The Country Club Steakhouse at Wynn Review

The Country Club Steakhouse – Excellent service, great appetizer, salad was blah, good wine selection, steak was over cooked, the environment was a bit noisy, and the televisions were distracting. Without the TV’s this would have been much more enjoyable experience. Had the New York strip.

I really expected more out of this place. It was the first restaurant I went to on this trip and I spent a ton of money and got a mediocre meal. I have had better steaks at places half the price. I guess part of the “charm” of this place it is at the Wynn, which if you ask me is a pretty pretentious, excessive and overpriced Casino. Maybe I am cheap, thrifty or have a better head on my shoulders… but I would not recommend wasting the money here.

Envy Steak House Review

Envy Steakhouse @ Renaissance – very nice setting, good wine selection, good salad, excellent sides, excellent steak, seemed understaffed compared to the other steakhouses I went to. Steak was cooked perfectly. 16 oz bone in fillet, which was a new treat for me. Not sure if I have ever had a bone in filet before. It allowed the steak to retain more juice and flavor, plus it was more of a reasonable size than a porterhouse.
The fries here were insanely good. I think they were fries with truffle oil on them, something like that. They were perfectly cooked, seasoned perfectly as well, and a nice crispness to them.

When I mention that it seemed under staffed, we had one waitor for a table of 12 or so. He did do a fine job handling the whole thing, but some of the nice places I have been to seem to work in teams and more or less attack a table with attentiveness. They waiter did a great job, don’t get me wrong, but for 12 people I would think maybe 2 or 3 should tag team it.

I think like any steakhouse in Vegas the prices are a bit inflated. I was quite happy with this meal, and did not have to find my way through a casino to get here. I would defiantly recommend this restaurant or hotel to anyone who is going to Las Vegas for a conference at the convention center and has no interest in gambling.

Del Frisco's Las Vegas Review

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse – amazing service, perfect cocktails from the bar, excellent wine list, nice atmosphere, excellent seafood (shrimp starter and crab cake), 8oz fillet. 18oz was the smallest lobster, which we all thought was ridiculous.

We had a table of maybe 9 or 10 guys head out to this place. The staff was super friendly and we had a team handle the table. They were a bit less “professional” than your normal upscale restaurant, but provided some good fun and entertainment with us. We got into some jokes and one of the guys pulled the “do you have any ketchup” routine for the excellent steaks that were served.

The cocktails at Del Frisco’s were PERFECT. The guy next to me ordered a Vodka Gimlet and they made it with fresh squeezed lime juice. It was the perfect strength. I wish I would have ordered that instead of my Makers and Ginger.

There was a huge group of hungry guys and we tried a variety of appetizers. We got a few shrimp starters which contained 3 types of shrimp. This was great. And then a few orders of crab cakes. These crab cakes were huge and had large chunks of crab in them. I would say the best crab cakes I have ever eaten.

When it came to the steak I went with fillet because I was not hungry enough to handle a porterhouse. The steak was delicious. One of the better steaks I have ever eaten.

As we were leaving we got to see the “James Bond Wine Rack” which is some crazy table that opens up into a wine cellar and then closes.

I would totally recommend Del Frisco’s to anyone needing to take a group out, or to anyone who loves a great meal and can afford this upscale restaurant.

Hugo's Cellar Review

Hugo’s Cellar – shitty casino, dark and dirty. Awesome wine selection, excellent salad cart, good bread, huge portions, great pieces of meat, lacks creamed spinach. Excellent service.

I did not know what to expect when I went to Hugos Cellar, but was not expecting much when I had to go to the old strip and through one of these dark and seedy casinos. Once you go down to the basement you are greeted by friendly staff.

The service here was great. The atmosphere was more “old school” and seedy, but still enjoyable. The prices were reasonable and the food was delicious.

The wine selection was great and there was an on staff sommelier. We had a “wine expert” at the table, and he and the sommelier discussed various things that were over my head. We ended up getting 2 or 3 excellent bottles of wine and champagne to start.

After you order the waiter comes around with this salad cart which is like a portable salad bar and makes a great salad for you right at the table. One of the people at the table was allergic to shellfish and he made sure, that nothing he touched ever touched a shrimp.

