Surgeon General's Warning: reading this trip report in its entirety
may cause one or more of the following conditions: eye strain,
increased appetite, excessive drooling, or drowsiness. If symptoms
persist, eat 2 Twinkies and call your travel agent.
A special welcome to those who have never read one of my prior TRs
pull up a chair, grab a coffee and hopefully you will enjoy the
ride. The pre-arrival details are way too boring so I am offering
multiple choices so each of you may customize this section to your
liking.
1) On being advised of our travel plans, Max-the-Schipperke
immediately:
a) Dialed 1-800-THE-ASPCA.
b) Reserved the King Tut suite at the Cromwell kennel.
c) Made several dog-rogatory remarks.
2) Ziggy-the-Cat spent the two weeks at:
a) Our neighbors.
b) The Spa and Sushi Club at Feline Ridge.
c) Home alone with a case of Perrier, a rotisserie tuna and a
copy of the Kitty's Guide to operating
a commode.
3) I could not sleep the night prior to departure because:
a) Ms. Westie was singing "I am in the mood for LOVE".
b) A roll of quarters fell out of my luggage causing a lump in
the bed.
c) Max became violently ill and I stayed with him for most of
the night.
4) We departed from Bradley International Airport on:
a) Orville & Wilbur's Kitty Hawk Express
b) Bubba's Long Distance Baloonary
c) SWA
5) Our in-flight meal consisted of:
a) Rack of lamb with mint jelly, truffled mashed potatoes, haricot
verts, and chocolate soufflé
b) A six-pack of Billy Beer and a bag of pork rinds
c) Snack crackers, 1/32nd of an ounce of dried fruit and 15 honey
roasted peanuts.
6) The heaviest item in my carry-on luggage was:
a) A folder containing coupons, restaurant reviews and gift
certificates.
b) My rabbit's foot, shamrock, and horseshoe.
c) A Gideon bible.
9/12 - On arrival at McCarran we followed the masses to the baggage
carousel and chose several bags that did not clash with my sky blue
seersucker suit before proceeding to the shuttle area. The
temperature was hovering north of 100 degrees so it was a pleasant
surprise to find the shuttle bus for the consolidated rental facility
waiting at curbside. As a Dollar Express member we were able to by-
pass the desk and proceeded directly to the kiosk. I reserved one of
those non existent economy cars and was expecting a compact, but the
agent said he was upgrading us to a mid-size 2008 Dodge Avenger. As
he escorted us to the car he repeated this at least 5 times before I
finally stuffed a few dollars in his mouth and sent him merrily on
his way.
I originally had all 14 nights booked at Tuscany Suites, but our
short lived infatuation with this casino ended in divorce proceedings
when I learned the FPDW (full pay deuces wild) schedules had been
downgraded to OFDDW (Only for Dimwits Deuces Wild). Yes folks: go
tell Aunt Rhody, the old gold goose is dead. On learning of the
downgrade, I rebooked at the Silverton, but kept our Tuscany
reservations for the first 2 nights in order to blow off our
remaining comp balances. About a week prior to departure I learned
the Bob Dancer machines with the FPDW schedules at the Silverton had
been removed from the casino floor so I hastily rebooked at the Gold
Coast. We are beginning to feel like nomads and are currently in the
market for a pair of low mileage camels. Note: I subsequently
learned that the video poker machines, formerly known as the Dancer
machines, have been returned to the casino floor.
Our dinner reservations reservations this evening were made through
Open Table at Origin India on Paradise.
http://www.originindiarestaurant.com/ We discovered this restaurant
on our last trip and were anxious to see if it was as good as we
remembered. Complimentary papadum was served with tamarind and
cilantro dipping sauces shortly after we were presented with menus.
The waiter convinced us to try the evening's special appetizer, a
crepe made with corn, homemade cheese and potato which proved to be
an excellent choice. Our first entrée was Murg chili milli kebab -
tandori chicken marinated in Indian spices and accompanied by an East
Asian sauce. The chicken was amazingly moist, tender and very flavor-
ific. Our second entrée was Baingan dahiwala roasted eggplant
cooked with yogurt and onions in a cashew sauce. This dish was not
as smooth textured as similar dishes served elsewhere, but was very
tasty. Menu prices may initially seem high, but most entrees
include a side salad, choice of naan or paratha, basmati rice and a
lentil dipping sauce we chose black. ($28.63, 4.5 Forks out of a
possible 5)
9/13 I woke up this morning at 1:30AM and realized today is the
tomorrow I looked forward to yesterday. I pinched myself and sure
enough I was in Las Vegas, NV. I quietly dressed, grabbed a bottle
of water from the refrigerator and exited the room without waking Ms.
