Hop Kiln

Per a friend’s suggestion, we made our way to Hop Kiln first. The winemaker at Hop Kiln, a whopping 27, is one of the youngest winemakers in the region (and in the country, I would wager). Now, I’ll admit I’m not much of a red wine drinker. Aside from a Pinot Noir here and there, there’s rarely a red wine that I love; they just tend to be too big for me. I was surprised — and ecstatic — to see that Hop Kiln had a couple of reds that I really liked (good start to the day). Either they make great, light reds or I’m just growing up. Wines aside, their interior is great — loads of gourmet goodies for sale; everything from fun olive oils and vinegars to a range of mustards (hello, raspberry jalapeño).

After leaving Hop Kiln, we made our way down to Matrix per our driver’s suggestion. So, in addition to not being a huge fan of red wines, I’m also (generally) not the biggest fan of chardonnay. Okay, I’ll be honest – I like my wine light and sweet. Kind of like adult apple juice. We tasted a range of wines, including a bunch of reds that were too much for me and two chardonnays, the Balletto and the Stuhlmuller Reserve. The winner for me, hands down was the Stuhlmuller Chardonnay. Sadly, Boat Shoes and I don’t see eye to eye on what we consider delicious wine (like I mentioned: apple juice) so we walked away with one of the Zins.

After Matrix, we made our way to Ridge Vineyards, the one winery that was on Boat Shoes’ agenda for the day. We sipped on their Chardonnay on the way in and I was immediately taken back to childhood. No, my parents didn’t give me white wine as a baby, but my mom used to make popsicle-esque delights in the summer that tasted a lot like Ridge’s Chardonnay; very light and crisp. Take that for what you will, but needless to say, I liked it. We made our way through a range of their reds and — no surprise here — left with a bottle of Zin. If I had my choice I would have gone with the 2009 Geyserville Zin — pretty light and drinkable for me — but since Boat Shoes was stockpiling his wine closet, we (read: he) nabbed the 2009 Lytton Springs version. 

From Ridge, we stopped at Oakville Grocer in Healdsburg to grab a bite for the road and made our way to Unti where we could sit at the picnic table to lunch before going in for a tasting. Unti wasn’t part of the Winter Wineland deal but was recommended to us by our driver, Shane. Per the winery’s request, we called in beforehand to make reservations for a tasting. The space is way too small to accommodate loads of people with any kind of personal touch so reservations are highly encouraged (required?) before you pop in. There were only reds available to taste which was okay by me since I’m trying to learn to drink red wines like a real person. We were able to try five of their wines (for a $5 tasting fee which is comped upon purchase): 2009 Segromigno, 2008 Grenache, 2008 Zinfandel, 2008 Syrah and the 2007 Syrah Benchland. We wound up with a bottle of the Syrah Benchland and the Segromigno, both of which were my faves, too.

After lunch + Unti, we headed to Family Wineries, a place that was very similar to the Wineyard that we had visited on Saturday. Apparently the gentleman who conceptualized Family Wineries acted as a consultant for the Wineyard. There were a number of small wineries that were represented under one tent so we had an opportunity to taste a range of wines from a few different sources. We talked to people from Collier Falls, Dashe Cellars and Mietz Cellars, amongst others. We left with a bottle of something (I think the Collier Falls’ Primitivo) and these little guys that we used to tell our wine glasses apart:

49ers v. Cowboys!

Boat Shoes & I at Dutcher Crossing.

After leaving Family Wineries, we knew we only had a short time left to pack in the rest of the places we wanted to see. We made our way to Dutcher Crossing to ensure that we got in before the 4P deadline. The hard part about a day of wine tasting is that the things that you like or don’t like end up blurring together a bit. I do remember liking one of their wines in particular (not that that really helps) and I recall Boat Shoes loving on one of their reds. Again, a bit of a blur, but I remember it getting two thumbs up.

