Random Musings about Travel, Food, Poker, Photography
Funny how you look at photos differently after your step away from them for a few weeks. I happen to take this photo and did not think much of it the first time around. Normally a photo of a plain brick courtyard is not very exciting, but somehow the reflection off the skylight made for an MC Esher look and feel.
Not sure if the designers of the building it was taken intended it to be this way or not. Any guesses as to where it was taken?
My friend Jessica suggested Raku as a place to go off the strip in Vegas. Raku is a very authentic Japanese yakitori located on Spring Mountain Road in the “Chinatown” area of Vegas. The restaurant itself is pretty small, consisting of two small rooms with perhaps 10 tables and 40 diners max, so reservations are a must as doing a walk in might not yield you a table. Only open for dinner from 6pm, but open late until 2 or 3am, so definitely a place to grab a late night bite to eat. We got a reservation at 9:30pm and were told we had to be finished by 11:30. While this seems strange to me at first because 2 hours is more than enough time for a meal, after I dined there I understood, as the food comes out slowly and you are encouraged to enjoy each course rather than just wolf it down like at a Vegas buffet.
Fish and dinner specials are written on a chalk board located near the hostess stand, and that changes daily depending on what they get that day.
We ordered half a tofu fresh and half agadashi style. The fresh tofu came garnished with bonito flakes, sliced green onion and freshly grated ginger. The waitress suggested we use the home made condiments on our table, which were the green tea salt and their home brewed plum infused soy sauce, The soy sauce had a great plum fragrance and complimented the freshly made tofu very well. The green tea flavor in the salt was subtle, letting the salt part season the tofu, but finish with a hint of tea and seaweed flavor.
Agadashi Tofu – Used the same homemade tofu, and while tasty, was probably nothing special compared to other food we had that night. I prefer the fresh tofu over this.
Fresh fish can prepared in three ways: sashimi, grilled, and fried. You can choose one, two, or all three ways. We did sashimi and grilled. If you choose all three, I believe they filet both sides of the fish and the fried part is the bones and head, allowing you to eat it whole. That is the default in traditional yakitori restaurants. After perusing the chalkboard and consulting with our waitress, we chose the itoyori (threadfin bream), which happened to be the last one of the night. Sashimi was very well prepared and sliced, and the grilled portion had the requisite salty and slightly charred exterior. Something to note about the garnish for the sashimi dishes. In place of the normal shredded daikon, Raku uses glassy noodles made of seaweed agar, pickled chrysanthemum instead of ginger, and freshly ground wasabi root as opposed to powder. The last one of which can be very potent. The fish was very fresh, not really needing any extra soy or salt.
Shiokko (amberjack) – clean with a bit of fatty texture, medium firm texture, clean flavor
Bluefin tuna sashimi – rich and fatty, almost but not quite as rich as toro (fatty tuna) with a soft, pillowy mouth feel. This plate came courtesy of Antonio Esfandiari, who happened to be at the table next to us. (story in another blog post)
Kobe/beef skewer with wasabi – rich and fatty as you might expect. Cooked medium and topped with a wasabi sauce. Wasabi was subtle, not overpowering, a Japanese version of western steak and horseradish.
Grilled beef tendon – By far the best thing we had out of the cooked dishes. It had the texture of silky tofy with a melt in your mouth quality when you bit into it. Not chewy at all, and can best be described as chewing creamy beef flavored mousse coated in a rich beefy au jus type of reduction.
Small plates – From the top, grilled asparagus with bacon, Salmon with daikon and ikura garnish, and enoki wrapped in bacon. Bacon was crisp, not too crunchy and not over salty, a perfect compliment for the grilled veggies. Salmon was just average, although not dried out like some skewers I have had in the past.
TIps
– You could take a cab, but chances are the round trip fare would cost about the same as a single day for a rental car, so rent a car. Most casinos on the Strip have a rental car counter within the resort. And you can always drive your car to the airport and drop it off there, saving even more cab fare.
– Raku is open late, so you can do an after-show dinner here. Just make sure you have reservations. Bear in mind that the later you go, the fewer chalkboard selections will remain. We got the last itoyori, and as we left there were a couple other line items missing.