Westie. I hastily backtracked when I realized in my haste I had
forgotten my wallet, car keys and strategy sheet. Terrible's was
offering 3 x points today so that was my casino of choice. Over the
course of the next several hours I managed to hit numerous quads, ran
up my slot point balance and lost several dollars. I finally
abandoned ship at around 6:30 AM and returned to the room.
The Paris buffet received the nod this morning fresh berries with
crème fraiche, Lyonnaise potatoes, juice, skim milk, bacon and
assorted cheeses. Having eaten at this buffet numerous times in the
past, we both agreed the bloom is decidedly off this particular
rose. ($11.72, LVA, 2.5 Forks)
Shortly before departing for this trip I purchased a gift certificate
for the Country Superstars show @ Fitzgerald's during KSHP's Marathon
show so we drove to the redemption center located on Jones Boulevard.
The list price for a pair of tickets was $79.90, but KSHP's price was
$24. http://kshp.com/ We next proceeded to the Dessert Breeze Spa
on west Flamingo in order to scope out the premises in case Ms.
Westie needed to rejuvenate during the trip.
http://www.desertbreezespa.com/ The next stop on the Westie Express
was the Silverton in order to play a little video poker. The
Silverton offers a 65,000 square foot casino, 117,000 gallon
aquarium, and 165,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop. The latter is
advertised as a sportsmen's paradise, but it also attracted Ms.
Westie who wouldn't know a big mouth bass from Robin Leach.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?
storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=94&storeID=9
In an attempt to rejuvenate my spirits we stopped at Ellis Island for
a Hefe Weiss (me) and Kaluha and cream (Ms. Westie) plus 2 bottles of
water. Note: all drinks mentioned in this TR were free of charge
courtesy of coupons from the ACG, LVA or funbooks. We then returned
to the room for the much needed 3R's Reading, Rest and
Relaxation. Ms. Westie called our vet to check on Max's progress
and learned he was in their hospital unit. On subsequent calls made
over the course of the next several days we learned he had recovered
and was his normal joyous self, but this entire incident put a damper
on the first week of our vacation.
In the early afternoon I walked over to the casino to redeem my
remaining cashback balance and on my return I passed by the pool
area. The temperature was 100 degrees so the pool area was pretty
much unoccupied with the exception of 2 mad dogs and an
Englishman.
We could have walked to McCormick & Schmicks (M&S) on Hughes Center
Drive, but it was way too hot outside so we made the 2 minute drive.
http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/ This was our first visit and we
were favorably impressed by both the décor and hostesses' greeting.
We were escorted to a booth and shortly thereafter presented with
menus. According to the M&S website, at least 30 varieties of fresh
fish are offered on the changing daily menu. I did not count the
number of fish, but this day's offerings were pretty impressive. We
started off with the seafood and roasted corn chowder which was not
overly thick, but very good. Ms. Westie ordered the black sesame
crusted Pacific snapper served with a Thai chili sauce and coconut
jasmine rice. The fish was cooked to perfection succulent and
delicious. I chose the artichoke crusted English sole which was
accompanied by vegetable hash, jasmine rice and a mild spinach pesto
sauce. Again, the fish was perfectly prepared and delicious. I used
a $25 gift certificate printed off the M&S website and made
reservations using Open Table. ($30, 4.5 Forks)
On departing we traveled to Boulder Station for the Roy Rogers and
the Delta River Kings show at the Railhead, but the amps were cranked
too high so we listened from immediately outside while playing the 10-
coin, 5 cent FPDW slant tops. http://www.roy-rogers.com/home.php (2
Claps). I managed to hit my #1 quad deuces of the trip shortly
before calling it an early night.
9/14 I had $25 free play at the Tuscany and 5 x points were being
offered this morning so I played it off netting $10 in the process
before returning to Boulder Station where I hit my #2 quad deuces of
the trip. For breakfast we walked over to Ellis Island where I
noticed the sign advertising the steak special reflected a $2
increase. I talked to a restaurant employee and learned the increase
was recently instituted, but now includes a choice of either a micro
brew or homemade root beer. We each ordered the cinnamon vanilla
French toast. I enjoyed mine, but Ms. Westie was turned off by the
miniscule amount of egg batter used in the preparation. ($6, ACG, 1
Fork).