...& at Ferrari-Carano

From there, we made our way to the last stop of Winter Wineland: Ferrari-Carrano. This place is really photo op central. Gorgeous vineyards and a pretty cellar. One thing that I did love about Ferrari-Carano: they actually had food pairings! We made our way down the line and got to enjoy the match ups of reds with soups and the dessert wines with biscotti. One thing I do remember: not liking their Moscato. As a rule of thumb, I love Moscato. I hate dessert wines that are syrupy, though. I found that to be a bit of the case with this one, sadly. Still, syrupy or not, it tasted pretty awesome with a biscotti pairing.

We prepared to head back to the Fountaingrove, but Shane (our awesome driver) proposed one last stop before 5PM: Quivira. Quivira wasn’t part of the Winter Wineland deal anyway, so it didn’t much matter that we didn’t get a free tasting. The tastings at this place are $10 and are comped with purchase. We ended up sharing a tasting and the one thing I took away from this place: the people were awesome. Maybe it was because the guy was a vegetarian who empathized with my difficulty of pairing food and red wine… I can’t be sure, but I liked him.

Now, I know I’m missing a few of the wineries that we hit up (wine-induced amnesia?) but that’s a fairly comprehensive overview of the ones that stood out to me along with some that really didn’t. We left with thirteen new bottles of wine and red wine-stained teeth; all proof of a successful weekend.

From an educational standpoint, my favorite part of wine tasting is getting to taste two (or more) of the ‘same’ wines (e.g. two chardonnays, two pinot noirs, etc. back-to-back) to see how the taste differs. Obviously, they’re not the same since they’re blended with different grapes, grown in different soil in different regions, etc., but for a novice wine drinker it’s an interesting comparison: to see that all pinot noirs don’t taste the same; they don’t just differ by winery but within the winery as well. I definitely have a greater appreciation for the whole winemaking process after this weekend and look forward to another wine tasting event in the future. Stay tuned — I’m hoping to make the next wine tasting excursion a family affair!

xoxo from California,

For anyone interested in hiring a driver for wine tasting in the Napa Valley or Sonoma County, I can highly recommend Shane! He was very reasonably priced for the area and has some great insider knowledge for anyone that needs help picking and choosing wineries.

Boat Shoes and I have returned from a fun weekend getaway in Sonoma County and had an absolute blast. Admittedly, it was a rather gluttonous weekend comprised of a lot of wine drinking and some incredible food. We headed up on Saturday morning and decided to make Saturday our less rambunctious day of the two. Our wristbands granted us entry to any of the participating wineries for both days but with the 49ers game on during Saturday afternoon, we knew the majority of the afternoon would be dedicated to a spot with a television.

D'Argenzio

Tasting at the Wineyard

We chose D’Argenzio for our first stop due to its proximity to our hotel. We pulled up to a complex that could otherwise house a Chili’s and a Marshall’s; a typical strip mall-esque area. We popped in to grab our wristbands and after sipping some wines and chatting with the owners in the complex (D’Argenzio, Kurtz Family Wineries, Sheldon Wineries and the Wineyard), I (we?) left hugely impressed with the space. What could be another complex in the middle of industrial Santa Rosa has be turned into a mini wine haven in the middle of nothingness. Quite a feat. The Wineyard’s concept is one that I found particularly enticing (it’s very similar to Family Wineries in this sense and apparently used Family Wineries as an inspiration for their space): it acts as a tasting room for a bunch of smaller wineries that couldn’t otherwise have a presence.

Beer Flight @ Russian River.

With the 49ers game on, we were able to catch part of it at the Wineyard before migrating. Boat Shoes had specifically mentioned his desire to head to Russian River Brewing Company while we were in the area and I wasn’t about to stand in the way of a man and his IPA. Plus, what goes better with football than pizza and beer? I don’t drink beer so brewery stops don’t particularly appeal to me, but I was loving Russian River by the time we left. Boat Shoes ended up ordering one of their beer tastings (see photo above) and was presented with 15 (or so) 2 – 3 oz. pours of a variety of beers that Russian River brews. Such a great, fun concept. As a side note, their food is also surprisingly delicious.