– Prices are about what you would expect for Japanese sashimi, but always ask the pricing before ordering off the chalkboard because prices are not posted. You don’t want to be caught by surprise when you find out what the “market price” for that sashimi platter is .
A great overall dining experience and a good break from the flashy, celebrity chef, and steak restaurants and buffet de casino’s on the Vegas Strip. Authentic and very well executed. Definitely worth a trip out.
Located in the Cosmopolitan Hotel in City Center, Holsteins (Shakes and Buns) touts it is the best burgers in Vegas.
Wanted to see if that claim was true. Made a reservation for 7:45. We arrived a bit early, and were told to come back at 7:45, at which time we were promptly seated. Menu offered burgers, shakes, and appetizers in the American pub/burder joint genre of cuisine. Waitress was friendly, took our orders, and brought out a small bucket of popcorn for us to nosh on while we waited for our food. We decided to try one shake, The Drunken Monkey and for burgers – the Gold Standard Burger and “The Rising Sun” Burger
The Drunken Monkey –
A milkshake from their “Bam-Boozled Shake” section of the menu. It has Reese’s, Banana, Malt, Frangelico, and what I can assume is vanilla ice cream and milk. While, not cheap at $11, it’s not cheap, and I can only assume it is that price because of the booze in it. It did come with a steel tumbler about third full in addition to the shake in the glass. The Frangelico added a nice nuttiness to the shake, but i would be surprised if there was more than a jigger of booze in the whole thing. If you are looking for a rich rich meal, then order a shake, but I would suggest splitting it, like I did with Theresa. The burgers, as we found out, were very rich and fatty (like a proper burger should be)
The Gold Standard–
Their description – Dry Aged Beef Sirloin Burger With Smoked Bacon, Aged Goat Cheddar Cheese, Tomato Confit, Baby Arugula & Garlic-Chive Aioli
Tasting Notes: Delicious. The beef is a bit “chunky”, meaning the beef is not pulverized into little bits and formed into a patty. Mouth feel is great because the bits are loosely packed and melt in the mouth with just the right amount of marbled fattiness. Goat Cheddar really punches through the other ingredients to give it a pleasantly pungent finish while the bacon gives is a nice saltiness, the aoili gives it just a little wee bit of extra fat to bring it all together. I could not really taste the argula, as it was tasted more like spinach next to all the wonderful fatty goodness.
The Rising Sun Burger
Their description -Kobe Beef, Teriyaki Glaze, Nori Furikake, Crispy Yam, Spicy Mayo & Tempura Avocado
Tasting Notes: Delicious as well. The teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet or overpowering on the burger. The “Kobe” beef was formed into a nice thick 8oz patty and had a melt in your mouth quality you would expect. I was doubtful about the tempura avacado, especially given the size of it, lopped in the burger, but It did add even morerichness of the burger, but all in all well balanced amongst all the flavors. Warning, this is a pretty “sloppy” burger to eat. Cut it in half before consuming and be prepared to open wide.
Wall art consisted of several pictures depicting a pig with cow envy dressed in a cow suit doing some rather odd things. Both endearingly quirky and at the same time disturbing. We asked the waitress if this was the mascot, and she said no, the pink cow is the mascot. Evidently the restaurant commissioned a local artist to draw them. Wonder what his inspiration was? Only in Vegas
We both concluded that these burgers were the best burgers we have had. While the prices maybe high for burgers ($17.50/$17) it is still cheaper than some of the other Vegas resort restaurants. Also, the quality of the meat is pretty close to steakhouse quality and the burgers are 8oz portions. If one opened near us or we went to Vegas again, would definitely consider revisits, although would not get a cholesterol check anytime too soon after dining here.
The much touted Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace definitely lives up to the moniker of the best buffet in Vegas. What differentiates this one from the other buffets besides just sheet number of dishes is presentation of the food, imaginative combinations of flavors, and authenticity in preparation (i.e for ethnic foods, it’s not “Americanized”).
Tips: The buffets gets crowded for dinner and weekends. The majority of the food is the same between lunch and dinner, and lunch is cheaper.