What happened over the course of the next two hours is a blur - maybe
I gave voice lessons to Wayne Newton or assisted Britney in choosing
her wardrobe for the upcoming MTV awards show or possibly joined OJ
on a short visit to Palace Station?
Around noon we swung by the Cold Stone Creamery on Rainbow only to
discover it was closed. On a closer inspection we realized it was
the adjoining store, but it did not matter since neither store had
any customers. We pressed our faces to the window, an employee
emerged from somewhere in the back and gave us the come hither look.
Our smoothies were average at best, but at least we used a 2/1
coupon. ($3.99, Entertainment, 1.5 Forks)
We checked into the Gold Coast and requested a room on an upper
floor, away from the elevator. We were not offered funbooks, but
received 2 when I made an inquiry. We were assigned to #774 which
was located the length of a football field from the nearest elevator.
I have read many TRs describing the bathrooms as small, but you may
ask, Westie how small are they? I am going to tell you picture the
bathroom in an airplane and then multiply by two and add a full size
shower unit and you have a pretty good approximation of our
bathroom. After unpacking, I hit the mattress and Ms. Westie ht the
video poker machines. I slept, she hit her #1 quad deuces of the
trip.
Dinner was at the Aroma Garden Café on South Rainbow. We requested a
table in the atrium known as the Small Talk Garden which was filled
to capacity with beautiful plants and a humongous fountain. The
owner, a former executive chef at Drai's, greeted us, he did not need
to introduce himself, you just knew from his demeanor and
appearance. http://www.aromagardencafe.com The food is described as
being pan Mediterranean a little French, a little Middle East, a
little of this and that. Ms. Westie chose the Patagonian toothfish,
an 8-ounce filet sautéed and served over mashed potatoes and bokchoy
simmered in ginger and lemongrass sauce. I chose a crispy chicken
breast served with mashed potatoes, asparagus and creamy mushroom
sauce. My chicken was overdone and both sauces were uninspired.
($20.33, Restaurant.com (R.com), 2 Forks)
We motored on down to the Orleans for The Temptations' show.
http://www.thetemptations.com/ We saw them on our April trip, but
the lineup has changed and greatly improved by the addition of lead
singer Bruce Williamson, a Las Vegas resident no less. Bruce needs
to lose weight and work on his dance moves, but he did the group
proud in belting out many of the Temps greatest hits. I should also
mention the group's suits this evening were much improved from those
worn in April. (4 Claps)
9/15 My early morning video poker (VP) session netted a $20 profit
sufficient to cover the cost of our Orleans breakfast buffets. Mine
consisted of grapefruit sections with strawberry yogurt, OJ, skim
milk and huevos rancheros Ole! ($6.41, ACG, 2 Forks)
I had secured computer reservations for us at the Clark County
Library prior to departing from home so we checked email, printed a
second M&S coupon and made an Open Table reservation for later in the
trip. Ms. Westie borrowed a book and then we headed for Boulder
Station to see if I could duplicate by my recent success neah. We
also toured the local Wal-Mart before returning to our room. I spent
the afternoon watching the Red Sox hand it to the NYY, read and lost
a few coins playing video poker.
Drinks this evening at the bar near the poker room in the Gold Coast
were free courtesy of show ticket stubs from past performances at
both the Suncoast and Orleans with some dating back to early 2006. We
tried a drink special that included Absolut pears and soda that
tasted pretty bad so Mr. Merlot was requested during the second
round.
We had an Open Table reservation at Mary and Sue's Border Grill for
7PM with a request for a table with a view of the outside patio. Our
view was better than anticipated as we were seated on the patio, but
the night was comfortably warm so we registered no complaint.
http://www.bordergrill.com/ The complimentary taco chips and two
salsas were a cut above your typical cantina. A special menu was
offered in celebration of Mexican Independence Day so I chose (by
pointing) the manchamanteles even the waitress admitted being
unable to pronounce it. As it turned out the kitchen was out of this
stew-type dish, so both Ms. Westie and I settled for chili rellenos -
roasted poblano peppers stuffed with manchego, panela, and cotija
cheeses served with both roja and tomatillo salsas, two types of
rice, and black beans. The poblano peppers were super sized and the
amount of cheese used in the filling was over-the-top, but tasty
nonetheless. I used a $20 coupon from one of the freebie magazines
to ease the financial burden, but we were $8 short of the required
$50 tab, not a problem as we shared a large slice of tres leches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tres_leches_cake ($40.33, 3.5 Forks)
It had been a hard day's night and I thought I should be sleeping
like a log so we returned to the room early this evening.
