Reservations About Reservations.

The Governator, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that all restaurants cannot accept walk-ins and must only take reserved tables. 

This is in addition to the 25% capacity mandate. Both of them being in effect seem redundant and silly, but here we are. This, of course, presents issues for me. I'm generally a "seat of the pants" guy when it comes to food in Vegas, at least for the most part. I may under normal circumstances make 1 or 2 reservations during the course of a trip, for splurge meals or, as was to be the case on this trip, to soak up resort credit somewhere. Otherwise, for probably 3/4 meals I have in Vegas, I just stroll up and plunk myself down at the bar somewhere and eat that way, whenever the mood strikes me or when the alcohol needs to be soaked up, so I can have more alcohol.

This trip, because it's 2020, will be different. With the reservation mandate I don't know ahead of time whether or not I can just waltz up and be seated at the bar anywhere for food, so to cover my ass on this trip I am Reservation Boy. I have lined up reservations for literally every lunch and dinner of the entire trip. All lunch rezzies 12:30p, all dinner 5:30 or 6p except...

-Tuesday night late dinner: After getting in and checked in and settled, I have a spot at Gordon Ramsay Pub at Caesars. It's one of the only food places on Open Table that is open that late on a Tuesday. It's fine, I've been there before. Plenty of decent pub grub to soak up the Guinness. This will be the first real food of the day so I'll likely be famished.

-Wednesday lunch: back to the excellent Wolfgang Puck Grill at MGM. Have had the Bolognese here a few times and it is stellar, and it's right across from Park MGM so a no brainer. Also an Mlife eligible spot, which, hey why not.

-Wednesday dinner: lined up Tom's Urban at NYNY. Have never been blown away by anything here, food or service, but the menu is longer than a football field and it's close proximity to the home base so it's there to cover me if nothing else is available. Another Mlifer. This one could well get cancelled. 

-Turkey Day lunch: Salt & Ivy, the break/brunch place at Aria. Again pretty close to the home base, and can gain Mlife points eating here. No idea about quality, but I assume they can't fuck up an omelette too severely. More Mlife points.

-Turkey Day dinner: this one was on the books from the start, the $50 resort credit soaker at Bavette's inside the home resort. Had a meh steak the first time eating there but may go turkey this time as it's turkey day. RC, points, yadda yadda.

-Friday lunch: excited about this one, hitting Delmonico at V/P. They have a stellar burger there that I've had before and will have Friday. Little further away from the home base on this one but if I was going to be forced to reserve every damn meal I wanted to get Delmonico in for at least one of them, I love that place.

-Friday dinner: back home to try the food at NoMad Bar. This may be awkward as it's a lot of bouncing back and forth between resorts from lunch to dinner, but I'm banking after a night and 2 full days to this point of partay, that I may need a nap on Friday afternoon, so this would be a good starting point for the last night if that's the case. If not and I'm going strong up north, I may cancel it and take my chances on food. More Mlifies.

So, if it all lays out like this, I may end up spending more on food than I had expected as most of theses are in no way bargains, but at least I won't have to worry about not having somewhere to eat every day and I also won't have to stoop down to having fucking Taco Bell or something (though I'm not ruling that out for late night munchies). 

I'm taking advantage of most of the meals being in Mlife eligible spots; if I'm forced to reserve food I may as well get something back from it. And reserving all these spots takes the guessing away about meals, if they all happen, fine, if I'm able to wing it more by just going to the bars in places or ordering take out and going to stand alone bars, so be it. Any of these can and may be cancelled, aside from probably the Bavettes one.

One less thing to worry about.