The Airport
Normally I don't like getting to the airport early, but I was hungry and the only place I could think of that could make a decent breakfast quickly was Oaxaca in Phoenix Sky Harbor's terminal four. When we got to the ticket counter to check in we saw that the line was very long. We were a little worried, but I noticed the check in kiosks, and we had our boarding passes in about five minutes. After our boarding passes we got onto important business, breakfast. I got a chorizo, egg, and potato burro, and it was pretty decent, but the chorizo wasn't as spicy as I like it. (The chorizo I used to get at Smitty's was usually hotter than I could tolerate, and when it was cooked it exuded a foreboding color of red grease, that like the colors of the coral snake, broadcast its lethal nature. When I cooked it I would have to leave the door and windows open so it would have someplace to vent, otherwise I would choke. I miss that chorizo.)
After breakfast we headed to our gate, and there was a huge line to get into the B gates. We looked at the line for the C gates, and they were only half as long, but I didn't remember that the B and C gates connected until we were too far along in our line for it to matter. I don't know how long we spent in line, but we made it to our gate with a little less than 30 minutes to spare. We got on our airplane and go to Vegas without incident.
New York New York
We stayed at the New York New York because I got a good rate on the room. When we checked in the guy at the front desk asked me if I was interested in upgrading to a jacuzzi room for an extra $30. I was trying to take this trip cheap, but the offer was too good for me to refuse. I didn't regret it either; it was the nicest room we've had in Vegas so far. The room was huge, and unlike most rooms in Vegas, it was actually tastefully decorated (except for the comforter).
Arcade in New York New York
After we were settled in our room we wandered around the New York New York arcade. I ended up playing a couple of games that aren't available in the United States. One was a Japanese samurai game and another was a Korean game based on the ultra violent "Fist of the North Star" anime. The samurai game was a first person game where you swung around a sword handle which controlled a virtual sword on screen and killed people. I was good at killing people, but I think the game didn't always like how I did it. Sometimes I would just poke people in the gut, which would very successfully kill them, but the screen would flash red and say something quickly in Japanese. (I guess it was very unsamurai like to not swing my sword or something.) I think it was also trying to make me do certain types sword cuts, but since it was all in Japanese I didn't understand it. I got to the end of the first level where the boss kicked my ass. I needed to lunge forward (with the peddle that was the only other control besides the sword handle) because the only times the boss ever got close enough for me to hit him was when he was bashing my head in. It was weird because I swore I got my cut in before the head bashing, but I couldn't tell if it registered or not. I know it didn't stop him from killing me. If that game didn't cost $2 per play I would have been on it all day.
The Fist of the North Star game had these thin boxing gloves that you put on and used to bash in three pads that folded out on either side of the screen. When you played the game the pads would fold out and light up for you to hit them, sort of like a punching version of Dance Dance Revolution. It was pretty cool stuff. I was all sweaty after beating up three guys in easy mode. After I finished off the boss the game graded me and I only got a C. : / I guess I missed too many of the pads at the end.
Trying to Find Lunch
After the arcade we were both hungry, but I didn't want to eat at Tsunami (Lynn's favorite Vegas restaurant) this trip. The first place we stopped was the MGM Grand, but they only had two restaurants open for lunch, and we didn't want to eat at either one of them. We walked to Paris, but weren't in the mood for steak at Mon Ami Gabi. We then walked to Commander's Palace in the Aladdin, but nothing on their menu looked good. We finally tried Delmonico in the Venetian, but missed the end of their lunch service by 15 minutes. We were too tired to do any more walking, and the only place open in the Venetian was Pinot Brasserie. I'd never heard of it before, but it was better than starving.
Restaurant: Pinot Brasserie (Las Vegas, NV)
We were two of maybe four people dining at Pinot Brasserie at that time. It wasn't a good sign, but it was late for lunch. We started with a French onion soup, and it was the best French onion soup I've ever had. The soup had an amazing depth of flavor to it, and the cheese was so good. Lynn was in the mood for a wine, and asked the waiter for a wine to go with what she was ordering. He recommended a Chardonnay that actually went very well with her food.