09/16 Luck was no Lady at this morning's VP session so we opted for a
return engagement to Ellis Island. Ms. Westie was boycotting the
French toast so we each ordered 2 eggs easy over, toast, and hash
browns. Service was both friendly and quick. ($6, ACG, 2.5 Forks)
For some now unknown reason we drive to the Fiesta-Rancho this
morning where I proceeded to lose my shirt, but Ms. Westie hit her #2
and #3 quad deuces of the trip. We returned to the Gold Coast by mid-
afternoon for rest and contemplation though Ms. Westie managed to
squeeze in another VP session. We chose the Orleans for pre dinner
merlots this evening which were enjoyed while watching the Patriots
humiliate San Diego.
We then drove out Flamingo to the 215 beltway where we had Open Table
reservations at the very contemporary Sedona Restaurant and Lounge.
http://www.sedonaclub.com/home.htm Much of the bar area was taken up
by a good sized wedding party and the noise level on this Sunday
evening was very high. I chose the fresh Alaskan halibut with
chorizo, new potato, zucchini and clams finished in a saffron beurre
blanc. My counterpart ordered the pepper crusted Ahi tuna, served
with Provencal vegetable relish, roasted eggplant whipped potatoes
and lemon oil. Both entrees were delicious, but Ms. Westie's won this
evening's award for best entrée. ($38.20, R.com, 4.5 Forks)
We planned on seeing Swift Kick at the Orleans, but they were not
going to begin until much later in the evening so we settled on after
dinner drinks, Sambuca straight up for me and Irish coffee prepared
with Bailey's for Ms. Westie. The Past Prime Time Players once again
called it an early evening and returned to the room by 9:30PM.
9/17 The morning's VP session was a lot like Morton's salt when it
rains, it pours. Breakfast was at the Gold Coast buffet grapefruit
sections, corned beef hash, a baby pancake and melon slices. ($5.33,
LVA, 2.5 Forks)
After exiting I saw a poster on the wall touting the 2,500 point
birthday bonus offered at Coast Casinos, but noticed, oh horrors,
that it is now limited to one casino only. Next we drove to
Bellagio, parking at Bill's, and toured our usual haunts the
Conservatory and Botanical Garden, hotel lobby, fiori di como (aka as
the pretty colored glass sculpture on the lobby ceiling), Chihuly
shop and Jean Phillipe Patisserie. (3.5 Claps)
After leaving we drove down the Strip to the Peppermill parking lot
to see what shows and restaurants were being offered at the
tix4tonite's outlet before continuing further north to the Sahara to
redeem a voucher for 2 tickets to the Jay White show. Oops, wrong
casino, quick retreat back to the Peppermill parking lot followed by
a sprint to the Riviera's box office. I spent the remainder of the
afternoon reading and napping while Ms. Westie experienced a very
profitable VP session after #4 and #5 quad deuces within 5 minutes of
each other.
We were enjoying pre dinner/show drinks at the Orleans when I
suddenly realized I had not left sufficient time for us to both dine
and pick-up our show tickets. Not a problem, I knew a short-cut to
the Mirage follow Abbey Road for 2 miles and a quick left on Penny
Lane into the parking lot. Our tickets to LOVE had an MSRP of $330,
but I was able to take advantage of a summer sale and paid only
$114.50. After ticket pick-up we checked out the food options at the
Mirage before heading across the Strip to Harrahs. We found a small
food court just to the left of the north entrance and dined
sumptuously, tongue planted securely in cheek, on cheese pizza
slices. ($7.64, 0.5 Forks)
On returning to the Mirage we spent several minutes viewing and
taking pictures of the white tiger before it was show time. The pre
show entertainment was fun and I spent the remainder of the evening
amazed at both the creative genius of Cirque and the music of the
Beatles. At the conclusion I gave some consideration to returning to
the box office to request a refund as there was no way the show could
have lasted more 10-15 minutes.
http://www.mirage.com/entertainment/entertainment_cirque_trailer.aspx
(5 Claps)
We dined at Ping Pang Pong on our return to the Gold Coast sharing
orders of ba bao noodles (Mandarin noodles topped with a spicy shrimp
sauce and peanuts) and Singapore rice noodles (light curry-flavored
rice vermicelli with shrimp, BBQ pork and onions). Both dishes were
very good. ($24.45, 3.5 Forks)
We returned to the room and I soon was asleep dreaming of an
Octopus's Garden and Strawberry Fields Forever.
