Category Archives: Wine & Food

Let’s face it, it’s cold in Alaska.  And wet.

Must be time to thaw out on the way home.  If you’ve been following my blog these past two weeks, then you know just how less than stellar the weather was during the bulk of this Alaska trip.  Fortunately, the airlines wanted first dibs on our internal organs to fly us back on the day we disembarked and headed by bus to Seattle from Vancouver.  I say, “fortunately,” because that required us to get a bit inventive.  It was actually cheaper for us to fly to Las Vegas and spend two nights before continuing on to El Paso.

Hooters Casino Hotel ran us only $19 a night, plus an $8 resort fee.  In return, we got free tickets to a comedy show, two free drinks by the pool (which we couldn’t redeem because they closed the pool bar before the advertised 9:00 P.M.), and ten free Buffalo chicken wings each.  Who says recessions are all bad?

But don’t go to Hooters if service is of major concern.  Service ran from poor (check-in) to worse (the restaurant) to nonexistent (the aforementioned pool bar fiasco).  But if you can’t say anything good about someone, then you shouldn’t say anything at all, right?  The sheets were clean, the room was habitable, and most of the good stuff on the strip are within walking distance.

And within walking distance are two of our favorite eating establishments:  Carnegie Deli for lunch and Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak, & Stone Crab for dinner.

Carnegie Deli has the same great pastrami as you’ve come to expect from their original New York location, but there are some important difference.  First, this Carnegie Deli isn’t restricted to cash—you can use your credit card.  Second, there are free refills on ice tea and sodas.  Third, the portions are larger.  Indeed, they are huge.  Spring for the extra $3 sharing charge and plan on sharing.  But, come on, Carnegie Las Vegas . . . $3 to share?  Why is that?  It doesn’t cost you that much to wash an extra dish, and it saves you having to supply the requisite doggy bag for the unwary and uninitiated who ordered individual sandwiches.  Consider dropping that charge, but at least you’re not demanding cash and charging for refills, so that’s a plus over the original.

One other little quibble, but this time directed at the clientele.  Come on, people . . . breakfast?  Really?  At one of New York’s premiere deli’s?  You’re kidding, right?  I couldn’t believe the number of people taking up perfectly good (and very hard to get) table space, and then wasting it on an order of eggs and bacon, or French toast, or even toast with butter and jelly.  Puh-LEEZE, people.  That’s why there’s a Binion’s Horseshoe Breakfast Buffet, for cryin’ out loud.  Give up that table to somebody who knows what the heck they’re doing when they go to a New York-style deli.  Second worst offense?  Ordering a turkey sandwich.  Go with the Pastrami or the Corned Beef.

As for Joe’s, need I really say more?  Is there really a better dish than a plate of chilled, perfectly cooked and pre-cracked stone crab claws accompanied by that great mustard-infused rémoulade sauce?  I’d be hard pressed to come up with one.  Ursula accompanied her plate of claws with a great bowl of savory crab bisque, while I opted for a very tasty and satisfying wedge BLT salad (iceberg lettuce wedge with grape tomatoes, bacon, and bleu cheese crumbles).  The only real change I made to their recipe was that I substituted bleu cheese dressing for the usual Joe’s vinaigrette.

If you decide to try Joe’s do yourself a favor and call ahead for reservations.  And here’s a little tip for the socially conscious who don’t mind spending $25 for a cute little souvenir broach—those little silver- or gold-colored stone crab broaches you see the wait staff wearing?  Buy one.  Half the cost goes to an employee emergency fund.  I love an employer who goes out of his way to help his employees, and apparently Joe’s is one of those type establishments.  The anti-Walmart, if you will.

Below are some night shots of Las Vegas, as well as a quick snap I took of the Seattle Space Needle from the comfort of our bus.

One of our favorite Santa Fe gourmet dining experiences is The Old House inside the historic Eldorado Hotel & Spa.  We discovered this treasure many years ago, back when world-renown Chef Martin Rios headed the kitchen.  Indeed, this restaurant sparked our interest in wines when we selected an excellent Pinot Noir to go with our rack of lamb on our first visit there.  Martin has moved on to other culinary ventures in Santa Fe, but Executive Chef Anthony Smith still maintains excellent quality at reasonably affordable prices.

The wine this evening was one I’d never tried, Petite Petit 2009.  It’s an excellent blend of Petite Syrah and Petit Verdot that is much more complex and full-bodied than straight Petite Syrah.  I highly recommend this wine if you can find it.

The best deal in the house, as is usual for gourmet eateries, is of course the prix fixe menu.  Ursula selected a Caesar salad with white anchovies; miso glazed salmon served with baby bok choy, a wakami-sushi rice cake, and ginger vinaigrette; and for desert a chocolate lava cake.  I started with the Wedge—baby iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, pan-crisped pancetta, with a gorgonzola dressing.  My main course was the bistro steak with pomme frites, garlic spinach, and pan jus, and for desert I had an excellent crème brûlée.  Unfortunately, neither dessert lasted long enough to get photographed, but I did manage to capture the rest of the meal as well as some shots of the restaurant and its décor.

Here is a link to the current menu.

Try not to gain weight looking at the following photographs:

Ahhhh.  Santa Fe and Taos.  We make the journey to Santa Fe several times a year, and Taos perhaps once a year.  And never are we disappointed.  It’s like another world.  This year, for Father’s Day, Ursula took me to Taos, New Mexico, for some whitewater river rafting and dining at one of our favorite restaurants for traditional New Mexican cuisine—Orlando’s New Mexican Café.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and, after photographing the magnificent and rather intimidating Rio Grande Gorge, including from atop the unnerving Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (and, yeah, you can feel it shake when traffic goes by), we stopped at Orlando’s for dinner.  My entrée was the combination plate—a chicken taco made with a blue corn tortilla, cheese and onion enchilada with red sauce, a New Mexican-style red pork tamale, beans, and posole (hominy cooked in chili sauce).   Ursula had the shredded beef chimichanga, beans, and posole served with caribe sauce (a very spicy red sauce made from the entire chili pod, including the seeds and ribs) on the side.  Desert for me was apple pie à la mode, while Ursula opted for one of her favorites, the frozen avocado pie.

So, today’s photographs document the Rio Grande Gorge and dinner at Orlando’s.  Enjoy!