Tag Archives: Las Vegas

EATING LAS VEGAS: Taking out some Memphis-style trash ribs…

Now, I might never have wandered into Virgil’s Real BBQ if the In-n-Out Burger across the way wasn’t closed for U.S. Thanksgiving, but I’m sure glad I did… You KNOW I’m always down for some southern BBQ, and the BBQ Combo is the way to go, bro! You get your choice of two meats and two sides, and they even throw in a mini little cornbread nugget for free! Now, I had to go with the sliced Texas beef brisket — dude, this is body by Texas beef brisket — but when I saw the trash ribs, I figured I would try those, too…

Now, according to Virgil, “Real BBQ” is smothered in sauce. But for these chewy little spare ribs, the BBQ sauce adds a nice little kick, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Now, for me Texas brisket only needs salt ‘n pepper — and the fattier the better. So I’m a little disappointed at how saucy this brisket was. Still nice ‘n tender, but I’d say this brisket is about as Texas as Sam Hunt…

Virgil’s side game is pretty solid. You can’t go wrong with Mac ‘n cheese, and the collard greens come with bacon — everything’s better with bacon, bro!!!

Of course, you KNOW I still had room for dessert… We’re talking banana pudding, with big chunks of bananas, creamy pudding, crunchy cookie crumbs, and a handful of shortbread cookies, thrown in whole. Dude, this dessert is soooo bananas…and bananas is good!!!!

Washed it all down with a few Moose Drool Brown Ales, coming straight outta Montana from Big Sky Brewing. Nice, rich flavour, sorta like Newcastle Brown Ale, but not too heavy at 5%. Then again, I guess 5% is pretty strong for American beer!!!

EATING LAS VEGAS: Waffle Me Up, Before You Go Go…

If you like KISS, Guy Fieri and sweaty shirtless dudes, the Rio is the place to be, bro! Now, I didn’t stay here, but since these are a few of my favourite things, I did make a couple trips down Flamingo Ave during my time in Vegas. Another thing worth checking out at the Rio is Hash House a Go Go, this funky little diner serving up comfort food classics straight outta Indiana — like these Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles, son!

What we’ve got here are two fried chicken breasts served up on a tower of waffle power, with a couple random fruits for a garnish or something. But let’s stick to the good stuff. Chicken is super-tender, with a nice, savoury seasoning, and the waffles have bacon baked right in — that’s like a game-winning triple play in Flavourtown!!!

Dude, this is a breakfast that eats like a meal, bro! I might hafta play an extra round of KISS glow-in-the-dark mini golf just to work this all off…

EATING LAS VEGAS: Craft beer ‘n burgers you can trust!

The Palazzo shopping mall at The Venetian is home to high-end stores like Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors — so it hardly seems like the place you’d find a craft brewpub. But tucked into a corner on the second floor, Trustworthy Brewing Co. is cranking up the classic rock and serving up a dozen original brews, along with a handful of guest taps… I’d buy that any day, bro!!!

We’re starting off with an Emilia’s First Peach Saison, served up in a big ol 24 oz beer hall mug. This beer is definitely pretty peachy, and at 6.2%, it kinda sneaks up on you a bit…

We’re pairing it with a warm, soft ‘n delicious Bavarian style pretzel, with not one, not two, but three different dips to choose from. The Gruyere cheese spread was nice n creamy, while the stout mustard had a nice little kick. But what makes it is the amber ale beer cheese — dude, this is body by beer cheese!!!

We’re following that up with one of the guest taps, a Tenaya Creek Fruit Punch. This German-style wheat beer has plenty of pucker, and tastes like a whole buncha fruits mixed together as opposed to just one. You definitely get fruit punch face from this one…

Now, I gotta say, their Hickory Burger was quite tasty, with an American Wagyu patty and some nice, peppery bacon. I really like how you get bacon in every bite. But if there’s one thing missing, it’s that I didn’t taste any crispy fried onion strings. I mean, it’s right there on the menu, so…

EATING LAS VEGAS: Hell’s Kitchen ain’t a bad place to beef…

Now, I’m not big on celebrity chef restaurants — unless that chef’s name is Guy Fieri. But Gordon Ramsay pretty much owns the Vegas Strip, what with Gordon Ramsay Burger, Gordon Ramsay Steak, Gordon Ramsay’s British Pub, Gordon Ramsay’s Fish n Chips — and his OG joint, Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen. This place is so hot, I could only get a table at 11 am on a Sunday… So I guess I can pull myself away from football for an hour or two and eat here?

Gordon’s signature dish is the Beef Wellington, which is served medium rare on a bed of mashed potatoes with brown gravy. It’s no Beef Short Rib Wellington at BlueBlood, but it was still probably the best lunch I had in Vegas.

