Bummed to find out that the Sahara out in Vegas will be closing down in May. Here's a nice appreciation of the Sahara. Sure, it was run down ten years ago and only getting worse. I don't actually remember for sure if we've been there at all since then. And, yes, I did have one of the worst meals I've ever had in Vegas at the Sahara buffet. The food at Circus, Circus buffet was as bad but they at least renovated at some point so the ambiance wasn't as ghastly. My main memory of the Sahara is from the 2001 trip to Vegas when Sarah and I went with our friend Pru and we all went up there to see the Rat Pack is Back which was playing in the legendary Congo Room. I'd rented a car so we could get around off strip and got upgraded to a Cadillac (cos they were out of the mid-sized boringmobile I'd reserved). Okay, it was a new model so it's not like I was rolling the Strip in some late model beast like Thompson drove in Fear and Loathing... But, still, I did get to drive up to the Sahara and valet a Caddy and we all went and had a totally swanky good time watching a Rat Pack tribute show. Oh, and it was just after Dale Earnhardt had died and Sahara had already started their Nascar theme-ing so they had one of Earnhardt's other cars on display and it was turning into this huge shrine, with all these people leaving flowers and writing lots of memorials and tributes.
So one more piece of old Vegas is gone. It's pretty much just the Trop and Flamingo left on the Strip at this point. Downtown still has a lot of old school vibe to it. But, hey, that's Vegas. They tear it down and put up a new one more there even than NYC. From what I read the current owners are planning to hold onto the place and try to renovate when the economic climate is better. If that's true (or if they just sell and the place is imploded), I hope someone will save the nomads and camels. They appear in the original Ocean's Eleven and (as the photo at that link shows) were still there in the 1980s and, in fact, were still there when we visited in 2001. It looks like they might have been removed in the last year or two but I hope they're either stored on site somewhere or have been given to the Neon Museum Boneyard. Somewhere I think I have some pics of the Sahara from that (or earlier) trips. But that was before I had a digital camera so I'll have to dig around in my desk and see if I can find the prints and scan them in.
Recently in vegas, baby Category
Hey, at this rate I might be finished writing up my last travels before the next ones happen. Maybe.
After a big lunch o' yummy Thai food on Monday, I wasn't up for a mega dinner. Which can be a problem in Vegas because lots of the better options are fairly mega. I wanted to figure out what I was doing after an epic fail on Sunday night where I wandered around semi-aimlessly from City Center all the way down to Mandalay Bay without ever getting the timing right -- I was either too early or places were too crowded and I ended up walking too much in this kinda hunger/jet lag fugue. Ended up just heading back to MGM thinking I'd get room service but I passed this mini Stage Deli outpost next to the sports book and had a pretty good pastrami sandwich. And after all that walking on Sunday night and pretty much all day Monday, I wanted to stay close. I'd read online that Craftsteak was a good option for solo dining. But when I got down and looked at the menu it all seemed way too heavy. Pondered my options while playing some slots, hoping for a free drink. Which never materialized. Aside: this was possibly my worst trip ever in terms of slot play (I spent all my gambling budget and don't think I was ever ahead more than $5) and getting free drinks (one rum & coke in three days).
Walked over to Seablue, which is not far from Craftsteak, and saw that they had an option where you could get tastings/samplers of their appetizers. I'd heard good things about Seablue (part of the Michael Mina restaurant empire) and decided to check it out. So good! They were super nice and never made me feel awkward about dining alone. I started with one of their signature cocktails. Something called a flamingo. Don't remember exactly what was in it (tequila and some citrus juice, maybe) and their cocktail menu doesn't seem to be online. But It was damn tasty. And they brought out this cone of fresh, hot (clearly made in-house) pita bread triangles, with a trio of dips: hummus, some kind of feta cheese dip, and what they described as roasted red pepper and walnut. I think it was basically mahumara (altho the version that I'm familiar with also contains pomegranate molasses). Holy flerking shnit was that good. I'd have been happy with just that and a couple of cocktails. Or Chimays (which they did serve in the appropriate glassware, although it wasn't on tap -- and I'll be returning to that topic later in the trip report). But I don't think that's a menu option. Instead I went for the tasting of their raw/marinated appetizers and their fried appetizers. The raw/marinated plate came first and it had yellowtail crudo (w/ spicy shiitakes and a ponzu sauce), scallop ceviche (w/ tomato, citrus, avocado) and tuna tartare (the menu describes it as having pomegranate and pine nuts but there was also something creamy -- creme fraiche, maybe?). And some more pita. Astonishing. I'm still on the fence as to which was best. Either the ceviche or the tartare. Just breathtakingly good fish, well prepared.
It's hard for something deep-fried to be any kind of a let down but the fried sampler was not as transcendent. Close, but not quite. The chicken & chorizo empanada was my least favorite of the six dishes I tried. Okay but nothing special. Crab stuffed piquillo pepper was excellent. Served w/ a "smoked jalapeñ aioli" (I'd say chipotle but whatever) and really excellent. But the winner of that group (and close with the ceviche and tartare for best of the night) was the lobster corn dog. Words fail. Even though I was pretty full by the time I finished it, I immediately wanted another plate full.
So, that was my ridiculously indulgent dinner in Vegas. Good times, indeed.
And I didn't even get to the celebrity chef aspect of the evening. But this post is already too damn long. More on that next time.