By this point of my trip I was “steaked out” and had to switch up. I switched to a prime rib. (c: The prime rib was terrific. It pretty much could have been cut with a fork, and was served with a delicious sauce and horseradish.

The highlight of this meal was when we got the bill. We all covered the organizer of this event, and had way more than enough wine. The bill was less than half of what I spent the other nights, and the food was terrific.

I would defiantly recommend Hugo’s Cellar to anyone who loves a great steak, and is will to venture out to the old strip. The bonus on this is that you can save a bunch of money, have a great meal and terrific wine, excellent service, all at a fraction of the price of one the places on the strip. You just need to be willing to compromise on the location and the atmosphere a bit.

CraftSteak Steak House @ MGM Grand Las Vegas Review

I did not go to Craft Steak on this last trip, but I did a few years ago, and was blown away by the meal. CraftSteak is a bit gimmicy in that they serve “Kobe Beef”. Due to regulations, it is not 100% real Kobe beef, but is still damn good.

I treated a friend to dinner here and we decided to get the taster menu which was amazing.

The quality of food was superb, and the variety and portions were great. I think between us we got 2 or 3 small appetizers, 3 steaks, numerous sides, and a variety of homemade ice creams for desert. There was even some in between course palette cleansers that were served.

The service here was awesome. Our waiter was this older guy who had a crazy accent. He sounded like a vampire, and was just brilliant. He saw that we were 2 younger dudes and freshed up his pitch with some funny slang words which made the meal that much better.

He said the mashed potatoes were “ridiculous” and he was not mistaken. It was like an equal mix of cream and potato and was INTENSE. They were great. The steaks were terrific. The meat is extremely tender and flavorful. The steaks seemed to have been oozing “goodness” out of them. Juice galore. We got three steak cuts, a New York Strip, a Fillet, and one other served with the tasting menu. My only regret was not getting the Steak Tartar as the suggested first course. The waiter switched to a Foie Gras since we were pussies when it came to eating raw meat.

CraftSteak IS expensive, but it is a memorable meal and will let you get in some “Kobe Beef” which will be one of the most flavorful tender cuts of meat you have ever eaten. I would go here again, and take some friends here to pop their “Kobe” cherry.

Where is your favorite steakhouse in Vegas? While you are there, you may also want to go shoot some machine guns!

Here is our dates:

• Oct 2nd – 22:45 (10:45pm) Manila
• Oct 8th – 18:40 (6:40pm) Hong Kong
• Oct 12th – 11:25 (11:25am) Beijing
• Oct 18th – 13:50 (1:50pm) Tokyo
• Oct 25th – back to the US.

If you would like to meet up, talk about nerd things (SEO / PPC), art, or life in general contact me, or if you have any suggestions on attractions that we have to see or cool bars to meet expats or english speaking locals at, please enter them in the comments below.

I got to meet various professionals in the industry and did my best cause a bit of trouble. Here is a movie of SeoBook punching "ReviewMe Roy". Good thing Aaron punches like a pussy.

Highlights of the trip were the Yahoo! Party at the Hephner/Playboy Suite at the Palms Hotel. It was crazy. What a nice hotel room/apartment it would be. The view was amazing, as was the furniture and decoration of the place…not to mention a swimming pool that hangs off the side of the fucking building!

I got a pretty bad ass movie that I filmed on the headboard of the rotating bed. I really wonder how many people have done the deed on the bed and what sort of decoration a black light would bring to that suite. Hahahaha. So gross.

I have some pictures posted on Flickr, but there were many pictures that I would be yelled at if I posted… involving various industry professionals swimming in the pool. After this party I wound up on the roof at the Ghost Bar and found myself at a certain bar after that…

Anyhow in the morning I was in rough shape, and had to present at 10:15 AM. I felt worthless, did not feel like anyone understood what I was speaking about, and think I had a pretty flat delivery. All in all, I huff dong when it comes to public speaking.

This is the first time I went to Vegas and did not loose my ass gambling. I ended up losing $75 on blackjack, making $23 on craps, and then one pull of the one arm bandit at the airport and I won $50. I lost $2.00. Luckily for the Las Vegas economy I found a favorite 'titty bar' that accepts AMEX, so I lost my ass that way. Ha

Here are some links to the 2006 Las Vegas Pubcon pictures on Flickr.com.