When it comes to dessert, the sticky toffee pudding is almost as famous as the Beef Wellington. Warm, soft and not too rich, it goes great with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Washed it all down with a North Coast Scrimshaw Pilsner from California. This old-school, Euro-style pils was equal parts hoppy and refreshing. Oh, and I was in and out of there in less than 40 minutes, so I barely missed a quarter of the NFL action!!!

EATING LAS VEGAS: Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House is kicking it up a notch… BAM!

Now, I don’t always wear a button-down shirt to dinner (unless it’s a bowling shirt, bro!), so when I do, it’s gotta be because I am dining somewhere legendary. We’re talking Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, deep in the belly of the MGM Grand, where they’re serving up real-deal dishes like crab cakes, baked lobster and even a 16 oz prime ribeye… But I had to start with a dish that’s got the man’s name on it: Emeril’s New Orleans Barbeque Shrimp.

Dude, these shrimp were sooo outta bounds, bro! Nice and firm with some char from the grill, served with a brown gravy that kicked it up a notch. I figured I probably couldn’t just pick em up and eat em in a classy joint like this, so I cut em up with a knife and fork — some of these babies were big enough for three pieces!

Up next, we’ve got some more shrimp — along with some little chunks of homemade andouille sausage in the Carolina Gold Jambalya. This jumbo gulf shrimp is a whole ‘nother animal, though — tender, juicy, cooked to perfection. And the sausage adds a nice little bite. I was worried this dish might be spicy, but while it does have a bit of a kick, it was actually more temperature hot than face-melting…

While they do have a much, much longer wine list, Emeril’s also has a few decent craft beers on tap. This one’s called Bluffing Isn’t Weisse, a nice, fruity Hefeweizen from Vegas’ own Bad Beat Brewing. Dude, this beer goes nicely with shrimp and has subtle notes of bananas…and bananas is good!!!

Speaking of bananas: When it comes to dessert, I had to go with Emeril’s Banana Cream Pie. (Again, it’s got his name on it, and all…) And man, was that ever the right choice. Bananas were perfectly mushy, piled high with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top, and caramel drizzle on the plate. I think this dessert was meant for at least two people…but you KNOW I polished it all off myself, bro!!!!

EATING LAS VEGAS: Losing my In-n-Out virginity with a 4×4 burger!

In-n-Out Burger might be one of the most iconic burger joints in America…but we still don’t have any of them anywhere close to Canada, so when I found out there was one just off the Vegas strip, about a 15-minute walk from my hotel, you KNOW I had to check it out, bro!

And here on Triple B, we’re all about go big or go home. So while the Double Double might be the most popular item on the menu, I’m doubling down on that with a 4×4, son!!!!

Now, when I ordered the burger, they told me it comes with 4 slices of cheese, and asked if that was OK. We’re not big on substitutions here on Triple B, so I just went with it. But it turns out that’s a LOT of cheese — even with the burger paper soaking up some of it, there was still all kinds of cheese oozing off this bad boy!

Oh, and I also ordered it Animal Style, cuz that’s the way to do it, apparently. I can’t say I noticed that there was mustard grilled into the meat, but the pickles, grilled onions and extra spread made things super messy — it almost needed an actual diaper instead of just a burger diaper, bro!!!

On the other hand, I’m not so sure that Animal Style goes great on fries. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve eaten some ridiculously overloaded fries in my day…but there was just so much of that signature sauce on here, and it doesn’t taste as good on cheese fries as it does on a burger IMO.

Now my biggest surprise was how small this thing actually was — it easily fit into my mouth without too much smooshing — and it was pretty filling, but not uncomfortably so. The second biggest surprise was the price… Dude, a Quad Quad will only set ya back $7.55 and this whole meal, with Animal Fries and a drink was less than 15 dollars. You’re not getting a deal like that anywhere on the Strip, son!!!!

EATING LAS VEGAS: Trash can nachos & cheeseburger tacos @ Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho

Now, I had already been to Guy Fieri’s Las Vegas Kitchen & Bar, but when I heard that he opened this funky Mexican joint at the Rio, you KNOW I had to check it out, bro! Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho is only open for dinner, and they don’t take reservations, so I totally had to be first in line…well, actually third in line, but good enough?

I walk into this joint right when they open the doors to the tune of “Breaking the Chains” by Dokken, followed by “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” so I already knew this was gonna be a good night!!! Soundtrack is all 80’s metal — Judas Priest, Tesla, Accept, Quiet Riot… Better start charging me rent, cuz I think I might stick around!!!!!!!