Tip #2: Go into the buffet at around 10am. That way you can sample breakfast, and you will most likely still be there when lunch comes out around 11am. More food to sample.
Tip #3 – Walk the entire buffet before grabbing a plate and piling on food. The Asian section is kind of tucked away in the back corner. So unless you happen to be seated near there, you might miss it.
In addition to the standard buffet fare Here are some of the more unusual dishes we tried:
We went with Tip #2 and did both breakfast and lunch. I liked the presentation and slight twist the chefs did on some classic breakfast dishes. For instance, the Croque Madame and Corn Beef and Hash both used sunny side up quail eggs in lieu of chicken eggs. Nicely portioned and presented well (for buffet food, at least). Definitely different than the “scoop food out of chafing dishes” found at typical buffets. The Chicken Fried Steak below is in a mini cast iron skillet/roasting pan and the waffle fries are in mini fry baskets. food was fresh and well prepared.
A regular complement of freshly squeezed juices (orrange, tropical fruit, watermelon) were available, but what caught my eye was the cucumber juice. Juicing is the latest thing, and i guess Caesar’s has caught onto it. Tasted it, and it was definitely freshly juiced, but a bit bitter. Not sure if that is a normal thing or just because we are at the end of the cucumber season and the ones they used were more bitter than normal.
Oysters were freshly shucked and put on ice. In fact you can watch the shucker do his thing behind the raw bar. More reassuring than someone just taking a tray out from the back. The other dishes on the plate on the left above are Salmon Poke Salad and cold Seafood Gazpacho. The Poke was a bit too over spiced, as someone back there got too generous with the pepper powder. Gazpacho was pretty good for buffet with chunks of seafood. Plate on the right includes Ceviche (not sure what fish, but was a firm white fish), Seafood Salad tossed with a light vinaigrette, “jumbo” boiled shrimp, and Mussels Mariniere. Ceviche was clean with the right amount of acid/tang and correctly spiced. Mussels were well cooked and not rubbery.
Kobe beef cheese burger slider with cheddar cheese. Appropriately fatty and tender. Definitely better than the typical ground beef burger. Crab cake and corn chowder on the right. Great presentation, and while not bad, there were other better things to “spend your calories on”
The dessert station here is amazing. Choco-holics rejoice, you will like this one. Chocolate Creme Brulee, Chocolate Mousse with Crumbles, Tiramisu, Panna Cotta with Berry Sauce, and that thing on a stick is a Chocolate Decadence Lollipop (flourless chocolate cake piece with ganache pieces coated in chocolate with small chocolate spheres.
Chocolate souffle is also fresh baked. Its not put out, so you will have to ask for it. It’s probably because the ramikan it comes it is VERY hot and they don’t want to risk someone burning themselves. And yes, I verified it is very hot when I lifted it to put the napkin in the picture above below the ramikan.
Tip: they keep a blowtorch at the dessert station, and if you ask, you can get the to “brulee” something for you on the spot. Just ask.
Over 12 varieties of gelato and sorbets that go beyond the normal “vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry” Picture above are Mango Chile Lime Sorbet, Fig and Balsamic gelato, and Watermelon Mint Sorbet. Flavors are very clean and definitely unique. The sorbets were a bit icy, but that could be because they had been sitting out for a while and their freezer was on the fritz that day.
Definitely worth a trip out, especially if you are a foodie who like to sample a little of everything rather than stuff yourself with the same dish over and over again. The price is the highest on the Vegas Strip, but I would say it is justified. I have a feeling they change up things based on seasonal items, so it will remain fresh. While the food will not wow you like ones from a 2 star Michellin restaurant, in aggregate it’s pretty impressive how they can maintain the level of quality given the quantity and variety of food they have to crank out.
After a few days of very rich Vegas food, Theresa and I were ready for something a bit “lighter”. We were in the hankering for Pho, so Theresa researched some places and Pho Bosa came up.
The restaurant is located on Spring Mountain Road between I-15 and Chinatown. The restaurant occupies part of the ground floor of a motel with which it shares a bathroom. Translation, the surroundings are a total dive.