You have any PubCon photos, movies or stories worth sharing with me?

From here I boarded the plane to a seat that did not recline more than a few inches…no worries…it is only an 8 flight. American Airlines seems to be one of the most broke ass airlines II have ever flown. The plane had to have been around 75 years old, having one screen for the entire economy class…but that was a good thing because they thankfully played Ice Age Two… and I prayed for death. I was able to doze off, but luckily the person behind acted like an alarm clock waking me every 20 minutes or so when they needed to kick my seat. They were older so there is no real excuse for them other than being an asshole.

Honestly the flight was not that bad, and I was able to sleep for at least 4 hrs of the trip and it somehow got to Paris 40 minutes early?

When I got to CDG I saw that the French really did come up with the word clusterfuck. Getting through customs was not really that big of a deal, but getting out of the door there and over to the baggage claim was quite a chore. It probably took about an hr to get my bag and exit that part of the airport. Luckily I did not get pulled into a random bag check that seemed to be causing extra wait times and lines of people out the door.

From here I used the universal picture of a train to find my way to the train station where I was to meet Aaron. Thank god Aaron was trying to charm the pants of a French banker, and I found him only after 30 minutes or so of searching.

I cannot remember the last time I rode a roller coaster, but I went on every one that was open on Friday night… many of which were wacky or went upside down. Here are some recaps:

American Eagle: This is a giant 25 year old wood coaster. I have been on this one before but did not really remember it. It was awesome being on the back of the cars, and it was rainign and cold and we all got whipped with rain drops as we were going around it. It was great. In this one you are held in with a seatbelt and I think a leg bar. I did not feel like I was really going to fly out at all on this one. It is great for wussies and it does not go upside down.

Batman the ride:I do not really remember this coaster that much other then that the line was longer then most. I think it had some crazy turns in it and it did do 2 loops. We were busy laughing the entire time…that is all I really remember.

Demon: This is another old coaster… they had this the last time I was there, but I think this was the first time I rode it. Pat had the idea of screaming demon whil eyou go through the first loop… so we did. It was fun, old and I think it had pretty secure seating in that it had a harness that lockeked yoiu head in plus a safety belt. It was fun…other then the creaking of 20 year old metal and squeeling of what sounded liek a locked brake! hahaha

Iron Wolf: I do not really remember this one either other then you stand up in it and it has a weird bike seat like crotch bad that you straddle. It was a pretty strange ride and I think this was the one that hurt all of our ears. It was cold out and this ride has these pads that your head goes in and pretty much beats the hell out of you. It was pretty brutal. I do not remember much more than ear pain from this one…and the strange crotch bar, stand up seating.

Ragin' Cajun: This ride was pretty weird. It is pretty much a weak ass roller coaster as far as speed and thing goes, but it spins like crazy and jerks you around and switches direction quite a bit. It is alot like a teacup ride, but in the air… the first section of the track it just glides down, then on the second level it starts to spin and fling you around. Then it spins, flings you around and hits bumps. It is fun, but I would not recommend it if spinning makes you sick.

Raging Bull: If I remember right, this ride was crazy. It goes over 70MPH and you are held in with what they call a "unique, open-sided cars by lap-bar restraint". Andrea and I thought we were going to fly out on this one… I really would have liked a seat belt or shoulder harness thing on here… it has these weird seats that kind of sink you in, and then this strange triangle shaped bar that comes over your legs and kind of locks you in… it is kind of strange and does not feel secure at all. Luckily this thing does not do any flips, but it does roll at high speed and high angles… it is pretty fun…although you may go flying out due to the weird design of the restraints… (c:

Superman Ultimate Flight: This was the only ride I did not want to go on, then I tested out the trial seat and liked the way it holds you in place. This I think is the most secure, and weirdest ride at the park. First off you sit in this seat, then a should brace/bar comes down and completely locks you into the seat. Then it grabs your legs and secures those as well. In addition to that, there is like an interal padding/harness that thing that holds you so you do not hurt yourself against the bars. Then the whole ride tips you forward so it is like you are flying. It was the craziest ride at the park and there is a loop that makes you feel like it is going to rip you apart. It was awesome!