9/18 I played 3 ½ hours this morning at Boulder Station, took 2
facilities breaks and somewhere at a Station Casino the Jumbo Jackpot
was hit. Everyone, except those of us using the facilities, received
$25 in free play.
We returned to the Orleans buffet this morning where I drowned my
sorrows in OJ, skim milk, grapefruit sections, 2 little bitty
pancakes and a dab of corned beef hash. ($6.41, ACG, 2 Forks) Ms.
Westie had one of those hard to find Chico's coupons set to expire so
it was off to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets this morning. Her motto
is Veni, Vidi, Visa - I came, I saw, I charged. I headed to the Le
Gourmet Chef store for some serious sampling while Ms. Westie toured
Chico's and Liz Claiborne. I added an inch to my waistline while Ms.
Westie added 2 sweaters and a belt to her wardrobe.
A wrong turn exiting the outlets ended up taking us through Downtown
on our way to Boulder Station for some low limit VP. On our return
to the Gold Coast we listened to the Las Vegas Classic Jazz band for
awhile before retiring to our room. (2 Claps)
Pre dinner merlots were served at the Orleans before we departed for
Bella Luna restaurant. The place looked dark and the doors were
locked so adding one and one together we decided this wasn't going to
work out for us. Fortunately I had previously cut out a coupon from
the phone book for Khoury's Mediterranean Restaurant located on Fort
Apache. The restaurant is the Las Vegas Review Journal staff's pick
as the best Mediterranean restaurant. It is a neighborhood type of
restaurant, but the immediate area is currently under development.
http://www.khouryslv.com/ We were served homemade pita with a
delicious dipping sauce. We each ordered the lamb shish kabob which
came with rice and vegetables. Everything was good, but nothing
stood out. ($29.25, 2.5 Forks)
We chose to close out the evening by listening to karaoke at the Gold
Coast hosted by Country Chuck. The performers were pretty sad and
Country Chuck kept reminding the audience that this was just a warm
up for the main show - Front Page. (0.5 Claps)
9/19 This morning's VP session was another loser and, since I had
eaten enough fish on the trip, I decided to cut bait and return to
the room. Breakfast this morning was apple fritters from Smith's
($1.88, 2 Forks) and OJ in our room. Today we had to answer the
question was this the trip half empty or half full? I checked my
billfold and decided both were ½ empty. We dropped off our laundry
at our favorite wash and fold before going to the nearby Clark County
Library to check our email as well as to pick up a book for each of
us.
After a short rest in our room we drove to Mantra Masala on West Warm
Springs Road for some healthy (their words) Indian food.
http://www.mantramasala.com/ There was only one other couple in the
restaurant at 12:30PM and we were told our coupon retrieved from the
telephone book could not be used for the buffet. This was not a
problem since buffets that don't turn food over are not especially
high on my dining To Do list. There was a problem however, no lunch
menu is available. We ended up sharing orders of naan, chicken
mantra (house special chicken in a mild cashew gravy, yogurt and
fresh coriander) and malai kofta (mixed vegetable dumplings in a
savory creamy spiced sauce). Our entrees were dummied up for
American palates so neither dish was a winner. This was one of those
times when I wished there were two of me so I could boot myself in
the rear for going to this restaurant. ($33.45, 1.5 Forks)
At 5PM the Westies had a meet and greet with GregRio at the back bar
at the Gold Coast. It was enjoyable to finally meet him and the hour
went by more quickly than anticipated. As a bonus he gave us a very
nice picnic blanket which I managed to tote home in my carry on bag.
Just past 6 PM we decided it was time to pull up stakes and head to
our respective shows. I dropped Greg off at the TI and continued on
to the Riviera for the Neil Diamond Tribute show by Jay White. I
have been a fan of Neil Diamond since the 60's so I expected that I
would enjoy the music, but I was pleasantly surprised how good Jay
was as an overall entertainer. ($20, KSHP, 3.5 Claps)
After the show we were ready for some fun food so I headed over to
Dragonfly on Paradise. The restaurant is located in a shopping
center hosting a number of restaurants including the wildly popular
Firefly which shares the same ownership as the Dragonfly.
Unfortunately the Asian bistro concept has fallen on deaf wallets
and, other than a few people at the bar; the restaurant was empty at
8:40PM this Monday evening. In contrast, it was standing room only
over at the Firefly. Ms. Westie ordered a Thai beef salad with
pickled cucumber in a warm spicy sauce which was excellent. I
ordered the banana leaf salmon steamed with miso and shitake
mushrooms. The Atlantic salmon was very good, but it obviously had
not been steamed in the banana leaf which was cold to the touch. A
very good side dish of baby bok choy stir fried with oyster mushrooms
was shared. Once again I made a reservation through Open Table.