With wine, beer and a Niners win under our belts (mostly his belt, really), we headed back to the Fountaingrove Inn to check in and clean up for the rest of the evening. {Read my review of the Fountaingrove here.} We had debated on our go-to dinner spot for Saturday night. There were a few that stood out to us: Stark’s Steakhouse, Willi’s Wine Bar, Jack & Tony’s, Rosso’s plus a few X factors. After polling the Santa Rosa community, we came to a decision: Stark’s Steakhouse for the win. Seeing as how I don’t eat meat, I wasn’t 100% sure about Stark’s but felt inclined after looking over their seafood selection. After we walked in I had zero doubt that we had made the right decision. Fantastic drinks (with a drink menu that’s witty and with drinks that are concocted by the bartenders), great service and delicious food from start to finish. {For more, read my review of Stark’s}. We cabbed back to the Fountaingrove and called it a night (though we did attempt to watch an episode of Breaking Bad before passing out). Food coma really does get the best of you sometimes. No matter, though. All the better that I was refreshed and ready to take on Sunday! Check back tomorrow for more on our drive through wine country.

xoxo,

Colors of Christmas @ the Symphony

Boat Shoes and I kicked off our week of Christmas celebrations last Thursday after saying farewell to my international guest. I received two free tickets to the San Francisco Symphony to use at any time, so we took the opportunity to request tickets to Colors of Christmas, the symphony’s Christmas special featuring four singers, the choir and the symphony. We started the night with an awesome dinner at Seven Hills in Russian Hill and then made our way to the Davies Hall for the 8P show.

At the symphony with Boat Shoes!

The performance was absolutely amazing; I had pretty decent expectations but it was waaaay better than I thought it was going to be. The singers were stellar, the music selection was amazing and the overall vibe was perfect for kicking off Christmas week.

This stud is alllll mine.

The following day we continued our Christmas celebration with Boat Shoe Boy’s Ugly Sweater Party. Lots of ugly sweaters, lots of holiday cheer and a few pretty epic pictures from the evening. This one, in particular, is my most favorite:

Future Christmas Card?

After a weekend of holiday celebrations, we had reservations for a pre-Christmas holiday dinner so Boat Shoes and I could exchange gifts and celebrate the holiday together. We decided to head down to 1300 on Fillmore, an awesome cajun/creole restaurant with the perfect amount of swank for an intimate holiday dinner. The restaurant ended up being perfect for our evening out — an awesome cocktail list, a great menu and awesome service from start to finish. Definitely a winner.

1300 on Fillmore

We decided to exchange gifts before dinner so we wouldn’t have to walk around San Francisco toting our presents. I can’t even express the surprise when I opened Boat Shoes’ gift — couldn’t have been a bigger shock and also couldn’t have been a more perfect gift for me: a real, grown-up camera so I can take amazing pictures!!

My New Camera!!!

Huge shout out and thank you to Boat Shoes for this amazing gift. So thoughtful and so perfect. Bonus: my blog photos are going to be 1000x cooler now! Now I’m dying for a real photo-taking excursion so I can test this bad boy out. :)

Happy Holidays from Northern California!

San Francisco is, without a doubt, one of the most diverse cities in the world. Within a mile radius of my place, I can find authentic restaurants serving anything from Thai and Vietnamese to Greek and Italian; I can stumble into a Chinese Community Church or take a jaunt through North Beach or Chinatown. Yet, as diverse and accommodating as San Francisco is, there’s also something quintessentially American about it. The amazing steakhouses, old school seafood restaurants and 5-star restaurants unassumingly sprinkled about pay homage to the city of the 1920s.

