Aureole - Las Vegas   

Although it's the largest city founded in the 20th Century, Las Vegas retains the energy of a frontier town where the unexpected is still a daily occurrence. The dining scene is equally as adventurous and Charlie Palmer is one of its trail blazers. Sensing that Vegas was about to undergo a renaissance, Palmer made an early investment, opening Aureole in the Mandalay Bay Resort in 1999. The show stopping menu under the direction of Executive Chef Vincent Pouessel combines the classic cuisine of Aureole with the theatricality of Las Vegas in dishes like Olive Oil Poached Oregon Petrale Sole with Truffled Brussels Sprouts and Ahi Tuna and Veal Shank "surf and turf", while a four-story, temperature controlled glass and steel wine tower?the largest in the world?houses 10,000 of Palmer's award-winning 50,000 bottle list, made accessible by an elaborate pulley system presided over by "flying wine angels" clad in black spandex Calvin Klein. After all, this is Vegas.