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Oh, and rapper/DJ Lil' Jon was just a few tables away from us. And, that brings us to the other notable vibe at Andrea's. The one that the restaurant terms as "vibe dining." A dining experience where the music shares as much of the headline as the menu does. Something that isn't quite that understandable until you're actually there and, forgive us for being repetitive, vibin'.

We knew going in that DJs and, if you will, curated music by EDM's Steve Angello is a large component of the Andrea's experience. Located right next door to Surrender, it's meant to combine nightlife with dining. And, also to ease the transition from one to the other. Andrea's outdoor patio, not in use during our visit but offering great views of Encore Beach Club, provides a method for diners and dancers to go from one place to the other while the main entrances of both venues are also within steps of each other.

The music on the night of our visit, much of it spun by Lil Jon himself after his meal, just happened to be the soundtrack of our youth, touching on Michael Jackson, Prince, En Vogue, and more. And, quickly found its way into our conversations as we challenged our younger companions to name that tune upon occasion. More often, though, it evoked childhood memories of listening to our boombox with friends (yes, we said boombox) while singing and dancing along. And, painstakingly creating our own custom mix tapes. We should probably stop there.

And then, of course, there was the food. So, so yummy. And, most items, meant to be shared. We tried a seemingly endless array of dishes and loved them all. Major chef crush here, remember? Our most memorable bites included an amazing appetizer of Shishito Peppers with Mustard Miso, anything that you could refer to as a sushi roll, and the Kobe Rib Cap. A smidge too salty, but still amaze. So, yes, pretty much everything. Dessert options included a tower of mini ice cream cones. A tower of ice cream cones. There's a photo in the gallery. The only misstep we experienced was with cocktails. We ordered two at two separate points in our meal. Each time, they never came until we felt we had to inquire about them.

Bottom Line: We loved the food, the decor and the 'vibe' at Andrea's. As someone who doesn't 'club,' this writer actually felt the restaurant concept was the perfect replacement for a night out on the dance floor. All of the fun of good beats with none of the aching feet. Or, the risk of being trampled. (Which might have actually almost happened to us when we ventured next door to Surrender after our meal and Lil Jon took to the DJ booth over there, too!)

Andrea's at Encore is open nightly from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Prices range from around $9 to about $65 per dish. Reservations are highly recommended and can be secured by calling 702.770.3463.

(PHOTOS: VegasChatter, Barbara Kraft for Andrea's)