Tag Archives: Las Vegas

Guac Man

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One time I was staying at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  It was the last day of our trip and we were taking the red-eye flight back to Toronto, which wasn’t leaving until 11:30 Pacific time.  After we checked out we had a bunch of time (all day) to kill before we went to the airport.  I had a couple of complimentary drink tickets from the MGM Grand which I wanted to use, so my wife and I were walking around the hotel so I could drink my free Dos Equis (you’ll notice me always celebrating free things in this blog), while we looked for a place to eat dinner.  When we saw ‘Diego’, she asked if I wanted Mexican food.  I was already drinking Mexican beer, but I wasn’t too hungry.  I have a habit of eating so much when in Vegas that by the last day of the trip, I’m just ordering salads and cereal as a measure of self-preservation.  I also thought that eating Mexican before getting on a red-eye had to be a bad idea.

I finally agreed to go to Diego, so we went in and had a seat.  I think it was only 5pm or something, so the restaurant wasn’t busy yet.  We sat down and started eating some tortilla chips when the waiter came by and asked if we wanted some guacamole with our chips.  It sounded pretty casual, like it might be complimentary like the salsa, or perhaps it would cost extra, but I do love me some guacamole, so I said ‘yes please’, and the waiter disappeared.  At this point, my wife (who is a faster reader than me) whispers the price of the guacamole to me.  This story is from a couple of years ago, so I don’t remember how much it was, but it was in the $12-$16 range.  For guacamole??

Now it’s important to understand where I am in the whole ‘food chain’ thing.  I am not a high roller by any means.  This was our 2nd trip to Vegas that year however, so my wife and I are not necessarily poor either.  On a regular night out at home, I might spend $7 or $8 on some guacamole.  On vacation, maybe $10.  This guacamole seemed a bit pricey to me at the time.  Not going to break me, but pretty expensive for guacamole.

The waiter is gone though, so we’re just going to enjoy this guacamole, and for that price I’m expecting that it will be pretty good.  Then this happened…..

Guac Man

Guac Man

 

This Mexican guy came out with a cart and started making guacamole right in front of our eyes.  Made to order.  Cut the avocados, squeezed the lime, added however much of whatever we wanted……..  I was not expecting this.  He was a great guy.  He chatted us up while he made our guacamole like a true professional in a fraction of the time it would have taken me to do it.

This was a show!  This was worth every penny.  I don’t dine like this every day, and sometimes it’s the little details like this that make your experience.  The food at this place was great.  The service was excellent, but I can’t get my mind around the guacamole show and how much I enjoyed it.

If you ever make it out to the MGM Vegas, don’t forget to go to ‘Diego’ and get some guacamole.  Just one of the millions of things that will add to your Vegas experience.

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Father’s Day In Vegas??

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Father’s Day is fast approaching and it makes me want to go to Las Vegas.  I know what you’re thinking….. What doesn’t make you want to go to Las Vegas??  Valid point.  I guess the Father’s Day-Vegas connection started last year.  I only became a father for the first time last October, but since my wife was 5 months pregnant last June, we celebrated Father’s Day in anticipation of me being a father.  The fact that we were in Vegas was totally unrelated.  Some call it a Babymoon.  It’s that last trip before crazy times ensue.  I can think of no better place to be than my beloved Las Vegas.

Father’s Day started for me last year at ‘Mon Ami Gabi’ which is an incredible French Bistro at the Paris Hotel.  If you’ve spent anytime in Vegas, you’ve seen it, because they have some seating that actually overlooks the strip.  We were dining in the inside portion of the restaurant because, let’s face it….. my wife was pregnant and it’s Las Vegas in June which is extremely warm.  I got a corned beef hash with poached eggs.  My wife got oatmeal, with a side of bacon.  I’m not sure what they did with her bacon, but it was the BEST BACON EVER, and I know that sounds cliché, but it was ridiculously good.  So ridiculous… So good…. I remember thinking as I was eating this meal that it could very well be the best breakfast I ever had in my entire life.  IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!  We just looked the menu up on-line, and it said ‘Date Glazed Bacon’.  I’m pretty sure that was it.  So do yourselves a favour.  Get on a plane.  Fly there now.  Celebrate Father’s Day the way I did last year.  We ate there again later in the week, even though I have a thing against eating in the same restaurant twice when I’m on a trip.  We had to break that rule.  Another couple we knew had arrived for the following weekend, and the way I was talking????  They had to go too.