Vertical Velocity:This ride scared the shit out of me! First off you are on this car that is stationary and your feet are dangling below you, it is then launched by magnets to 70mph in under 4 seconds, then it climbs straight up, hangs for a second, then zips you backwards past where you started and up, then forwards, up higher and a twist, backwards up and holds you there…then forwards and hangs and then it is over. It was crazy, and I hated how it hung on the last backwards part… You hang long enough for your weight to shift which makes you feel like you will go flying out and die… watch this video of it to understand what the hell I am talking about.

Viper: This is another wood coaster, but is much newer and seems faster than the eagle. It was fun and fast. I do not think I felt like I was going to die on it.

Whizzer: This is the weakest coaster at the park. The seating is really weird and designed so a parent can hold their child I think? I remember going on this with my mom like 20 years ago. It is where we started off and we had a good laugh going through it.

In addition to not riding a roller coaster for over 15 years, the people I went with were big fans of riding in the back of every ride so you get a crazier ride, so we were in the last few rows on every single ride, whipping us around faster and more violently then in the front cars…it was fun.

Since it was the last Friday of September they were preparing the park for fright fest, which is their halloween theming of the park. I do not know if I would ever want to go to these parks when it is not privately rented out… the lines woudl be brutal and it would take you all day to probably ride 4 of these coasters.

I am leaving from Chicago and heading to Paris on the 22nd, where I will be meeting up with Aaron and seeing Radiohead at an outdoor music fest, so I will be camping in Paris for 2 day.

On the 27th we will be taking the train to Amsterdam and then seeing Radiohead again on the 28th.

On the 2nd I will leaving Amsterdam and heading to Helsinki, Finland where I will meet up with my friends Sami and Maria (who never update their blogs).

On the 6th I fly home. I am looking forward to seeing what these cities have to offer and look forward to seeing a few new countries and getting some more stamps in the passport.

I am hoping to not even check email while I am away, but we will see how well I do at that! When I get back expect a massive upload of images to flickr as well as some travel notes.

Here they are:

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico: these are some giant ass caves located in New Mexico. There is a 50's diner style restaurant down in the caverns so the show said, which is kinda cool. I Have never been to Mexico, but this will now be penciled in.

Grand Canyon – Arizona. I have never seen this thing other then from a plane. I need to see it.

Yellow Stone National Park – Wyoming. I went to this when I was like 7 years old and do not remember too much of it all. I think I would enjoy/appriciate it more as an adult, especially with the state of mind I have been in as of late.

Arches Park – Utah. This is a giant park that features rock formations that are giant arches of rock. It has over 2000 arches that you can explore.

Columbia River Valley – Oregon. I think this is the right place, supposedly has 100's of waterfalls and is green as hell. Just what the doctor ordered.

Mount Hood - Oregon. This is supposed to be a great place to ski, but I say fuck that, since I don't ski. What attracts me to it is the fact that it is a giant snow covered mountain, and I have not really experienced mountains since I was kid. Another crazy thing is that Mount Hood is actually a Volcano…

Channel Islands – California. These are supposedly the US equivlant of the galapagos islands and much easier to get to. They 145 specias of plants and animals ONLY found on the islands, and over 2,000 species total. Supposedly there is tons of sea life there, and if you want to dive to see it, you will get your ass eaten by a shark.

Redwood National and State Parks – California. Home to some of the worlds tallest trees. I want to see this before they are either under water or we somehow turn them into a fuel source. Some of the trees are over 2000 years old, and others are large enough that they have build tunnels through them. I just cannot imagine seeing these trees in person. This may be the first choice of places to see on this list.

Yosemite National Park – California. This is supposed to be the greatest national park in the USA, and I am yet to see it.

I am interested to know which of these parks/places you have seen and which are worth checking out? Any suggestions on the best time to visit them?

Anyhow I went to the dunes yesterday and had a great time. We left at around 10:30 am and were at the Warren Dunes in Michigan by 12:30 central, 1:30 local time. It was quite a bit warmer on the beach than the area surrounding it, and the sun was quite intense. Luckily I came prepared with SPF 30 sunblock to prevent me from burning.

One of the coolest things at this park is that there is a natural clay deposit / clay basin / clay stream. You have to hike up this little stream for about 15-20 minutes and then there it is… a area full of clay…gray clay like youuse for ceramics. People go over there and grab a chunk of it and paint theeir bodies with it, some use it for sun block.

