on the end of the arm. That means that the stage, at a mere 80,000 pounds, can be spinning at up to two feet per second, either flat or tilted at an angle, with artists clambering across it, as it’s raised or lowered. For the climactic Battle scene, the performers fly up and down the completely vertical Sand Cliff deck on winches, controlling their movements via wireless joystick.

In the climactic Battle sequence, the Sand Cliff Deck is completely vertical and raised above stage level. The audience views the scene as if from overhead. Photo: Tomas Muscionico. Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

Just for fun... what the Sand Cliff deck looks like from behind and below stage when it's completely vertical for the Battle and other scenes.

Lights and Sound

The technology doesn’t stop there.

KÀ features an enormously complex lighting design. All but a few dozen of the show’s 3,300 lights are fixed instruments. They’re checked every show, and any refocusing they need has to be done while the show is running. That’s not the easiest way to do things, but it would be too costly and time-consuming to refocus that many lights in show conditions without an audience.

Just a few light instruments... This is a section of the "Post and Beam" structure, which extends from both sides of the stage nearly into the lobby. In addition to being decorative and establishing an ambiance for the show, it serves as a set piece from which the artists perform before and during the show. Photo: Tomas Muscionico Costumes: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

In addition to the lights, the shows employs incredibly sophisticated video projections which combine CGI and human input which turn the performance space into something approaching a movie screen. To create the interactive projections that follow an artist’s movement, an infrared-sensitive camera pointing at the stage captures the artists and their movements, which are tracked by a computer.

Additionally, the surface of the Sand Cliff area is essentially a giant touch-screen that can determine the precise position of each artist. The information gathered from them influences the mathematical parameters of any number of worlds that are then re-projected onto the deck, using a program designed exclusively for the production. Depending on the scene, the Sand Cliff Deck can look like an ice-covered mountain, a battlefield littered with arrows, and much more.

Three video projectors are used to cover the deck, and they’re calibrated before each show.

Calibrating video projections onto the Sand Cliff deck

As with every other Cirque production, sound and music are an integral part of the show. KA uses a live band, which occupies two sound studios immediately below and behind the stage. Each of the musicians and singers is onstage for at least part of the show, so they perform in makeup and costume, even though they spend most of the show out of sight.

One of the two KA music studios

To fill the 1,950-seat KÀ Theatre with sound takes 524,150 total watts of amplifier power pumping an intricately layered mix of sound effects and music to 4,774 loudspeaker drivers in 2,139 cabinets. In addition, every seat in the theatre has two speakers built into its headrest that allow sound effects to be targeted, manipulated and customized to any of 16 seating zones.

To make all this work, technical director Walstad oversees a crew of nearly 200 technicians, 100 of whom are working during KÀs ten weekly shows. That’s right – the techies actually outnumber the performers (of which there are about 75 per show).

In the booth with KÀ technical director Erik Walstad

You’ve probably surmised by now that this isn’t the kind of Cirque show that can tour to a city near you; you need to go to Las Vegas to see it. As someone who’s seen it half a dozen times – and paid for each of those tickets myself – I can’t recommend it highly enough. Happy 5th birthday, KÀ. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Useful Links

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Lucky 21

By on September 28, 2009 in Las Vegas

Tom and I just returned from a splendiferous weekend in Las Vegas, which we undertook in a slightly early celebration of our 21st wedding anniversary. (The actual date is October 1.) Since we head to Sin City more often than many of our friends, we’re usually asked for recommendations, so I figured I’d just write up our little trip and let you take from it what you will.

Transport

We almost always drive to Las Vegas. From where we live in Los Angeles, it usually takes no more than five hours. That’s about comparable to flying, if you include the time you spend traveling to the airport, going through security, waiting at the gate, and taking a taxi from McCarran to your hotel. Another advantage to driving is that it saves money en route (a tank of gas each way compared to a plane ticket) as well as in town (no need to take taxis, and parking is free pretty much everywhere).

We affirmatively enjoy the drive through the scenic Mojave Desert, and it’s become our tradition to stop at the In-N-Out in Barstow along the way. One of their employees told us it’s the largest and busiest one in the entire chain. I have no reason to doubt that’s true.

