Las Vegas – Page 3

Las Vegas Road Trip…Green Valley Ranch Resort breakfasts and National Finals Rodeo

December 19, 2007 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food…and stuff. I get to follow the soon to be infamous delightfully titled (and photographed) post by ed from Yuma. Here is more of a "stuff" post, with some food thrown in.

Hello, again. So…last weekend, Ms. T and I drove to Las Vegas and (again) stayed at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, just Southeast of the Strip. It is my annual "Two days away from home when I get to take a bath and watch rodeo cowboy athletes"-seriously. That tub is wonderfully huge and the room is luxurious. The bed has high thread count sheets and a down duvet
topped and bottomed with sheets, creating a wonderfully warm thermal effect…and the room is solid, safe and silent, and, this time, had a view of not only the "beach" and pool areas, but also the sunrise against the hills to the West of town. (Click onto the smaller photo, look at top left- the edge of the pool is a gradual entrance of sand)

Since Ms. T drove the whole way there, she was very tired the first night and stayed in her room to wind down and I was on my own, so just walked over to "The District" next to the Hotel and looked at the Christmas decorations, window shopped and then went back to the casino and gambled a bit .
When I went to my room, I was hungry, having only eaten breakfast with The Mister before we left and then the snacks I had packed for the drive over…but it would be time for breakfast soon enough and Ms. T. and I had no plans to meet until 9 a.m., so I ordered Room Service to be delivered at 6 a.m.
"The European Breakfast, for one"…The top left napkin had a wonderful fresh, light, buttery, crispy croissant inside of it…There were assorted dried meats (roast beef, salami and Prosciutto) two large chunks of Brie, Greek olives, assorted fresh fruits (melon, grapefruit, blueberries, strawberries) the pot of coffee (that ended up being four cups) with real cream, fresh grapefruit juice, the butter pats in the bottom left corner and grape jam and strawberry preserves. It was wonderful and with a room service charge and non-optional 20% gratuity, set me back $33. There was a lot of food I saved for my later afternoon snack…a lot. This was a tray for one. It was way more than enough.
So, Ms. T and I went shopping at the Cowboy Christmas and then to lunch and then back to the hotel and met later to drive to the Rodeo.
The opening ceremonies, where all the participants, line up and ‘salute’ the audience with a tip of their hats is always a good memory. The National Finals Rodeo is a ten day event, and the participants are the top 15 of each competition from the past year. The competitions (Bareback riding, cattle roping, saddle broncs, team roping, women’s barrel racing and bull riding) are held between those top 15 people daily and on the tenth day, after the cumulative scores are counted, then "Best of the Best" are awarded the National Championship (and a corresponding large belt buckle).

All in all, a very nice Day 5 of the NFR .

The next morning, we heard it was raining in San Diego and did not want to drive too early, to avoid any possible "black ice" on the road in the Cajon Pass, so we went to the Breakfast Buffet at "Feast" inside the Green Valley Ranch Resort Casino Hotel.
Ms. T. got an assortment of the exotic offerings- a breakfast burrito and quesedilla, eggs, chorizo and stew.

And I was still in that "European" mode and chose an onion bagel, cream cheese, smoked fish, smoked salmon, onions, tomatoes, some assorted cheese slices, pickles…oh, and that pear.
Then I went back for more "traditional" stuff- scrambled eggs (with my selection of toppings from the salad and salsa bar), bacon, sausage, ham, and a biscuit with sausage gravy.
Ms. T. went back and tried a blintz, a crepe and a slice of cheesecake.
All of the food here is excellent and fresh. The all you can eat breakfast is $7 and includes beverage.

Then we started our drive back to San Diego, stopping in Baker…
But, not here…
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Oh, I did eat when we were at the Rodeo, just a snack of chicken fingers(nice and crispy and slightly spicy crust not needing the dip, but the hot sauce was nice after a while) and garlic fries ($6) (Fried potato-not quite crispy enough- with a dollop of fresh garlic and parsley on top….needed to be dipped in the ranch dressing)and this horrible $6 glass of Budweiser…

Road Trip-Las Vegas!- Dae Jang Keum Korean BBQ

December 13, 2007 Cathy Korean Restaurants, Las Vegas, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog…all about food…sometimes with some interesting tidbits thrown in for variety and written by a small group of friends. Today, it is Cathy’s turn.

