Sugar Sugar!  You know how my girlfriends and I like to do a birthday brunch, lunch or dinner together?  Well, in celebration of my birthday this month, I chose the Sugar Factory American Brasserie at The Paris Hotel Las Vegas for dejeuner (lunch!).

After seeing all the fabulous celebrities strut their stuff and show off their blinged out lollipops purchased in the Sugar Factory Retail Store, I couldn’t wait to taste their tempting desserts and sip a candy themed cocktail.  There are several options available to do this.  There is an Outdoor Cafe where you can purchase sandwiches, salads and desserts to go and have a seat at one of their outdoor counter tops overlooking the Las Vegas Strip.  There is the Sugar Factory Chocolate Lounge where you can sit and enjoy the many fondue options, or there is the Brasserie and Bar.  Since we had Marchie’s two little girls with us, we chose the Brasserie and Bar which is more like a restaurant with a combination of over-sized, French looking chairs, tables and booths.

The decor itself was very pleasing.  J’adore Paris, so naturally, I was partial to the Parisian colors, and fabrics.  The light fixtures, bar and furniture were fun and funky.  The menu was a book.  Literally.  It was reminiscent of the menu from the Cheesecake Factory…when you are starving and there are a thousand options, it’s kind of annoying.  But, what better way to engage the customer in their desserts, drinks, salads, sandwiches and entrees.

We all chose sandwiches:  Marchie~ The Club, and started with the French Onion Soup; September~ The Turkey Burger with a side of Sweet Potato Fries; I went with the Brasserie Steak Sandwich and Pommes Frites.  Since Marchie had her girls with her, September and I ordered Kir Royals, which between the waitress and the bartender, took a little bit of time trying to figure out.  The end result was sweet though as we ended up getting 2 drinks for the price of 1, and the service was good, so we couldn’t complain.

We all felt our meals to be satisfactory-good.  I noticed that we all talked about how great the French Fries were, and Marchie loved her soup.  One of the little girls ordered a Red Velvet cupcake, which was aesthetically pleasing, though none of us were fond of their Cream Cheese Frosting.  The dessert for the big girls was the S’Mores Crepe, which I have to say, was pretty darn good.

Afterwards, September and I walked through the Retail Store to check out these famous suckers.  Though they were cute and clever, and the Retail Clerks were really pushing them on us…we just couldn’t justify the $25 for the blinged out stick, and another $12 for the refills (3 to a box).  And we tried!  We kept going back to them, checking them out, pondering what we would use them for.  Finally, we decided to bring our kids home a little treat instead and call it a day.  I can’t lie though, it would be kind of fun to have those Couture Pops for a Bachelorette Party or a Dirty Thirty or Flirty Forty…so we Rola-dexed it for next time.  My daughter would have loved their Hello Kitty themed pop, but I couldn’t convince myself to spend $30 on it knowing it would go missing in a few weeks.  So I opted for the Hello Kitty Pez instead.  The Retail Store itself was fun to look through…lots of cute candy-themed clothes and trinkets, as well as some throw backs to old school candies.  A gigantic gummy bear sells for around $30, handmade lollipops as big as your head start at $23, I bought my kids oversized-dots, and they had some fun items like Zots, Razzles, and Pez.  You can also purchase candy pails to fill with their bulk candy selections, again, Hello Kitty being a pail-theme option.  (Pails start around $9, then candy is priced per pound).

The one thing my girlfriend and I did notice was the quality and freshness of the desserts and some of the candies throughout the Retail Store were somewhat unappealing.  They looked old.  Not good when that is supposed to be your forte.

Would I go back?  Probably.  I would love to be a little more adventurous next time and try one of their fun looking cocktails.   I’d also like to experiment with the fondue…it sounded amazing!  Honestly, I preferred the Steak Sandwich from their neighbor, Mon Ami Gabi.  I think overall, the atmosphere and the menu choices were fun, and I would recommend it to a group of ladies or someone with a family to keep the kids interested and entertained.

Sugar Factory American Brasserie does not take reservations, but we had no problem getting in at lunch time on a Monday for a party of 5.  The price was pretty fair considering we had an appetizer, four meals (3 adults and 1 kids meal), two desserts and two glasses of champagne.  We split the bill 3-ways and each paid $50 including a 20% gratuity.

For more information on the Sugar Factory American Brasserie at the Paris Las Vegas, click here.