Tip: The address is on Spring Mountain Road, but the store front faces Polaris. Coming from I-15, try and turn left onto Polaris, and you can pull into the lot it shares with the motel
After being seated, we noticed a sign stating they don’t pre-cook anything and make everything as it’s ordered, so it’s not going to be fast. !0 minutes from time of order and maybe 20+ during busy times. Good to know. In addition to pho, they have the usual rice plates, dry noodle bowls, and grilled meats that you can warp with rice paper or lettuce (kind of like a vietnamese version of Mexican Fajita platters). I decided to try the Bún bò Huế, based on the Yelp reviews and Theresa got the regular Phở with beef balls and brisket.
Our meal came with the fresh sprouts for the Phở and cabbage for the Bún bò Huế, limes, and basil
Large bowl of Bún bò Huế
Phở with beef balls and brisket
The Bún bò Huế, was nice and spicy, with spicy oils floating on top of simmered beef broth with lemongrass flavors. Pulling the noodles through provided a nice coating of spice and the blood cubes, sliced ham hocks, and beef shank complemented the soup nicely. It was a bit on the spicier side, so if you can not handle spice food, I would suggest you not get this. It’s not a long lasting burn though, so you will be able to taste things throughout the meal. Theresa’s pho was well prepared, but a little heavy on the anise for her taste. i tend to agree. Broth was not overly salty and MSG laden like some of the pho places here in the Bay Area. The prices are a little higher than your typical pho place charges for a large bowl ($9), but the food seemed fresher as well.
If you need your Pho fix in Vegas, then Pho Bosa is pretty good. Would I seek it out as a must goto place everytime I come to Vegas? Probably not. Unless I really wanted authentic Pho.
Grabbed some to go food from Dish n Dash in Sunnyvale. Pictured are Chicken Swarma lavash wrap, fries, and baba ganoush. You can choose from several sauces to complement their food. Pictured are three: Tahini, chipotle tahini, and mint cilantro.
The meal above was in the $9-$10 range, but the food is a step above the normal fast food or company cafeteria type of food. Well worth it if you have a craving for Mediterranean food for lunch.
Tips: Parking lot can fill up quickly during the lunch rush, but you can park in the motel lot next to it. You can call in or submit your order online, then go directly to a dedicated pickup window around the back.
We reserved a mid size/intermediate car with Hertz on our recent trip to Vegas and when I went to go pick it up at the counter in Caesar’s, all they had were 2 SUVs, both GMC Acadias . While it’s was a nice “upgrade”, we really did not need the extra passenger room, but swapping out the car meant going to the airport and we did not want to deal with the hassle. I guess it would suffice for getting us “off the strip” to see the other parts of Vegas.
My first impressions were that this thing is big, like boat sized big, rivaling some full sized 1980s van. The cabin rides high, not 18 wheeler/truck driver high, but higher than most minivans and comparable to a truck’s. Visibility is hindered by the B and C pillars, and it is hard to judge where the rear is exactly. Thanks goodness for the back up camera and sensors, whose beeps I came to depend when negotiating parking lots/garages where regular sized spaces were dwarfed by this SUV. The backup camera was integrated into the rear view mirror instead of the center stack like other SUVs and minivans, giving the driver a much better view, as the rear window is fairly high set, creating a large blind spot directly behind.
Rear view camera integrated into rear view mirror
Backup sensors
We got an all wheel drive version of the Acadia. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially the throttle/tip in, as all four wheel grip to propel you forward. There seemed to be a slight disconnect between the AWD, powertrain, and transmission, as each seeming to be fighting the others on the best way to move this rather heavy vehicle forward. This made for some jerky movements as we pulled away from traffic lights or tried to pull into traffic from a parking lot entrance. Took some getting used to.
Driving down to Primm from Vegas gave us the opportunity to test the Acadia’s highway manners. Using the “seat of the pants” measurement method, acceleration up to freeway speeds was decent, given this SUV’s weight and size, making merging fairly straightforward. At speed, cabin was relatively quiet, but the ride was a bit soft as I felt a bit disconnected from the road . Changing lanes requires some advanced preparation because of the aforementioned blind spots. The side mirrors are supplemented with smaller fisheye mirrors, which help, as over the shoulder checks are often obstructed by the B and C pillars. Traffic was light, so did not have a chance to test how well it darts into and out of traffic, but I suspect it would be challenging. Steering feels very disconnected and overboosted. While this is great for low speed, parking lot maneuvers, it does not instill confidence at higher speeds.
