What’s the best thing to do during a San Diego heatwave?

Head east to the desert, of course! Actually, Vegas is a great place to go right now because it couldn’t be more air-conditioned, you really don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to, and every dollar you spend on a cabana at the pool is well worth it.

To me, Vegas means world-class food. Normally, we are stuck in a very delicious and indulgent rut with Nobu the first night and Olives the second. But we decided to branch out and try some new culinary adventures and it worked out very well!

Our first night, we dined at FIX at the Bellagio and it was amazing. Highly recommended. It’s basically upscale bar food. Here’s what we got:

• Lobster Tacos - Super-mini with a light, flaky shell
• Yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and ponzu sauce - Just like they do it at my favorite restaurant in the whole world, Nobu
• Kobe beef sliders with fries - Takes the whole slider concept up major notches
• Very Adult Mac N’ Cheese - Listen to this, they deep fry rectangular prisms of mac and cheese that has pancetta in it. You dip it in a mild cheese sauce, too. Mind-blowing ridiculous.

Also! I had a phenomenal cocktail that has joined my list of Top 3 Favorite Cocktails I’ve Ever Had. Here’s the list as of right now:

1. Bellini Martini at Nobu. I highly doubt any cocktail will ever top this one in my lifetime.
2. Cucumber Martini from FIX at the Bellagio - Made with melon vodka and cucumber essence. Mild, fresh, totally drinkable, and unique.
3. Lychee cocktail from Burma Superstar in San Francisco - Obviously, this was my #2 until this weekend. It is a beautiful turquoise color filled with flavors I’ve never tasted before. I was blown away.

Speaking of, my husband got their seasonal martini which was vodka and gin mixed with strawberry and basil flavors. Very intriguing.

The second night, we ate Italian at the Venetian’s Zeffirino: homemade saffron lasagna with chicken ragu for me. The best appetizer was carpacchio with buffalo mozzarella. And their calamari is actually not-so-chewy which we’ve been hard-pressed to find ever since being blown away by the calamari at Tarpy’s in Monterey.

Oh and we also nursed Sprite and crackers in our hotel room til 2pm after a rough first night out til 5am. Delish!

So that was our foodiness for Vegas July 2006. We went four times last year, but hadn’t been in a full year. So we were glad to be back on the Strip. Love that place.

Bye for now!
Beth