![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| munchbar: The Low Down | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| back to the top | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| munchbar: Full Review | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
After years of the Las Vegas hotels adding one outrageously priced restaurant after another, the latest trend seems to be toward the more affordable options. Whether this is a response to the recession or just a realization that there are only so many $150 per person meals that people can eat, it is a welcome relief to have dining alternatives that won't cost you a fortune - especially when they are as good as munchbar at Caesars Palace.
Located adjacent to the Sports Book and Pure nightclub, munchbar is a tiny slip of a joint with maybe a dozen tables and some counter seating. You can dine in or get your food to go if you feel like eating in your room and don't want to pay the inflated room service charges. Classic American food with wacky twists fill the bulk of the menu with appetizers (aka "munchies") ranging from tiny grilled cheese sandwiches to chicken wings to southern fried popcorn chicken. The "Big Munch" offerings throw in fish tacos, a rock shrimp po boy, and a grilled kosher style hot dog smothered in chili while a selection of salads and burgers round out the bulk of your choices. We started with a bunch of stuff from the appetizer section including those grilled cheese sandwiches, which effectively amounted to one big sandwich cut up into small bites and served with a creamy tomato dipping sauce. The bread was crunchy/soft and the cheese was melty perfection; the kind of comfort food you remember from your childhood. A selection of wings includes Thai, Italian, and what they call "Three Hot Friends," the latter being call the fire department hot. All are served with their own dipping sauce, some of which could require a second alarm. The Pizzadilla was the winner of the bunch - a fresh flour tortilla quesadilla stuffed with pizza fixings like pepperoni, cheese, basil, and chicken. It was a terrific twist on the overdone quesadilla appetizers you find at other restaurants. The Mahi Mahi fish tacos were terrific but you really should aim your attention toward the burgers. Their standard "Munch Burger" comes with a thick, juicy beef patty, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce, and sauce on a fluffy soft roll and right now wins my title for "best burger in Vegas." Other options include an insanely hot jalapeno with pepper jack and spicy guacamole, a bleu cheese version with bacon and mushrooms, a chili-cheese burger, and turkey and veggie versions if you are feeling like you need to watch your caloric intake. Each comes with hand cut sweet potato fries and a garlic mayo dipping sauce. Or if you want your cake and to eat it also, you can get the Burger in a Bowl, which is basically all the hamburger fixings on a salad. Yeah, explain that to your trainer. They also have a few breakfast sandwich and burrito options if you are up late (they are open until the wee hours) and feeling peckish plus a full cocktail, beer, and wine menu. Desserts come in the form of ice cream cones or sundaes, all soft-serve and piled way too high for one human being to consume with any kind of decorum. You'll note that I started this review out with "more affordable" and not "cheap." Appetizers are in the $8-14 range, main courses including burgers from $9-17, and salads $11-17. You could probably do it for under $20 per person but not by a whole heck of a lot and if you start adding on a lot of appetizers and drinks you'll raise that total quickly. But on the Las Vegas Strip, $20 meals are pretty rare and ones this good even more rare still.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| back to the top | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||