Wednesday July 11th

We awake slowly and take our time getting ready as usual. I make a quick phone call over to Venetian and can confirm that Bouchon is open until 2:00 PM for lunch. Perfect. One cab ride later and we're strolling in around 12:30 and are seated towards the back of the restaurant, just before the doors leading outside.

Yeah! Pop that collar!

Beer pong, sweetness....Cory, game on.

Juice to get things started.

Nutella.

Cheese danish.

Bouchon's french toast.

The Boss' waffles.

And a mojito for me on the way out.

I went for the Bouchon french toast, and had to try a cheese danish on the side since I've heard others say great things about them. Ang landed on the waffles with a baguette on the side with some "hazelnut chocolate spread" or Nutella from a jar.

The french toast was quickly filling. Not to mention the sugar overload it offered. I split the danish with Ang and we both confirmed it was a nice little sweet treat to accompany everything else. After a filling breakfast, I ordered a mojito just to finish off the meal. The only complaint I could offer about Bouchon would be the close proximity we were to another couple to the left. Their conversation was easily over heard, and frankly I don't want to hear all the details about some catering event their daughter is hosting, and how she shouldn't have to do all the prep work by herself. Ugh.

We wander out of Venetian and we split ways. At this point, the Boss was going to get some pool time at Cosmo, and I was going to look for a poker tournament or a table game that wouldn't break the bank. Limits at Venetian wouldn't suffice in that endeavor.

I make my way into the Mirage and head towards the registration desk. At the 11th hour the week before we were to take off, I received an email saying I had one free night I could book. I have no idea how that happened, as I haven't gambled at the Mirage since I could remember. But I decided to take them up on the offer in case I needed to stash a body or more likely, to take pictures of their rooms as I've never been in a standard Mirage room. Check in goes smoothly and I'm given room 22102. The view wasn't anything spectacular, but in any case I snap a few pictures of the room just for documentation purposes, and in short order make my way downstairs.

Even the ducks are saying "Shit, it's hot!"

Blurry hallway pic.

Bedroom entry.

Nightstand / bed.

TV.

Work desk.

Plug ins.

From the window towards the door.

Safe in the closet.

Sink.

Shower / bath.

View to the left.

View to the right.

I look over the Mirage's poker room and see that they have some tournaments starting up shortly. Unfortunately they're the turbo type, with 15 minute blind levels. And for the amount of the buy in, I decide to pass. Fifteen minutes sometimes isn't even one time around the table. No thanks. Instead I land on sitting down at a $10 pai gow poker table that currently only has one other player.

He was betting in the area of $200 between two hands. I began getting lucky with my hands, which isn't something my counterpart could say. Before the dealing of one hand, he placed $200 next to my bet, as I guess he thought I was indeed pretty lucky. Unfortunately he picked the wrong hand, as that was one that I lost. Sorry buddy!

Before too long, we're joined by someone who I can only describe as a Michal Mizrachi look-a-like. He buys in for a quick $600 and is betting usually two hands in the area of $75 each. As we're playing, the conversation turns to jobs. The "Grinder" look-a-like states that he's a poker player, but hates it (go figure). "Ya gotta treat it like any other job, ya know? Day in and day out. I hate it." I guess a few of his buddies were still playing in the World Series of Poker at Rio, and he was killing time at the Mirage. When asked by the dealer what I do, I simply reply with "I'm a computer nerd" and left it at that. I half thought about saying I worked for some shadow branch of a three letter government agency, and work at a near by facility approximately 130 miles North of Vegas, but missed my opportunity. I probably couldn't have pulled it off anyway.

My good luck continues at the table, while everyone else seems to be having the opposite effect. A few quick hours pass, and I note the time before having to get up and leave. I make one last visit to my comped room just to make sure I didn't leave anything in the safe or otherwise behind.

Winnings are winnings.

The bed again.

Snacks.

Mini bar door.

Varied selections.

Tequila!

Thanks, but I'll pass.

Leaving Mirage.

The room is left pretty much how I found it, and I head on out. I couldn't find a cashier anywhere near the front of the casino, so I basically said "fuck it" and cashed out my winnings in the high limit slot room.

I take a quick cab ride back to Cosmopolitan and find the wife getting ready for tonight's dinner. I also find that Cosmo had delivered a chilled bottle of champagne wishing us a happy anniversary. I think it was an attempt to smooth things over considering our room still wasn't cooling off below 70 at all (bedroom was much warmer). I'll give them credit, they were trying, but really.....all I wanted was a fan....