($20.78, 2.5 Forks) http://www.dragonflylv.com/menu.html
9//20 This morning's VP session was another loser, so I took Hall of
Fame Coach Kate Yow's words, "You cannot change the direction of the
wind, but you can adjust your sail", to heart and set sail for our
room. We once again chose to dine at the Gold Coast's breakfast
buffet this time I settled on grapefruit and orange sections with
strawberry yogurt, OJ, skim milk, and huevos rancheros. ($5.33, LVA,
2.5 Forks)
We returned to the room to read the RJ and I ended up falling
asleep. In the early afternoon I was feeling rested so we drove to
Boulder Station to play some VP while listening to the Jerry Tiffe
band in the Railhead. http://www.jerrytiffe.com/ After suffering
through another terrible VP session we returned to the room. Later
in the evening we drove to Ellis Island for a few glasses of merlot
before venturing off to Musashi Japanese Steakhouse located in the
same shopping center as Dragonfly. We had reservations for the
Teppanyaki grill which proved to be unnecessary as we were the only
ones in the room for most of the evening. http://www.musashilv.com/
Our chef was the owner who most recently served as the executive chef
at the Hamada on Flamingo. We each ordered the skinless chicken
breast with vegetables which included miso soup and shrimp
appetizer. Our personal chef put on an exceptional show and
everything was cooked to perfection. Menu prices are moderate plus I
had a $30 certificate purchased for $12 during a recent KSHP marathon
show. ($13.79, 3.5 Forks) After dinner we drove to the Orleans to
see Swift Kick in the lounge, but a baseball game was in progress so
we made it an early night.
9/21. Let the healing begin this morning I finally hit my #3 quad
deuces of the trip. For those counting, and believe me I was, it had
been 7 long days since my last quad. We decided to celebrate the
event by going to Ellis Island again. It took much encouragement on
my part to convince Ms. Westie to give the cinnamon French toast
another try. It has now been returned to most favored breakfast
status. I went with my standard easy over eggs, sourdough toast and
home fries I am on vacation, cholesterol be damned! ($6, ACG, 2.5
Forks)
The Fiestas were offering 5 x points so we drove over to the
Henderson location for an abbreviated session. On our way back to
the room I made a short detour to Java Detour on E. Tropicana. I had
a $10 certificate that I converted to a gift card and then purchased
a strawberry/banana smoothie that we shared. (KSHP, 2.5 Forks) The
remainder of the afternoon was spent reading and relaxing in the room
though Ms. Westie put in an hour on the VP machines.
Our pre dinner drink provider this evening was the Gold Coast where
Ms. Westie ordered a merlot. I ordered a Wet Pearl. Ky-Tu, Stoli
Vanil and pineapple juice served in a martini glass delicious.
Dinner was at the Agave located near the junction of Charleston
Boulevard and I-215 where we had yet another Open Table reservation.
http://www.agavelasvegas.com/ This is an upscale Mexican restaurant
in terms of both décor and menu. We were served a colorful basket of
warm tortilla chips along with 3 salsas. We shared a bowl of black
bean and smoked cheddar soup that was finished with a spoonful of
salsa fresca and cilantro. Ms. Westie ordered the shrimp and crab
stacked enchiladas with sweet corn and chili sauce and micro greens.
I opted for the taco sampler birria de chivo (marinated goat,
avocado puree, cilantro and onion), carnitas with nopales salsa and
tomato purcee and fresh fish with Mexican slaw and salsa fresca. The
kitchen made a mistake preparing carne asada (grilled skirt steak)
instead of the carnitas, not a problem since all 3 tacos were
delicious. When I brought the mistake to the waiter's attention, he
offered to bring me an additional taco, but I was satiated and waived
him off. ($21.95, R.com, 3.5 Forks)
We drove to the nearby Suncoast for the Paul Revere and the Raiders
show. http://www.paulrevereraiders.com/ The show was entertaining
on two different levels the music and humor. Paul Revere is still
going strong at age 69 and, as he said, good numbers, lousy age.