Hi. It is that time of year again-
Yes, The National Finals Rodeo is in Las Vegas -49th Annual, Best of the Best…and Ms. T and I drove there (and are back) and we had a wonderful time. We were here last year, you may recall.

We went shopping on Monday, to the Cowboy Christmas -an art, craft, gift and accessories show at the Convention Center, and then wanted lunch, and knew that the "main drag" for Asian restaurants was on Spring Mountain Road, so we just drove, looked and…stopped.Dae Jang Keum is in a Pagoda Themed Strip Mall on the South Side of Spring Mountain along with two other restaurants advertising "tofu" on their signage. We just picked this one at random and hoped for the best. (There was a sign on the front door advertising 20% off from 11 pm to 8 am, daily…it is open 24/7…for BBQ!…cool)
The interior is neat, clean and each table with a heat source has the ubiquitous fan (and table number) far above. The fans are extremely efficient-and quiet. I did not even think ours was on.We decided to play it safe, and ordered bulgogi beef and chicken-this is half of the serving.
and this is the other half. We could not finish all of the meat…(which was well marinated, tender and with a very slight malty-sweetness, which balanced well with a salty kick) because we got the wonderful side dishes:

lettuce salad, bean sprout salad, broccoli, rice, rice paper, various kim chees, oyster mushrooms cut in chunks, sauces, raw garlic and jalapeno slices…all refilled when they were emptied and all very fresh, very, very tasty, spicy and wonderful.
When we first ordered, we were hungry and also asked for the fried dumplings-and we devoured half of them immediately. Ten in a serving.
This is cross section of the juicy very flavored pork filled delights, which were fried to a very light crisp.
The whole bill-less than $53 and worth it. We did not know the servings would be so large or that we would get refills of kim chee or any of the other sides, or would not have needed to order the fried dumplings, but they were very tasty.

Dae Jang Keum 3943 Spring Mountain Road, Las Vegas 89102 (702)638-2222 Open 24 hours

We went to the Rodeo later that night. Very Bucking Broncos…

Road Trip-A long drive to eat all I could- Sunset Station Las Vegas- and visit the Pinball Hall of Fame.

May 23, 2007 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is the blog. The bloggers are Kirk and friends. Kirk is on vacation. Cathy took a short vacation also and here is her accounting of a day in her life.

Before I start this post, I would like to take this opportunity to thank whomever thought up/invented the money losing proposition called Satellite Radio.

So, my brother (hereafter referred to as "Mr. Bally", because he asked me to) was going to be in Las Vegas for some sort of business trip two weeks ago. He told me like three days ahead of time. This has happened before.

I asked what day he would be free from business so that we could have lunch together and Tuesday was the day. I left Santee at 9 a.m. , just after traffic had cleared.

I drove. Yes. Here is the usual view when almost out of Escondido and into Temecula, just past Lawrence Welk Land.

I drove, stopped at a Starbucks someplace for coffee and then just drove.

I was alone and so I didn’t want to stop and eat. Besides, we were going to have a late lunch. Mr. Bally was staying at a company paid hotel (read: Holiday Inn Express) and I met him there.

We drove to Sunset station. It is one of the Station Casinos that are popular with the locals in Las Vegas. I do prefer the luxurious Green Valley Ranch casino out of all of the ones Station has to offer when I travel to Las Vegas and stay overnight. Then again, I don’t have an expense account and usually do not bother to stay overnight. (It was a 4 1/2 hour drive one way).

So, anyhow, we ate. Here are photos:

The buffet was $12.95 each (it was dinner time by the time we got there) and there is an option of an additional $6 for your choice of a steak, pound of crab legs or pound of chilled shrimp. We opted for the shrimp:

You will notice there are no dessert plates. I was tired, we were full and I had a long drive ahead of me.

But, there was one place we *had* to go to- Pinball Hall of Fame– It is run by one of the brothers who ran the most popular Pinball Arcades (Pinball Pete’s) in Ann Arbor and East Lansing starting back in 1970. It was very nostalgic for Mr. Bally and I. There are about 200 pinball machines in the building in a sort of run down mall just off Pecos, out of his 1200 machine collection. Photos:

There is a great article in the May 21 2007 edition of Forbes Magazine, describing the operation and its costs and that the Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 organization (a non-profit) that donates all of the money made from the machines to The Salvation Army.

