Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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" is is the pool menu.... We still do decadence elsewhere." DAVID WERLY PHOTOGRAPHY BY SABIN ORR (MANDARIN) LEFT: No need to chow down on your chaise; the Pool Café is just steps away. BELOW: Burrata, tomato, and prosciutto salad. continued from page 57 a ca lcium a nd v it a m in boost , plus peaches, a lmond m ilk, a nd m int. Werly buys most of his organic fruits from farmers markets in California, skins them, and freezes them to keep them in tip-top form. Organic maca and hemp powders are also available as energ y boosters. "This is the pool menu, so it's about feeling good in a bikini," Werly says. "We still do decadence elsewhere." Indeed, as culinary director for the entire property, he has plenty of avenues — such a s Tw ist by Pier re Gag na ire a nd MOzen Bist ro —for unleashing his French f ine- dining sensibilit ies. His brea kfast menu includes a yummy egg-white "souff lé." T he ca sua l Pool Ca fé prov ides g uest s with a nice shaded area—for lingering in the morning or sitting at a table for lunch in the afternoon—that's close enough to the pool to not feel like you're leaving it. So there's no need to stay stuck to your lounge chair, relying on easy-to-eat fried favorites like chicken fingers or mozzarella sticks or try- ing to balance a plate on your lap. Take a break at the café, where you can dig into summer specials like a refresh- ing melon salad with prosciutto di Parma and burrata or a shrimp and scallop ceviche with pomeg ranate and, for a kick, paprika. A cit rusy superfood salad is made with an interesting mix of greens that hides a vitamin-packed punch in the middle of the salad bed. The vibe of the pool is miles from that of the Strip's party pools, target- ing those who want to rest and recuperate, not whoop it up. It's so quiet and serene, it's almost hushed. And guests have full access to the saunas and showers, mere steps away. "Our clientele love Vegas, but it's important to them to relax," says Patrick Davis, the Pool Café's manager. "They know where to go out when they want that, and then they come back home to the hotel to relax by the pool, where it's not hectic." No one's going to steal your chair if you excuse yourself to have a nice salad in the café, and there's no pressure to order bottle ser vice if you've rented a cabana. "There's no stress!" Davis says. "You do not have to think about anything here." Mandarin Oriental, 888-881-9367; mandarinoriental.com V POOL HOPPING Healthy new options are popping up all over town for those who want to dine by the pool. At Caesars Palace (702-731-7110; caesarspalace.com), the recently revamped menu includes a tomato and mozzarella salad with kalamata olives, several wraps, and a niçoise salad with a sherry vinaigrette. While you can order healthy options such as bourbon barbecue chicken lettuce cups at all three pools at Cosmopolitan, its Boulevard Pool (702-698-6797; cosmopolitanlasvegas.com) offers marinated vegetables on puff pastry with ranch dressing—a dish the chef's mom served to get him to eat his veggies. At Mandalay Bay (702-632-7777; mandalaybay.com), cool down with a yogurt-and-berry parfait or an organic fruit smoothie from its Dr. Smoothie collection. Health nuts at Vdara Pool & Lounge (702-590-2030; vdara.com) have a new "light bites" menu to peruse; choose from turkey panini with Dijon aioli, a light chicken Caesar salad, and fruit skewers with a side of refreshing lemon-mint Greek yogurt. Not a hair-of-the-dog type? Head to Bellagio (702-693- 7111; bellagiolv.com) and spring for its nonalcoholic Green Sapphire, made with sparkling cucumber water, fresh lime, and dill cucumbers, and pair it with a citrusy grilled shrimp and papaya salad. Marinated vegetables on puff pastry at Cosmopolitan's Boulevard Pool. 58 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM TASTE