Las Vegas!!!

So it's about time that I updated this blog...especially since I went to Vegas back in May! And even though I've eaten many, many meals since then, my stomach still remembers some of the highlights from my Vegas trip.

One of the best burgers that I've eaten in a long time was at Holsteins at The Cosmopolitan. Well, it was called Gold Standard, so I had pretty high expectations. The menu describes it as "Dry aged beef sirloin burger with smoked bacon, aged goat cheddar cheese, tomato confit, baby arugula and garlic chive aioli." Mmm... I still remember this burger being juicy, had great beef flavor, and was seasoned with enough salt. (Per Serious Eats is very important!) The aged goat cheddar was great. Not too strong. Everything just worked together so well. I'm starving right now and would really like a burger. I have to also mention the potato wedges. They were perfectly fried and had just the right amount of seasoning. Def better than the fries.

Of course, you can't go to Vegas without visiting a buffet! We went to the Bellagio for brunch and it was amazing. There was so much meat I thought I was going to get gout, but I made sure to get a few asparagus spears and bok choy! A few of my favorite things that I tried were the lamb, pesto mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, and roast beef. The following pictures aren't what all of us ate...it's just what I ate...don't judge. :-)

Another dinner we had before going to Tryst (the club has a waterfall!), was at Red 8 in the Wynn. I think we came here the first time I was in Vegas. Unfortunately, I didn't really think it was special. My dish wasn't very good, but everyone else's was all right. I got the salted fish with tofu. Don't get that. Jamie got the mapo tofu. Get that....and lots of sake!

For our final meal, the black jack dealer told us to eat at the Terrace Cafe at the Wynn, which is another place I went to the first time in Vegas. I ordered the fish tacos and tried their chicken and waffles that Adaku ordered. Even though they tried to win me over with the over easy egg on top, I stayed true to Maxine's. Maxine's will always be my choice for chicken and waffles.

The Rating

- It's Vegas!

The Info

Holsteins Shakes and Buns

Cosmopolitan

http://www.holsteinslv.com/

Red 8 & The Terrace Cafe

The Wynn, Las Vegas

www.wynnlasvegas.com

Ideal Indian Wife Practice - Take 2

I never really cared for my time at the Academy, but it did bring me some really great things like my friends. And one of those friends, Rani, would introduce me to South Indian food. One of my favorite dishes was sambar. And for Take 2 of Ideal Indian Wife Practice, P practiced making sambar with dosa. I am so lucky.

She also heated up some samosas with 2 different chutneys. One was coriander (did you know that coriander is cilantro?) and I can't remember what the other one was and I am too lazy to go downstairs and look in the fridge to see.

Like last time, P's sambar was terrible. And to be sure it was terrible, I had seconds and took some to lunch. And I don't recommend trying to eat drumsticks while working. It's pretty difficult. P's going to need a lot more practice if she's going to be an ideal Indian wife.

(To those of you that have stumbled upon my blog looking for porn when you searched for "Ideal Indian Wife", you're clearly at the wrong place....but feel free to subscribe! )

Le Peep

After dropping off my boyfriend's car for an oil change, we walked to the closest breakfast place which happened to be Le Peep. Since I've already declared Trader's Point Creamery to have the best brunch in Indy, nothing compares...but Le Peep has a solid breakfast with a ton of food. You'll definitely be full after eating here.

I had the Gypsy skillet. It came with potatoes, ham, onions, mushrooms, cheese and basted eggs. 1 dish meals is really how I like to eat, especially if there's a runny egg on top.

Mike got the Eighteen Wheeler. It came with 2 slices of french toast, 2 eggs, bacon or sausage (he chose bacon), and potatoes. The french toast was good. It must have had a lot of batter because it came out looking like pancakes. Oh well, it was still sweet and didn't have too much of an egg taste. That was always my problem when I made french toast at home. The bacon was crisp, but not as good as the bacon at Trader's Point or Tulip Noir.

With 6 locations in Indianapolis, this is a solid place for breakfast if you want something better than fast food but can't make it out to someplace really special.

The Rating

The Info

Le Peep

8255 Craig St.

Indianapolis, IN 46250

317-576-0433

www.lepeep.com

Mug-n-Bun

One of my favorite clients took a few of his favorite ladies out to lunch. I requested Fogo de Chao, but we settled on Mug-n-Bun. This place has been around for a long time. It still operates as a drive-in, and one of my "older" coworker's mom used to come here when she was in high school. It's like a mini complex. There's a building where you can dine inside. There's another area where it looks like you can order from the window (not sure if you actually can), and there is an outdoor area with picnic tables. We ate out on the picnic tables since it was such a nice day. One of my favorite things about this place was this box that was at every table. You press the button on the box when you're ready to order! How many places do you see that at?!?! Unfortunately, I didn't get to test it out since we had an attentive server and checked on us before I could press the button. :-(

Since it usually takes me a long time to figure out what I want to eat, I did some research about this place during the car ride there. They are known for 3 things: Pork tenderloin sandwich, onion rings, and root beer. I sampled/ate all three and LOVED two of the things. Hey, 2 out of 3 isn't bad!

Fave client ordered a burger and fries. He seemed annoyed that I held up eating so I could take pictures. He should be appreciate that it was only this one time, and he doesn't have to deal with it everytime like P and Mike have to. He also wasn't in the spirit of sharing, but I didn't really want to taste his burger. It looked ok, but he said it was tasty.

