What to Do at Optometry's Meeting

Optometric Management, Jun 2006

WORK HARD AND PLAY HARD

If the reasons you chose to attend the this year's American Optometric Association meeting in Las Vegas (June 21-24) go beyond the purely educational, local optometrists can give you tips for getting the most out of your down time. While you probably already know about the casinos, you may need some suggestions when it comes to dining and sightseeing. James A. Beckwith, O.D., of Vision Source, and Jeffrey Austin, O.D., F.A.A.O., president of the Nevada Optometric Association, offer their homegrown insights into the city's finest.

Dining on The Strip

Andre's. Simply "the best French food in town," according to Dr. Austin. Price range: $35 . 3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; (702) 730-7955.

Cannaletto. Located in the Venetian Hotel, this northern Italian-style restaurant offers outside dining on the piazza ("Which in Las Vegas is really inside, but it seems like outside," says Dr. Beckwith) or more formal dining indoors. "The risotto is fabulous," says Dr. Beckwith. Price range: $15-$25. 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd; (702) 733-0070.

Capital Grille. Specializing in steak and seafood, this restaurant offers plenty of Las Vegas ambiance, with enormous paintings of quintessential "Vegas people" such as Sinatra and Liberace, and a view of the Strip. It's located in the Fashion Show Mall. Price range: $35 . 3200 S. Las Veqas Blvd.; (702) 932-6631.

Del Frisco's Double Edge Steakhouse. This fine-dining restaurant "has the best steaks" in town, according to Dr. Austin. Price range: $35 . 3925 Paradise Rd.; (702) 796-0663.

Mon Ami Gabi. Located in the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, this spot offers dining both indoors and outside on the Strip. "Ask for a view of the Bellagio Fountains," Dr. Beckwith recommends. "Very reasonable prices for outstanding food and view." Price range: $25435. 3655 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; (702) 944-4224.

Must-see attractions

You'll find plenty of entertainment right there on the Strip:

The Venetian Hotel and Casino houses the Grand Canal Shoppes, which offer a real canal and gondola rides in addition to shopping, a branch of Madame Tussaud's wax works museum and the Guggenheim Hermitage. 3355 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

The fountain show at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino runs every half hour from 3p.m. till 8p.m., and every 15 minutes from 8p.m. until midnight. 3600 S. Las Vegas Blvd. (at the intersection of Flamingo Rd. and the Strip).

Dr. Austin recommends the avant-garde Blue Man Group Theater, which will appear at the Venetian from 6/15-6/25.

If you want to venture outside the city, Dr. Austin recommends a visit to the Hoover Dam. A National Historic Landmark, it's the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere and only 35 miles south of Las Vegas. For information on tours, go to shop.vegas.com.