Skip to main content

Vegas Baby! (2011)



Sam and Kyra at the Las Vegas strip.

 Long weekend in Vegas? Heck YES. The Captain and I are there. This trip, we took our friends Sean and Kristin long for the ride a had a blast. Up on the docket, in addition to shopping, pool lounging, and gambling, is the dining! Of course we stopped at Margartiaville to pay homage to the margarita man, and then, there is CarneVino.


New favorite Las Vegas dining spot.


Where we pay omage to the man in orange Crocs -- Mario Batali. Talk about an amazing dining experience. The service, food, dessert, even the rendered pork fat served with the freshly-baked bread, were heavenly. I had been ogling the menu for weeks. The plan was set. Spago with Lamb Ragu. I never even thought twice about my decision, focused on the tasty morsel mound of goodness I had seen Batali feature on his cooking show. Of course, my husband would select a steak -- nothing new or wrong with that. But I need to know that my plate wasn't just perfectly aged beef chop, but homemade pasta, 10-hour slow-roasted lamb ragu, and a perfect marriage of flavors and textures. I've never eaten so slow in my entire life, hoping to prolong the deliciousness for as long as possible.

 
Spage with Lamb Ragu at CarneVino.

Our server was impecable. Friendly, warm, and incredibly well-trained. Even when I ordered a less than $200 a bottle wine selection, he complimented my selected, knew impressive-sounding detials about the wine (and our meals, for that matter), and reassured my taste in wine.

The lighting and ambiance were perfect -- you could read the menus, but still have an upscale and romantic feel to the restaurant. I can't say enough about the entire experience at CarneVino. We will definitely be back on our next swing through Sin City.
 
Outside CarneVino -- yum!

Hold yourself together. I actually pulled myself out of the shiny and delicious-smelling retail stores to gamble $20 at a video poker machine. And I actually made it last for about 45 minutes before cashing out at $200 and buying a purse. What can you do?

Yes, I actually gambled just a little bit, video poker!

Out galavanting....

With Sean and Kristin on the MGM walkover

.... and at New York New York

You guys want some Ribs? (only Sam's buddies will get that)


Hotel Notes -- because I have it. It's my job.

We stayed at the Venetian for this trip -- mainly because they are now part of the InterContinental Hotels Alliance and I have to stay comapny-loyal! Overall, VERY impressive. I loved the suite set up and larger room size. You walked into the King bedroom, then stepped down into a large living room area with an awesome sectional sofa that I want at home.


The bed was incredibly comfortable, as were all the pillows. Loved the head board, colors, bedside lights, and footbench. Decor was awesome and very well-thought out.



The living room had a great table and chairs, plenty of space for our ironing board, flat screen TV, and of course, the mini bar.




And let's not forget our annual pilgrimage to Margaritaville...


And the tourist piece de resistance of our 2011 Las Vegas trip ...

PAWN STARS.



I couldn't leave without getting something, but I also couldn't bring myself to purchase the "Chumlee for President" t-shirt. So I settled on a gold lobster charm for my bracelet, even though Sam maintains I bought a scorpion charm, Mexican style.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce 

Raise your hand if you LOVE washing dishes? Yes? Then this recipe isn't for you. Because dinner is done in one pot. Set it and forget it while you change into something more comfortable after a long day. Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 onion, diced 2 c broth or water 3 c (24 ounces) pasta sauce (marinara or tomato sauce recommended) 1 lb. any pasta (I used whole wheat high protein spaghetti) 2 T Italian Seasoning 1 t Onion Powder 1 t Garlic Powder 1/2 t salt 1/4 t black pepper Instructions: Set your pot to "Saute" and cook the ground beef, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the onion to the ground beef and they will cook together. Once it is cooked through (about 4-5 min), do not drain out the fat. **If you prefer to use frozen meatballs, skip the above steps, start with the meatballs in the bottom of your pot, then go from here:  Mix in all seasoning (Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper) Layer in ...

Creamy Tomato Sauce

This is my best low point tomato sauce concoction yet! Let's get to it: Ingredients: 2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain) 4 t EVOO 1/4 c fat free sour cream 2 T Italian Seasoning 2 t garlic salt 1 t dill 1 t thyme Combine all ingredients except the corn starch. Bring to a boil and simmer on med-low for 15-20 minutes to begin the thickening process. Transfer about 1/4 c of the liquid from the tomatoes to a small bowl and mix well with corn starch to create a roux. Once free of lumps, add the roux to the tomatoes and stir well. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes on low until ready to serve. Stir periodically to ensure the sauce doesn't get too thick or begin to dry (add a little water of this occurs). PP+ 2 for 1/4 of the tomato mixture Serve over pasta (I served it over beef ravioli). Enjoy!

DIY Burlap Placemats

BLOG UPDATE! These placemats are now available on my Etsy store TheSundayPaperie Customize with any words you'd like! I saw this picture on Pinterest, courtesy of the design blog, Cottage and Vine , and fell in love with the simplicity and quirkiness of these placemats. The original poster advises some basic burlap and just using a Sharpie for the lettering. A great afternoon DIY project.  I set out to make 6 to use on my kitchen table when it's fully set. Now, for what the write? Here were a few options: 6 synonyms for 'eat': eat, nourish, chow, bite, dine, devour 6 ways to say 'eat' in various languages: eat (English), φάω (Greek), comer (Spanish), manger (French), essen (German), jeść (Polish) Or I was thinking to just write out the works one through six. After a little survey of friends online, the concesus was to write it out in various languages. So here is how it went down: I wanted each placemat to be 14" x 20", so I p...