Friday, August 31, 2012

LABOR DAY ALERT: Military Appreciation at Miller's Ale House!

While there is a great reason to visit Miller's Ale House (Town Square Retail Mall on South Strip - Las Vegas Blvd.) this Labor Day (Sept. 3) if you are a Veteran, current serving member or a reserve on the Nation's Armed Forces, this restaurant always has great food with great prices and quite an expansive menu.

I'll get to the Labor Day offer first. As I said above, if you are in that criteria, you will receive 50% off your entree, just show your valid Military ID or VA card and you'll get the discount. Simple as that!

Now, I'll talk more about Miller's dishes. They are known for their generous portions and I have dined her regularly throughout the past two years. On the appetizers side, there is the Chicken Nachos. I remember dining there once and a group of guys all shared it. It was huge! Just huge! So in one of my subsequent visits, I did try it and it was really good. Albeit that it's an appetizer, between sharing it with one other person, I was done. I was full. No entree item needed!

One of my favorite dishes here is their English Style Fish and Chips. No joke, it's an extremely generous portion that I ALWAYS share with someone else. I never tackle this dish alone because overeating simply doesn't feel good. Plus, eating half of the dish - you get the point that it's good. It's got a great type of light breading on it which I appreciate because I feel like I'm eating the fish and not a bunch of coating. It comes with fries and some coleslaw. Price: $9.95 - Trust me. Well worth it! You don't find Fish and Chips at that price for the size anywhere else that I've seen in Vegas.

A specialty of theirs is the Zingers. Boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces that are coated lightly and friend with their special sauces. The coating and the unique sauces is really what makes this an awesome appetizer. A server once mixed Hot with Garlic and that was a great combo!

Every Monday-Friday, Miller's has a Lunch Special menu where there is always an item that is $4.99 and one that is $5.99. These items are usually a sandwich and a dish like Chicken Pot Pie or Meatloaf.

Every night as well, Miller's has a fantastic Dinner Special. I particularly like Mondays because I've tried it before and that's the $10.99 1 1/4 Pound Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs that fall off the bone. It is served with fries and coleslaw. This is another "Share It" dish in my book. It's simply too much to eat it all yourself.

Another day of interest may be Wednesday where it's a 1 1/4 lb steamed Whole Maine Lobster for $14.95. I haven't tried this dish only because I'm allergic to lobster. However, I do know the price of lobster so this definitely seems like a great deal.

The environment at Miller's is that of a sports bar/restaurant one. You have an indoor patio that is covered with their large windows/shutters opened during nice weather and you have the bar and regular family dinner areas. There are many many screens everywhere and you can watch you sports games there as you dine.

So special occasion or not, Miller's always has a great deal.







Monday, August 27, 2012

Mimi's Cafe $5 Happy Hour

Ever since Mimi's Cafe came to Las Vegas, it's consistently been a restaurant that dishes up great food. From breakfast to dinner, they have generous portions and they have some unbelievable breads - carrot raisin nut loaf, blueberry muffin, honey bran etc. The list goes on and on...

They now have Happy Hour and it's a great addition to their menu - which by the way - does feature select All-Day Breakfast items. If you are like me, you can eat breakfast for any meal and it's awesome! 

Mimi's features both food and drinks specials at $5 per item. Happy Hour is Monday-Sunday 4pm-6pm. I snapped a picture of the Happy Hour Menu so I can give you the specifics:

$5 Wine Flights
Red, White & Sparkling

$5 Bistro Bites 
(Add fries to any Bistro Bite for $1)
Crispy Zucchini Parmesan
Chicken Tenders
BBQ Pork Sliders
Signature Cheese & Fruit Plate

$5 White Wines by the Glass
Sparkling (Freixenet)
Riesling (Chateau Ste Michelle)
Pinot Grigio (Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi)
Chardonnay (La Terre)

$5 Red Wines by the Glass
Pinot Noir (Mirassou)
Merlot (Columbia Crest Two Vines)
Cabernet (La Terre)
Cabernet Sauvignon (Robert Mondavi Private Selection)

I haven't tried any of the Bistro Bites, but from the fact that anything I've ordered from Mimi's has been great, I think their track record speaks for itself. I've been a regular diner at Mimi's for the better part of the past ten years and they have been consistent. The serving staff and management are also very friendly. 

If you enjoy Mimi's Cafe like I do, then also join their eClub. They send 2-for-1 coupons quite frequently!


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Maggiano's Little Italy on the Strip Happy Hour

I have been known to frequent Maggiano's quite frequently especially when conventions come to town and I'm starving around the 5pm time slot. So, yes, I am typically recognized by the bar staff. They've always had some kind of a Happy Hour, but it seems as though they've just switched it up again with new offerings. This is the latest info I have on this matter.

Happy Hour is from 3-6pm and is available in the Dining Room, Bar and Lounge. This is great because now you aren't fighting for position at the bar and you can comfortably waltz into the restaurant to enjoy some food and drinks. 