Some of his routine reminded me of Spike Jones, a popular band leader
of the 40-50's who often used gunshots, whistles and cowbells in
satirizing popular tunes of the time. You ask does Westie have any
other interesting tidbits the answer is yes. The Raider's lead
singer is Darrin Medley, the son of Bill Medley of Righteous Brothers
fame. Paul frequently referred to Darrin as Baby Raider because, at
42, he is by far the youngest member of the group. (2.5 Claps)
9/22 I hit a week's worth of wild royals (5) this morning as well as
my #4 and #5 quad deuces of the trip. As I related my experience to
Ms. Westie I quoted William Shatner, "I am so good even I don't
believe it." Ms. Westie gave me one of those eye roll things and
directed me to the door. We visited the Orleans buffet once again
and I reloaded with an overcooked Egg Benedict, orange and grapefruit
sections, milk, OJ and a small fruit crepe. ($6.41, ACG, 2 Forks)
Sam's Town was offering 6 x points this weekend so off we went. The
session was basically breakeven for us, but we added points to our
joint slot account. On our return to the Gold Coast we relaxed in
the room followed by a brief VP session in which I added a few points
to both Tiger & Shirley's slot cards so each would receive 2,500
birthday bonus points.
We had merlots at Ellis Island before driving to Marc's Italian
Steakhouse on West Lake Meade Boulevard.
http://www.marcsitaliansteakhouse.com/ I was surprised that entry
was through the bar area and no one was staffing the hostess
station. On entering the restaurant proper we were directed to wait
in the bar area until someone could seat us. The place is
attractive, but neither upscale nor particularly intimate though we
required a flashlight to read the menus. We shared a full size
house salad that was described as field greens tossed walnuts,
gorgonzola cheese, onions, carrots and berries in apple pear
dressing. The salad was very good even though the gorgonzola was MIA
and the berries were represented by 2 slices of strawberry. Ms.
Westie's entrée of spinach lasagna in a tomato vodka sauce was
prepared with fresh pasta and was melt in your mouth delicious. I
chose the penne alla Dean Martin a thick pink vodka sauce with
peas, chicken and prosciutto served in a martini glass. Just kidding
about the glass, but there is an appetizer on the menu called a
lobster martini that is served in 2 martini glasses. ($33.69, R.com,
3 Forks) I managed to walk off most of the calories on our return
to the Gold Coast by walking down the long hall to our room.
9/23 A return visit to Sam's this morning yielded 6 x points and a
dealt quad deuces (#6). Our breakfast buffet of choice this morning
was at Paris. The line was short and I soon had my plate(s) filled
with fresh berries, an overdone Egg Benedict, assorted cheeses,
Lyonnaise potatoes and a micro quiche. I ordered small glasses of OJ
and skim milk, but the latter tasted skunky. ($11.
We drove back to Sam's where I managed to lose playing both FPDW and
the 9/6 JOB progressive (meter in excess of $1,200). We spent the
early afternoon reading and otherwise resting in our room before
departing for the 4:30PM performance of Mystere.
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirquedusoleil/en/showstickets/mystere/m
ystere-las-vegas.htm Our seats in Section 202 row DD provided us
with an excellent panoramic view of all the action. The MSRP for our
tickets was $185, but I was able to book them on at summer special
rate of $113.50. We saw this show some 8-9 years ago, but memory
cells were awoken during the performance. Like LOVE and Ka, the
entire 90 minutes passed in a flash. (4.5 Claps)
Once again we held Open Table reservations at McCormick & Schmicks
and were brandishing a free $25 gift certificate. The hostess
greeted us and escorted us to a booth. I ordered the spicy (PEI)
mussels in a chunky tomato sauce served over linguini. Ms. Westie's
entrée was the coconut crusted mahi mahi accompanied by assorted
vegetables and plain white rice. We also shared an order of wilted
baby spinach with mushrooms and shallots. ($24.02, 4 Forks) The
remainder of this evening's activities was called off due to darkness
so we returned to the room early.
9/24 The morning VP session was not going my way until I drew 3 clubs
to the royal. Before hitting the redraw button I said a silent
prayer to Saints Bernadine and Dancer, the patron saints of gamblers
and video poker players, respectively. My prayers were answered when
the Jack and Queen of clubs appeared.
It was senior day at the Fiesta so we drove to Henderson where triple
points and ½ priced dining were being offered. We each ordered the
$1.49 weekday special of 2 eggs, bacon, hash browns and a solitary
piece of toast. (Comp, 3 Forks)
We played for almost 2 hours without hitting anything so we cast off
for The Cupcakery on Eastern. I chose the Oh My Gosh Ganache!
