TR Day III -- "'Fazio!' and 'Kelli with an 'I'"

Day 3 - "'Fazio!' and 'Kelli with an 'I'"



As I stated in my last report, I was able to do something Saturday
morning that I usually don't do in Vegas, or anywhere for that matter.
I woke up at about 6:30 and was able to roll over and go back to sleep
until about 8:30. Usually when in Vegas, my mind starts to wander and
I start thinking about how little time I have left in the trip and all
the things on my list and how there is probably a video poker machine
just waiting to give me a royal flush and in any event Bryan or Jose
is downstairs and there is Pale Ale and Bloody Marys and OK now I am
awake so I'll just hop in the shower and go.

On this morning, however, I was able to clear my mind, and enjoyed an
additional 2 hours of luxurious sleep. This is something I rarely get
to do anywhere, so I really enjoyed it and thought it deserved mention
in what is otherwise an interesting trip report.

Upon finally arising, I made my way down to the bar and began playing
some VP. Jose and I chatted for a while and it wasn't long until I
was joined by Ted and Pat. Perry, Pat's son, had apparently overdone
the partying on his first night in town (IMO, a Vegas rite of passage)
and would not be joining us for lunch. We played and enjoyed some
cocktails, and decided that we would have the sushi today that we
didn't get to enjoy last night because of Perry's early arrival. All
three of us love sushi, and Ted and I discussed pre-trip that an AYCE
sushi experience sounded like fun. At some point, Cameron joined us
as well.

We loaded up the old convertible, put the top down, and headed down
the 15 toward Tropicana. Once we found the shopping center it took us
a second to figure out that Sushi Factory is actually around the
corner and doesn't face Tropicana, but faces Jones. We had arrived
right after opening and I think we were the first customers of the
day. I enjoyed several yellowtail hand rolls, both with and without
avocado, (http://tinyurl.com/2qazs7 ) Ted selected items off the menu
that wouldn't aggravate his shrimp/crab allergy, Pat picked at a few
things, but I suspect he was also a late-night partier the evening
before, and Cameron began a love affair with unagi (eel) sushi that
can only end in heartbreak for both. The verdict was unanimous that
Sushi Factory is great, and a great value.

Since we were so close to the Orleans, our poker destination for the
day, I dropped Ted and Cameron off there and took Pat back down to
MSS, where he played VP and power napped to prepare for the evening's
plans. Upon making it back to the Orleans, I found that even though
Cameron and Ted had put my name on the list for the 4/8 game they were
playing, they had passed me up and I had to get on the end of the
list. So I put my name and Road Rage's name on the list, and sat down
to wait, intermittently railbirding Ted and Cameron's game. When Rage
arrived, I used an ACG coupon for two free drinks at any Orleans bar
to get us a couple of Jaeger shots. When I asked the bartender how
much two more would be, he said $6.50 each! I could buy a bottle of
the stuff for that much! Luckily, Rage knew one of the (insanely hot)
cocktail waitresses serving the poker room (Kelli with an "I") and she
kept bringing us more Jaeger shots with each pass through the room,
even though we weren't seated at a table yet. It didn't hurt that I
tipped her $5 for the first round, either. Suffice it to say that by
the time we got seats at a table, we were grinning from ear to ear.

What happened next was another hilarious poker table situation, mostly
thanks to Road Rage. Two things made this session stand out. First,
there was a fellow in seat one (directly to the dealer's left) who was
playing crazy, obviously having a great time, and pissing off the rest
of the table. Every time he would win a pot, he would kiss his wife,
who was sitting behind him. We got to talking with him (when you are
with Road Rage, you end up talking to everyone) and his name was
Fazio. Fazio's joke was that he was Arab and had five wives… one for
cleaning, one for cooking, one for watching the kids, one for driving
him around, and (motions to the woman behind him) one for kissing.
Maybe it was the Jaeger, but Rage and I thought it was just about the
funniest damn thing we had ever heard, so we started cheering for
Fazio in every hand he was in. At one point, a crabby dealer sat down
and gave Fazio a hard time about something, which kind of killed the
mood for a second, until Fazio won a pot, and I saw a dollar chip fly
across the table and land in my stack, and another land in front of
Road Rage. It seems that Fazio was pissed at the dealer and was
tipping US for his winning hands instead of her! This only served to
intensity our cheering efforts.