My cousin, P., got to experience quite a bit of San Francisco’s diversity while he was here with lunch and dinner outings in the Mission, Chinatown and North Beach; definitely a far cry from the demographics of the Maltese islands. With Thursday night being our last big evening in the city before our Tahoe escape, we decided to make it a real San Franciscan experience. Our choice for dinner: the House of Prime Rib. 

Cheese and wine at dimly-lit Amelie.

My cousin and her boyfriend were able to come up from the Peninsula for the evening to join us for dinner. With an 8P dinner reservation, we decided to start our evening at nearby Amelie for happy hour before heading over to the HOPR. For some strange reason, I haven’t actually blogged about Amelie yet, but it is quite possibly one of my favorite happy hour spots of life. It was the one aspect of our evening that doesn’t fall into the ‘All American’ category — it’s French-inspired and staffed by Europeans — but it’s so fantastic that we had to give it a whirl. For happy hour, they have a you-pick wine flight option (3 wines of any they have on their extensive list) for $10. Seriously unbeatable and amazing. Their cheese plates just put them over the top.

Excited about our HOPR excursion!

After getting our head start at happy hour, we all headed down to Van Ness to experience the legend that is the House of Prime Rib. Boat Shoes has mentioned his deep-rooted love for this place on a number of occasions but didn’t really know that it was a place that we could actually go on a date. Let’s be honest, a restaurant that specializes in all things carnivorous isn’t exactly a vegetarian’s paradise. With my cousin in town and another meat-eating duo in tow, though, we were sold. The vibe is great — definitely an old school San Franciscan spot that makes you want to order a Manhattan even when you hate bourbon. It has that kind of power.

A 4-year anniversary celebration for B. and her boyfriend, A.

Meat eater's heaven?

Fittingly, everyone at the table ordered the House of Prime Rib cut which came with an insane amount of food: a salad starter and sides of potatoes, creamed spinach and yorkshire pudding. If you leave there hungry, you’re clearly doing something wrong. While they have a fish option, I wasn’t overly hungry so I ended up with the salad and a baked potato which were spectacular. Honestly, if I had ordered more food I very well may have exploded – they really don’t mess around with the portions.

Boat Shoes & I at the HOPR.

After dinner, we continued our evening at Johnny Foley’s, a dueling piano bar in the Union Square area. I am always a fan of piano bars and this place definitely didn’t disappoint. It was crowded when we arrived but we managed to snag a table and hang out until they performed their last song of the night. After leaving there, we decided to make one final stop at Bourbon & Branch, a speakeasy in the Tenderloin. We’ve been there once before, but this time I was much more awake for the experience. The concept of the place is awesome and their drinks are pretty stellar: think a great Cucumber Gimlet and a solid Old Fashioned. B&B was definitely a great call for a final stop – my cousin loved the vibe and the overall experience and it was definitely a great way to cap off an epic San Franciscan evening.

Stay tuned some pretty pictures from our weekend excursion to Tahoe!

xoxo,

SMU :)

Saturday was our big day in Dallas; the reason we booked the trip in the first place: the homecoming game! I’ve heard tales of SMU’s tailgates and was excited to experience the madness first hand.

Go Mustangs!

With the game starting at 2:30P, we planned on being on The Boulevard by 12P or so to soak it all in. With that being the case, a hearty brunch at Penne Pomodoro was in order. Now, I have to admit, I was slightly skeptical before setting foot in the corridors of bellini and mimosa greatness. After glimpsing the menu, though? I knew that this spot held a special place in these kids’ hearts for a reason: $1 for up to 6 (yes, SIX) mimosas, bellinis or Bloody Marys! The group mentioned that the drink limit (I find six quite a generous limit, but still) was imposed during their college years after they frequently patronized the establishment during bottomless drink hours. I half thought they were joking, but I wouldn’t doubt that there was truth in that…

SMU Cornhole!

