Saturday, February 17, 2007

Vegas, Baby!

At the Monte Carlo Cafe, where we became regulars



The day after fall semester finals, three of my friends from law school and I took off for Vegas. We show up at the Monte Carlo, put our stuff in the room, and head for the in-house brewery. Tracie has a tradition in Vegas, a shot of Patron Silver all around as you arrive. Naturally, we couldn’t break tradition. And we had a bunch of greasy food at the brewery. I got the chili con carne. We shared fried calamari. Tracie got mini burgers, Katherine got a Caesar Salad, Sapna got soup (I think it was creamy clam chowder which I avoid, something about clams and cream makes me rebel). For greasy bar food, it wasn’t that bad. Plus we were really hungry after getting off the plane.

That night, I could have gone to the steak house at the Bellagio with aunt, uncle and cousins. Apparently it was amazing and they sat next to George Clooney. But, I was in the mood to hang out with my girls. While Sapna and I were taking a nap, Tracie and Katherine snuck off and entered a poker tournament at the Paris. Tracie won 4th place! So we go over to the Paris to pick Tracie up, and it is FREEZING and we are STARVING, and since P.F. Chang’s was right there, we decide to go in. It’s packed so we decide to eat at the bar. Tracie used to work at the Chang’s in Sherman Oaks, so she’s chatting up the bartender. (Who told me his name was Superman.) We all share this AMAZING bottle of pinot noir, Estancia, and Tracie and Sapna get these weird cocktails (of which Chang’s has a lot) which were actually kinda good. We started off with the chicken lettuce wraps which are one of my favorites. They are greasy and yummy, but you can convince yourself they are healthy because of all the lettuce involved. We got the salt and pepper shrimp (I could have eaten 10 servings of this), garlic snap peas (you can never have too much garlic), brown rice, and I can’t remember what else. It was sooo yummy. Just what we needed before a night of gambling in Downtown Vegas. My cousins met up with us, and fun was had by all.

The gals at PF Chang's.








Sapna turned in early, but at about 4 a.m. I demanded that Tracie, Katherine and I get breakfast. We went to the café at the Monte Carlo and had a club sandwich and an egg/bacon/hashbrown plate. Katherine told me it was the best idea I ever had. Nothing like eggs at 4 a.m. I say!



High quality food at the Monte Carlo

So the next night, we decide we needed to actually go to a real restaurant and go dancing. We head over to the MGM, hoping to go to Studio 54. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovations for New Year’s. Boo! So we go to Centrifuge, this weird bar where the bartenders dance on the tables every 30 minutes, and we chat up our bartender asking where we can get some dancing action. Apparently the only game in town is Tao at the Venetian. We decide to get food at the MGM and head over.

What do we find at the MGM? Shibuya! We ordered this mushroom amazingness dish, it was mixed sautéed mushrooms, with I don’t know what, but it was oh-so good; the ahi tuna tartare tower, which was good, and some assorted sushi. The place is tres chic, a bit overpriced, but it was good. Then we proceeded to Tao where we jumped the line because we were so gorgeous. Then we ended up back at the café at 4 a.m.




Shibuya agreed with us. We really complemented the fabulous decor.

Now, every time I go to Vegas, I want to go to Burger Bar at the Mandalay Bay! So I convince the girls this is where we gotta go. I mean, they have burgers with truffles and fois gras! I got the Kobe beef burger with a fried egg (ever since I had this at Fatburger I’ve been addicted). Sweet potato fries. Pitcher of Newcastle. Unfortunately, none of us could afford the $60 fois gras truffle burger, but maybe next time if I have a winning streak. Ironically, this was our most expensive meal!

Mmm. YAY! Nothing like good food, good times, and good friends.




Me sleeping on the plane home. Soooo attractive. Ugh! Need to start that diet!

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