Here is their Happy Hour Menu:

$3 Premium Draft Beer: 
Peroni, Stella Artois, Newcastle, Bud Light

$4 Flat Bread Pizzas: 
Margherita, Pepperoni & Arugula, Italian Sausage, Chicken & Roasted Pepper

$5 Wines by the Glass: 
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

$6 Specialty Cocktails: 
Featuring fresh juices and premium spirits...

When it's not Happy Hour, Maggiano's has family sized dishes that are great for sharing. They used to have monstrous portions, but they've scaled it back a little but the items/entrees are still great for sharing. When I go there, I always make some "sharing" agreement with my party because I've seen a lot of first timers order an entree for each person and end up feeling like they want to roll out of there because they are so stuffed. 

What I also like about Maggiano's is that it's attached to the Fashion Show Mall. You can shop before or after your meal, either way, it's good exercise! I also like this restaurant because you have a beautiful view of the Las Vegas Strip from its second floor location. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to find an affordable meal that isn't at tourist prices yet still have that view and ambiance in Vegas, but at Maggiano's you get that! 

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch Buffet 2-for-1

For the entire month of August (sidenote Mon-Thurs ONLY) Red Rock Casino and Green Valley Ranch's Feast Buffet are offering 2-for-1 deals. Typically there is a catch - and really - this time, there is no catch. This is what you do:

1. Go to either of these casinos and find the Rewards Kiosk. There are many of these throughout the casino floor.

2. Swipe your Players Card, enter your PIN, and the promotion of 2-for-1 Feast Buffet will appear on the screen.

3. Select the Feast Buffet Promotion and it will print right out of the kiosk.

4. Now, take this voucher with you to the buffet.

So, you see it's relatively easy and you don't have to accumulate any kind of points to receive the promotion. You can only receive one 2-for-1 voucher per day so strategically think about which meal you want to use it on. If you have a friend or a spouse - now - then you can actually take advantage of this twice each day. One swipe per card.

If there was a catch, I'd say it'd be this. THE DREADED WAIT. No doubt, Station Casinos was smart, once again. If you offer 2-for-1 to their two most premium properties with the most premium buffet, you are going to get people coming onto the property attempting to eat on a deal and ultimately throw dollars into machines or on tables. That's fine. That's the point of a casino.

However, I have now attempted to go to the Red Rock buffet twice now. The first time was on a Tuesday evening around 7pm. OK. Bad decision. Not only was the regular line long and wrapped around the post, but the handicap line was almost equally as long! Whoa! Now that was going to be a wait and as starving as I was, I couldn't stand to wait. I should have known that en route to the Feast Buffet that when I saw a long line even at the Cafe that there was some bad news for the buffet line. OK. It was time to hunt for another spot. Strategically, I thought, let's go during lunch. On Thursday, I once again landed at Red Rock and got my voucher. It was 12:30pm. I walked to the Feast Buffet and I saw the dreaded line again! Ugh. Did I just hit prime lunch hour now??? So as they say, third time's a charm. Perhaps I need to up my meal to breakfast next time and show up at 7am. I am determined to get at least one 2-for-1 before August 31st!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Happy Hour at Kabuki

I would eat Japanese food more often if it were friendly on the wallet, but sometimes it isn't. Luckily, at one of my favorite Japanese digs in Las Vegas, Kabuki (at Town Square or Tivoli Village), offers certain hours where eating off their menu becomes more affordable. Sure, you're not going to get every item at a discount, but for those meals that you want Japanese flavors without dinging the budget too much, Kabuki's got Happy Hour for you - not just one, but two!

Happy Hour #1 at Kabuki is Monday thru Friday from 3pm to 6pm. In a general consensus, you get anywhere from $1-$3 off of normal menu pricing. 

Appetizers range from $4.95-$5.95 and include Fried Tofu, Gyoza, Chicken Tokyo Quesadilla, Mixed Tempura, Sesame Chicken and Calamari Rings.

Salads are $4.95-$5.95 and include Seaweed Salad, Tofu Salad, Spicy Tuna Salad and Krab Salad.

Sushi and Rolls are $2.95-$3.50 and include Salmon/Sake, Albacore/Bincho Mauro, Shrimp/Ebi, Spicy Tuna Roll, Salmon Skin Roll, California Roll and Philadephia Roll.

Specialty Rolls are $5.95-$6.95 and include Spicy Tuna Crunch Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Alaskan Roll and Vegas Roll. 

There are also numerous Sake, Wine, Beer and Specialty Cocktail Specials. Hot Sake is $1.95. Draft beer starts at $1.75. 

Happy Hour #2 is aptly labeled "Reverse Happy Hour" and is available from Monday thru Thursday, 9pm-close, and Sunday, 8pm-close. 

While the prices remain relatively the same for Reverse Happy Hour, the menu selections have simmered down to six appetizer and salad items and nine rolls. The drinks specials remain much the same with the same amount of selection as the afternoon Happy Hour.

While I have only gone there for regular lunch or dinners, on my way out of dinner there last night, I couldn't help but notice the large Happy Hour card for taking that laid on the host stand. I always had a reason to go back to Kabuki for their great atmosphere and food, but with Happy Hour, I have even more reasons to go visit them!