Okay. Yes, I’m still alive. I’ve been insanely chasing my poker dream and getting rejected. I’ll have to try to balance things a little bit better. Not only do I want to play poker, I have some other writing projects I want to complete, I have this blog to write… and something else. Don’t tell me. Tip of my tongue. Oh, yeah. A job. I have to go to work often enough that neither my boss nor my wife will fire me.

So I left off with a plan to talk about places where we ate in Vegas. If it sounds like I’m slamming the Excalibur again, it’s only because they deserve it. When we arrived in Vegas, it was at the end of a long travel day. We didn’t know where anything was and we were hungry. We saw the advertising for the Excalibur’s 2 for 1 buffet special. After waiting in line for over 20 minutes, we got to pay and sit down. I think it cost us $18 for the two of us. The place was busy. Anticipating a good meal, we started cruising the aisles. What a disappointment! Even though they were busy, the meat was dry and tough, as though it had been sitting under heat lamps for hours. Nothing was very flavourful. I tried the desserts. You can’t screw up a dessert, right? Wrong. The peach cobbler was not only bland, but it had the consistency of glue. At $9 each, the meal was overpriced.

The second buffet we had was at Planet Hollywood. The Spice Market Buffet cost about $29 each. Excellent service throughout the meal ensured that we had coffee as required. The assortment included Mexican, Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern and American dishes. I had the shrimp cocktail and chilled crab legs which were delicious. From the ambience to the service to food quality, all were first class.

The last buffet we tried was at the Bellagio. The price was about $27 each. As good as the Spice Market Buffet was, I enjoyed The Buffet at the Bellagio a bit more. There was a nice variety of Asian dishes to try, a separate seafood section, and Italian cuisine. But there was also Seven Spiced Lamb with a nice mint jelly. And the dessert section was excellent. They looked like they came from a specialty shop rather than a buffet.

The regular restaurants in Vegas were also quite good. After we went to see The Phantom at the Venetian, we went to Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio for a late dinner. We both tried a pizza and they were delicious. Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants are all over Vegas but they are all unique.

The night we were going to see Cirque du Soleil, we were going to go to the Harley Davidson Cafe for something barbecued. Unfortunately, it was closed for a private party. SO we wandered down the strip toward the MGM. Along the way we saw a place advertising Korean barbecue called Ginseng BBQ. What the heck. Give it a try. After some awkwardness because we had no idea what we were really ordering, we settled on a combo. The waiter lit a brazier which was built into the middle of our table. A large platter of meat was brought to our table and left there. After we stared at it for a few minutes, the waiter realized we didn’t understand. He explained in heavily accented English that normally, the customers prepare the food the way we like. But being a nice person, he quickly started putting food on the grill. He explained the various sauces which he had left us and the cold appetizers as well. Soon we got the idea and were grilling our own food and experimenting with the tastes of the sauces. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to truly enjoy it. We were pressed for time because the show was starting soon. Even though the menu says the combo is for two to four people, it really is too much food for two. And at $60, it’s a little expensive for two people as well. Good food though and worth it for a group of people.

We ended up at the House of Blues one night. This was the second time we couldn’t enjoy our first choice because it was booked for a private party. I have no idea if this is normal or not but it might make me more likely to phone ahead next time I’m in Vegas. The House of Blues has great Southern Style food. The ribs were tasty and fell off the bone. Marilyn had the Jambalaya and thought it was blah. See how smart I am! I get the good stuff. It was odd that they didn’t have blues playing on the sound system though. It was some kind of Euro-techno trash. It just didn’t fit. Oh well. Dinner, drinks and tip came to about $100.

Then it snowed in Las Vegas. For the first time, they closed the schools because of snow. They also closed the airport. So we were forced to stay an extra two days. We made the best of it by sampling a little bit more. The last memorable meal was at P.F. Chang’s at Planet Hollywood. You walk out of the high energy and rock music of the casino into a surprisingly quiet dining room. We ordered the Crab Wonton and BBQ Spare Ribs for starters. Both were great. Then came the Orange Peel Chicken and Coconut Curry Vegetables. Spicy but delicious. Some people might think spicy AND delicious. Those people don’t understand Dennis’ first rule of food. That rule is “Food should not hurt”. In spite of the heat, I really enjoyed that meal. And the price was great. The entire meal was under $40 before tip.