Fire It Up

I just started reading some of my Vegas Blog Posts.  My biggest takeaway was that I hadn’t written anything in this blog since November of 2015.  What I didn’t understand about this process when I first thought of having a Vegas travel blog was that I would have to actually go to Las Vegas periodically to actually have anything to write, and that there wouldn’t just be an unlimited amount of stories and pictures from previous trips to sustain a travel blog.  I also felt a bit sad when I didn’t have a Vegas trip planned in the foreseeable future, which also made my not want to write in this blog.  So from November 2015 to February 2018, and why am I suddenly writing in this blog again?

Vegas Baby!  Just got back from a 9 day trip.  My longest ever!  How do you survive 9 days in Vegas you ask?  Comfy sneakers man…. comfy sneakers.  Control your drinking, because you can’t possibly control your eating.  I honestly stored enough food that I could easily hibernate for the rest of the winter.  It was a family trip though.  I had a 5 year old with me, and that limits the shenanigans somewhat.

I have a few new blog topics about a few new things I saw and did.  Should sustain this poor blog for a few months.  I’ll just leave you with a few random highlights, thoughts, pics and teasers.

  • Spent a couple of nights in Boulder City for the Dam Short Film Festival where I had a short film selected to play there.  That’s worthy of it’s own blog so stay tuned.
  • Just because it’s winter in the Desert, and the temperatures are below 20 degrees (or 70 if you do Farenheit), don’t think that it’s not still incredibly dry there.  Drink lots of water and bring lots of body lotion.  You need that lotion dude!
  • Downtown is coming up a bit since the last time I was there.  The hipsters have opened some restaurants, and you know how that goes.  Just don’t expect to take a cab to Fremont street at 1:30 am and have it not be toothless and gritty.  Still though, the surrounding area is coming up a bit.
  • Stayed at another time-share property.  Best one yet.  That’s worthy of it’s own blog too for you time share owners, or prospective time-share owners.  I mean don’t buy a time-share property just for Vegas trips…..  but if you need to burn a week every couple of years and don’t know where to go, Vegas has you covered.
  • The food was good as per usual.  Got to eat in a few new places as well as a few familiar ones.  Broke the vacation rule of not eating in the same place twice so my wife could go to IN-N-OUT Burger on the first and last day of the trip.  Probably should have had Gordon Ramsey’s Fish and Chips that day, but I was teetering on the brink of having a heart attack if I had another greasy meal (LOL, I know the fries at IN-N-OUT, but still, Fish & Chips is a double whammy).
  • My 5 year old had a good time too, and says it was best vacation ever.  He’s been to Vegas more times than most of you, but he rated it over Jamaica and Hawaii.  Still he’s 5.  He probably doesn’t remember Hawaii that well.  People always ask me what you do with a 5 year old in Vegas.  That’s probably worthy of it’s own blog too.

 

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Vegas Burgers

So……Hungry……Right……Now……

I feel like a burger.  I also feel like going to Vegas.  You know what they have in Vegas??  Burgers!!!  Among other things.  I’ve been trying not to think about Vegas.  Once I come back from there, I have a cooling down period where I still get a kick out of looking at photos, and reminiscing about my trip.  Then a sadness comes over me when I realize that I won’t be headed back anytime soon.  Then the travel deals start coming by every available media outlet.  Then my wife and I start giving each other that look like, ‘We really should go somewhere else this time…… let’s just compare prices……..oh…… Vegas looks cheaper than that other place………Is it weird if we go again?……..’  It goes on and on.  Who knows when we’ll end up there again.  Maybe sooner than later.  In the meantime, let’s talk about hamburgers.

I’m not the foremost expert on hamburgers in Las Vegas.  Not even close.  I’m thinking that I can tell you a few things, and maybe you can tell me a few things.  I want to know what Vegas burger I should try next.  Any input would be appreciated.

The first place I’ll probably go that I haven’t tried yet is……

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The last time I was in Vegas, I walked by here on the day that it opened for the first time, about an hour before it opened.  As you can see, there was already a small lineup.

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Bobby Flay was there promoting it, and I took a picture through the window like some strange celebrity gawker.  As much as I like him, and have total faith that he would make a good burger, I had just finished a buffet breakfast at the Cosmopolitan, and wasn’t going to eat for another 4 or 5 hours.  Friends of mine,  who travelled to Vegas about a month later, ate there twice, and provided me with this picture of the New Mexico Burger.  Note the location of the potato chips.

Bobby Flay New Mexico Burger

 

Some of my favourite Vegas burgers include…….

The Rising Sun Burger at Holstein’s (Cosmopolitan).  Man, I wish I took a picture.  Kobe Beef, Teriyaki Glaze, Nori Furikake, Crispy Yam, Spicy Mayo & Tempura Avocado.  This was a recommendation from the waiter.

The Euro Burger at Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR (Planet Hollywood).  Truffle Aioli, Goat Cheese, Arugula, Oven Roasted Tomato.  I ate this before going to a UNLV basketball game.  Go Rebels!!

The Famous Blue Cheese Burger at Strip Burger.  Normal-ish ingredients other than the blue cheese, but this was the best cooked burger I had.  There could have been nothing on it, and it would have been amazing.  This is up near Fashion Show Mall, right on the strip.

ABC Burger at Serendipity 3 (Caesar’s Palace).  Avocado, Brie and Caramelized Onions.  This one I took a picture of.  Notice how proud I look.

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What Burgers should I try next time I go???