One of my health conscious coworkers ordered the grilled chicken sandwich. I'm so proud of her. It looked really pathetic, but I didn't want to tell her that at the time. It at least came with veggies. I didn't try it, but she said it was actually really good. So if you're looking for a healthier alternative when you're here, then order that.

My "older" coworker ordered the pork tenderloin, and she let me try it. Yay! It was ok. I didn't want to order it because I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. This tenderloin is pounded thin and breaded. I think tenderloins like this look like a disk. But plenty of people prefer their tenderloins this way versus the giant, super crispy, completely NOT flat tenderloins they serve at Bourbon Street and John's Famous Stew. To each his own.

Had I known how large the portion of onion rings was going to be, I would have just ordered those and the root beer. But I thought it wasn't going to be very much so I asked the waitress what the most popular item on the menu was. She said, "The tenderloin." So I asked what the 2nd most popular item was. She said, "The chili cheese dog." And so I got that. It tasted eh, and looked really eh. The chili wasn't bad. It had good flavor and was a good thickness. The hot dog wasn't small, but you could tell it wasn't the best quality. The chili dog could really use a juicy beef hot dog.

The best parts of the entire meal were the onion rings and root beer. Don't you hate when you bite into an onion ring and you pull the rest of the onion out, so all you're left with is breading? You don't have that problem here! Don't you hate it when your breading is so weak it just falls off the onion? You don't have that problem here! These were THE BEST onion rings I've ever had. The root beer was something else too! I normally don't care for rootbeer, but this was THE BEST root beer I've ever had. They make it in house and they give it their own twist by adding extra vanilla. It's fantastic. You can buy it by the gallon or half gallon in case you want to take some home. ;-) And I saw on their website that they offer a diet version too. hmm....

The Rating

- For giving me THE BEST root beer and THE BEST onion rings I've ever had.

The Info

Mug-n-Bun

5211 W. 10th St.

Indianapolis, IN 46224

www.mug-n-bun.com

Koreana II - Louisville, KY

If you're ever in Louisville, KY and want some really good Korean food, you should try Koreana II. It's a little scary from the outside. It's in the same outlet as a western wear shop and a plasma center, but the food is definitely worth it. I loved how much panchan (side dishes) they gave, and the food tasted fantastic. If you've never had Korean food before, then I recommend getting dolsot bibimbap. It's a mixture of rice, veggies, and usually an egg on top. It comes in a hot pot that makes the rice on the bottom crispy. Mix it all together with a little gochujang (hot pepper paste) and you're good to go. If you're lucky enough to eat at the Koreana II, get it with seafood. mmm....

If you're in the mood, this place also offers Korean BBQ and karaoke. ;-)

The Rating

The Info

Koreana II

5009 Preston Hwy

Louisville, KY 40213

502-968-9686

Sushi on the Rocks

For me, sushi restaurants really don't have a chance. I compare everything to Sakura on Keystone. And I specifically judge them based on how good their soft shell crab roll is compared to Sakura's. Even though I know no other place is going to compare, I still order the soft shell crab every time I try a new restaurant.

This is actually the 4th time I've gone to Sushi on the Rocks. 3 of those times were because of a Groupon. You'd think since I've been there so many times, I really like the place, but I don't. I just think it's ok. And usually when I go, the service is TERRIBLE! But I have to admit, this time was different. The food was decent. (I didn't order the soft shell crab. I'm starting to learn my lesson.) My server was awesome. She was attentive, quick, and very friendly. Since we sat at the sushi bar, I got to see a lot. That included how long it took other servers to get the sushi delivered. I have to say I was really disappointed to see how many servers would just look at the ticket, see that it wasn't their table, and just leave it. What ever happened to helping each other out? When i worked at The Cheesecake Factory, the servers (well, the good ones) were always helping each other out by running other dishes if their dish wasn't up yet. Another thing I was really disappointed by was that my miso soup lacked tofu. The tofu is my favorite part. :-(

The Rating

- It's no Sakura, but it's ok as long as you have a good server.

The Info

Sushi on the Rocks

235 S. Meridian St.

Indianapolis, IN 46225

317-536-1500

www.sotrindy.com

Their website claims to have coupons at www.coupons4indy.com, but I did not find them.

El Rodeo

It's tough to believe that so soon after having the best Mexican in Indy I was ready to eat more. I actually wasn't, but my boyfriend really wanted some so we went. One of his favorite places is El Rodeo.

It's not as unique or special as El Sol de Tala, but it was definitely better than La Piedad. I knew I would be disappointed with their tamales, so I actually ordered something different. Shocking, I know. I got the chorizo tacos, and Mike got the Acapulco with steak. It had lettuce, cheese, onions, steak, guac, salsa, and sour cream, all over a tortilla. Mike mixes it all together so that it's basically a giant opened soft taco. Not a bad concept. My favorite part of the meal dish was the rice and beans. Not only did I get a generous portion, the rice had veggies like green beans and peas mixed in. Healthier than your average mexican rice. ;-) My health conscience felt better, or was just fooled, about eating extra rice. I should mention that I ate a basket and a half of the tortilla chips. The servers were very attentive when we got low, and the chips were crispy, hot, and fresh.

Overall, this was an above average Mexican meal.

The Rating

- Solid

The Info

El Rodeo

9546 Allisonville Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46250

317-913-7897

I couldn't find a website, but if you go to Urbanspoon someone kindly posted pictures of the menu.