To kick off my Las Vegas blog, I encourage you to take part in our 2-night giveaway at Paris Las Vegas. Of course, if you win, I want to see your hotel suite long enough to take some notes so that I can write about it.

Just kidding. Sort of.

In all honesty, though, I would love for you to continue following my Las Vegas writing over at Las Vegas Logue. Please feel free to follow along on Facebook, Twitter or via RSS.

As a final farewell to my Las Vegas content on Kaleidoscopic Wandering, I wanted to round up the I Love Las Vegas reviews I have written about the city I currently call home:

Entertainment:

• Ethel’s Annual Chocolate Wonderland
• Penn & Teller
• Short Bus Comics
• Le Reve at The Wynn

Restaurants:

• Dick’s Last Resort
• Terra Verde
• Brunch at Simon | Palms Place
• Shuck’s Tavern

Other Places:

• The Village at Lake Las Vegas
• Red Rock Running Company
• FAO Schwartz
• Ice Box Canyon at Red Rock Canyon

Images:

• Palazzo | Winter 2009
• Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens | Holiday Season 2009
• Palazzo | Spring 2009

There are a smattering of Dick’s across the United States, but the only one in Las Vegas is located in Excalibur Hotel. Every time I’ve walked past the restaurant, there’s been a line out the door. After hearing rave reviews about the Dick’s experience, I braved the line (only a 15-minute wait on a holiday weekend) so that I could see for myself whether it lived up to its hype.

The point of Dick’s Last Resort is to provide a humorous dining experience where all the rules are broken. The servers make you wait to order, act annoyed at any request you have and are generally rude and un-customer service like—that’s the point. I saw one male wait staff member sitting on a girl’s lap while she was trying to eat. Another brought out several smaller cups of soda instead of one large glass for someone who had ordered a Coke. People sitting at long picnic tables flung wadded up pieces of paper at each other as they waited for their food. The Dick’s in Las Vegas is known for the hats that each customer receives while dining. On the paper hats, the wait staff writes commentary about everything from sexual preferences to physical appearances, all in the name of fun. My hat, for example, said: “High Maintenance, But at Least I Swallow.”

While some people dine at Dick’s for the entertaining atmosphere, I was interested in checking out the food. Large menu boards are posted on the walls with minimal descriptions, but suffice to say everything is basically of the barbecue variety. I had a brisket sandwich with French fries, both of which were very flavorful and filling. The people I was with ordered various other meals, including fish and chips, hamburgers and chicken, all of which received rave reviews around the table.

The strange part of the Dick’s dining experience for me was understanding the line I could cross to get customer service when I needed it. I ordered a Sprite that tasted like tonic water. Was that part of the joke? Could I request a new drink? I wasn’t sure what to do. My husband, who is much more outgoing than I am, took an attitude with our waitress about me being high maintenance (see the hat) and demanded another drink. Our waitress threw some snide comment back, but then asked me what was wrong with it before bringing me another drink. I also needed a fork to eat the brisket that fell out of my sandwich but felt that might be a bit much to ask, so I let that situation be.

A meal at Dick’s Last Resort is a memorable experience, but only if you understand and can handle the service that comes with it. The food is definitely worth stopping for, but if you prefer to dine in a place where the customer is always right, then pass on Dick’s Last Resort.

If You Dine at Dick’s Last Resort:

• While kids are allowed in the restaurant, I highly recommend leaving anyone younger than 13 at home. There is inappropriate language thrown freely around the restaurant, and with kids in the restaurant, wait staff have to tame their antics, which dampens the experience for those who want to be razzed.
• To be immersed in the full experience, request to sit on the left side of the restaurant between the two bars where the long tables are located. You might need to share a table with strangers, but if you’re seated on the right side of the restaurant, you are forgotten and not really involved in any of the fun.
• The male servers seem to be much more assertive with their raunchy jokes. The female servers can tell when their customers are uncomfortable and really hang back on their act. Again, if you want the full experience, request a male waiter.
• Don’t be afraid to speak up about problems with the food. The staff at Dick’s Last Resort wants you to return, so if there’s something actually wrong with your food, say something. You may be teased at first, but your wait staff will work with you to rectify the problem.