It was just a fun place to go, re-live some great memories and I got to spend time with my brother and then drive home.

There it is. Another day in my life. If some of you are taking Friday off, I hope you have a nice Memorial Day Holiday and weekend. For the rest of us, I’ll still be posting about something.

Sunset Station Casino website

Pinball Hall of Fame Museum 3330 East Tropicana at Pecos website

Road Trip-Las Vegas (Mad Greek)

December 9, 2006 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, Las Vegas, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is again on a short road trip. Cathy was on one also and here is what she ate on her way home.

Hello again. If you’ve driven to Las Vegas, you’ve seen the signage on the I-15: (Notice there is no "The" in the name of the place…there is a restaurant in Stanton, CA called "The mad Greek". They are not affiliated)

Hmm, recalling what I have said…"don’t be afraid to stop someplace that has been there forever"…"there’s a reason"…

OK…kinda old looking signs on old semi-trucks…

oooh, and the kitschy-est looking place…kind of, um, ever…

Well, there is truck parking, and there were trucks. Therefore following the logic of eating where the Mailman eats and stretching that logic to eating where Truckers eat…combined with definite recommendations from Mr. G, a good friend who always stops here, along with illtaketwoplease, well..we had to stop.

Mad Greek is in Baker, on Interstate 15, home of the World’s Tallest Thermometer, about 75 minutes from Las Vegas and seems to have been there forever…in the middle of the desert… It isn’t just a restaurant that has Greek food, its decorated like its in Greece Greek restaurant, in a kind of tacky neighborhood (way too many silk flowers and reproduction statues) and they also have burgers and Mexican food, and shakes. The decor is, well, Greek. There is a sign, near the coffee machine offering "Tourist Help" in various languages: American, English (accent), Greek (ancient and modern), Arabic, Hebrew (weekends only), Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Korean (by phone), French, Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Turkish and Russian.

You walk in, order, pay, and food is brought to your table, or, if you get a shake, your number is called when it is done and you pick it up at the shake counter.

The shakes ($4.25 each)…Mine was strawberry and Ms. T’s was a date shake. She said the taste of Hers reminded her of her childhood date shakes, she was quite happy with it. My strawberry shake tasted like it was made with fresh strawberries and even had seeds and was not too sweet. The umbrella decorations were a nice touch. We were getting breakfast, and had ordered coffee also. It’s Seattle’s Best, which is a company owned by Starbucks, and its *good* coffee. We tried the ever popular gyros sandwich and a gyros omelet. Each platter was about $8 and was made fresh, with tomatoes, onions, lettuce in the gyros sandwich (Tzatziki, with dill, on the side). The omelet was made with 3 eggs, had a *lot* of gyros, sauteed tomatoes, onions and mushrooms as well as feta inside, and feta on the top, as you can see..and served with a slab o’ hash browns, which were OK, but did not send me. Here is a cross section view of the inside of the omelet:

As we were leaving, I saw these two stands near the door, with coupons. We could have stopped here on our way to Vegas, and got some even better deals, maybe…Next year when I am driving here with The Mister, we will stop here first.

Mad Greek, Baker California (760) 733-4354

The Alien Fresh Jerky store was closed, or I would have stopped there you know. The outside signs said they sold beef, turkey, clam and alligator jerky…and had samples available…oh yes, next time, definitely.

Road Trip-Las Vegas (I found my thrill…)

December 8, 2006 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Las Vegas, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hi. I wrote this post a little ahead of time and Kirk and I were posting by alternating days of our road trips. I can't possibly follow the Missus' wonderful post from yesterday with anything as creative and beautiful. She truly is so talented with writing and projecting such beautiful imagery, I felt I was in China living Her life with Her. I think we all agree that She has a true gift, and look forward to seeing more of Her stories.

mmm-yoso actually is on another short vacation right now, and Cathy was on one recently, too. Both of us have been blogging, alternating days. Look and see what Cathy ate and did while she was out of town for a few days.

Hi. So, all of you know that Kirk and I blog about where we eat, and what we like … and after a while you have probably-sort of- figured out that mostly we go to places the Locals like.

