Vegas, baby!
5 Comments
Karen Hamilton
April 29, 2009
My husband has a love affair with Las Vegas. It was his city of choice for his bachelor party in 2006, and it is again his first pick for celebrating his 30th birthday, along with the birthdays of his brother (25) and our brother-in-law-to-be (35).
As for me…I am a Vegas virgin. The debauchery of The Strip is not really in keeping with my life philosophy, but I will succumb to its excesses for one weekend.
My voracity will take a backseat to my husband’s birthday shenanigans, so as much as I would love to try all there is to be eaten in Vegas, I highly doubt that I’ll fully immerse myself in my favourite form of hedonism. I at least did the research, so for those of you who will be heading to Sin City in the near future, I hope you benefit from my what-might-have-beens.
Culinary splurges
A lavish meal at a chichi restaurant is the only way to do Vegas if you love food. If fortune shines upon me, there’ll be a reservation at Joel Robuchon or his less formal L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon plus a $400 credit with my name on it. If not, well, I guess we’ll have to return to Vegas upon amassing a financial reserve for gluttony.
L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon by scorbette37 (Creative Commons)
Our first dinner in town offers celebrity chef clout without squeezing us of our dollars so soon out the gate. Daniel Boulud’s spot at the Wynn has a $50 prix fixe menu that already has my husband drooling. Since we have one of his restaurants in town, Kurt suggested that we spend our anniversary at Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne for compare / contrast. I’m not one to argue with that logic.
We won’t be travelling far from our hotel, but I’ve heard that Rosemary’s Restaurant and Lotus of Siam are well worth the trip off the Strip. Any of you tried these?
Culinary deals
Most of the weekend’s budget is earmarked for the casino, so our group of 6 will be skimping on the gourmet in favour of a good price. For many, that means one thing – eating at buffets.
Buffets ceased being points of interest since my friends disbanded the All-You-Can-Eat club in university (thus curbing our frequent visits to and equally frequent boots from Shabusen). I hear that Vegas buffets can be a gourmet experience if you know where to go. The leaderboard of the Vegas buffet ranks those of the Wynn and Bellagio near the top. Spice Market at Planet Hollywood also comes highly lauded. Trade-offs: long lines during the dinner rush and DIY service.
Few places in luxury hotels seem to cater to those seeking a bargain, but there are a few spots that warrant a mention in this category:
- Paris’ Mon Ami Gabi runs a $10-15 brunch with fabulous french toast and corned beef hash. If you are willing to wait for the first-come, first-served patio, it affords one of the best ways to enjoy the fountain shows of the Bellagio. Its value and location has it ranked at the top of the Vegas lists on Urbanspoon and OpenTable for good reason.
- La Creperie at Paris – over a dozen varieties of my favourite French wrap for $8.99.
- Olives at Bellagio – Italian casual dining between $20 – 40
- Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon advertises $5.49 ribeye and eggs between the hours of midnight at 6am. If you are willing to play the tables at Bill’s during the >1 hour wait for this breakfast special (thus spending probably a lot more than you bargained), then go for it.
- Casino Royale and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon offer $1 margaritas. They are 2 blocks apart, so the journey from one to the other, with stops to the other dive casinos in between, becomes a lively night out when you are with good company.
If these are still too rich for your blood, consider making a trip to downtown Vegas or go fully off the Strip for cheap eats.
Non-culinary adventures
No formal plans for the daytime besides getting a few shades darker and drunker by Paris’ pool. My black cherry bikini was underutilized in Asia; I’ve got a poolside regimen in mind to rectify that.
While the boys play at Mandalay Bay’s closed-circuit viewing of the Pacquaio / Hatton fight on Saturday night, I’m in charge of distracting entertaining the ladies with a good meal and some provocative indulgences. My plans involve dinner in close proximity to a bar that knows how to give a woman a good time. Leaning towards the Tao at the Venetian [update - with Tao fully booked, we wound up at Lavo at the Palazzo, the Venetian's new wing. Mediocre food but plenty of beautiful people.].
P1010671 by Spencer Hung (used with permission)
Cirque du Soleil is the one thing I am truly looking forward to seeing in Vegas. We’ve got nosebleed seats for the Sunday showing of O, whose watery theme is amplified by the aquamarines of Bellagio’s O Theatre (shown above). Can’t wait.
Suggest away!
Does our itinerary have glaring omissions? Steer us towards affordable must-dos by leaving a comment. Thanks in advance for your ideas.
Categories: Beyond Vancouver, Food, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Travel, USA
Market Mondays at Raincity Grill
Leave a Comment Jessica FunkApril 27, 2009
Hello everyone! Jessica here blogging – I was introduced to you by Karen few weeks back.
Raincity Grill, one of Vancouver’s advocates of all things local, is running a cool new dinner series called Market Mondays, which takes place on the last Monday of every month.
Having had a chance to work with Chef Robert Clark at Nu, I share Karen’s view when it comes to honouring the best of BC. Market Mondays follows in the footsteps of Raincity’s 100 Mile Menu to spotlight the farmers, growers, and fishermen that Raincity Grill works closely with. I can’t think of a better way to chat directly with local producers over a meal that delights your palate.
Tonight’s 4-course producers’ dinner, available at $60 including wines, will allow you to interact with Poplar Grove’s Ian Sutherland.