Of course, the main reason to come here is for the Trash Can Nachos, which come inside an actual trash can (or at least a coffee can; I ordered the small version). These chips are topped with beans, jalapeños, pickled onions, pico de gallo and two types of cheese — cotija and queso — plus you can pay extra to add meat (I went with carne asada). Now, while its presentation is TheBomb.com, you end up with some chips that get all the goodies, and others that get nothing at all. Hey, these are no Sneaky Dee’s nachos, but still not bad, bros!!!

Up next, we’ve got some cheeseburger tacos. Who else but Guy Fieri would combine cheeseburgers and tacos, bro??? Ok, so these are basically your typical ground beef tacos, topped with a whole lotta queso — but I’d still put it on a flip-flop!!!

Of course, even Guy Fieri knows that no Mexican meal would be complete without churros, bro! And man, these were some of the best churros I’ve ever had (the Mexican chocolate sauce was 2 legit 2 quit!) but there were enough churros here to feed a family of cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis… You KNOW I still scarfed em all down, though!!!!!

Washed it all down with a couple pints of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. Nice ‘n hoppy, pretty heavy (7%) — soaks up all that Mexican food nicely! I almost died in my pants on the way back to my hotel, though… 😮

EATING LAS VEGAS: The buffet to end all buffets…

Dude, now that the USA is finally letting fully vaxxed Canucks back in, it’s time for Triple B to go on our first Flavourtown Roadtrip since 2019! And what better place than Sin City, baby!? We’ve crammed two weeks’ worth of high-end eating into the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend…and we’ll be rolling it out on the blog over the next two weeks, bro!!!!

Now, the last time I was in town, I tried to get a table at the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace — but even at 9 am on a Sunday, the line was over 90 minutes long (I ended up at the Flamingo instead). So this time, making a reservation was one of the first things I did when I booked this trip — 5:30 pm was the latest time they had available. But hey, that just gives me more time to digest?

With international food stations representing Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Middle Eastern, Italian and Mexican food, along with roast beef and turkey carving stations, a seafood bar and an entire section of desserts, you can’t possibly eat it all in 90 minutes. In fact, you’ll probably fill up before your time’s up. Me, I was outta there in an hour…but not before polishing off five plates of food.

Plate 1: BBQ pork, fried rice, kalbi beef, Wagyu hot dog, pork skewers, crab rangoon, lechon

The Asian stations were the closest to where I was sitting, so I started off there — and probably grabbed too much pork, what with the pork skewers, BBQ pork and Filipino lechon. All that was missing was the bacon, bro!

Plate 2 (right): Pepperoni pizza, pozole, cheese tortellini, pretzels, blue cheese, pita bread

Now what sets this buffet apart are the side quests — dishes that already come pre-plated on their own little plates, so you can’t really pile them up on top of your plate with all the other stuff on it. So that’s how I ended up bringing two plates back to my table at the same time…

Plate 3: falafel, chips n guac, Mexican street corn

Of the side quests, the highlight had to be the Mexican corn station. They had a guy roasting corn on a spinning grill, and topping it to order with your choice of toppings — I just went with butter and Mexican cheese, which is really all you need…

Plate 4: Prime rib, stuffing, potato salad, shrimp, mussels

Now, even though they had turkey, brisket and ribs at the carving stations, it wouldn’t be a buffet for me without prime rib, bro! And while there were plenty of people who pretty much just filled up on crab legs, I didn’t even take one. (Gimme crab cakes over crab legs any day!!!) But I did make this a surf ‘n turf plate by grabbing some shrimp and mussels, though…

Dessert: confetti cupcake, red velvet cake, macaroons, pumpkin pie

Now, at this point I was getting pretty full. I had to limit myself to only five desserts, bro! Man, I actually think I set a record for steps on my Apple Watch that day…but let’s just say I didn’t lose any weight after this buffet. 😉

Eating Las Vegas 2016

So, I went to Vegas last weekend for a Blue Oyster Cult concert, and ended up spending so much money that I had to pawn the Camaro, bro! And no, I didn’t lose a fortune playing strip poker…I spent it all on food, son!

I did have some great eats, though. Here are some of the funky, hometown joints I hit up:

So you know we’re starting this culinary adventure where all the magic happens, Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen + Bar. Guy’s kitchen in NYC was kinda crappy…but Vegas is his home away from home, so you know it’s gotta be good.

We’re starting things off with the Vegas Fries, which are really more Buffalo fries than anything. These crispy spuds are drenched in hot sauce and smothered in blue cheese, and then you’ve got another shot of hot sauce to pour over top, along with some ranch dressing and shaved carrots, you know, for some calcium. Lemme tell ya, these spicy spuds will sure wake you up in the morning! I think I musta chugged 7 glasses of ice tea along with this…it’s even hotter than Guy’s Buffalo wing sauce!