So, this is Las Vegas. Its open 24/7. People have to work 24/7. It seems a lot of restaurants are open 24 hours. Where oh where is there a place that has good food that is not 'fancy schmancy"? Where do the Locals, the people who work in the casinos, eat? Who should I ask?? Ahhhh, Mr. Bally, of course (my brother, pay attention).

Well, first place Mr. Bally answers to my query is "Blueberry Hill". There are lots of locations all over town. I've seen them when driving on side streets, trying to avoid The Strip. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner anytime you want it. Its sort of a Coco's/Carrow's/Big Boy/Denny's/Jimmy's..a Family type place (Serving Las Vegas since 1987)…booths, nice waitresses who are friendly and would like to get to know you, striking up conversations. Just a good, home-like feeling.

What a menu! Two sided and detailed…

There is a list of "Side Order" prices on the table, and an explanation of why you hear a buzzer every so often (It's to remind the Employees to wash their hands-I do so love sanitation) and the Senior menu, which I find myself looking longingly at sometimes in some places where I would like to have a smaller portion.

..and pay less…I have found myself sometimes saying to The Mister "look, honey, in only x years, we'll be able to order off of this menu"… yes, this is what it comes to…from being irritated how many times I have gotten carded for "appearing to be under the age of 30" to waiting to be 55 and getting less expensive meals…

ANYHOW, I digressed. Sorry… So, we ordered some pretty neat stuff (it was an early breakfast).

Some *great* basic French Toast, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, great flavor, with some breakfast sausages (the good ones, with skin).

The 1/2 lb 100% Angus burger, cooked medium rare, the way I like it (looks burned in photo, but was nice and juicy and tasty)and poached eggs (one egg was 'misplaced' upon delivery and promptly replaced) and oh, those pancakes…light, fluffy, buttery tasting. Although Mr. Bally had recommended the waffles, I was not disappointed with these flapjacks. The coffee was good and kept constantly refilled.

Look closely at the menu- the Chicken fried steak is made with Angus beef…the other steaks are choice..and the prices are not at all outrageous.

The food here is fresh, fast, inexpensive, and you can get whatever you want whenever you want. Technically a local chain, family owned and operated.

Blueberry Hill -Multiple Locations in Las Vegas and Henderson. Ask your Hotel Concierge for the closest location (we went to the one at Green Valley and Sunset)

Ah…so there has been a little speculation as to why I am in las Vegas-and without The Mister- well, here is a small clue.

Hmm, Santa dressed like a Cowboy, and the words "Cowboy Christmas"…"The Official Gift Show of the Wrangler National Finals..what is that??? What is Cathy doing in Las Vegas???

And…was that it…oh, "I found my Thrill on Blueberry Hill"…the song…OK, kinda lame but matching the post…or is there more???

OH…Cathy said 'Girls Weekend Out'…I get it- Cowboys! Strong, athletic, muscular…ummm….thrill…

The National Finals Rodeo is a ten day competition of the top 15 contestants from the regular season of each event (bare back riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding) competing in their event daily and the best of the best in each category after ten days walks away with some hefty prize money and the National Champion title.

Yes, the 5th day of national Finals Rodeo..on the Wrangler "Dare to Wear Pink" night. NFR and PRCA gave a check for $1 million dollars for Breast Cancer Research and the Cowboys, Cowgirls and horses all wore pink during the Competition…as did the opening act, Charlie Daniels.

Before the Rodeo started, you could mill around outside, listening to music and visiting Sponsors displays (for some reason, the Jack Daniels and Coors tents were far more crowded than the Dodge truck display) …

and for the Gentlemen out there, the Copenhagen Smokeless Tobacco Stage…

Yes, I go to National Finals Rodeo every year…and eat in Las Vegas…

The last day, when awards (the coolest belt buckles ever) (along with cash prizes) are handed out is today, Saturday (December 9)…and will be shown on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.

Road Trip-Las Vegas: (Wynn Buffet)

December 6, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is out of town, and apparently eating all she can. Read and live vicariously.