There were kids crying who got a little crazy and put too much on, people were sliding down sides of the area on slides made of clay. You could see the roots of the trees and watch the water dripping down being filtered by the earth. It was pretty awesome. I did not bring my camera so I cannot post anything about it , but this is what the people looked like:

And here is a link to a "virtual tour of the beach"

We also climbed some of the dunes and those things are killer. It is really hard to limb loose sand going up a large hill.

If you are ever in Michigan you should check out Warren Dunes State Park.

The moral of this story is I need to spend less time in front of the computer and more time seeing and experiencing the world around me.

Anyone else out there getting a case of computer/internet burnout?

Last tuesday my movers came and packed up my apartment. That night my sister and I started our drive to Montreal. Since we got a late start we stopped about halfway to a city called belleville, ontario. (I think). It reminded me of galt ontario or downtown aurora illinois, I was not very impressed but we did get waffles the next morning!

Montreal was pretty neat. It was like no where I have ever been before, and It did not seem too european, which is what most people were saying it was. There was a lot of nudey bars, but I did not get the chance to check any out…hahaha. There was also a massive ammount of shopping to do, but I did not feel like buying anything. The food was pretty good, the public transportation was crazy nice and clean, the hotel we stayed at was awesome, a 4 star Omni, that we got on priceline for $75 a night, which rules, and everything was in French. I was worried about the language barrier, but everyone was nice, and everyone we talked to spoke english.

We checked out some olympic tower thing, which had an amazing view, the biodome (Pauly Shore was no where to be found), the museum of modern art, old Montreal, the oldest/biggest Church in Montreal and some other things. The church was pretty neat, and the guy giving the tour was amazing. Montreal is the shortened version of Mount Royal, which is pretty sweet. I now call it MountRoyal with a dirty French accent which rules.

I would like to see the city in summer and go with a group of rowdies and see some the sleazier things in the city (:

Well on Friday we drove back the entire way from Montreal to Chicago…we made crazy good time doing the whole trip in like 13 hrs, which is pretty bad ass.

I have been cleaning things up a bit, went car shopping and some other stuff this week and actually now have a wicked cold. Yesterday my internet arrived. I actually enjoyed not being online for a week, but I felt as though I had no idea what was going on in the world…which is not really the worst thing.

Tonight I ordered a pizza and realised what I miss about the US. Some reason I ordered a large pizza thinking it will last me a few meals…the thing does not even fit in my fridge… I had to wrap it into seperate foil poches and will have food well into the weekend…all for 22.00 delivered with a 2 liter RC cola… I was hoping to lose weight, but at this rate I will be 300lbs by August, and I canot wait. More of the trose to love. Also earlier this week I went to dinner with a friend and I thought the prices were crazy cheap, perhaps Canada is way more expensive to eat like a king?

My stuff is finally supposed to arrive on sat, and my car should be coming in from Japan sometime next week as well. Full reviews on both to follow…

The title of this post is the question: How is your USA?

Sitting Pretty – The History Of the Toilet - More info here.

Mar 18, 2006 – Apr 30, 2006

Developed by Guelph Museums, this travelling exhibition explores the development of the modern toilet. The history and development of chamber pots and outhouses to the invention of indoor plumbing and the toilet itself are explored. Exhibit sections include: an interactive toilet seat question and answer game; the evolution of toilet paper; a full size outhouse featuring audio stories; the history of public washrooms; chamber pot designs, commodes and close stools; and a working cutaway toilet showing the working parts.

Since 2001 this exhibit has travelled across Canada starting on Vancouver Island with stops in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. The exhibit was well received across the country. In Alberta, local artists painted decorative toilet seats while in Manitoba they sculpted an ice outhouse. The exhibit was briefly mentioned on “This Hour as 22 Minutes”, been featured in Maclean’s magazine, The Toronto Star and The National Post and also featured twice on Breakfast Television.

Some more great info about Guelph:

DID YOU KNOW…? The jock strap was invented in Guelph. Created by Guelph Elastic Hosiery Company in the 1920. The company held a contest to name the product-and jock strap was the winning name. The prize was five dollars. source