LA Roadhouse – Route 66

Well, I had an excruciating three hours layover at LAX before I could catch my 25 minute flight back to Santa Barbara and the LA Roadhouse was where I opted to spend my extended lunch. Service came from people with their souls slowly extracted from their bodies. I wish the short campy dude was my [...]

All-American Bar & Grille

The bar has $1 slot machines embedded into the tabletop, I thought that was funny and deeply ironic. Afterall, you can walk out to a nickel slot machine about 15 feet away and play it and get free drinks. Sit at the bar, buy a drink and feed dollar bills into the machine, or spend [...]

Vosges Haut-Chocolate

I finally made it to Vosges Chocolates at the tail end of a biznas conference in Vegas, and it made the trip worth it. Some of the more interesting chocolate combinations: Bacon and chocolate White chocolate and Kalamata olives Chocolate, black sesame and wasabi Milk chocolate and sweet curry power (my favorite) Now, I can [...]

Sao Paulo

Ugh, underwhelming food served to a captive audience. I thought eating here would spare me the dregs of convention luncheon fare. What I got was convention luncheon fare, except I had to pay for it. You probably cannot go wrong with the standard “burgers ‘n shit,” but steer well clear of the spaghetti and meatballs [...]

Sushi Roku

Good sushi and sashimi. Great service. Excellent ambience and decor. I had the chef’s sashimi combination ($26) and a roll of spicy scallops ($9). Companion had the chef’s sushi combination ($29). I was going for mostly plain and simple, nothing outrageous or innovative. What I got was plain and simple, I felt like I was [...]

N9NE Steak House

I am not a steak and potatoes gal, so normally a steakhouse isn’t really my kind of place, but I came away from N9NE feeling it was one of the best meals I had in Vegas. The interior was intriguing. At most places, eyes are drawn outward at windows or art on walls. Here, the [...]

Bouchon

Breakfast was highly recommended at Bouchon, unfortunately I was not able to make it to breakfast. I am disappointed about that, but was at least able to have dinner here. At the mention of my intent to have dinner at Bouchon, a friend gave me a look of surprise and insisted I would not get [...]

Wine Cask

Lunch deal: complimentary glass of wine with your entree! I had a surprisingly good chardonnay as my glass, surprising because I normally don’t like chardonnay. It went well with the lobster ravioli I ordered ($18). One lunch companion got the red and she seemed happy with hers, too. All the ladies at the table got [...]

Brophy Brothers

I feel a little bad giving Brophy’s an underwhelming review, but I do think that any other praises would be deceiving. This is a very popular place, local love it, tourists are drawn to it. Views, yes, they have them! Charm and rustic looking, yes! Long waits for a table, yes! But when visitors ask [...]

Dorothy’s Chuck Wagon Cafe

Dorothy’s, where old signs go to die. Judging by the copious photos on the classic wood veneer walls, Dorothy’s Chuck Wagon cafe has been around for some time. Evidence is backed up by a gumball machine that is so old, the plastic compartment that holds the gumballs has turned such a dark yellow it’s actually [...]