Aureole's

Our second night in Vegas we ate at Aureole's in Mandalay Bay, and the whole experience was probably the best part of the trip! We started by being seated next to the door to the patio outside, with a pretty fountain and swans.

Carl had met the head chef there last time, Vincent, so we requested to see him. He came out to the table and was flattered that we asked for a picture with him!

We each got a plate of appetizers to start: a spring roll with crab, a ham and cheese sandwich bite, and a beef and lamb sausage with a yogurt mint sauce.

The first two were delicious, but the sausage had too much lamb for my taste.

As appetizers, Ben ordered ahi tuna, Carl ordered lobster ravioli with peas and a tarragon infusion (the best appetizer he has ever had!), and I had a salad with ridicchio, mint, dill, beets, some sort of tangerine dressing, and flower petals! Can't say I've ever eaten flower before...but it was interesting! The salad was just full of unique flavors.

The sommelier (aka the wine expert), Allison, came out to our table and overwhelmed us with an electronic device with all the wines they have on it.

This might not sound like much, but this place is known for the wine- just look at this wall of it!

The neatest thing is that they have these people called "Wine Angels" who literally repel up and down the wall of wines to get a bottle out for you! Sadly, I never snatched a picture of one. We went with Allison's advice and ended up doing a bottle of Argentinian Cabernet and Malbec blend. We also split a taste of a Cabernet and a taste of a Malbec to be able to taste the difference in them. Allison didn't steer us wrong with the blend- it was a nice complement to our meals.

Vincent surprised us by sending out onion soup and foie gras for each of us, free of charge! Even though I don't like onions, I tried the soup and it was surprisingly sweet and yummy!

The foie gras (for those of you who don't know, that means goose liver!) was very buttery tasting and was on some sort of cornbread with raspberry compote on top.

Pretty good, but I am weird about unusual meats and didn't eat all of my foie gras.

Vincent had made some dinner recommendations, which we took: Ben had filet mignon with a blue cheese encrusted top and mashed potatoes; I had a breaded sea bass with artichokes and ratatouille as a side; Carl had sturgeon and scallops with a side of succotash.

DE-LISH. So elegant, so fabulous...if you get the chance, eat at this restaurant!!

They brought out a plate of chocolates for dessert- Carl and Ben ate one tiny bite each, and I ate the rest by myself. A girl just needs chocolate, okay?!

Vincent came back out afterward to see how we liked everything. It just goes to show that chefs are not complimented enough, and when they are, they really appreciate it!

CAN YOU BELIEVE WE ATE ALL THAT FOOD? No wonder we were so stuffed walking out of there! It was totally worth it though. :)