at The Venetian Resort – From the Dress to Dinner!
The “date night” is OFFICIALLY BACK! No more are the nights of Netflix and chill - okay maybe a few more of those nights; but for this girl who loves herself a social outing, this moment could not have come soon enough! I have missed so much about this incredible city, but mostly the chance to get out on the town and make some memories!
With that being said, what does this 2021 post-covidish Vegas date night even look like? I have so many questions – Do I remember how to eat in public? What happens if I trip in my heels? Where did I put all of my bras? All valid questions after basically a year on house arrest. Well my friends, I am here for you! I have taken the first steps out into the unknown to answer these queries (and no, you won’t trip). We decided the best way to spend our first date night out was to visit Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort. So come with me on this summer date night adventure – from the dress to dinner, I will give you all the know-how needed to make that next night out on the town one to remember.
First things first, what the heck do you wear?! I mean, athleisure has become a second skin at this point and although this trend is 99% of the time totally appropriate for the occasion, I think for the night we shed that skin and slip into something a bit more exciting. For this, I recommend a shop that gives you everything you need to stun with the convenience and ease of it all being in one place (plus an equipped staff qualified to keep you on track) – Tory Burch at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort.
Their current collection gives me all the feels! I don’t know if it was finally being able to try something on in the store or seeing a piece in real life and not through a computer screen, but let me tell you, it was good! I walked through and picked out three favorites and let a member of their staff do the rest – with my only direction being “think summer date night.” This was bold seeing as I RARELY like anything someone picks out for me but oh, they did not disappoint! My absolute favorite full look had to be the Ruffle Neck Dress in the color Wood Rose, the Cleo Macrame Woven Mini Bag in Yuca and their best-selling Double T Sport Slides in Dulce De Leche and Gold. It was summer date night perfection! Surrounded by these macrame bags, raffia, rope heels, and luxurious fabrics and prints, I could have stayed forever... Alas, a girl has got to eat and her date was getting impatient.
So once the perfect outfit was selected, we weaved our way through The Shoppes, and headed over the river and through the woods… I mean through the square to our dinner date spot – Smith & Wollensky. If you don’t know Smith & Wollensky, they have a pretty large cult following and started their stint in Vegas a little way down the strip from where they sit now. When they closed their original location, they vowed to come back to our city and ended up putting down roots in Grand Canal Shoppes three years later!
Now, don’t let the entrance fool you... because it fooled me! From the front you can see a little bar area and some smaller tables – nothing crazy – the place looks pretty small. Lucky for us, the magic happens upstairs. Down the hall and into an elevator, you feel like a “somebody” as they send you up to the second floor to what opens up into the quintessential steakhouse; low lighting, cozy booths, a wine wall and a steer head or two. What you don’t normally see is a canal filled with gondolas and men and women in those cute straw hats and striped shirts that pass by as you dine. Needless to say, this view set a one-of-a-kind scene!
We started the dinner with cocktails; a dirty martini for Jordan and an Elderflower gin and tonic for me. My drink was a gin and tonic with a twist – literally - a twist of lemon rind, lemon thyme syrup, and elderflower tonic. Jordan’s dirty martini was so good I decided to start ordering them at bars – extra dirty, blue cheese olives, shaken not stirred. Did I mention they mix it up at your table and leave the chilled shaker for you to fill your glass at your leisure?
We nibbled on a dinner roll – ridiculously delicious and I loved how they gave you dishes of Himalayan pink salt and butter to dress your roll how you like it! I want to get some jars like this for my home now. We then ordered their Wollensky Salad to share and the Dijon vinaigrette dressing was AMAZING – I am for sure looking up the recipe! We decided to take a look at the wine list and noticed the great price on Duckhorn by the glass... so you know we had to indulge. If you haven’t tried this wine – highly recommend!
As this was our first time at Smith and Wollensky, we wanted to order two different dishes to try a bit of the menu but when our server described the Snake River Farms Swinging Tomahawk, we just couldn’t resist. It’s a more expensive choice but it easily fed us two – with leftovers – plus you get dinner and a show! They cart the hanging steak out to your table and begin to char the meat with a blowtorch - yes, a blowtorch at the table. The smell alone gets your mouth watering and when you taste it… out of this world! Crispy, juicy and oh so delicious.
The dish comes with potatoes, which Jordan had to know how to recreate - they were full of flavor! The secret to these spuds… a blow torch and dripping steak fat – I guess this means we have to come back. For a side, we ordered the truffled mac and cheese because you have to order anything and everything that has truffle in the name, it’s a basic rule of food engagement. This. Was. Beyond. Incredible. Enough said, order it! When we filled ourselves to the brim, our server packed our leftovers in a green bag with nothing but “lucky puppy” across the front.
Then came desert, two espresso martinis and the world’s largest chocolate cake slice. I’ll start with the martinis and then get into the cake layers. If you have been to San Francisco and had an Irish Coffee from the Buena Vista, then you will understand the goodness and magic of these espresso martinis. Jordan and I swear the secret is in the Irish cream – it almost gives it an amaretto flavor that’s so light and refreshing. I would say one of the best espresso martinis I have ever had... and I’ve had a few. Now onto the cake, don’t worry I didn’t forget. The Gigantic Chocolate Cake is a ten-layer chocolate cake made up of chocolate layer cake, chocolate mousse, ganache and is garnished with fruit, whipped cream, and topped with a cookie steer. If you need a mental picture, just think of the movie Matilda, when Brucie had to eat that giant chocolate cake (pretty much spot on). Again, we could not finish and to our delight the server brought out another green bag... larger than the first, that too said “lucky dog.” I mean come on, so GOOD!
With that, dinner was done and our night was coming to a close. We slowly made our way back through The Shoppes and to our car to head home. As I sit back on my couch... and write this post, Jordan and I reminisce on the past evening - both in agreement, it was a night to remember!