I'm back at the keyboard after a short hiatus to visit with my favorite Jersey Girl, Dawn. She was in town for her annual March conference, so she had meetings every morning and sometimes in the afternoons, too. So while we hung out quite a bit, the buffoonery wasn't up to our usual standards. We didn't gamble that much, didn't drink that much, and I carried the same cigar around all week, never really having a chance to light that puppy up.
But we did get to eat! We had a couple of really excellent meals this week. The first was at Kahunaville at Treasure Island on Monday afternoon. I'd heard good things about the place, but I figured it would be a lot like Margaritaville or Bahama Breeze--an overpriced theme restaurant with so-so food. But I was wrong.
First of all, I loved the atmosphere. It's tucked away in a far corner of Treasure Island just before you get to the Mirage tram, so the noise of the casino isn't a factor. And I'm a sucker for the whole tropical/tiki bar motif, so they pretty much had me at hello.
Their signature drinks looked pretty good, and I ordered some sort of tasty rum concoction that added to my already good mood. Dawn, having to go back to work that afternoon, opted for a Coke instead (Yes--TI serves Coke--none of that vile Pepsi shiat! Another reason to go give them your business!).
For an appetizer, we ordered some crab/artichoke dip, but unfortunately, it was the low-light of the meal. The crab was a little too intense, meaning it'd been awhile since it had been anywhere near seawater, so that was a little off-putting. And the tri-color nacho chips were a little on the stale side, although we figured the blue ones must have more preservatives in them because they were the freshest. We ended up leaving half of the appetizer uneaten, but not being highly upset with it, we didn't mention it to the waitress or insist that it get taken off the bill, we just basically ignored it after a few bites.
But as blah as the appetizer was, the entree salads were excellent! Dawn had a creamy bacon and crispy fried chicken salad, and I went with one of my favorites, the Asian chicken salad. Both were huge and full of tasty bits of salad goodness.
One should exercise caution when attempting to eat a salad bigger than one's own head
This is a closeup of my salad. I swear the thing had a half pound of grilled chicken on it.
The only minor complaint that I had about my salad was that it didn't have enough cashews or wasabi peas floating around in it. Occasionally I'd get a bite of one that would give off a small flavor explosion, but they were too few and far between. Otherwise, it was very good, with mandarin slices, sesame seeds, fresh greens, and a zippy Asian dressing.
Of course we didn't come close to finishing them, and although we looked over the dessert menu, we decided against it. I have no idea what the total bill came to, as Dawn insisted on making her boss pay for it. I couldn't argue with that, so out came the corporate Amex, and I saved at least twenty bucks on the deal. First win of the week!
After lunch, we just wandered around TI for a bit, and I re-acquainted myself with the place. I hadn't set foot in there in over six years, so to me it was like visiting a whole new casino. I found myself really liking the vibe there. Some folks complain that 'they' ruined it by taking down the pirate sign and changing everything that was good about the old Treasure Island, but me, I couldn't complain in the least about anything I saw there. Besides, making the property more 'adult' is ok in my book, as I'm totally in favor of just about anything that drives the rugrats away from the Strip.
We also took a walk over to check out the menu at Isla, one of the restaurants on my list to try. The prices looked extremely reasonable, and of course the bar looked like a place I'd enjoy. Can't wait to get back and try it.
After that, Dawn played a little video poker and hit a few slots, while I camped out at a pai gow table for an hour or so. I managed to get my first straight flush in my short pai gow playing career for a quick hundred dollar win, and with all of the back-and-forth, I left with a $110 profit. Coupled with a free lunch, I'd say it was a winning afternoon. And over all, I really enjoyed the day at Treasure Island.
I had to work that night, so we said our goodbyes when I dropped her off later at Mandalay Bay. I spent half of that night back in the training room learning to deal that new World Poker Tour game I mentioned a couple months back. Now that I've got that game under my belt, I figure I'll be on it a LOT--we are very shorthanded for dealers that know the game, and a lot of the gals that have never played poker don't like it because you have to read all of the hands at the end and it can be pretty confusing. So I'm guessing I'll be on that table quite a bit in the near future.
Of course, after eight hours of work I dragged my ass home and struggled to stay awake while watching the two hour episode of 24 from the night before.
Those fucking terrorists killed Edgar???? NOOOOOO! He was carrying the banner for all of us fat dumpy guys who sit at a computer all day. Methinks that Chloe is gonna get a very bad case of PMS if she encounters any bad guys in future episodes.
I managed to get a couple hours of sleep after that before picking Dawn up again, and this time we headed downtown and had lunch at the Main Street Station brew pub. It's been a favorite of mine for a couple of years, and this time didn't disappoint, either. Dawn ordered the filet mignon sandwich (the first thing I ever ordered on my first visit--soooo good!) while I went with the bacon cheeseburger. Honestly, I can't remember if we had an appetizer, and I didn't take any dirty pictures of our food this time, either. But believe me, it was a great meal.
After lunch we wandered over to the Vegas Club to meet Fighter Pilot Nick for a drink or two and a quick visit. We could only stay for an hour or so because Dawn had an afternoon meeting. But we had a nice visit, did a little gambling and had a drink or two. And I left with another $100 profit from the Pai Gow table.
Once we got back to Mandalay Bay, Dawn went to her meeting and I went home and got a few precious hours of sleep before we went out that night.
