Las Vegan pt 1

So we went to Las Vegas back in June 2013 to celebrate my husband's 30th bday...we both had a fabulous time but left thinking we were glad to go, but would be okay if we never had the opportunity to go back since there are so many places we want to travel to! Don't get me wrong - Vegas is a fantastic city with plenty to do and see (and vegan friendly!), but I guess since we went when it was 112 degrees we mostly saw the inside of casinos since walking around would get quite exhausting in the heat.

Fast forward to last weekend - Jason had the opportunity to go to Vegas for a business conference - and I was more than excited to jump on board to accompany him mid-way through the week! He left on Sunday - I met him there Wednesday evening and we spent the rest of the week/weekend relaxing and enjoying the beautiful 85 degree Vegas..ahh much better!

It was really fun to be back so soon and feel familiar with the area and where we liked the previous time we had gone. We didn't feel like such newbies this time around!

Onto the food..since Vegas is SO vegan friendly, I was excited to try out some new places and revisit some of the places we went to during out first trip.

Steven Wynn - the owner of the Wynn and Encore and many other casinos in Vegas went vegan a few years ago and thus added a vegan menu to every restaurant in his hotels! Last time we tried Sinatra which was Italian based food and amazing, so this time we made a reservation for Lakeside (a seafood based restaurant) located in the Wynn casino.

Growing up I remember many a night eating creamy Campbell's New England clam chowder as a child. Although not the most gourmet meal, this meal reminds me of the comfort of home and I was excited to see it as a vegan option at Lakeside! However - due to my high dislike of mushrooms - I asked the server if it was too mushroomy for my taste - and he concluded that it was very mushroom-filled. I knew I would not feel the same comfort from the can that I remembered as a child, so unfortunately I did opt out of that. But for mushroom lovers - do try it! I've heard good things..

As Sinatra started with a bread basket and vegan butter, so did Lakeside. This is fabulous for vegans that usually feel left out of the typical bread & butter basket.

To start, we split the Truffle Arancini with roasted garlic aioli.

These were cute little balls of risotto goodness with a magical vegan garlic sauce. We definitely loved these! Great way to start the meal.

For my entree - I was back and forth between a few dishes - wanting a good mix of veggies with whatever protein. I ended up choosing the Walnut Crusted Gardein Chicken Breast (can they really call it this??) with red pepper coulis and balsamic sherry reduction - and ordered a side of their Grilled Green Asparagus to split with Jason - because I had a fear of not having enough vegetables (vegan problems...).

Somehow even their asparagus was out of this world amazing. No doubt about it - Wynn restaurants are 100% gourmet delicious Vegan food that both omnivores and vegans can enjoy in harmony. So zen..

And as much as Jason had to twist my arm to get dessert (I am a sweet tooth lady and never say no to vegan dessert...) we tried the vegan Carrot Cake option to end the meal with. It was a small piece that was perfect to split and end with - absolutely delicious!

                           



I have two other amazing "Las Vegan" reviews - but I shall save them for the next post to prevent it from being too filled up. But get excited for ice cream made in your face and vegan pizza! :)