What's this?

Should read "you get this instead of a fan. Sincerly, Fuck You!"

Eh, it looks pretty.

The label.

Well, I suppose I'll have some.

As we're getting ready, I pop open the bottle of champagne, and it didn't fail to provide that sexy "POP!" sound as the cork goes flying into the ceiling. We enjoy a few glasses of our free bubbly while getting fixed up. We venture down towards the cab line and make our way to MGM Grand. Tonight's agenda includes dinner at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and then seeing the late showing of KA.

We arrive at MGM a few minutes early for our 6:30 dinner reservations. I get in line at the KA theater to retrieve our tickets, only to find a mad rush of everyone else lining up for the earlier show. I tell the Boss to head into the restaurant and get seated and I'll be there as soon as possible. The line moves slower than I'd like, and I'm getting the slightest bit anxious, as I know we're planning on doing a lavish dinner tonight, I didn't want time to be an issue. I'd planned it out to allow us to take our time, while still having a little bit of a cushion after the dinner, so we wouldn't be rushed to bolt straight to the theater. In any case, the line probably moved faster than it seemed, and I soon had our show tickets safely tucked in my pocket. I stroll towards "baby Robuchon" and ask the hostess "My wife was seated about 10 minutes ago? She's wearing a dress that looks like she killed a cheetah?" I was lead to my seat without a problem. We were the last two seats on the main row in the restaurant. Ang was at the corner chair. Tonight we opted for the tasting menu. I was the only one to opt for the additional wine pairings.

The crowd I was fighting...

Tonight's show.

The menu for tonight.

A little brighter version.

Carving station behind 50% real fruit!

Bread selections. We tried them all.

With some bubbly.

Foie gras parfait with parmesan foam.

My first spoonful.

Working in the kitchen.

Down the bar from us.

Close up of the carving area.

The foie gras parfait with parmesan foam was a pretty damn tasty way to start off the meal. Perhaps I'm biased since I tend to be a parmesan whore when it comes to my pasta, but the saltiness came through with the smoothness of the foie. Not a bad way to kick things off.

Tomato salad with basi oil.

Sancerre, 2010.

My glass.

Sea scallop with chive oil.

Scallopy goodness.

Done.

Next was the heirloom tomato salad with basil oil followed by a sea scallop with chive oil. They were both paired with a light and refreshing Sancerre, Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy 2010. The salad was for lack of a better culinary term, fresh. I'm not typically a fan of tomato salads, but this one went down well. The sea scallop was an excellent next course. Again, for a lack of a better adjective it was chock full of "scallopy" goodness - yes, it's a real word, look it up. (no, it's not)

Langoustines with green curry.

A lighter view.

Nom-nom-nom!

Maison Louis Latour 2008.

The generous pour.

White onion tart with smoked bacon.

Damn that's good.

Done.

Display in front of me.

I couldn't get my pinky up.

Coming up next was the langoustine cooked in their shells with green curry and coconut milk. It was similar to the langoustine I had previously at Joel Robuchon's station at the Grand Tasting event in 2011, minus being fried. They didn't put up much of a fight when trying to work them out of their shells, and were put away with no problem. The next dish was a white onion tart, smoked bacon, quail egg and green asparagus. It was another home run for me. The salty bacon with the quail egg, and the parmesan cheese shavings on it were divine. Smokey and salty flavors in that dish.

Salmon close up.

Farther away.

The scene.

Something's missing.

The Maison Louis Latour pairing continued with the next course with was a smoked salmon in a butter based shellfish sauce with curry and leeks. It certainly broke apart in your mouth easily, and was a little more filling than I expected. But I suppose that makes sense with a protein and a butter based sauce. Another winner.

Red wine for more proteins!

Another generous pour.

Quail and mashed potatoes.

Steak and mashed potatoes.

Another angle.

Yeah, I did it again.

A rose I stole from the bathroom.

The iBerry drink.

Directly above me.

And some chilli's.

Now it was onto some dry land meats. The wine was a red Pommard Domaine du Pavillion 2009, and didn't disappoint. The wife initially selected the steak option, but when she saw my quail she ~~asked me~~ decided that she changed her mind. I reluctantly gave up my foie gras stuffed quail. I did taste everything and nothing disappointed. The steak was actually my least favorite thus far simply because I'm not a guy that gets such a hard on for "moo meat." It's one of those things that I could take or leave, but it wasn't bad in any regard.

