Where's My Chicken Dinner?

This weekend, Badge and I drove to Vegas. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures but here's the quick breakdown.

Thurs - Left in the afternoon and arrived at 7pm at the Mandalay Bay (Aunt Kaye had a free room she gave us). Immediately rushed down to dinner at Fleur de Lys, Hubert Keller's famous French restaurant (original location in SF). Note: Keller is currently competing on Top Chef Masters. Ate a fix prixe meal of tuna tartare, monkfish, prime fillet mignon, and an enormous chocolate souffle. Everything was delicious, but souffle was really out of this world. Painfully bloated, proceeded to play penny slots and video poker. No luck. Tried our hand at some craps. No luck. Drowned our sorrows in free drinks. Retired to room.

Fri - Woke up and ate chocolate croissants. Went to famous "beach" pool while Badge went on errands. Baked in 105 degree heat. Cooled off in wave pool. Continued to bake and sweat my ass off. Escaped back indoors after two hours. When Badge returned, went to Noodle Shop. Pleasantly surprised to see they had Niu Rou Mein (Beef Noodle Soup), even more pleasantly surprised that it actually tasted like Niu Rou Mein (although nothing beats NRM in Taiwan mmmm). Hung around hotel room. Badge napped, while I read The $64 Tomato. At 6pm, drove to Mirage to meet Aunt Kaye and Uncle Chuck for dinner at BLT burger. Ate a tasty cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, and drank the world's largest, richest, most chocolaty-est mocha milkshake. Painfully bloated, wandered over to MGM to meet Badge's friend McClain who was also in town. Played some roulette. No luck. Played some video poker. Little luck. Continued to drown sorrows in free drinks. Retired to room.

Sat - Woke up and packed. Drove to Caesar's for brunch at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant (original in NY). Had a very spicy bloody mary, shared a tomato tortilla soup with Badge, ate scrambled eggs chilaquile on blue corn tortilla with side of grits. Out of this world. Painfully bloated, got back in car and drove home.

That's the vaca. You will notice a LOT of eating, a bit of gambling, a fair amount of alcohol consumption, and all around good times. Once home, I spent Sunday puttering around the garden. I pulled the cilantro which had bolted several weeks ago and harvested the seeds. Once they're dry, I'll grind some into coriander and save some to replant.


Also I found this little friend. Hello Mr. Zucchini.


Lastly I finished reading The $64 Tomato yesterday. It was such a fun read. Made me want to start my own urban farm. Brandywine tomatoes here I come!