They call this sandwich the Mayor of Flavortown, and it’s sure got my vote. Thick slices of beefy pastrami piled on top of a well-done burger. Call your mommy, that’s a lotta pastrami! A bit of slaw and fried onion rings on top with fries on the side. And since it doesn’t come with the sandwich, I asked for a side order of Donkey Sauce:

What the heck is donkey sauce? Well, it’s basically a paprika aioli–super thick with a little kick. I dipped it in fries, slathered some on pastrami and even dunked a bit of burger in it…but I probably wouldn’t put it on a flip flop.

Man, after eating all this I actually didn’t have room for dessert. I guess the pretzel potato chip cheesecake will hafta wait till next time…

So we’re hanging out at Naked City Pizza, this funky little dive on Paradise, right by UNLV and across from every gay bar in town–including the one that was on Bar Rescue and the owner didn’t like it so he shut it down.

Now, I don’t think the name of this place has anything to do with nudity–one thing’s for sure, they’re serving up some righteous pies that are all dressed up and about to go straight down my pie hole!

Now, they call this one The Stinger, and it’ll really leave a mark. This pie is packed with both beef and Buffalo-style chicken, along onions, hot peppers and jalapeños. They say it’s a Buffalo tradition, but I’ve never witnessed anything like this in Wide Right City!

Cuz yeah, the size you see here is their smallest. They actually call it the Wee size, and I don’t like to order anything with such a dainty name…but that’s definitely enough food for at least two people!

Of course, you can’t have Buffalo cuisine without chicken, and while they do have wings on the menu, I like eating things I can dip into other things…so I went with the Buffalo chicken dip instead. This cheese is stuck together so tight, you gotta fight it with a fork and knife, and they give you enough garlic breads for three people. I probably wouldda filled up just on bread, if they didn’t bring out my pizza pie just two minutes later. And even then, I still had to take some back to my place…

So, we’re hanging out at Pink Taco, this funky fresh Mexican joint at the Hard Rock Casino. This place is serving up every kind of Mexican food you can think of…and even a few that you can’t, like this Sonoran street dog.

Ok, let’s break it down. The dog is thick and juicy, you’ve got a nice crunch from the bacon. The jalapeño relish is sweet, not too spicy, and there’s a nice bite from the caramelized onions. Then on the side, you’ve got these crispy garlic fries, which go great with the plantain ketchup. This dish should be illegal it’s so good–one of the top five hot dogs I’ve ever had!

Of course, it ain’t Vegas without the buffets. I was gonna go to the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, but when I got there at 10 am, the lineup was already 90 minutes long. I wouldn’t line up that long for front-row Lynyrd Skynyrd tickets, son, so I headed across the street to the Flamingo for their Paradise Garden feast.

Man, this place has everything–a pizza station, fresh-sliced bacon and sausage, unlimited mimosas and bloody marys, even a salad bar, in case you’re into that. And at 25 bucks after tax, it’s half the price of those other guys.

Plate 1: fried chicken, eggs Benny, pizza, pancakes, freshly sliced bacon

Plate 2: Tacos, corn on the cob, country biscuit, fried rice, mac n cheese and a green bean that fell onto my plate by accident

Plate 3: smoked salmon, fresh-cut sausage, scrambled eggs, nachos, mini burritos

Now, after this most scrumptious feast, I bet you’re asking “Could he possibly have room for dessert?” The answer, of course, is yes–but this piece of custardy chocolate cake oughtta do’er.

Top 5 Food Cities: 4. Las Vegas

Check out my latest Vegas adventures from 2021!

Like they say, what happens in Vegas makes you 20 pounds heavier. You can pretty much find every kind of food you can imagine, not to mention some of the best buffets in the known universe. I once ate so much I almost pulled a George Brett on the monorail. I mean, uh, I almost saw some other guy pull a George Brett on the monorail…

Anyhoo, when I hit up Sin City, I drop so much on food that I don’t have enough money left to gamble, bro! Whether it’s German schnitzel, fish tacos, Irish nachos or Bud Light Limearita in a mason jar, I don’t go home hungry, that’s for sure. I even survived the Heart Attack Grill!

This German beerhall used to be right across the street from the KISS mini golf course—until KISS moved it to the Rio.

But who needs KISS when you’ve got chicken schnitzel, bro!?

When I’m in Vegas, I like to start my day off right—with a deep-fried ham ‘n egg French toast sandwich.

Where else are you gonna get a real-deal Rueben at a country bar in a casino, bro?

If you can believe it, this is the small order of Irish nachos. The XL could probably feed a whole hurling team!

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