Dick’s Last Resort | Excalibur Hotel | 702.597.7991

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• I Love Las Vegas – Shuck’s Tavern
• Dinner at Domingo’s – An Astronaut’s Favorite
• I Love Las Vegas – Penn & Teller
  

In a few sentences, that’s how I would describe Terra Verde, one of the finest restaurants located at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, about a 10-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip.

My husband and I made reservations to eat at Terra Verde for our sixth anniversary, but there was no reason to. On a Thursday night there were only a few tables with patrons. A couple tables had larger groups of people sitting at them—friends gathered for a drink to celebrate the holiday season, or so I gathered—and there were a few more tables of two or three folks each.

The dining room at Terra Verde is large, and there is an outside veranda overlooking the pedestrian mall at Green Valley Ranch, which they open when it is warm out. To start out our meal, we were given a plate of complimentary appetizers (I’m not sure if this is common practice or something they did for our anniversary), which consisted of three varieties of olives, pickled bell peppers, shaved Parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and zucchini chips. It was a flavorful selection that wasn’t too dense but did get my appetite stirred up for the main course.

Terra Verde has a large selection of Italian cuisine including from wood-fired pizzas and pastas with a variety of sauces and toppings. There are also many seafood dishes, including salmon, swordfish and seabass. Meal dishes include countless veal plates and a few chicken selections, many of which are topped with wine sauces. (Check out the full menu here.)

On Monday through Thursdays nights, there is also a prix fixe menu, which both my husband and I ordered from. For $35, patrons receive an appetizer, main course and dessert as well as a $10 wine card, which is a heck of a deal considering the main courses on this menu range from $18 to $24 when ordered on their own. We chose the bruschetta and caprese as our appetizers. The vegetables were crisp and fresh, and I loved the flavor of the mozzarella.

For the main course, my husband had the chicken marsala. Though I didn’t try any of it, he said it was cooked just right and the flavor was ideal. I enjoyed the linguine and clam sauce, which was served with the clams still in their shells. The sauce wasn’t overpowering or too greasy, and the serving size was more than sufficient (I boxed up my leftovers, and the meal was just as good the second day).

We shared the chocolate decadence and panna cotta for dessert. The chocolate decadence was plated beautifully, with a sprig of mint and a few cherries. It was very rich, but very tasty. I liked the idea of the panna cotta—which was topped with an edible foil doily—but didn’t care for the layer of gelatin they used for the top in order to keep the fruit in place. Once I got beyond that, I thought the custard was amazing.

Though the meal was fabulous—we’d go again in a heartbeat—the most interesting and funnest part of the evening was using our wine cards. Terra Verde claims to have 1,500 bottles of Italian and Californian bottles of wine available. About thirty of these are available for wine card use. The wine station is essentially a grown-up version of a pop machine. For a certain amount of money, you can choose to get two, four or six ounces of a wine by inserting the card and choosing the wine you’d like to try. With ten dollars, I had the opportunity to taste three different blushes. The entire wait staff is knowledgeable about the wines available, and patrons can ask for recommendations based on their taste preferences.

This attention to the product is just a taste of the stellar customer service here. In addition to being knowledgeable about the food and wine selections at the restaurant, I witnessed two other instances of extreme customer service. In one case, a woman who didn’t care for her main dish was asked if she’d like to substitute the dish by two different staff members. When she chose just to pass on the course, they removed it from her bill altogether. In another instance, a woman came in who wasn’t interested in eating anything available on the menu. The waiter explained that the chef could cook anything she wanted—on the menu or not.

Terra Verde has delicious dinner food and a very welcoming atmosphere, and the staff is one of the best I’ve encountered in the Las Vegas area. If you are looking for top-notch service and a great meal but don’t mind putting a (small) dent in your wallet, I highly recommend you check it out next time you’re in town.

Terra Verde | Main dinner courses $15-$42 | Dinner hours Sunday-Thursday 5:00-10:00 | Friday and Saturday 5:00-11:00

Green Valley Ranch | 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway | Henderson, Nevada 89052 | 702.617.7075

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• I Love Las Vegas – Brunch at Simon | Palms Place
• I Love Las Vegas – Shuck’s Tavern
• I Love Las Vegas – Le Reve at the Wynn