Ang was looking over the drink menu having finished up her sole rum and diet, and went with a suggested "iBerry" martini. Tart and refreshing, but still had a solid kick to it. Not a bad recommendation from our server.

Domaine P. Delesvaux 2004.

Yogurt ice cream, tequila gelee, blackberries and pop rocks.

Pop rocks!

Gone.

Raspberry medly and earl grey puffed rice krispies.

Another signed menu.

Seating down to my right.

Complete!

As one would expect, the wine pairing was a nice cold and sweet 2004 "Clos du Pavillon" selection. The yogurt ice cream was nice and tart, and the pop rocks gave it (in a stupid sort of way) a "fun" feel to it. Yes, it was added texture, but the pop in your mouth was another cool sensation. I didn't get much from the tequila gelee, but perhaps that was the idea. The raspberry medley was a good note to end on. There was almost a brownie like texture to the contents, and once complete, we were more than satisfied. I pay in short order, and we venture out into the casino.

We still had some time to kill before seating of KA would begin, so the wife sat next to me while I played a few hands of Pai Gow poker. It was a $25 limit table, but I was able to make a quick hit, and after a few hands, I proudly walked away with my $75 profit. Time to head to the show!

After finding our seats, the Boss ~~asks~~ elects me to go find her some ice water, and a drink along with it. I reluctantly take my happy ass back towards the front, and stand in the concession line. It moves rather quickly, and I buy two ice waters, and then opt for two 32 ounce vodka and diet cokes. I will say this. They don't dick around on the amount of alcohol they pour into those expensive drinks. The bottle of Absolut was upside down the entire time while the diet coke flowed in. It made a strong drink. I manage to make my way back to our section and ask an usher if I was close. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'front and center'?" he asks. "Um, yeah...." He then says "Go there, and one row back." We were in the middle lower section, second row, center.

The show? What can I say, it was awesome. I thought there were some slower parts which seemed to drag on for my taste, but in the end, it was an excellent selection. To summarize the level of awesomeness, I'd say it's on par with Chuck Norris roundhouse kicking Godzilla while riding down a rainbow on the back of a unicorn while chugging a warm 40 of Natural Ice (light) beer in one hand, and drinking the laughter of children from the cup of Christ in the other....in 3D. Yes, it's that good. 'Nuff said.

I snap a few horrible pictures of the theater after the show's completed, and then we peruse some over priced souvenirs at one of MGM's shops.

Yes, they are pricey, but strong.

Horrible picture of the theater from the 2nd row.

An even worse crowd shot.

Yeah, I just quit after this.

MGM wine? Fuck yeah! (no)

More wine.

Yeah, I think not.

Over head at the taxi stand of MGM.

One quick cab ride back to Cosmopolitan and the Boss is pretty much ready to call it an evening. I sort of want to explore Vegas a little bit more and wander out and back downstairs. I decide to head on over to Bellagio and see what's happening over there.

It was rather busy, but did manage to find myself at a $15 blackjack table. There were literally two cowboys at the table talking about the different parts of Texas they were from, and what they're into. I made a point of staying out of the conversation and intentionally keeping to myself. The fact that I was losing also helped in that regard. At one point the cowboy at first position asked the dealer what her name was. "Maya!" He asked if he could see her name tag and she replied in a snarky tone "Why?!" He said he wanted to see how it was spelled, and she just told him instead. "M-a-y-a!" She was as bitch. Not just because she was rude to a polite cowboy, but because she took all my pretty chips I was playing with. Meh, screw you guys!

I walk around the Bellagio a little bit and scan over the poker room. As I'm coming up, I see Joe Hachem turn the corner and is now behind the rail. He had a shit eating grin on his face, and was followed by who I assume was his son since he was a spitting image of Joe. Before too long he had some 20 something's around him, and the only part of the conversation I could make out was a kid asking "No, really...I want to know how you would have played that hand." Meh, no picture opportunity here.

As I'm wandering through the shop area towards Caesar's I see Marcel Luske walking towards the Bellagio. If he wasn't in such a hurry, I would have asked for a picture since (again) he was the one who knocked me out of my one and only World Series of Poker tournament. But again, missed opportunity.

I venture into Caesars, not looking for anything in particular. It was less busy than Bellagio, and I got an ice water at the nearest bar I could find. After my beating at the Bellagio blackjack table, I wasn't in a gambling mood. Another lap or two around the casino and I was heading back to Cosmo to crash.