The Saturday Dining Conspiracy: August, 2006

August 5, 2006: None.

Dwight's comments:

This was the weekend of my annual pilgramage to DEFCON. Sadly, being without a job this year, I decided to skip DEFCON. However, since the airline tickets were non-refundable, and I was splitting expenses with other folks anyway, I did make the trip to Vegas. Some notes:

• Lotus of Siam (953 E Sahara Ave #A-5, 702-735-3033): The three of us had yet another excellent meal. Everyone's choice as most impressive dish: the seared scallops. My flight of German wines was also wonderful.
• Yolie's Brazilian Steakhouse: 3900 Paradise Road, Suite Z, 702-794-0700): This is a very typical Brazilian steakhouse, one of at least three in Las Vegas. However: the owner is a really nice guy with a puckish sense of humor, who keeps a close eye on his staff. The service is excellent, and the food is, too. Highly recommended.
• IBar at the Rio (3700 W. Flamingo, near the front door, 702-777-7777): We figured we'd stop off at the hip and trendy IBar, to try a sidecar there before dinner and the Penn and Teller show, about 6:00 PM. I remember commenting that I wasn't sure the sidecar was worth $12: at least the Batini at the Four Seasons came with a tray of olives and nuts for $12.
  Then the full force of the sidecar hit. Seriously, I don't know what the bartender put in it, or if it was just a matter of not having eaten much, but I was useless and feeling no pain for the better part of four hours. We actually went back the next day for a second try: the Sunday afternoon sidecars, though, lacked the seriously hallucinogenic qualities of that first one at the Rio.
• Gaylord Indian Restaurant (in the Rio, 702-777-2277): The best Indian food I've found in Vegas, so far. Also very pricy: over $50 a person, with no drinks. And, while I understand that there is a Vegas premium, the food just wasn't that much better than Sarovar, but nearly three times the price.
• The Peppermill (2985 Las Vegas Blvd., 702-735-4177): The inside is certainly interesting. But the food is expensive, our service was awful, and I recommend staying far away.
• The Original Pancake House (Green Valley Ranch Resort, 702-614-7200): For all your pancake needs. Seriously, I have trouble finding breakfast spots in Vegas: while you do have to drive a bit, the Pancake House chains are pretty good. Certainly better, even with the drive, than the IHOP near the Stratosphere.
• The Tillerman (2245 E. Flamingo Rd., 702-731-4036): I wanted to go back, and I wanted to take my friends there. It didn't disappoint. Great sidecars, excellent food, and perfect service. I finished my meal with a single-malt I'd never heard of before, and plan to seek out: 16 year-old Tominloul. Also highly recommended.

My thanks to: the folks at the Atomic Testing Museum (again), our tour guide at Hoover Dam (a really nice guy, who, it turned out, is also a fellow shooter), the very nice employee at Treasure Island (it turned out that she and her husband were also fellow shooters, and we had a great conversation), Penn and Teller (for a great show, and for being, well, Penn and Teller), the gang at The Gun Store for taking care of my friends, and Andrew "Seeker of Grants" Wimsatt and Michael "Speaker to Waitresses" Sumbera, for hanging out with me, and covering my tab at the Gun Store, among other services.

August 12, 2006: Texas Land & Cattle Company.

Lawrence's comments:

Though I morn the passing of JC's Steakhouse, Texas Land & Cattle Company provided an adequate backup. My Cattleman's Ribeye was quite tasty, and I liked the way they sliced open the crab legs, making it much easier to scoop out the meat. I was too full to finish my onion strings.

Between the two, I think that this TL&CC is now better than the nearby Outback Steakhouse for everything but the cheese fries.

August 19, 2006: Casino El Camino.

Dwight's comments:

For a bar, this is actually a pretty darn good, and very reasonably priced burger joint. I liked my burger, I thought the chili cheese fries were pretty well done, and even though they used the generic hot wing recipe, the wings themselves showed some skill and attention on the part of the kitchen staff.

That said, it is a bar. All of the music was loud, and some of it was pretty obnoxious as well. This isn't a place I'd recommend to most folks for that reason. But if you are part of that whole 6th Street crowd, you can't do much better than Casino El Camino on a bang/buck basis.

Lawrence's comments:

We wanted to try Casino El Camino because they had a reputation for good burgers. And the burgers are pretty good. But basically we're talking a bar here, with all the ambiance (or lack thereof) that implies. Worth trying if you stumble out of a club at midnight with the munchies, but it's hard to see why anyone would venture down to Sixth Street just to eat these burgers.

August 26, 2006: None.