Following brunch, we headed down to The Boulevard to take in the festivities! I was wearing shorts, a shirt and wedges and immediately felt underdressed. Apparently I didn’t get the memo that sundresses, pearls, fur and boots were a requirement for entry. I also didn’t realize that manchildren actually wore salmon-colored pants with white lobsters in public… I half thought that was just a Brooks Brothers marketing campaign. For anyone else out there that thought the same, I can assure you that there are, in fact, men who rock that look. At football games. With croakies. And boat shoes. They just congregate in the South apparently.

Out and about.

After chatting it up with some SMU alumni, we made our way to game to watch a bit of the university’s triumph over Tulane.

Afterwards, we made our way to Ozona’s for a quick bite and some frozen margaritas (no surprise here) before making it into Twisted Root for dinner. I’m happy to report that Twisted Root is a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives spot that I’m able to check off of my list PLUS it’s pretty delish. Afterwards, we made it to Home Bar to grab a final round and to say our goodbyes to a bunch of Dallasites and fellow out-of-towners.

All in all, I’m impressed with Texas. I frequently had a California vs. Texas debate with some grad school friends that were born and raised in Texas. While I hadn’t yet been to Texas at the time, I was pretty certain that California trumps ALL states in the US, Texas included. Now, I realize that Dallas isn’t Texas and is probably not even kind of representative of Texas as a state, but still — I found myself impressed overall as I departed Dallas on Sunday. It’s a pretty cool (and young) city with a lot going on. Sprinkle in reasonable housing prices and a less expensive nightlife and the city definitely has its perks. I’m still not sure that Texas overall is better than California, but I think it could probably give it a run for its money.

xoxo from the Golden State,

We were still on California time, so waking up at 7:30A on Friday was a bit rougher than normal. After handling a bit of work, we cleaned up and headed uptown to Mi Cocina in West Village for lunch with some friends. I’m a little disappointed in myself for not giving their Mambo Taxi (think margarita swirl + a splash of sangria) a whirl, but considering it was only noon I wasn’t 100% sure that it was yet socially acceptable. After lunch, we had a few hours to explore a bit of Dallas before having to return our sweet Kia Soul to its rightful home at Thrifty Car Rental (which, for the record, is not that thrifty of an option).

Drive-by Tour de SMU

In honor of homecoming weekend, we started with a little SMU-themed tour. I have a few more pictures that I want to post tomorrow, but suffice it to say that it’s quite possibly one of the prettiest universities in the US; a mix of Ivy League panache and Southern charm. Throw in a few Brooks Brothers-clad fraternity boys and blonde sorority girls to the mix and you’ve effectively created the basis for a number of Hollywood films. After our SMU tour, we made our way to the West End to pop into the The Sixth Floor Museum and check out the spot where JFK was shot (quite possibly the only thing that would be on my Dallas ‘to-see’ list).

JFK Museum

After our mini tour and a bit of meandering, we returned our trusty sidekick to its home at the Love Field airport before heading back for a power nap.

Goodbye, Soul!

We started the evening with dinner (and some awesome live music) at Sambuca with a group before making our way to Black Friar Pub for drinks on the deck. I am a big fan of pubs and an even bigger fan of a pub that offers $14 half liters of sangria. Needless to say, I was more than happy with our choice of venues. After a few hours of chatting and meeting some glorious Dallasites, we called it a night and prepped for the big day: the SMU homecoming game complete some incredible tailgating on The Boulevard.

Check back tomorrow for some more pictures, deets on an amazing brunch spot and a re-cap of homecoming in all its glory!

xoxo,

Welcome to Dallas!