For our entrees I had the seared salmon in French lentils and Lynn had the croque monsieur (bayonne ham and gruyere cheese) sandwich, garlic fries, and a mixed green salad. The salmon was seared, yet still just barely cooked in the center; perfectly cooked for me. The French lentils were fragrant, herby, a little earthy, and (surprisingly) matched the salmon very well. The croque monsieur was so much better than you would expect a ham sandwich to be. It proved that great ingredients and thoughtful preparation really can make a difference. The garlic fries were crispy, garlicky, and quite tasty. The mixed green salad was pretty good.
We saw chocolate souffle on the menu (which had to be ordered in advance) so we went for it. Having to order it in advance was a good sign because that meant it was made to order. The chocolate souffle didn't disappoint either; it was exceptionally delicious and decadent. It was something you wanted to eat until it was completely gone, richness be damned, and thanks to the accompanying fresh berries you could (because the berries rested your taste buds enough so you could start in again on the rich chocolate).
This was one of the very few perfect three course meals I've ever had. Everything was excellent from the French onion soup, to the seared salmon, to the chocolate souffle. Needless to say I'd definitely go back.
Guggenheim Hermitage
While we were in the Venetian we decided to check out the Guggenheim Hermitage. I don't care much for art museums, but I did see a couple of paintings I really liked: David Teniers the Younger "Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in His Gallery at Trussels" and Joshua Reynolds "Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus". The Archduke Leopold painting was great because it was a painting of a guy looking at all sorts of other painting. It had a certain sense of irony I appreciated, and the skill involved was impressive. It was definitely not something I'd seen before. The Venus painting was just outright sexy. 'Nuff said.
Restaurant: Lotus of Siam (Las Vegas, NV)
On Chowhound the restaurant I'd ever seen receive the most praise was Lotus of Siam so I made it a point to eat there. We took a cab from the hotel to the little strip mall Lotus of Siam is located in. There were a lot of options on the menu so I followed one of the recommendations, and for the other dishes I chose dishes I was already familiar with.
We started with the highly vaunted crispy rice and sour sausage appetizer. It was just like the appetizer I had at Beau Thai in Portland, and I didn't like it any better. Lynn enjoyed it more than I did, but she wasn't crazy about it. I don't know what it is I have against the dish since it's description sounds like something I'd love, but there's something about it that just bothers me. Next was an order of tom yum gai (one of my all time favorite soups), which was one of the most one-dimensional renditions of the soup I've ever had. The only detectable flavor was chile.
I saw pad gaprow on the menu and asked if they could make it dry (like I've had it at Bangkok Express). The waiter said he knew what I was talking about and it wouldn't be a problem. Lynn went with her favorite Thai dish, gaeng karie. Both dishes were decent, but neither left an impression. I do have to give them credit for the second best pad gaprow I've ever had.
I wanted to end dinner on a high note and tried to order coconut ice cream (which is a safe bet for any Thai restaurant), but they were out. Overall I just couldn't see what everyone is so crazy about, but it may have been a matter of ordering the wrong things. You would think that their potential would have been apparent in at least one of their dishes, right!?
Afterwards
We took a cab back to our hotel, and had an interesting conversation with the cab driver about Thai food. Turns out he hated the stuff. We got back to the hotel and went to one of the hotel restaurants for some hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was alright, and not worth the money. We returned to our room exhausted, and we were both glad we had a jacuzzi.
The Airport
We got to the airport in the morning, and we were both a little hungry. I got a "hot vanilla", and a cinnamon bun from some coffee shop in the terminal. The hot vanilla was kind of like a hot chocolate, only overly sweet and kind of tasteless. The cinnamon bun was odd because it tasted like lemon. I didn't mind it at first, but repeated exposure got me to dislike it.
We got on the plane, and had the row to ourselves since there weren't many people on the plane. It was a good end to a good trip.
