Las Vegas Eats (and Drinks)

Let's get this straight from the beginning.  I am not here for the gourmet treatment.  This is a road trip where I luckily can mix business with pleasure. On a 30/70 ratio.

This photo is from Hash House a Go Go, linked at the end of the post.  It wasn't long afterwards that the entree followed up, a big ol' grilled ham and cheese with a slice of tomato and house romaine salad on the side.  And I was out of there for $18, including the beer and tip!

I'd found a couple of reviews about the place that settled me on this choice...keywords "locals" and "farm-fresh."

First, from the "Las Vegas" mag in the hotel room-

A locals hot spot, the eatery is known for its oversize portions of creative breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes like the HH famous roasted chicken pot pie and crispy Indiana-style hand-hammered pork tenderloin.

And from another hotel rag "Where"-

Hearty portions of award-winning, farm-fresh food that are comforting day or night.

I guess it has shown up in a few travel shows by now.  Hearty is an understatement, that's why I tried to tone it down with the grilled cheese and salad.  But who knew it would show up on Texas toast?

For lunch yesterday, one of the folks from the trade show organizer sat down next to me in the speaker ready room with a plate of BBQ.  Turns out, there was a B.B. King restaurant in the Mirage, and I wouldn't have to walk through the casino to get to it.  So after I concluded my business with my little talk, and then a walk around the exhibition, I headed off to lunch.

These days I worry about diet when I'm traveling.  Well, perhaps worry conveys the wrong impression.  Revised, that should be, "These days, I consider my diet when I am traveling."  Restaurant food is usually pretty good, but it is rich and often as not loaded with cheap calories from ingredients you don't know about.

But I can often rationalize these things, as I did yesterday, when I recalled that the walk from my hotel up the strip to the Mirage was just about 3 miles, per my GPS.

And so I thought about that a moment in B.B. King's, while I read about the pulled pork and the brisket.  I settled on a blackened mahi sandwich, proud of making the fish choice.  It came with fries AND cole slaw. And a Flat Tire pint. My table had a tribute to Elvis. 

"Bright lights city gonna set my soul on fire." Not to mention the potential for heartburn.

Final one, only because of the siren call of the neon sign across the street from the hotel.  And because of its prominence in that one scene in The Big Lebowski.  We've got your In-n-Out right over there...when I was in Barstow last May I made a stop, and since I can walk to this one...well, let's just say I knew what's for dinner on the first night.

For my friend Brian, I'll do the Glen Bacon scale for the Hash House meal:

Bud in a Bag:  8 6.5 - this unique treatment for a beer that is an ideal refreshment in this heat with all the walking probably could get a higher rating, but I don't want to inflate these things.  Seriously, I'd had a Flat Tire earlier in the day already!

***Editor's Note.  I need to explain the revised rating above, which is reported extensively in the next day's post.  As discussed there: "Okay, so here we are the morning after, and in light of the clarifying lesson I am ready to reconsider my GBS for the Bud in a Bag. I’m giving it a 6.5. That’s 4.9 for presentation, .5 for size (22 oz.), .5 for icy cold temperature (we’re out here in a desert, for kriminees sake), and .6 for price ($4.95 – that’s like 1988 prices!). Now back to the original post...

Grilled Ham and Cheese:  7 - I liked it.  But on Texas toast, it was kinda big and over the top.

Here's the link to Hash House - turns out its a growing chain:  http://www.hashhouseagogo.com/