Accommodation

We’ve stayed at many of the hotels on the Strip, as well as a few (Green Valley Ranch and the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas) off the Strip. We decide where to stay based on the purpose of the trip, where the best rates can be had, etc. This particular weekend was an unusual one in that many big concerts were in town and reasonably-priced rooms were difficult to secure. We settled on TI (formerly Treasure Island), which had emailed a generous promotional rate offer to me.

To our tremendous surprise, when we arrived at TI to check in, they informed us they were comping our room for the weekend. I don’t know whether that was a mistake, or because I had told them we were celebrating our anniversary, but we were well pleased.  Also to their credit: when we called downstairs to report a problem with our internet connection, they had an engineer up to our room within 10 minutes, and he had it fixed within five.

Guest Room, Treasure Island

Also in TI’s favor: the bed was exceedingly comfortable, with a range of pillows, a duvet in lieu of a bedspread, and the softest of sheets. Our room had a comfy reading chaise as well as a desk with wireless (and wired) internet, and a bright flat-screen television. Not that we spent all that much time in the room, but we were happy and comfortable when there.

Side note: even if you only visit Las Vegas once every Leap Year, it’s worth signing up for the email lists of the hotels in which you’d consider staying. And even if the extent of your gambling is that you drop a roll of quarters in a slot machine, it’s likewise worth signing up for the “Players Club” of the hotel(s) you like. Either way, they’ll email you promotional rates, as well as offers for reduced-price show tickets.

Entertainment

We booked two shows, each spectacular in its own way.

Friday evening, we saw Cirque du Soleil’s incomparable “O,” in permanent residence at Bellagio. This show is unlike any other show (even any other Cirque show) anywhere. In place of the stage is a 1.5 million gallon pool, and the athlete/artists make full use of it. They perform IN the water (synchronized swimming); they perform ON the water (tumbling and contortion on a floating barge? No problem!); they perform ABOVE the water (trapeze, parallel bars). The water affords them the chance to do tumbling and aerobatics they could never safely do if they had to land on a hard surface. Even the clowns make full use of the wet stuff. And did I mention that the bottom of the pool rises and falls in sections, to expose some or all of the water?

I don’t know what those crazy French-Canadians were smoking when they conceived of this show, but I’ve seen it six times already and will without doubt see it again. It’s a brilliant, inspiring, multi-sensory combination of athletics, artistry, aesthetics and technology. Seeing it from the rear orchestra or balcony affords the chance to fully appreciate the choreography and immense scale; seeing it from up close lets you marvel at the costumes, makeup and machinery. Either way, it’s a magical experience that you can ONLY get in Las Vegas (believe me when I say this show cannot travel to you, so you must travel to IT), and one I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Pet Shop BoysSaturday evening, we saw Pet Shop Boys close out their North American tour at The Joint. It was the first time we’d been inside the Hard Rock Hotel, and we were pleasantly surprised at The Joint. Our seats were in the first row of the balcony, which made for spectacular unobstructed viewing, but the place is small enough that there probably isn’t a bad seat in the house. The show was tremendous. While I usually prefer all of my music to be live at concerts, that’s not PSB’s m.o., and we knew that going in. The staging, video vignettes and choreography all complemented the music thoughtfully, and made up for the lack of live drums, bass, etc. We’d definitely head back to The Joint for future shows, although we’re way too old, married and un-inked to spend much other time at the Hard Rock.

Food

Fine dining opportunities abound in Las Vegas. It’s the one American city, for example, where Michelin-starred chefs Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy have opened restaurants. Julian Serrano, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Alain Ducasse, Emeril Lagasse, Michael Mina, Wolfgang Puck and Bobby Flay, among many other renowned chefs, have Vegas outposts. You won’t go wanting for good food when you’re not at the tables, shows or spas.

But the thing about truly fine dining is that it’s theatre in and of itself. Would you really want to race through dinner at Le Cirque or Bartolotta in order to make curtain for a show? (Well, you could if you really wanted to; we noticed that Le Cirque has a $68 prix-fixe pre-“O” special.) My point is that we prefer to either see a show OR luxuriate over a fine meal, and rarely try to do both in one evening. That’s not to say we’d only eat fine food or fast food; there are many happy mediums.

