Vegas Vacation: Year of the Ox

We got bent over, with no lube. That's how TV1 would describe our overall gambling experience. And she's absolutely right.

At first I had some luck with the Wheel of Fortune machine. I hit three numbers at the roulette wheel within 10 minutes, pretty good, right? Then I got ka-raaazy and started playing $100 hands at single deck blackjack. It was quite exciting. I came out $500 ahead! Then it turned. And when the luck turns, it turns fugly. But enough about the fugly.

I played blackjack with Mrs. California - United States and her husband. What a fun and beautiful couple! You don't see it much nowadays, but that's a couple who really adore each other.

Our comped room at Encore was gorgeous. Everything at Encore was gorgeous, as I imagined it would be. TV1 and I loved all the luxury and nice touches that came with a five star hotel, including the remote controlled drapes, all lights on dimmer, and the phone display and television greeting me by name.

The Monaco Suite at Monte Carlo certainly didn't compare to Encore, even though they try to tout themselves as a four star hotel. The only thing I'll say for it is that it's roomy. I don't know who the hell they bribed to get that extra star, but it's certainly not a four star hotel in my book. They've been going through remodeling and are obviously trying to be young and cool like Hard Rock. So far, I remain unimpressed. Anyway...

I cashed in on my comp at the Monte Carlo mainly for the $100 credit I could spend. My plan was to enjoy a good meal at their new steakhouse, Brand. We were impressed with that steak. So juicy and definitely a perfect medium rare. The creamed spinach with truffle oil and mac & cheese were rich and yummy. The lobster mash and the chilean sea bass...quite unremarkable and fishy. They should be ashamed of those items.

Another great meal we had was at Pho, of Treasure Island. I was pleasantly surprised that it was authentic Vietnamese pho. The fried egg rolls, I'd stay away from. Thems is not so authentic. sigh

We ate well, and apologies for the lack of pictures. We usually waited til we were starving so taking pictures kinda left my mind. I'll try to remember that when we go again in a couple of weeks...this time comped at the Palazzo! weeeeee!

Bobby Q

No, Bobby Q is not my cousin. Bobby Q is how Mama Piggy and millions of other Chinese pronouces bar b cue. Come on, you know I'm right. heehee

Never have I BBQed on my own, but since I inherited a propane grill, I figured I should take advantage of it. So Road Scholar and I made plans for a BBQ dinner. She was suppose to come over on a Friday but plans changed & we re-scheduled for the next day. It was a good thing.

After Road Scholar called to re-schedule I thought I could grill some salmon myself that night. To my dismay, after an hour of cleaning and fiddling around, I realize that there's no propane left in the tank. Sarah Michelle Gellar! What does this piggy have to do to get some grilled salmon??

It was pan fried salmon that night. sigh

First thing in the morning I go to Home Cheapo to swap out my propane tank. I rush home, hook up the tank & am ready to grill drumsticks for lunch. After five fildding around minutes, I realize the ignition button is broken. No problem. Just throw a match in. Of course it didn't dawn on me that the gas had been building up inside the grill.

Woosh! I turned my head to the left, as if that alone would save me from the flame. Luckily, my hair was in a ponytail, but still...there was the unmistakable smell of singed hair. I had to cut off a big section of crispy hair on the right side. My hair dresser is not going to be happy about this. Guess I could tell her I got Bobby Q-ed...

Like I said, it was a good thing Road Scholar re-scheduled. I learned valuable lessons about the propane grill in time to prevent our dinner of rib eye, sausage & veggie skewers and salad from going up in flames.