We were having a ball, getting progressively more drunk, collecting
our tips from Fazio, and laughing heartily (http://tinyurl.com/2qgydy
) when Rage got involved in a hand. When it was his turn to act, he
called time to ponder a decision, which is perfectly allowable and
actually considerate of your fellow players. About 15 seconds went by
when a crabby old Asian lady next to Rage (one of those who was
irritated by Fazio) told him to hurry up and that he was holding up
the game. Let me just say that this is not the kind of thing you want
to say to Chris under any circumstances, and especially when he has
been drinking. To make a long story short, the floor people ended up
being called over twice, and the crabby lady ended up at another
table. Seriously, I see these miserable people nearly every time I
play poker in Las Vegas. If you are that unhappy, perhaps another
hobby would be preferable to sitting at a 4/8 table and bitching.

We stayed at the Orleans until about 6 PM when it was time to head
over to Venetian to meet Pat and Perry for our meal at B&B, after
which the three of them were going to see the 10:00 PM performance of
"Love." The weather was still beautiful outside as we walked from
Mirage over to the V. Once we entered, Ted told me he wasn't crazy
about the V's smell, and I had to agree… it smells too soapy for me.
We arrived at B&B exactly on time and perused the menu. Pat and Perry
didn't want to do the tasting menu, which requires everyone at the
table to participate, so we had to order ala carte. I have to say I
was quite disappointed in this meal, especially since I had so enjoyed
the tasting menu back in October. Since Mario Batalli is the king of
this kind of thing, I ordered Tripe Parmesan
(http://tinyurl.com/2k8t4s) for a first course, Beef Cheek Ravioli
(house specialty) for second course, (http://tinyurl.com/33dcn5) and
fennel dusted sweetbreads for my third (http://tinyurl.com/32s4tp )
Mario is a Food Network chef who constantly touts these types of
dishes, so I figured what better place to try tripe for the first time
than one of his restaurants. Unfortunately, the tripe itself was
unpleasant to eat, with a chewy consistency that suggested
undercooking, and an off-flavor that I can only describe as "wet dog."
I know tripe is unusual, and shouldn't taste like filet mignon, but
somehow I expected Mario's presentation to be better executed than
this. The portion was enormous and I could only eat about ¼ of it,
both because of the aforementioned taste and texture issues, but also
because the sauce was extremely spicy, far more spicy than one would
expect in this type of establishment.

The second and third courses were more successful, but nothing blew me
away like the tasting menu had. Ted offered me a bite of the lamb
chops he had ordered and not only were they severely under cooked (he
had ordered medium rare, they were beyond rare) but they were spiced
with a strange combination of spices that completely overwhelmed the
flavor of the meat and everything else on the plate. In short, I am
sorry to say that I did not think that B&B was worth the $115 the meal
cost me after tip. We skipped dessert.

After dinner, we walked back over to Mirage so that Pat, Perry, and
Ted could see "Love." (One of Perry's friends was a no-show so Ted
used his ticket.) Of course I was slightly jealous, especially once
it came to saying goodbye at the door to the theater, but they all
enjoyed it very much (Pat's main reason for asking Perry to come to
Vegas was to see this show.)

I sat in a 3/6 game at Mirage and thought about how much I missed
Fazio and Road Rage, and how much I wanted to be seeing "Love," as I
had a very boring session and ended up losing $7. Rage was supposed
to meet me, but I got a garbled text message sometime around 9 PM that
he was too smashed to come down and that he would see me tomorrow.

After the show, we met up by the North Valet at Mirage (near the
entrance to Jet nightclub, which makes for an interesting show) and
headed back downtown where we all crashed hard after a little more VP.

All in all, another great day in Vegas… one more full day to go!

--

Andrew <-- Is it FEBROOARY yet?

"Thank goodness KILLFILING
isn't part of the shunning rules. It's like watching a very fat guy in
a straitjacket bouncing off the walls of a padded cell.

- "BOB" on the great AVLV shun.

Andrew in Alabama wrote:

Wow, the prime rib sandwich was the star of the show, IMHO. Now, old
Nonny's thinking about a run to the grocery store to get a nice 3- bone
roast and see what he can do with that and some potato hamburger buns.
<drool>

--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son