Surf & Turf

There's a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning...

And I'm pretty sure I'm on the Sunday side now. Checking the old clock on the wall--yep, it's past 2:00 am, and I just got home awhile ago--long enough to shower, check and answer the email, download some pics from my camera, read a bit of my daily internet rotation that I've been missing out on this week, and prepare to make this post. So here goes...

I had a fairly relaxing day on Saturday. I honestly didn't do a damn thing all day. My entire to-do list went completely ignored. Well, I can't say that--I *did* manage to take out the garbage, but after that, I lost all motivation, such as it was.

My commitment for the evening was to meet up with Ava and LisaLisa at the Breeze Bar at Treasure Island at 6:30. Traffic, surprisingly, was absolutely non-existent on I-15, and I got there about 15 minutes early. I was tempted to play some Pai Gow, but gambling is slowly becoming a non-vice for me, and drinking is still a favorite pastime, so I opted to just make myself comfy in a corner table at the Breeze Bar and do a little people watching while I nursed a beer.

My own personal cocktail waitress was not only attractive, but extremely friendly too. And when I noticed that they had regular Michelob Light (not that watery Ultra shiat) on the menu, well, it set off quite the conversation.

She was back a few minutes later with my beer, and lingered a bit since she had no particular place to go. She asked if I wanted to run a tab, but I said no, that I was just waiting for some friends to come down before we headed off to dinner. That led to an interesting conversation about steakhouses, where she worked in the fact that it was so nice to finally meet a nice guy who was a local, because all the guys that talk to me are tourists or conventioneers, and she had been to N9NE once before, on one of my all-too-rare dates...

Hmmm... Apparently, I brought my A-game this week. Either that, or she sensed my obvious weakness for cocktail waitresses. (Seriously--high heels, long legs, push-up bras, all that skin showing--who doesn't love cocktail waitresses???). But it was a wonderful flirtatious conversation that served as a timely reminder of all the different fish in the sea. And I loves me some quality seafood!

But before it got too far out of hand, Ava and LisaLisa showed up, and the conversation (baby) got back to strictly business. Having a good 45 minutes before we had to be at the Palms, we figured that a round of pre-dinner cocktails couldn't hurt, so I bought the ladies a drink and ordered another round for myself. Ava had a Guiness, LisaLisa had a citrus gimlet, and I ordered a Bombay Sapphire martini.

During our conversation, LisaLisa presented me with my 'perfect' birthday gift. It was a bottle of Hurricane Rum. Oh hell yeah! She said she saw it in the store back home in Boston, and she just had to get it for me. Well done, I say!

Check out the goods--gifts from folks who know me too well!

After finishing off our drinks, it was time to head over to The Palms. We had reservations for 7:30, but got there just a few minutes late--no problemo though, our table wasn't quite ready. So we chilled in the very noisy bar for just a few minutes before we were seated.

Apparently, we were never issued the Official Uniform that is required for hanging out at The Palms. For ladies, you must be wearing a push-up bra, a black mini-dress, and some serious eff-me pumps. Fake boobs aren't a requirement, but they help. Fellas need to wear ratty jeans, boots, and an untucked embroidered shirt with a huge collar and unbuttoned cuffs. I think it's a law or something... So I felt seriously out of place in my Dockers, tassle loafers, and tucked-in dress shirt with a normal-sized collar.

Anyhow, mingling with the beautiful people aside, we set to work studying the menu. Meanwhile, LisaLisa ordered a fantastic bottle of wine, a Stag's Leap Cabernet. Oh hell yeah was it tasty. Everyone knows I'm not much of a Cab fan--I much prefer Pinot. But this was an excellent wine which I wouldn't hesitate to add to the wine cellar living room shelf.

As far as appetizers go, Ava got some sort of sashimi plate that even included some caviar. LisaLisa opted for a Caesar salad, and I couldn't pass up the French Onion soup. My soup was outstanding, and I put it right up there among my favorites. The deal-closer was the fact that it was the least-salty onion soup I'd ever tasted, so the sweetness of the onions and the smokiness of the Gruyere volleyed back and forth without distraction. Ava also gave me all of her caviar, as she's not a fan of fish roe.

