The holidays sure can take a lot out of a guy, y’know? Especially if you’re unaccustomed to the horrors of spending time with family and friends. I don’t know about you, but every year from late November until the end of December I can count on a full schedule packed with various celebrations, epic meals, and unique seasonal festivities. For example this year I flew home for Thanksgiving, celebrated both Mousemas AND Christmas here in LA, then had a big (extended) New Year’s weekend (also in LA, but I swear it was SUPER hectic!). All that revelry and the extra days off from work really added up this year. So I decided to take another long weekend right at the start of 2018, during which I drove out to Vegas for four nights. YOLO am I right?!
Do people still say YOLO?
My life is hard guys. I need the R&R way more than you.
As a valued MGM loyalist I was offered three free nights at the resort formerly — and currently — known as Monte Carlo. This year they are rebranding and renaming the resort “Park MGM and NoMad Las Vegas” (it really rolls off the tongue). While they finish construction I was offered a newly-renovated room with a view of the Strip. The resort is pretty dead at the moment (none of the property’s dining options are operational right now) but I couldn’t pass up the chance for a free weekend, and they’re clearly hurting for foot traffic.
Brouwerij West “Alligator” & Roulette
Night one consisted mostly of playing roulette and pounding IPAs then Jack & Cokes. After a four-hour drive and a long three-day work week (during which time I remained totally sober! For a whole 72 hours!), my goal was to drive as much booze into my system as quickly as possible. I succeeded! The night ended…eventually. I don’t remember when exactly. I think I finished the night with $40 fewer dollars than I started it with.
Friday morning was highlighted by another meal at Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan. You might remember my last meal there from my Psycho Las Vegas weekend with Ian and Ben. Between you and me, I’m kind of disappointed in the amount of food I was able to cram into my gut this time around. Maybe it was because this time I went for the bottomless mimosas? Either way, here’s what I ate for brunch Friday morning (compared to what I ate last time):
After brunch, I felt the need to go for a long walk. Said walk included stops at Margaritaville, Topgolf, and the Pinball Hall Of Fame Museum.
After changing into slightly nicer clothes, the night began with dinner at Carbone (inside the Aria):
The evening began with a glass of wine at the bar before being seated. I looked over the spirits list before opting for wine. The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection bottles were comically overpriced, as was High West’s Midwinter Night’s Dram (at $70) was priced $50 above what they were offering it for at Oak & Ivy downtown. So…yeah, I opted for a Barolo (G.D. Vajra Albe Barolo 2011) which I stuck with for the full meal.
Once seated, we were brought complimentary parmsean cheese (which is technically “bottomless,” you can eat as much as you want throughout the meal), spicy salami, marinated cauliflower, and three types of bread (sesame, garlic, and foccacia).
Our first course was Prosciutto & Mozz, which is obviously a classicly delicious pairing. The dish is finished tableside as the server cuts the freshly-made mozzarella for you. EVOO, basil and cracked black pepper round things out. I think sometimes (not tonight) they add melon, which would make it even better.
If I had my druthers I might have opted for the spicy rigatoni but the lobster ravs were shockingly good. Each squid ink ravioli is packed to capacity with lump lobster and shrimp meat, finished in a light cream sauce with more lobster and shrimp.
Even better than the macaroni course was the off-menu side of meatballs our server suggested we order. The huge pork, veal, and beef balls are served piping hot and they were one of the best surprises of the meal. Sauced with a perfect amount of marinara, they are as yummy as they are filling…which is to say they are very filling.
Our main course was the Ribeye Diana, cooked to a perfect medium rare and served with mushrooms in a rich jus. We considered something green on the side but when our server suggested Potatoes Louie (prepared in duck fat) I couldn’t resist. They were great if a little on the garlicky side. More than a spoonful would have been overly decadent, and I wanted to make sure to avoid a post-dinner food coma that would have hampered my ability to keep drinking and wandering the Strip.
Once the plates were cleared, we opted for a shot of espresso in lieu of a formal dessert. We were left with complimentary rainbow cookies with a bottle of limoncello to finish the meal. Could we have consumed the entire bottle? Yeah, probably. Did we? Nah, we stopped at half a bottle.
Post-dinner plans included another long walk, this time down through New York New York, Luxor, and Excalibur all the way to Mandalay Bay. A few more beers were consumed between the walk and the destination, at which point I once again switched to Jack & Cokes. The night ended sometime after 4:00 a.m. and my hangover Saturday morning was not pretty.
Speaking of Saturday morning, it started with brunch at the Downtown Container Park. I wanted to try Big Erin’s BBQ but apparently it caught fire recently (!) so it was closed. Downtown Terrace had a yummy bacon flight and a great breakfast sandwich, so it more than helped cure my hangover. From there we wandered over to Banger Brewing on Fremont. A flight of their beers made the Chiefs / Titans game slightly more palatable, even if the beers weren’t anything special. After some gambling at Binion’s and the Golden Nugget, we wound up at Beerhaus (at The Park) watching the Falcons / Rams game and munching on fried pickles and french fries with beer cheese. A stop at Shake Shack provided extra sustenance before another long night of drinking and gambling at MGM Grand, New York New York and Monte Carlo. So many Jack & Cokes. What is wrong with me?
While playing roulette at the MGM Grand, I got a text from Nate that said his car’s odometer just rolled over to 3333 miles, so I should bet on 33. Guess what? It hit.
Sunday morning I was supposed to meet my cousin for breakfast, but she got called over to CES extra early so we had to cancel our plans. Instead, pastries and coffee were consumed at Palio in the Bellagio, followed by several mimosas and more roulette both at Bellagio and afterward at Aria and Monte Carlo. I spent Sunday night by myself, which meant dinner at beer at Secret Pizza before more drinking and gambling until it was time for bed.
I awoke just before 6:00 a.m. this morning and scooted back to Los Angeles. Fortified by Dunkin Donuts, I made the trip in near-record time (3:25!) and managed to make it into work a half-hour early! I’m so fucking exhausted right now I want to collapse right here on my couch but I’m trying to stay upright for another couple hours so I can get a normal night of sleep.
I’ll be back in Vegas a few months from now for Tom’s bachelor party. Until next time…
Die! Die! Die! – Window In My Pocket [MP3]