(vanilla cake with silky truffle filling topped with a chocolate
butter cream) while Ms. Westie selected kir royale (moist raspberry
cake drenched in a bubbly champagne frosting). These were packaged
to go and later enjoyed with a glass of milk in our room. ($2.50,
LVA, 3.5 Forks) Prior to leaving the area we stopped in at Sweet
Water Prime Seafood to check the menu and made reservations for later
that evening.
In the afternoon we each enjoyed a Wet Pearl at the Gold Coast before
heading off for dinner. http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/nc/a-
e/taste/single-story/article/a-good-catch/
http://www.sweetwaterprimeseafood.com/ After receiving our menus we
were served a complimentary shrimp cocktail. Ms. Westie ordered the
Ono (wahoo) medium rare, but the waitress encouraged her to order it
done medium which was unfortunate because the grilled fish was too
dry even with the Thai peanut sauce. I ordered pan seared san dabs
served with a fantastic green pepper sauce over garlic leek mashed
potatoes and broccolini sautéed in garlic and oil. Ms. Westie was
disappointed, but my meal was the best on this trip. ($23.16, R.com,
2 Forks by Ms. Westie, 4.5 Forks by me)
Before returning to our room we drove to Fiesta-Henderson for yet
another VP session. I did not fare well, but Ms. Westie hit quads #6
and #7 within 5 minutes of each other.
9/25 An ugly VP session at the hands of Boyd Gaming Company started
my last full day of the trip on the wrong foot. I drowned my sorrows
in Huevos Rancheros at the Gold Coast buffet accompanied by fruit and
juice. We quickly departed for the library where we checked our
email, returned books, printed boarding passes, purchased a used book
for Ms. Westie to read on the return flight, made our final Open
Table reservation for M&S and printed out yet another gift
certificate whew!
We played VP for an hour or so at Sam's before departing once more
for The Cupcakery. This time we chose coconut bliss (sweet coconut
cake with a cream cheese frosting sprinkled with coconut flakes) and
an El Rio (milk chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache topping
finished with caramel). ($2.50, LVA, 3.5 Forks) We polished off the
cupcakes in our room along with glasses of milk prior to a serious
R&R session.
It was our last night, last chance for merlots at Ellis Island so we
headed east on Flamingo, right on Koval. I think I now could
probably make this drive in my sleep since we have been there so
often on this trip. McCormick & Schmicks was but a few miles away,
but a world apart in terms of ambiance, clientele etc. We were again
greeted warmly by the maitre d' and shown a booth. I have been
remiss in not previously mentioning the very good warm bread that is
served at M&S. Ms. Westie chose the fresh crab and shrimp cakes
entrée served with red pepper aioli. My entrée was pecan crusted
catfish with Cajun remoulade sauce. We also shared another order of
baby spinach sautéed with shallots and mushrooms. Both entrees were
delicious and each was accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes and
crisp green beans. ($25.05, 4 Forks)
Harvey Jesus and Fire, direct from New Orleans, were playing at the
Orleans so we made the short trek to the Bourbon Street Cabaret. We
arrived early, listened to a few songs and by the time Harvey was
happy with the sound system we were tucked away in bed. (1 Clap)
9/26 I woke up early with one goal in mind, to hit one more quad
deuces on this trip, but my efforts were in vain. We had an early
departure so I picked up a few apple fritters at Albertson's and a
coffee at Seattle's Best. The process of returning the car, catching
the shuttle and clearing airport security was a relative breeze and
we were soon standing in spots #3 and #4 in the A line at our SWA
gate. Approximately an hour before boarding an announcement was made
advising passengers-to-be that the plane would be delayed for at
least 45 minutes and to standby for further updates. Groans were
muttered throughout the waiting area and cell phones pulled out as
people notified their relatives, friends, business associates etc. of
their impending delay. 15 minutes later a second announcement was
made that the traffic congestion in the skies had cleared and the
plane would be arriving on time. Big sigh of relief. Our flight
went smoothly and we arrived at Bradley on time thus concluding
another fun trip.
And now, the end is near;
And so we face the final curtain.
My friends, we'll say it clear,
We'll state our case, of which we're certain.
We've had a trip that's been full.
We've traveled each and every highway;
And more, much more than this,
We did it our way.
Thus concludes the 7th trip in a row that Team Westie has challenged
the odds and won though my contribution was, to be kind, minimal. I
estimate Ms Westie's hourly wage approximated $19 while mine came in
at 62 cents. Needless to say, if I had a day job, I would not be
giving it up any time soon.
I want to thank everyone who read the entire TR and hope you did not
suffer too much. Lastly, there are but 75 shopping days until our
next trip so keep those cards and letters coming.