Worth Two Trips in a Weekend: Burger Bar

We were sad to go back to work after such a fun Christmas weekend in Las Vegas, but, in just five days, we were back! We stayed at THEhotel during New Year's weekend in a free room like this. Mr. Monkey's father played at Mandalay Bay, so that's where we ate all of our meals.

For free again. Yay for us!

Burger Bar is brought to you by Michelin star-earning, James Beard Award-winning, Top Chef Masters finalist, awesome DJ, and all-around cool dude, Hubert Keller.


Big burgers, TVs everywhere, and Keller quality? How could this not be a winner?

Beer-battered jalapeño pickles ($5).

Mr. Monkey loved these so much. I only ate one because I'm not much of a pickle fan, but, if you are, Mr. Monkey says you should get these.

Peppercorn burger -- NatureSource beef, fresh and dried peppercorn, and Dijon mustard served on a plain bun with peppercorn cream sauce on the side ($15.80).

Mr. Monkey raved about this, too. I enjoyed a good portion of it myself.

Hubert Keller burger -- buffalo, caramelized onions, baby spinach, and bleu cheese on a ciabatta bun ($20.25).

I preferred my burger over my husband's. I liked the feel and heartiness of the buffalo. I liked the sweetness of the onions. I liked the creaminess and sharpness of the bleu. Damn. I want to eat another one now.

Nutella milkshake -- chocolate ice cream, Nutella, chocolate sauce, and chocolate whipped cream ($8.75).

This made Mr. Monkey very happy. It was gigantic.

We were so delighted with our New Year's Eve lunch that, after a show on New Year's Day, we returned for a late-night snack.

Burger Bar sliders -- buffalo with caramelized onions, Angus with plain bacon, NatureSource beef with American cheese all served on plain buns ($13.25).


We asked for onion rings instead of fries. This order was the ideal size for us that night. Sinful little tastes in Sin City. Nice way to sample three different burgers.

Trio of sundaes -- (1) coffee ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, Oreo crumbles; (2) strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberry slices, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbles; and (3) chocolate ice cream, miniature marshmallows, chocolate whipped cream, Oreo crumbles ($9.95).

These reminded me of tiny flower pots! As tasty as they were cute.

Burger Bar is a tad expensive for burgers, but I think everything we had was worth the premium price. We'd gladly pay for Burger Bar ourselves if we didn't have the luxury of the comp.