How I ate my way through Vegas

My sister, Janet, recently invited me to tag along with her to Las Vegas while she was there on business. It was my first time to the land of exaggerated hotels, neon lights and slot machines.

While other tourists hungered for gambling, I scoured hotels reading menus. It was my chance to try a few of the places I'd always heard about.

We stayed on the 27th floor of the Wynn Encore, which was over-the-top, Vegas-style luxurious. Everywhere we looked we saw butterflies - the casino resort's design motif. They fluttered on lighting fixtures, gold-leaf ceilings and were stitched into plush red carpeting ... very fun.

Other highlights included crystal peacocks, mirrors and miles of plush fabric swags, oversized red chandeliers and dazzling Swarovski masterpieces. With so much fabulosity, it was an easy place to love.

During our first afternoon, we stopped by Burger Bar, Hubert Keller's casual spot inside the walls of Mandalay Bay. We took a seat at the bar, ordered beers and split the chef's namesake burger and an order of sweet potato fries. I really wanted to try the $60 foie gras, truffle and Kobe burger but decided that neither my waistline nor budget could support it.

Our gourmet lunch on a ciabatta (Italian white bread) bun came with ground buffalo, caramelized onions, baby spinach and blue cheese. Hubert Keller did well.

On Day 2, we snagged lunch at another celebrity chef-helmed restaurant, Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. We enjoyed his smoked shrimp tacos, and a preserved duck salad with spicy pecans and concord grape dressing. Barring the $13 mojitos, the food was amply portioned and reasonably priced.

With Janet stuck at her business convention, I had Day 3 to myself and set out to explore the city. I purchased a $12 day pass and jumped on the monorail, leisurely stopping at all seven of the stations that dot Las Vegas Boulevard.

I found myself at the MGM eager for lunch. Joel Robuchon, Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio, Michael Mina and Emeril Lagasse each had a presence there. It was an easy choice, though, because Wolfgang's place was the only one open for lunch.

I'm really not much of a beet lover, but I couldn't resist the marvelous combination of cold marinated baby beet salad with orange segments, Humboldt Fog cheese and pistachios.

By the third evening, I was entering Vegas overload. One of our cab drivers recommended Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens Restaurant. The landmark Italian eatery was just off the Vegas Strip and a much welcomed break.

Next door to the now-closed Liberace Museum, Carluccio's originally was owned by the onetime megastar. In Liberace style, the restaurant had hundreds of lights twinkling from the ceiling, excellent service, great prices and food just like mama used to make.

It seemed only fitting to do it up in style our next and last night in Vegas. Spoiling ourselves, we decided to dine at Janet's favorite spot, Okada. Tucked inside the Wynn, the restaurant's coursing waterfall and lush gardens surrounded us.

Its menu spotlighted contemporary Japanese and Asian-fusion cuisine. We ordered a quartet of stunningly good small plates, made for passing and sharing. One was a trio of tartar: tuna, salmon and yellowtail served with crispy wafers of taro. It was a standout.

I'm still reminiscing about the sake there. We shared a half-carafe of chilled Hakkaisan Ginjo. I have to admit I'm not a sake expert, but this one was incredible with its elegant and subtle fragrance, exquisite flavor and clean finish.

Ah, so much good food, so little time. Even a blissful butterfly has to come back down to earth.