Vegas, Baby! Part 4: On top of the World

Welcome back to part 4 of my Las Vegas adventures!

We started a brand new day in Las Vegas on top of the world! Stratosphere Hotel and Casino boasts the tallest observation deck in the country, with both indoor and outdoor 360 degree viewing decks, rides, restaurants, bars, and seating area.

Michael and I started our morning by riding all the way up to the top and enjoying a cool drink in the lounge area to simply relax and enjoy the panoramic view. We could also watch the people riding the Skyjump, a bungy-like ride where you're basically pushed off the top of the tower and land at the bottom, hopefully in one piece.

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After coming down from the glorious tower, we then looked around Paris, Las Vegas a short bit, and made our way to Planet Hollywood to eat at celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's burger restaurant, BurGR. We had to wait a half hour to even get in the door, and the decor is lots of fiery colours with Gordon's face on everything, complete with a flaming sign. As a starter, we ordered Roasted Jalapeno Poppers, which are deep-fried treats of jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheddar bacon and breaded. They came with cheddar ranch dip. The first popper was mild and flavourful and the perfect-tasting treat, but the following poppers were so hot I could barely eat them, and jalapenos just aren't that hot. I had nothing to drink but chlorinated water and a cocktail, so there was no helping the burn, which ruined the taste a bit for me. The dip was very nice and had a slight cooling effect, though, and the breading was super thick and crunchy, and stayed crunchy while eating.

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Beautiful display: BurGR's Roasted Jalapeno Poppers in individual dipping glasses.

For burgers, Michael ordered the American Burger to "see if Ramsay can pull off a good, old-fashioned American burger". It had American cheese, butter lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. I ordered the Hell's Kitchen Burger with asadero cheese, roasted jalapeno peppers, avocado and oven roasted tomato. The buns were glossy and beautiful with their multi-coloured sesame seeds. On the side we ordered both the Truffle Parmesan fries with truffle parmesan, truffle salt and truffle aioli and the Sweet Potato Fries with vanilla powdered sugar and honey jalapeno mayo. Most people were ordering one type of fries for 2 people, but not us, we decided to order double the amount for 2 people!! That's just how we roll!

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Everything tasted good, but we expected more precision from a Gordon Ramsay establishment. First, they asked how our burgers should be cooked, and we specified medium. They were well done, but we didn't want to complain about it, since it's a burger and not a steak, and they did retain some of that open flame taste. The truffle fries were a bit soggier than expected, but tasted really great. They came with two dipping sauces, the truffle aioli and a spiced ketchup. The burger flavours melted and worked together very well, however, my burger lacked a bit of salt, and in the final bites, had a piece of bone in it, and I was afraid I had chipped a tooth. The manager was apologetic and struck my burger from the bill, which was fair enough since no damage had been done. I was honestly expecting to be amazed by this place, but I left feeling a sense of disappointment. It was all a bit sloppy, but a great burger nonetheless, and those fries are certainly worth it.

I highly recommend the sweet potato fries. I know it sounds weird putting sugar on fries, but, trust me, they stole the show with their amazingness. I caught myself powdering my fries more than once because I couldn't get enough of the sweet, fried, salty sticks.

I would definitely give BurGR another chance and go back to try new things, especially the Honey-Pig Bao Buns, made from roasted pork belly, cucumber, radish, cilantro and honey-hoisin sauce. I would have gotten this as a starter, but we played Rock Paper Scissors to decide the starter, and I lost!!

Oh well. I'll get my hands on your warm buns, yet, Ramsay!!