Dawn had mentioned a restaurant at Fashion Show Mall that she had also been to in Philadelphia that she really liked a lot, so once we hooked up back at the Bay, we cabbed it down to the mall. By then it was blustery and raining out--just miserably cold, and all I could think about was all those poor schmucks coming to town next week expecting warm weather and mild temperatures, and hoping that the weather got better in time.
Anyhow, the restaurant we were headed to is called Maggiano's Little Italy. My sister told me about it, having visited a location in Atlanta, I believe. Both my sister and Dawn raved about it, but honestly I wasn't expecting much. Living here in Vegas has turned me into a picky food snob, and I've been too arrogant about it to give 'chain' places a fair shake. I guess my recent visit to Bahama Breeze reinforced my opinion, so I went in with the lowest of expectations--just hoping that it would be better than the Olive Garden.
First of all, when we got there, it was insanely packed, but it looked like a cool place. Lots of dark wood and subdued lighting, along with a lounge crooner and a pianist providing live entertainment. Not only that, but it had some of the absolute coolest pictures of old Vegas adorning the walls that I have ever seen. Museum quality photographs at the very least.
As soon as I was headed to the hostess stand in the middle of the bar, a gal tugged on my sleeve and asked if I'd put my name on the list yet. I told her we hadn't, and she gave me her pager and her party name saying that they had to leave but they were at the top of the list. Score! We sat down in the bar and ordered a drink and within ten minutes 'our' pager was going off.
We got a good table near the windows overlooking the north Strip--the Frontier and the Wynn taking up the lions share of the view.
Dawn warned me that the portions were huge, but that didn't stop us from ordering an Italian Salad and a half order of Calimari. Additionally, as soon as we sat down they brought us a basket of warm bread and a dish full of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. Oh hell yeah it was tasty.
I was thinking Pinot Noir again, but for some reason when the waitress mentioned that Ecco Domani Pinot Griggio was on special, I ordered a glass of the white stuff. I've always liked it, and for a cheaper wine, it's pretty damn good.
Our 'half order' of calimari arrived a few minutes later, and it was delicious--piping hot and fried to a crispy golden brown, and tender, not tough. Of course I shudder to think what a full order looked like, because our platter had enough dead squid on it to qualify as a war crime at Sea World.
We were smart enough to get the half-sized Italian salad, also. Again, it too was excellent, but it was also a monster:
Yes, that's two full plates of salad, plus the bowl it was served in, still full. That's the 'half order'. Notice the balsamic vinegar we used to redecorate the table cloth with--that bottle can be tricky.Once we worked our way through the appetizer and salad, our waitress was kind enough to give us a break for a few minutes before she laid the entrees on us. Dawn ordered chicken piccatta and I went with another favorite dish of mine, the veal marsala.
While waiting for our entrees to arrive, we enjoyed the cool vibe of the place and the nice view down the Strip. In another moment of introspection, I again realized how lucky I was to be here living a life that others envy. There I was in the middle of another excellent restaurant in the middle of an excellent city, enjoying an excellent view. I almost had to pinch myself.
Luckily the waitress and her assistant arrived just about that time and woke me up from my daydreaming. They were bearing very large servings of some pretty tasty grub.
My dish came with three large pieces of veal, covered in sauteed button mushrooms, and Dawn's chicken piccatta had three chicken breasts atop a bed of spinach. We also ordered a side of pasta each, which was only like $2.50 each--she got spaghetti and I went with fettucini alfredo. And it was all pretty damn good. Of course we couldn't finish most of it--I brought the boxes home and ate the leftovers for lunch today.
Once we gave up, again we considered dessert, but we were much too full and halfway to a food coma. And the bill was only $80 before tip.
By the time we finished up, the restaurant was fairly empty and quiet, so we wandered around looking at all of the pictures on the walls and such. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would go back in a second--the atmosphere was fun, the food was fantastic, and the prices were reasonable. If I had to compare it to anything, it's like a more upscale Buca de Beppo--a little quieter, but then, Italian restaurants generally aren't exactly libraries.
I guess you could say that it far exceeded my expectations.
It was still early, but Dawn had an 8:00 am meeting, so we called it a night right after dinner. We cabbed it back to Mandalay Bay and said our goodbyes, then I fetched the Sled from the valet. Sitting in traffic on Tropicana, I decided to pull into the new Hooters casino and check it out.
Feh.
It's still the San Remo underneath. Although it was packed, the casino was small and didn't offer much to keep me coming back. It had a wooden floor, evocative of a basketball court or The Western, except that the waitresses and dealers were much better looking. They had two pits with table games, one 'regular' pit and one 'Hooters Girls' pit where all of the dealers are hottie chicks wearing Hooters outfits.
Turns out that I knew one of the girls in the Hooters pit, and she went on break just a minute after I walked up. We talked for a minute and she told me that the pits keep their tokes separately--so the Hooters girl dealers make about $29 per hour in tips, while everyone else makes about half that. As a dealer, I think it is a sucky arrangement and I wouldn't work there. But then, I don't get to wear a tight white tank top and orange satin shorts when I deal. Maybe if I were pitching cards in the Hooters pit, I'd think differently.
Anyhow, I know how precious a dealer's break time is, so I didn't keep her long. After that I just headed for the door, and I probably won't be back. It's just not that great--it's like a poor man's Hard Rock. A very poor man. Kinda like comparing Ellis Island to New York New York. At least the scenery was nice.
But that's pretty much it for my week. It was nice to see Dawn again and we had a fun visit, but tonight it's back to work for the next five days. Once I make it through that, the Madness begins.
Of course there will be more stories and pictures. Some of which I can actually post here.
Mikey
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