Tuesday night was enjoyable--I had dinner with longtime reader Dave P from CT at Capo's. Neither of us had ever been there before, and it's been on my list of places to try. And since Dave offered to take me there for my 'birthday dinner', I couldn't refuse! And I have to admit that it was a pretty darn good experience.
First of all, the restaurant is built in an old house out on West Tropicana--it looks like an old college-town bar from the outside. You walk up to the porch, go inside to a small vestibule, and push an old speakeasy-type of buzzer. If you're looking at the door that says entrance, you'll be startled when the maitre d opens a little peephole door behind you and says hello. And of course the 'door' doesn't open, the wall on the side does--very sneaky. But once inside the small dining room, you're good to go. There are a few tables in the middle of the room, and old-school curtained booths along the walls. And there is no light in the place except for candlelight on the tables. Rat pack tunes and artwork featuring famous mobsters provide the ambiance to go along with the typical din of a busy Italian restaurant. Yep, it's exactly the kind of place where Michael Corleone would settle a score after returning from the men's room.
(Speaking of the mob... I think I've seen just about enough of Vito's new life as a wannabe member of the Village People on The Sopranos. That picnic at the lake was more than I wanted to know about...)
We had a reservation, but they didn't ask for it because there were several open tables. But I could see how a reservation would be needed--it's not a big place, and good luck trying to just walk up and get a table on a busy weekend.
The menus included a tiny red flashlight attached to help read it in the darkness, which was a cool touch.
For an appetizer, we ordered the baked ravioli which was surprisingly good. It was served with warm marinara sauce and a dish of shaved parmesian was left on the table, along with baskets of warm bread and butter.
We both had house salads with our entrees, and they were about average. Good, but not great. But Dave ordered a dish called 'The Chef Sleeps with the Fishes' which was fettucini with sun-dried tomatoes, ham, and shrimp. I ordered the house specialty lasagna. For wine we had an excellent bottle of Oregon Pinot, which was actually pretty reasonable at only $38.
The entrees were pretty good--much better than the offerings in a typical chain restaurant, and the atmosphere couldn't be beat. There were so many good-sounding dishes offered on the menu that it makes me want to go back and do it again. Besides, the prices are fairly reasonable, with entrees starting around $17 and moving up to $30 or so for some of the steak offerings. As a bonus, they also have an upstairs cigar lounge, but since Dave doesn't smoke, we didn't indulge. They also feature some pretty good specialty martinis on the menu, and instead of dessert, I had a 'Tiramasu Martini'. Oh hell yeah.
So overall, I was fairly impressed with Capo's, and can't wait to go back and do it again... Andrea?
After dinner, we went back to the Mirage and headed to the poker room. We were going to play in a single-table sit-n-go, but there was only one person on the list, and they wanted $75 to play. $50 was my limit, so we passed. Just about the time we were walking out, one of my teachers from poker school was getting tapped out for a break, so we got to talk to him for a bit and watch a couple of old fogas try to brawl each other at the 1-5 Stud table. It was comical, and the best part was hearing the floorman yell This is the last time I'm coming over here!
But by that time, the big meal and the red wine had started to take it's toll and I was feeling pretty droopy. I said goodbye to Dave and headed back to the valet to pick up the ghetto sled, only to be delayed by several fire trucks and ambulances responding to somebody who fell down and cracked their elbow on the sidewalk.
When my car finally showed up, I was about to get all pissy thinking that somebody had busted out one of my windows. Turns out that the car wash had done such a good job earlier in the day that the glass was so clean I couldn't see it. Whew... drama avoided.
I drove home and went straight to bed, exhausted.
Of course, it was only about 11:00 pm when I fell asleep, so I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning. I got up, did a little websurfing, did my laundry, and even submitted an application online to the Plaza for a poker dealing job. However, I kept getting error messages, and when that nonsense finally stopped, it just took me back to the beginning of the page with no reciept acknowledgement, so I tried it a couple more times. So they've either got six applications from me, or none at all. I guess I'll go down there next week and find out for sure.
I made it to school by 10:30, and got some practice dealing bigger games--the instructors are having us more 'experienced' students learn the harder stuff--75/150 Stud, 10/20 Holdem (which is actually easy, but it is a fast game), and I think 6/12 Omaha is on tap for today. We also went over tournament details, as a bunch of us are going out to deal that big private tourney up in North Las Vegas this weekend. I think there are 130 players total, but the winner gets a seat in a satellite at The Palms for a 1-in-20 chance for a seat at the Big One. So it's a serious event, and should be a great experience. But it lasts all day, and I've got to deal dice all night right before that, and go back to work right after, so I should be a tuckered out little trooper come Sunday morning.
I'm supposed to have lunch with Dave again today, if I can swing it. I need to go to school for sure, and I have a mandatory meeting at work late in the afternoon. But we're talking about Metro Pizza, and that's hard for me to pass up--so I may cut out of class early.
Mikey
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