Spent the weekend in Vegas

Terri and I were in Vegas Sunday through yesterday eve. I’m not much of a TRer anymore, but here are some scattered ruminations:


Board: The Disaster at GM was documented elsewhere. We did have two huge home runs, however, Bonito Michoacan and Paymon’s Mediterranean. The first is a lot like Mi Coco, which Bruce turned Mikey and I on to earlier this summer, but with a much much much more expansive menu. The queso fundido appie was good but would’ve stepped up with a lot more green chile and the de rigueur sopa fideo was far from Senor Campbell’s Tomato meets Senorita Vermicelli. For entrees the three of us shared citrus/achiote carnitas, shrimp in a killer flaiming red chile sauce and chicken in a sauce of chipotle, toms, onion, green olives, etc. Bonito is one of the four (?) sister “Michoacan†restaurants in town. It’s at Twain and Decatur.

There are now two Paymon’s – Maryland Parkway and West Sahara out near Durango. The fare pretty much parallels what you’d find across the expanse of Alexander’s one-time empire. Terri had a commendable souvlaki platter and I went for pastitio. My sis married into a huge Greek family so I’ve eaten gobs of pastitio over the years, and I gotta say Paymon’s presentation reigns. Much heavier infusion of spice – allspice, cinnamon, cardamom – in the beef and the béchamel is baked as several custard layers rather being mixed through casserole-style (I know, pastitio is Greek lasagna and it should be layered as such, but that doesn’t always happen.) The Arabic coffee -- deep and rich, lightly sweetened, hint of cardamom -- was the perfect closer.

I’m getting my thoughts together for possibly writing ‘em up for publication and will provide more details if wanted at that point.


Room: Friends turned over a Masquerade Suite at Rio when they double-booked with a Spa Suite at GN. Suffice it to say the view from that wraparound accomm is stunning. Also suffice it to say that it’s no different than the typical tired Rio room save the massive amount of elbow room and added furniture; OK, the bathroom is far better but it still doesn't stack up with what's offered in every room at the JW Marriott or maybe even the Ritz. When oh when is Harrahtic’s going to get in there and do something about the horribly dated decor and furnishings?

Sunday we changed over to Suncoast. I know Coast has done some petty stupid things with VP schedules, but as a place to bunk -- $44 for us – it is really hard to beat Suncoast. Big, very clean rooms, wonderful views, nice array of good value dining, it remains a fave.


Golf: Played Heritage Falls at Sun City Summerlin on Saturday, Snow Mountain and Wolf at Paiute on Sunday, and Primm Lakes on the way home yesterday. Nothing at all wrong with a Vegas trip with four rounds.


Misc: Terri burned most of Sunday at Palms Spa on Sunday. She also shopped a lot and even I ended up getting three pairs of shoes from the going-out-of-business Johnston & Murphy shop at the Primm outlets … 50 off across the board, regardless previous discount. Rode out the most wicked desert storm I’ve ever seen post-round at Paiute … slurping a lot of voddy, of course. (Yesterday was beautiful at Primm: mid-80s, sunny, storm clouds brewing in the distance, gorgeous light.) We saw Clint Holmes and enjoyed it, played a couple hours of VP at the Palms, meet with some folks from LVA and I inked the contract for my next book. So all in all a great trip. And I think we’re going back this Sunday … or at worst a week from Sunday.

 

Ken you're the only poster who can make me want to indulge in international cuisine while simultaneously learning a foreign language. Liked your reference to the JW MAriott, which will be my home base for four nights in December.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Ken, what did you think of Snow Mountain? I'm considering playing there on a late October golf trip.

 

Smoke gets in your Eyes

Ken,

Suncoast for 44 bones is a Bar-goon. , when I was looking for the Mar. 05 golf gig I was on, I think is was around 69.00 or 79.00 I recall??

I bailed on the place and ended up at Orleans for the March golf trip. When the Mrs. and I visited during our Nov. 04 trip to check it out, the smoke in the casino was so thick you could see it hanging in the air and could have cut it with a knife.... a blue monster... We both had to leave because it was bothereing us, and me a former smoker too. It was just awful. Without a doubt, the smokiest gambling joint I have been in. Mind you it was the US Thanksgiving Day double point gig on the Coast slot cards, so the place was busy. That smokiness made me change my reservation and I ended up at Orleans for a few nights instead. More driving to get to Painted Desert, but worth it to me. I'd give the place a second chance though. Was the American Cancer Society "sign up" booth out front still?? What was it like when you were there for second-hand smoke?

RW

 

Rob, I prefer Sun, maybe even to Wolf. All are great plays, nonetheless.

Ross, I was relatively sober so my smoke intolerance level would've been high and had no problems (other than being too sober).

 

Thanks, Ken. I may slide Snow Mountain down the totem pole (no offense to our Paiute friends...) a bit and take a closer look at some of the others.

Ross, I was in Suncoast Casino back in mid-June and I noticed a strong smoky smell, but it seemed that every place we went on that trip smelled worse than for normal (perhaps due to the unseasonably cool weather during that time, they weren't running their HVAC systems as much as for usual).

 

Too sober?? That is definitely a problem......Better work on that during next week's trip....

 

It's a bitch, man. Golf keeps on getting in the way.

I played like a big fat fuzzy wet dog yesterday. Just not on. Not at all. Then I get to 18 at Primm Lakes. Playing 445 to the hole, little downwind, little downhill. Lake right, fairway bunker just inside the lake that's 260 to carry, fairway bending ever so slightly left-to-right at that bunker. I aim down the edge of the lake, playing a draw. And it works just like on TV. I carry the bunker easily and have 135 to the hole. Wedge to 30 feet left. Unfortunately I pull an Elkingbjorn and burn the edge. Tap in for four.

Big fat fuzzy wet dog ... except for one hole. That's why we keep going back.

 

Glad to hear Paymon's is a home run. It's been in the bag o' restaurants to try. We pulled it once, set out to find the west Sahara location, but sadly, we were told it was near Decatur and after an hour of scouring the area we gave up... Later, we learned it was Durango.

Also, I'm happy to see Bonito Michoacan didn't disappoint.

 

birdie , par..then I'm only 19 over. 1 stroke from Bogey Golf

It really ain't fair is it? That happens to me too, I'll start hitting TV shots along the 17th fairway....I'm already 20 over par by then....Makes no difference Ollie......They always ask "you playin' next week?".... you've been sayin since the 7th hole...gonna take a break next week, and stay away....but you end up blurting out a "Yep". Maybe it's the refreshments and camaraderie afterward at the 19th hole. a few Cold Beers tastes the BEST after 18. I'm just sayin'

 

Golf ... legal crack.

I was five over on the front at Heritage, with of course a trip in there. Now Heritage isn't PGA West, but I'm not exactly Singh either. With a bird on 10 following one on 9 and a nice string of pars I was looking GREAT coming in, till I went dub, dub, dub, dub to close.

Golf ... legal crack.

 

Second Book for Huntington Press...that must be a six figure advance.

So how was the Zax meet?