I would say it is typical GM rental car chic, which is to say it’s not bad for a rental car, but I would not put it at the top of my list for purchase consideration.
Center stack is functional with standard looking radio buttons and climate control. Gearshift and center console area is similarly encased in plastic.
Steering wheel had the requisite hand controls for radio, phone, cruise control, etc. What threw me a bit though was the volume controls were rocker switches that were on the underside of the other buttons. Took some getting used to, but once you knew they were there, changing volume did not require moving your hands off the wheel to push the buttons from the front side.
Trunk space was very ample, allowing storage of up to several suitcases, rollaboards, backpacks, etc. The windows were tinted sufficiently in our rental car so you could not tell for certain whether something was stored in the back, which was an added piece of mind as we shopped at Primm and other places around Vegas.
Liftgate was power assisted, activated via the remote or truck switch. Power assisted close was activated by a button on the tailgate or remote.
As a rental, this car proved sufficient. if I had to transport many passengers and/or their gear, I think I would have appreciated some more of this SUV’s qualities. Did not really get a chance to stress test the AWD in wet or snowy weather, but it seemed to be more a hindrance in the dry Vegas climate. All in all, it did not wow me enough to consider it in my short list of cars to evaluate for my next auto purchase.
Ever on the lookout for more innovation and a differentiation among all the poker rooms in Vegas, Aria introduced Muli-Action Poker. The idea is that you have 2 dealers and are dealt two hands at the same time. Each seat has 2 areas to put chips. Your chips must be segregated and can not be moved between the two games. Dealers sit on opposite sides of the table in the middle. and deal the board to the right of the table centerline. I guess it is meant to simulate the multi table/hand experience you have online. I happen to be there the first day when the staff was doing a dry run with mock players and chips.
To get around telling which chips belong to which game, two different limits are spread (3/6 and 5/10 in the dry run above). I am thinking this would not be good for No Limit because your attention would be spread too thin and managing the chips would be a nightmare for the dealers. I am thinking it would be good to have hold em and Omaha together to further differentiate the players cards/holdings, but the audience that that is really limited. Playing Stud or mixed games would be even harder,. Isn’t the whole point of live poker is to stare your opponent down and to get reads/live tells? With so much activity at this table, you might as well stay home and play online.
When I went back later that night, the table was bare, no players. Talking with a couple of the dealers who did not think it was a good idea. It slows the game down, and the house can probably make a better rake with 2 single tables. Will be an interesting experiment for sure. Will see if it catches on anywhere.
On our last day in Vegas, we had the car and went to a couple of places off the Strip. We were close to a Raising Cane’s and I convinced Theresa to try it for lunch, as I have always been curious about it.
Raising Cane’s is a fast food restaurant that features chicken fingers as its center piece. We split the Caniac box, which came with 6 chicken fingers, fries, cole sole, 2 sauces, Texas Toast, and a large drink. About what you would expect in terms of quality. It’s fast food after all. Nothing remarkable, and we would not go back again. We both agreed that Chick Fil-a has much better food. Oh well, at least now we know.
If you are ever in need of a decent hot sandwich along the Vegas Strip, look no farther than the Earl of Sandwich in Planet Hollywood Casino. It’s fast food, so it will definitely be a step down from the celebrity chef restaurants on the Strip, but hey sometimes you need a break from all that. And it’s affordable, especially if just you lost all but your last $10 at the craps tables. And it beats Subway by a mile. Best of all it’s open 24 hours, so you can go after that all night poker session or if you close the club and are hankering for some grub.
The Original
The Earl’s Club
Tip: Unless you are dining at why the heck am I still up o’clock, best to get your drinks and chips at the ABC convenience store located in the Miracle Mile shops. They have a better selection of drinks and will save you some $$ so you can play those penny slots after your meal.