After weeks of anticipation, I left San Francisco on Thursday and embarked on a weekend adventure in Texas! A short plane ride later, Boat Shoe Boy and I were picking up our rental car in Dallas and heading to the city center from DFW. After nabbing our sweet ride (we managed to secure what is quite possibly the ugliest car imaginable; please see below), our first order of business was to find some food and grab a margarita! In an effort to immerse myself in Texan culture, I wanted my fill of Tex-Mex and Texas-inspired beverages. It wasn’t until we actually arrived in Dallas that I realized a) I’m not really sure what people drink in Texas though my gut says margaritas are a popular go-to; and b) I’m not actually aware of what constitutes ‘Tex-Mex’ or how it differs from any other variety of Mexican food. In summary, my realization is that after twenty-five years of being alive, I’m perennially confusing Texas with Mexico.

Yeah, that's just how we roll.

In any case, our first stop was Margarita Ranch, a little restaurant with a slew of frozen margaritas and a hefty tequila menu. For being christened ‘Margarita Ranch’ I would think this place would have the most amazing margaritas in the area, but I wasn’t overly impressed. I was, however, impressed with the fact that they were only $5 which immediately made them taste better. Afterwards, we headed down the way to Ozona’s for another round before making our way to our home base for the weekend. As a side note, it was our bill at Ozona’s that made me simultaneously realize two things: a) that I already liked Texas; and b) how incredibly overpriced thing are in California. For a whopping $6.25, we walked away with a couple of drinks, one of which was a delicious frozen margarita (always my go-to). If there’s a place in San Francisco where such a thing is possible, I’m certain I don’t know of it.

Oh, Ozona's...

We made our way to Boat Shoes’ friend’s home where we unloaded and prepped for our first evening out. With a small group in tow, we made our way down to the Barley House, where we grabbed some drinks and played a couple of rounds of darts (a game at which — no surprise here — I am awful).

A little dart action at the Barley House

Our next stop was a place that I was more than a little excited to experience: Milo’s. There are two places that I had heard of more than any other before my arrival in Dallas: Milo’s and Home Bar (now christened the Green Elephant). Apparently, both spots were go-tos for SMU kiddos and with it being homecoming weekend there was no better time to relive the magic. We spent about an hour at Milo’s before calling it a night; just enough time to people-watch, grab a few drinks and meet some college friends. I have to say, for the few hours we had in Dallas for our first evening, we crammed in quite a bit. Definitely a great intro to Texas. Check back tomorrow as we explore a bit of Dallas before catching some live music and enjoying a bit more Tex-Mex.

Love from Dallas,

Saturday ended up being an all-day Jimmy Buffett fest, which was exactly what I anticipated. We started the morning off in the best way possible, though: brunch with my cousin, S., and her new(ish) hubby, A. The happy duo lives in Vegas and met us at the Grand Lux in the Palazzo to fuel up in the morning before what was sure to be an epic Buffett-fest. I never realize quite how much I miss my fam until I get to see them again — note to self: must plan family reunion for 2012.

Boat Shoes & I at the Margaritaville Casino!

My cousin, S., works at the MGM so I’m sure she understood the magnitude of the Parrothead Invasion much better than I did. Until April 2011, the only Jimmy song I knew was Margaritaville. It wasn’t until I met Boat Shoes that I started listening to country music (gulp) and Sirius’ Margaritaville station. When he invited me to Vegas to check out the concert I opted in immediately, but really had no idea what was in store.

Prepping for the concert

We threw on our island garb and started the afternoon by heading to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino and restaurant. An entire area was blocked off for the street party in preparation for the night’s concert. I was honestly stunned by the attire — it was like a cult-ish costume party. Never have I seen so many pirate costumes, Hawaiian shirts and margaritas in one area.

Street Party!

After a couple of margaritas and a rather eye-opening run through the Margaritaville store (Jimmy Buffett cookbooks, bumper stickers, margarita machines, shirts, boat shoes, iron ons; the list goes on and on…), we made our way further down the strip where other pre-parties were taking place at the MGM and New York-New York. The Brooklyn Bridge at the NY-NY was blocked off for an island-themed party complete with sand boxes, beach chairs and island grub.