After brunch we jumped in a cab, and headed to Cashman Field to watch the Las Vegas 51’s game.  They were the AAA team of my beloved Toronto Blue Jays at the time, although they no longer are.  This didn’t go so well.  First it was crazy hot, and my wife was giving me the look in the 2nd inning.  Second, the 51’s pitchers were getting lit up to the tune of 12 runs in 3 innings, making it impossible for anything good to come out of the game.  I made a mental note to go to a night game next time.  It was probably irresponsible to bring my pregnant wife to an outdoor ballpark in 105 degree heat, but hey……. It’s not the craziest thing someone ever did in Vegas.

Cashman Field

Cashman Field

After we went back to the hotel to get changed, we headed to the Mirage to watch ‘LOVE’ which is the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show.  If you love the Beatles, love dancing, love performance, love music, or basically love anything, you need to see this.  It was awesome!  My first Cirque show (which is strange since you could throw a golf ball down the street and hit about 8 of them), but it won’t be my last.  We got half price tickets, which helped.

We FINished the night off at the restaurant FIN which serves upscale Chinese food also at the Mirage.  I don’t remember what all we ordered, but I do remember it being a perfect ending to an amazing day.  That was the first day of that particular trip, which started off with a bang!

Vegas Blintrog

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Ladies and Gentlemen……

A blintrog is a word I created that means intro blog.  It’s almost like I’m intentionally starting new blogs just for the sake of using that word over and over again.  I kind of stated why I’m here in the ‘about’ section, however I believe strongly that most of you will never read the ‘about’ section, so I will just repeat information hoping that it isn’t redundant for most of you.

I’m here because I love going to Las Vegas.  It’s a bizarre love affair that started well into my 30s.  I say bizarre because some of the first things that come to mind when we think of Vegas are gambling, drinking, clubbing, prostitution etc….. at least that’s what came into my mind.  The truth is that aside from really enjoying the freedom of drinking a bottle of beer on the sidewalk, I don’t partake in a lot of that stuff.  Yet somehow, I have a blast every time I go.  I’ve been there 6 times now, and I keep thinking about what I’ll do the next time I go.  There are a lot of like-minded people who go to Vegas all the time either because they love gambling, or just because it seems to be a cheap getaway as far as getaways go.  There are also a lot of people who watch the ‘Hangover’ movies and think that unless you are going on an absolute bender, then Vegas would have nothing for them.  It’s those people I try to convert.  Anytime the conversation comes up at a get-together, or chatting with co-workers, I always find myself selling it to people or trying to convert non-believers.  There are so many things to do there, and I think it doesn’t get enough credit for all of the amazing restaurants, bars, shops, shows, and overall entertainment.  Yes it’s Sin City…. yes there are people on the sidewalks passing out business cards for prostitutes…… I’m not suggesting that there can’t be some Fear and Loathing involved.  I just want everyone to know that there’s more to it.  I want you to go, and I want to help plan your trip, and I believe that there is a perfect trip for everyone, no matter what your tastes are.

The most efficient way to do this is by writing a blog.  Something I have a bit of experience with (ahem ahem www.thoughtsandrantsinjoggingpants.com – please drop by if you haven’t already, pardon the plug… the internet is a cruel, cruel world), and I figured I could share some experiences as well as review some places I’ve been to.  When I say ‘review’, I don’t mean that I’m going to be a critic….. I don’t think it will be all fluff pieces either, but if I don’t like something, or at least find it interesting, I probably won’t waste time writing about it.

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Speaking of wasting time, isn’t that what this blog is?  I already have a tough enough time keeping up with one blog.  My wife isn’t going to be happy with this.  Unless….. I could….. somehow….. get paid for it.  Probably not going to happen, but stay tuned.  If I get enough of a following, who knows??  I dream of a day when some Vegas entity or another says, ‘hey Ryan…. Great Blog!!!  Thanks for writing about us….. Here’s 3 free nights at *** hotel, and a resort voucher.’  Then I can take my wife to Vegas to see more stuff, and I know she’ll forgive me at that point!  This plan isfool-proof!!!  Pay Me Vegas!!!!  Pay ME!!!!!!!!  Until then, I hope you enjoy my Vegas stories, and reviews 🙂