Come brush elbows with fellow foodies and savour Chef Peter Robertson’s delectable menu.
Farmer’s Market Menu for April 27, 2009
Featuring Pemberton Meadows & Poplar Grove
Beef Tartare
Pemberton Meadows beef, Agassiz
Nettle puree, malt onion powder
Hannabrook Farms watercress
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove Syrah 200512-Hour Braised Beef Shortrib
Roasted North Arm Farms beetroot
Butter poached BC spot prawn
Purple carrots, beetroot paper
Blueberry gel
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove Merlot 2005Slow Roasted 40 Day Dry Aged Beef Rib Eye
Yorkshire pudding, traditional
Accompaniments, bone marrow jus
Wine pairing: Poplar Grove The Legacy 2005Milk and Cookies
Variations on a theme
Wine pairing: Monster Man Made 2008 A White Intrigue
If you can’t make it for tonight’s meal, get on Raincity Grill’s Preferred Guest List to keep yourself in the loop on dinners like this one.
Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street | West End
(604) 685-7337
Make a reservation via Open Table
Categories: Downtown, Events, Food, Food Purveyors, Going Green, Restaurants, West End
High Tea Series: Secret Garden Tea Company
5 Comments Karen HamiltonApril 26, 2009
My field trip to Secret Garden Tea Company let me cross off a third establishment on my to-do list of afternoon tea. Apologies that this is only the first that I am detailing in words for the High Tea Series.
The occasion was more special than most. The adventure fell on Easter Sunday, making it doubly wonderful to be able to spend it with 6 ladies of the Vancouver Twitterverse and our rep from the maler sex, Jon.
On the tea
With 8 people in attendance, we were able to sample a good portion of Secret Garden’s sizeable tea menu:
- Secret Garden Secret: vanilla and “secret sweet ingredient” (Jon, Annika)
- Grammy’s Darjeeling (Carol)
- Lavender Earl Grey (Moj, who normally swears by Secret Garden’s Buckingham Palace)
- Jasmine tea with flowers (Jules)
- Creamy Earl Grey (Rachel)
I was drawn to the Dragon’s Tears tea: jasmine leaves with blossoms that were plucked within an hour of sunrise. This tea was the only one that carried a premium price tag on the normal menu ($5.95). For afternoon tea, the extra cost is waived. It therefore made sense to my sometime frugal self to try it that day.
After my first few sips of the Dragon’s Tears, I changed my tune. It was a beautiful, floral, and delicate blend – one that should be enjoyed on its own – but it was overpowered by food that we ate. Besides, it’s more fun in an atmosphere of scones and tea cosies to be able to stir in cream and sugar as you chat with your companions.
Another nice touch was the mismatched china that Secret Garden employs to serve tea and lumps of sugar in. Someone in our group mentioned that the cups are often donated by regulars.
Thanks to Emme’s Easter salute in the form of bunny ears, bunny slippers, and pom-pom tail, our table was treated to a complimentary take-home pouch of Secret Garden’s Spring Blend. As it turns out, the owner also dresses up for Easter and the day’s staff felt like she would have wanted to reward a person with similar fashion sensibilities. Good call, Emme!
On the food
Secret Garden came out with several 3-tiered trays to the delight of all at the table. It was enough for 9, even though we were only charged for 8 spots. We were happy to take the rest home.
As with most tea services in the city, treats vary with the seasons and the whims of the kitchen. Our favourites from the selection we received included the roast beef croissants, the blackberry and almond bread, and the raisin scones (which were the best I’ve ever had in a restaurant setting).
Compared with the other afternoon teas I’ve had this year, Secret Garden excelled in presentation and sweetstuffs, even though the chocolate pumpkin cheesecake was awkward to eat without forks.
They fell a little flat with their bottom tier options, as evidenced by a lack of consumption of the egg salad pinwheels. Bacchus had better savoury offerings; T Room is still the winner for me in terms of overall taste.
Secret Garden’s signature lemon tarts were also a bit controversial — some guests questioned whether the lemon curd was store-bought. We never did confirm with the kitchen. Do any of you know?
The verdict
Secret Garden impressed everyone with its chintz charm, patient service, and tea selection. Of the three places I’ve been to, it was the most accommodating for large groups, even with frequent fluctuations in RSVPs (note the 17% gratuity that comes with parties of 8 or more).
Another good sign was that the regular tea enthusiasts in our midst only had good things to say about Secret Garden. One such enthusiast is Carol Sill of Cha-Cha-Cha, who sat across from me during our stay. Carol was nice enough to put together a video summary of our tea party on her site, which is embedded below for your convenience:
Secret Garden Tea Company
5559 West Boulevard | Kerrisdale
604-261-3070
Comments and photos from our table
Enjoy the visuals and comments that others from our party have already published:
Tea party guests – I want to hear from you. What did you like? What could have been better? Where are your photos? Post a comment below.
Next up: The Fish House at Stanley Park
I had so much fun having tea with this many companions that I may just make future afternoon tea outings into official Tiny Bites events. Rather than organize it as a tweetup or online invite, the next ones will be done offline, in order to minimize fluctuations in attendance as much as possible.
So should you be interested in joining me at the next tea party at the Fish House at Stanley Park, pencilled for the month of June, contact me now so I can keep you in mind when we set things up.
Categories: Events, Food, Kerrisdale, Restaurants
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