Sweet photo shoot at the NY-NY

After grabbing some food (very necessary) at Gonzalez y Gonzalez in the NY-NY hotel, we made our way to the concert at the MGM and claimed our awesome seats! I never realized quite how intense these fans are. I met but one other girl that was attending a Jimmy show for the first time ever; the others were vets who made Jimmy Buffett concerts an annual event (as evidenced by their ornate head pieces). The show — in large part because of the awesome energy — was great. I’m proud to say that I actually knew more songs that I anticipated and was fairly quick to pick up on the mandatory ‘fins’ movements.

Up close and personal.

After the concert, grabbed one final drink before heading back to the Palazzo to pack. Sadly, and rather moronically, I booked my flight for 630A on Sunday morning which meant I had to be out the door at 445A. Not the smartest move I’ve ever made, but it worked. I was more than a little sad to say goodbye to Vegas, but I had a blast! Now that that’s off my list, I can look forward to a crazy few weeks ahead: my upcoming move to San Francisco (more on that soon!) and my long-awaited trip to Dallas!

Was anyone else at the Jimmy Buffett concert at the MGM? What did you guys think?

Want to see more pictures from Vegas? Click here.

xoxo from Sunny California,

Day two of exploring!

I’ll admit, I feel like a lot of our day (and night) revolved around the restaurants we were eating at. While that’s not my normal M.O., there are just too many awesome eateries in the city to not have an agenda of sorts. That being said, we made our way out of our hotel at around noon and started heading down the Strip with a dual objective: 1) Pop into a few hotels to see them in all of their glory; and 2) Eat lunch at Jose Andres’ China Poblano in the Cosmpolitan.

We walked through Treasure Island and the Mirage and I was fortunate enough to witness Boat Shoes’ expression of disgust when he saw the Kardashian Khaos store opening at the Mirage. From there, we made our way to Caesar’s, checked out the endless medley of overpriced shops (fortunately for all parties involved, I’m a window shopper) and popped into Mesa Grill to make reservations for dinner.

We ended up at the Cosmpolitan for a late lunch and I was thrilled to be able to check China Poblano off of my list! It was definitely on my radar (along with a handful of other spots) so it made a great lunchtime rendezvous.

The Cosmpolitan

The concept of having a menu with Mexican and Chinese seemed a bit odd, but it definitely worked.  Great small plates, perfect for sharing and for trying out a slew of his creative bites. The afternoon’s winner: the tuna ceviche. It’s a must try!

After lunch, we popped into the New York – New York Hotel and Casino to explore, play in the arcade and check out the afternoon’s dueling pianos. I’m sad to admit that Boat Shoes is a better at skee-ball than I am (at least during this instance), but am happy to report we walked away with a whopping 98 tickets, yielding one green bouncy ball and a small pack of crayons that will forever hold a special place in my heart. The piano bar at the NY-NY is much rowdier — a fairly young crowd with a pianist that captured the essence of all things New Jersey. After spending a few hours listening to tunes, we decided to make our way back to the Palazzo to get ready. {Note: Friday afternoon/evening is not a good time to hop in a cab. Walk. It’s much more efficient.}

After getting cleaned up, we made our way to the piano bar in our hotel to grab a drink before heading to Mesa Grill for our 930P reservations. While the pianists at the Encore were pretty amazing, I actually think I liked the vibe at the Palazzo’s piano bar a bit more! It was a cool, loung-y set up; definitely up my alley. From there we made our way to Mesa Grill for quite possibly the best dinner of life! Everything was absolutely delish from start to finish (the ahi entree and the corn side dish are ridiculously awesome). In terms of price, deliciousness and ambiance, I think Mesa Grill would be very hard to beat.

With it being our big night out, we made our way to Rhumbar at the Mirage for a couple of late night drinks and a hookah. The whole vibe of the place was great — it’s outdoors with fairly sufficient seating, a small dance area, a DJ and no cover charge! We spent a couple of hours lounging outside enjoying the Vegas weather before calling it a night and making our way back to the Palazzo. After making it back, we decided to head to our hotel’s nightclub, Lavo, to check out the club scene. Not much of a surprise here, but I’m not really a ‘clubber’ so I was definitely a bit out of my element. Regardless, it made for some epic 230A people-watching and was the perfect way to end our evening!

