It too was my day off, and I'd made plans to have lunch with George and Marlisha before they headed back to Phoenix. Yep--they're from the 'old neighborhood' but we never met until they came to Vegas. Anyhow, for whatever reason I was up early and started thinking about places to eat lunch. Of course I was up for anything new and different, but Metro Pizza, the various brew pubs around town, or even the Grand Luxe Cafe all sounded good to me.
Scanning over my list of restaurants to try and thinking of which ones might be a good lunch stop, I didn't get very deep into it before realizing that I'd never eaten at everyone's favorite place, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas.
It was around 10:00 am at the time, so I called George to finalize lunch plans. When he asked where we should go, I gave him a rundown of spots, and we settled on either Grand Luxe or Mon Ami Gabi. Marlisha nudged us over to the Mon Ami side, so we agreed to meet there an hour later.
I was ten minutes early, having not hit a single red light on my way to the Strip and being fortunate enough to get a primo space right next to the elevator in the parking garage, so I made my way to the restaurant, thinking I'd have a beer in the bar first. No such luck, as I found out that the place didn't open until 11:30 (the website just says 'Open for lunch'). Off to the sportsbook I went, where I sat at the bar and ordered a Newcastle draft (I've had it a few times lately, and as good as it is in the bottle, it's ten times better coming out of a tap!). Since I had some time, I lit up a Partagas and watched a little tv while nursing my beer and waiting for George and Marlisha to arrive.
They showed up just as I was getting to the bottom of my Newcastle, so we ordered another round. I then made the mistake of ordering the weakest Captain & 7 I've ever had. It was a $6.75 lesson that I won't be repeating.
We lingered for a bit, finished our drinks, then headed over to the restaurant. It had been open for about ten or fifteen minutes by the time we got there, but there was still a short line. It seemed a bit chilly out, but it was a bright and sunny day, so we opted for a patio table right on the rail overlooking the foot traffic on the Strip, and of course it gave us a premium view of the Bellagio fountains right across the street.
Our waiter was a young college kid named Zachary, and he was pretty well versed in all of the offerings on the menu, making appropriate recommendations. There was so much that looked good that we spent several minutes deciding. While drooling over the menu, they brought us some warm baguettes and butter to nibble on, a wonderful start which every restaurant in Paris offers, only making us anticipate lunch that much more.
The offered several good wines by the glass, and I couldn't resist the Latour Pinot Noir. George had some sort of white wine, but I honestly can't remember if it was Chardonnay or something like Pinot Grigio. I remarked that it was the first time in my life I'd ever had a glass of Pinot during daylight hours, and sitting out there in the sun made it look lighter than usual. However, it was still a fantastic glass of wine.
We ordered a couple of soups and appetizers to start--I went with the French Onion of course, one of my all-time favorite soups, while Marlisha ordered the soup du jour which was some sort of pureed white-bean offering with tomatoes and basil. For appetizers we had a tray of baked scallops with cheese and fennel and a smoked salmon platter. Basically we just shared it all (except I didn't eat any of the salmon, although it looked pretty good) and sampled everything. The scallops were a big hit, the baking process mellowing the fennel while giving a little zip to the scallops. And the soups were enjoyable, although I still think the best french onion soup I've had is a toss up between Binion's Ranch or the Cafe at Paris. The crock I had with my lunch, although delicious, was a little light on the onions.
While eating the appetizers, we were treated to a couple of good fountain shows--the first being Lee Greenwood's Proud to be an American and the second, which I'd surprisingly never seen, was Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas. Of course all foot traffic on the Strip and all conversation in the restaurant came to a complete stop during the show. Behold--the power of Bellagio!
After clearing the remnants of our baguettes, soups, and appetizers, we were treated to our entrees. Marlisha, being a self-proclaimed 'foodie', took a little heat from us for ordering a hamburger, but she said that since she'd been eating seafood for the past three days straight, she was craving a big hunk o' meat. And the hamburger seemed to deliver--it was pretty big and looked damn good. Served with a pile of steak frites, she was soon in her happy place.
I had the steak sandwich, which was thin-sliced London Broil grilled medium-rare and topped with grilled onions on a French Roll. It also came with a pile of steak frites, which one supposes are the original French Fries, some very tasty au jus, and a serving of stone-ground dijonaisse. I was a little envious of George's lunch--he went with the daily special and got the grilled grouper over rice with wild mushrooms--that is, until I took a bite of my entree. Good stuff! George said his fish was excellent, and I believed him, but by that time my taste buds had turned their back on the grouper and didn't want to be interrupted from fully enjoying my tender and flavorful steak sandwich.
We completely enjoyed our lunch experience. The service was excellent, we raved about the food, and the atmosphere and people-watching were some of the best in Vegas. After they cleared the dishes, our waiter even talked us into staying for dessert.
The dessert menu was quite extensive, and we had a hard time picking anything out. They even offered a cheese tray, but we couldn't believe anyone would want to sit there and eat a bunch of cheese after tackling such a huge meal.
Marlisha went with the waiter's recommendation and ordered the creme brulee, George went with an esspresso martini, and I opted for the pecan tart. They were all excellent. My pecan tart was HUGE--it was like eating a half-pound pie-shaped Tobleron bar, covered in caramel and whipped cream. The creme brulee was pretty tasty, although I thought it was a little shallow for the price they charged, and George's martini was a big hit, too. Unfortunately, as good as it was, it was pretty rich and after such a big meal it was impossible to finish it all, although we certainly tried.
Once we gave up for good and the dishes were cleared, we felt like a bunch of house cats with full bellies lying there in the sunshine ready to take a nap. To say we were contented would be a vast understatement. It was a wonderful meal.
The check came to exactly $155 for the three of us, before tip. Granted we had a couple of glasses of wine, appetizers, soups, desserts, and the grouper special was somewhere slightly north of $20, so it seemed pretty reasonable. Most of the entrees run about $12-$15 during lunch, but we splurged a little, so a couple could easily get out of there for half of what we paid. I thought it was well worth it, and it turned out to be the only thing I ate all day.
It was an excellent experience and I can't wait to go back and do it again.
Once we paid the tab, we waddled out of there looking for a comfortable place to sit and digest for a bit. We found a couple of seats at the main hotel bar located right near the lobby and collapsed. It was all we could do to force ourselves to order a drink and justify taking up the real estate, but we managed.
I'd forgotten to bring my camera with me, but Marlisha had her digital camera with her and took a picture of me and George as soon as we hit the couch. I'll add it in here as soon as she sends it to me. We've already decided that we'll entitle it Fat & Happy.
Fat & Happy. Although *both* of us were happyWe hung out for a little while, but much too soon they had to hit the road and head on back to Arizona. We said our goodbyes and I made my way back home where I went straight to bed--I hadn't had any sleep in the previous 22 hours, so I slept all the way through until around 4 this morning.
But we made plans to get together again, maybe as soon as March Madness. I know George wants to hurry and get back to my Pai Gow table at the very least. Five minutes after I met the guy, I dealt him a Four-of-a-Kind.
Who says only the chicks get lucky with Mikey?
Mikey
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