Hello again. Still in Vegas, and eating from recommendations of friends. Mr. C, who I know from my job, and I had lunch at Lucky Seafood a couple of weeks ago…yes, it was the first time I was eating pho with only one hand because of the cast still being on up to my shoulder….anyhow, Mr. C works for a company in San Diego that sends him out to Las Vegas for weeks at a time and he *has* tried every buffet out there. I asked him what was the best and he immediately replied-"The Wynn"..at at lunch, when its cheaper..and it isn’t cheap… $22 each, but, you get what you pay for, we wanted great food, and we got *great* food…I only wish I could eat like this all the time. (The Buffet (that’s what its called, original, eh?) is $34 for dinner and $38 on weekends).

The first plate, but I thought the most creatively loaded of all my photographs…First the salads are pre-mixed and served in those small glasses-so creative..You might notice the silverware and that the serving plates are asymmetrically shaped..all just kind of beautiful. Oh, the food- there is a cheese tray (the blue and goat cheeses were*excellent*, the cheddar was mild) then a bit of everything. The albacore tuna was a overdone, and probably not meant to be, and the only non-perfect item out there… the mahi mahi was exquisite. The prime rib of beef from the carving station was sooo tender and flavorful, as was the rack of lamb. The carrots were not mushy and cooked just right in a buttery herb-ed sauce ..the zucchini were so flavorful and the green beans with chopped tomatoes and still crispy almond slices were as as fresh tasting as I got from my garden this year. The asparagus was very, very good, stir fried and still slightly crispy.

Here is my appetizer plate, with smoked salmon (almost candied..), smoked trout, an excellent potato roll and a different salad. There selection of 5 different salads was overwhelming I got one made with white anchovies , roasted yellow pepper strips and another with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and chopped olives.

OK, here are photos of the various stations: smoked trout, anchovies, capers chopped onions…all to go with the nice fresh bagels.

More of the smoked salmon/cream cheese/bagel topping area, which I used more as my appetizer area..

Oh and the sushi area.

The Italian foods area was quite crowded, so no photographs, but I liked the food there best. Kobe beef meatballs…oh my, they were so good! I suppose the sauce helped, and it was light and complimented/did not overpower the meat flavor…I got this photo of the Asian stir fry area…not exciting to look at, but extremely tasty with use of many spices. It was very un-Americanized.

Oh yes, the chilled shrimp-perfectly cooked, and served with superb cocktail sauce and tartar sauce too…both made fresh at the restaurant.

Oh, there were desserts..and you know I am *not* at all a sweets eater…

They make the eclairs fresh..with real custard..eggy and still warm custard…

some desserts were served on individual plates..flan, sweet potato pie, chocolate peanut butter something (*dark* chocolate, people…dark chocolate)…and the strawberry cake, lemon bar and something else…oh it doesn’t matter..

My *absolute* favorite…

The Floating Island..oh yes, a homemade marshmallow, with a buttery caramel sauce, floating on a vanilla sauce and topped with toasted chopped hazel nuts.

We ate so much more and I guess I was trying to take photographs and waiting for areas to be less crowded but areas were with people and I don’t take photos of people…All of the food was excellent and so fresh, Mr. C gave me a great lead on a wonderful buffet. Thanks Mr. C!

The Buffet at the Wynn Hotel Click here for website

Road Trip-Las Vegas! (Green Valley Ranch Buffet)

December 4, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hi, Cathy here, on an iBook, in an obscure hotel in Las Vegas, with plans for something exciting tomorrow night.

I’m blogging what I ate, and then some…I left San Diego in the wind this morning..and stopped in Baker, to view the World’s largest Thermometer (and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks).

Dinner was at "Feast", the buffet inside Green Valley Ranch Casinos Resort and Spa. $17..and worth it. The Buffet was suggested by Mr. brother, hereafter referred to as "Mr. Bally"who, along with a few others, have made some suggestions as to where I should try to eat while here. Mostly photos…limited descriptions for now..I have to take a nap!…and no photo of the crab legs, chilled shrimp or Mongolian BBQ… I don’t take photos of people…smoked salmon, giant caperberries, fennel chicken salad…there is a lettuce part of the salad bar also…this was *far* more fun. My salad plate(s)..the carving station selections, well some of them anyhow…The Asian food section offered a wide variety of some great tasting food…Then the Italian section…That sauce in the back to the left (not the meatballs) was artichokes, mushrooms and olives…and soooooo goood!
The a sample of desserts:
Ah, so what am I doing here???Well, there is this competition…more tomorrow.
Green Valley Ranch www.greenvalleyranchresort.com