For our Friday night meal, we chose Yellowtail, a Japanese restaurant in Bellagio. The food is terrific and they were able to get us in and out in 90 minutes, plenty of time to catch the late show of “O.”

Yellowtail at BellagioThe edamame arrives prepared two ways: traditionally steamed and salted, or in a sweet and spicy chili sauce. Both were delicious. The menu includes a range of cooked food and sushi. We highly recommend the cucumber salad, the eggplant skewers and the teriyaki chicken. We found the sushi rolls, while tasty, weren’t spectacular. A few were a bit gimmicky for our taste (pop rocks in a spicy crab roll, for example).

By all means give Yellowtail a whirl if you fancy Japanese food. But be on the safe side and make a reservation, and let them know if you need to be out in time to see a show. Even then, don’t be surprised if you’re not seated promptly during busy periods. We weren’t seated for our 8pm reservation until 8:35; to their credit, the management was incredibly apologetic, swore it was an unusual wait, and bought us each a glass of wine to make amends. But it’s another reason to dine very close to where you’re seeing your show. In our case, it was just a 2-minute walk across the Bellagio casino to the “O” theatre, and we were in our seats well in time for the show.

Shopping

We spent a bit of time at both the North and South Las Vegas Outlet Malls. The Las Vegas Premium Outlets, a few miles north of The Strip, offers discounted merchandise from designer shops including Burberry, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Lacoste, St. John, Missoni, and dozens of others. We snagged a cashmere scarf at Burberry for less than half the SRP, and last year got a sport coat for about 15% of the original SRP.

The South Las Vegas Outlet Center features a number of the same stores, but, uniquely, has a shop called “Character Warehouse,” which features excess inventory – primarily apparel, but also some books, mouse ears, pins and other memorabilia – from the Disney Theme Parks. It’s a bit like Goodwill, in that the inventory is constantly being refreshed and you may or may not find anything of interest. Our son is a huge Disney theme park fan, and we were able to snag something he wanted this weekend.

Wine

If you’ve read this far, and enjoy wine and spirits, you’re in luck. The reason I’ve buried this part of the tale at the bottom is because I’m ambivalent about sharing it. It’s no wonder that Las Vegas is home to more Master Sommeliers than any other place in America (and perhaps the world): any kind of wine, spirit, or beer you desire can be found here, perfectly presented, in the proper stemware.

Perhaps the best-kept secret in Las Vegas is that most of the fine dining (and I mean ultra-fine dining) restaurants have small bar or lounge areas. You needn’t be having dinner there to have a drink, and the drinks will be spectacular. You can, as we did on both Friday and Saturday evenings, sit at the bar in Julian Serrano’s Five Diamond restaurant Picasso, where Master Sommelier Robert Smith is happy to recommend and present wines by the glass. And the barman, Jason (who has been there for seven years), makes superb conversation, and lets you know when to turn around and gaze at the Bellagio fountains performing just outside the restaurant.

Picasso

You also, of course, get to gaze at a Picasso while seated at the bar. Just sayin’.

Another advantage to enjoying a drink at a restaurant bar, as opposed to a “bar” bar, is that it’s possible to actually converse. Now, not everyone having a drink in Las Vegas is looking for intercourse of the verbal variety, of that I’m well aware. (And let’s not even go into the stratospheric “bottle service” charges levied by some of the most popular nightclubs.) But for those who can do without the pounding music and “meat market” environment of some of the more popular watering holes, a lovely restaurant lounge may be just the ticket.

In addition to Picasso, you might enjoy a glass of wine or whiskey at Prime Steakhouse, directly across from Picasso, which also has a small but welcoming bar area. So do the lovely Aureole and Fleur de Lys restaurants at Mandalay Bay, SW Steakhouse at Wynn, and Restaurant Charlie at Palazzo. The lounge at Guy Savoy (in Caesar’s Palace) is reportedly a sublime place to enjoy at glass of Champagne. I look forward to testing that theory on our next visit.

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