Needless to say, it was another ridiculously fun jam-packed day in Vegas. Check back tomorrow for our Jimmy Buffett-themed day from the street party at Margaritaville to the concert at the MGM!

xoxo,

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Flying into Vegas

I left sunny Sacramento at around 9A on Thursday and jetted down to the airport to start my early weekend in Vegas! Boat Shoes was already in Vegas making his rounds for the IMEX conference, so I was all set to link up with him at the Palazzo when I arrived early that afternoon.

Boat Shoes & I lunching at FIRST.

After a quickie $7 shuttle ride to the hotel, I got settled in to our stellar suite (side note for those not wanting to throw money away, the shuttle is a mere $7, a cab is around $30 + tip). We quickly changed into comfy clothing and made our way to one of the hotel’s restaurants, FIRST Food & Bar. I was more than a little excited to see a ‘skinny’ drink (the DIY ‘Skinny Bitch’ made with Crystal Light) on their menu so I had to test it out. Imagine my surprise when it came out looking like this:

FIRST's Skinny Bitch

I love that they put the Crystal Light on the side! While the packaging looks a bit questionable (read: like you’re harboring illegal substances), I thought it was clever Vegas-inspired packaging. After re-fueling (note: the blackened mahi fish wrap is a winner!), we headed out to explore the Strip for my first time ever! 

Boat Shoes and I exploring.

There’s no doubt about it – Vegas is totally Disneyland for grown-ups. Much more expensive and debaucherous, but equally mesmerizing. You know the way you feel when you stumble upon Adventureland in Disneyland at 5-years-old and are awe-struck by everything around you as you try to take it all in? Yeah, same thing as a 25-year-old in Vegas. I was immediately mesmerized with the Palazzo as we walked through it: fake blue skies, waterways, gondoliers and a replica of St. Mark’s Square? Who thinks up these things?

Gondoliers inside the Palazzo.

We spent a few hours walking down the Strip, exploring hotels and sipping on some suspiciously delicious margaritas from Margaritaville {margaritas were definitely a trend during this trip}. 

After running around in the Vegas heat, we got cleaned up and made our way out for the evening. There is certainly no shortage of amazing restaurants in Vegas and while it’s great to have such incredible options, it also makes choosing really difficult! After much deliberation we decided to eat at SUSHISAMBA, right inside the Palazzo.

Heading out for the evening!

With a 45 minute wait at 9PM, we decided to kill some time at Double Helix Wine and Whiskey Bar(also in the Palazzo). We each grabbed a drink before making our way back to SUSHISAMBA for dinner. (Deal mongers: If you’re a foursquare user, check in at Double Helix to get a ‘buy one, get one 50% off’ deal!)

At Double Helix for drinks!

I’ll admit, I wasn’t 100% sure about SUSHISAMBA before we sat down. Sushi’s always great in my book, but I didn’t get the full concept behind the restaurant. It ended up being a very cool mix of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine and our meal was absolutely stellar. Sushi, sashimi, ahi tacos, chilean sea bass, Alaskan king crab… the list goes on and nothing disappointed.

SUSHISAMBA.

After our SUSHISAMBA run-in, we made our way to Wynn and the Encore to explore the neighboring hotels. Being big piano bar fans, we stopped into the dueling piano bar at the Encore (open from 9P on) and spent the rest of the evening lounging and doing a bit of people-watching.

All in all, an amazingly jam-packed first day in Vegas! Check back tomorrow as I re-cap delicious day two with our continued exploration of the Strip, some crazy good food and some more piano loving.

xoxo,

Wanna see more pictures of Sin City? Click here to peruse my album.