It was good, but I've always thought that caviar reminded me of Pop Rocks if there were no sugar in the recipe. I guess I'll eventually have to try some Russian Beluga or Osetra at $200 an ounce to gain a real appreciation for the stuff... Red Square, anyone?

Anyhow, we thoroughly enjoyed our appetizers, and then it was time for the main event. The ladies both had the eight-ounce filet, while I went with my all-time favorite, the bone-in ribeye done medium-rare. The sides were a la carte, and we had the lobster-mashed potatoes (heavenly) and the grilled onions and mushroom combo (perfect on the steaks). There was also a bread basket, and I have to admit that I really liked the fresh pretzel sticks more than any of the other varieties.

Seriously, vegetarians, what the hell are you thinkin'?

Not only did the steaks look and smell wonderful, they were quite tasty. My ribeye was tender and flavorful, with just enough fat marbled through to make it almost perfect. My only regret once I got to the end was that I don't have a dog--he would've loved that bone! Hell, I was tempted to gnaw on it myself.

Once the main course was finished, it was on to dessert. Of course we couldn't eat at N9NE without having their fun campfire Smores, so we ordered that. And some peanut butter cheesecake. Oh man, those Smores were great. But who the hell puts raspberry puree on top of peanut butter cheesecake. Gag! We sent it back, and they brought us out a topless one that was much better. We finished our meal with Espresso & Kahlua, and it was just about perfect.

LisaLisa roasts a marshmallow over the invisible blue flame.

I'd never eaten at N9NE before, and I really liked it. The food was excellent. The wait staff had to be the best looking crew I've ever seen in any restaurant, and they were thoroughly professional and friendly. The only downer is that it is literally the loudest restaurant I've ever been in. Even worse than Gallagher's or Del Frisco's. But they make no pretense about being a dark quiet restaurant. No, this isn't your Dad's steakhouse--there is music pumping, loud laughter coming from all corners, and there is not a carpet, tapestry, or any type of sound-dampening device to be found anywhere in the restaurant. It's all tile and glass--designed to echo and amplify. If you're looking for a nice quiet romantic spot, this ain't it. If you're looking for some great food and amazing eye-candy, this is the place for you.

It's not cheap, either. I think our tab came to $430 or so before tip, but there was quite a markup on the wine, too. But it was well worth it--I know I liked the place much more than I expected I would. And you couldn't beat the company either. LisaLisa and Ava are great gals and I'm glad that they invited me to share part of their weekend with them.

But they were having a girl's trip to Vegas, so we said our goodbyes after dinner. I wandered the casino a bit, and found my gal Kathy dealing a $10 single-deck game. Kathy comes to my casino almost every week on her nights off and plays at my tables. She'll usually follow me unless she gets on a hot streak, then she stays put. And she also plays a bit of Holdem in our poker room, too.

So I wanted to visit with her for a bit and also return the favor, so I bought in for $60. Unfortunately, she was as hot as her new blond hair made her look, and she pretty much crushed me after just ten minutes or so. I said goodbye and headed for the door.

It was still early, so I went back over to the Tropicana to see Savannah Jack play again. Again, it was a packed house, but I eventually found a table after only getting propositioned twice. Seriously, that place has more hookers than the Riviera has cockroaches.

Anyhow, after a few minutes, I looked over to see a tall curvy blond waving at me and start walking towards me.

Damn these hookers are getting aggressive, I thought. I'm right up near the stage and here comes one now!

Turns out that it wasn't a hooker, it was my new friend Sara from Denver. Her and her hubby are good friends with Cyndi and Tim, and Cyndi told them to look for me at the show last night. So they found me, and we laughed and talked for a couple of hours, watching the show.

My new friends

They called it a night around 1:00 am, and I wasn't far behind them. That huge meal, and the wine, plus the lack of sleep from the entire past week were all starting to catch up to me. So we said our goodbyes and I headed for home, only getting propositioned once more on the way out.

And now my week of drunken buffoonery and gluttony has come to an end. It's back to work tonight, which should be interesting--it'll be the first time I see Kimmy since things went down last week. I'm hoping we're cool, though, if only for the fact that she makes my eight hours of drudgery seem like the blink of an eye. I hope that's still the case.

I've got to call Mamasan and wish her a happy Mother's Day, and after that, I'm shooting for at least six hours of blissful slumber, re-living another great meal and dreaming about all those other fish in the sea.

Mikey