Matty M. shows off how the cool moves that help him dominate the dance floor serve him well in the kitchen.
Jackson Pollock inspired my dinner plate topped with a juicy burger, grilled peach, roasted potatoes and sweet corn dusted with cayenne pepper.
After halving the peaches, I dumped a big spoonful of brown sugar into the hollow and sprinkled ground ginger on top. Matty M. grilled them on the top rack of his BBQ until the brown sugar syrup started bubbling.
JP said he wanted to cook at home more. He's got the Monday-Tuesday shift and I've got the Wednesday-Thursday shift. The deal is that we have to cook only for one night during our shifts. For a recent turn, I marinated duck breast in balsamic vinegar and fried it in a pan with sliced onions. I also roasted julienned parsnips and carrots and sweetened couscous with dried cranberries and cashews. JP's light and bubbly prosecco paired perfectly with the summer meal.
A closeup of the duck
Before embarking on a road trip to Las Vegas, where I was scheduled to cover a week-long series of trade shows, JP and I stopped by Cafe Tropicale for a quick lunch. I ordered the restaurant's special, a Cuban sandwich stuffed with ham, beef, pickles and a gooey sauce. I saved half of the sandwich for the a stop at the California-Nevada border.
I love bathrooms with his-and-hers sections. Here, I am photographing the sinks in my room at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa.
Located more than 10 miles northwest of the Vegas Strip, in a planned community called Summerlin near the nature retreat that inspired its name and decor, Red Rock has plenty of land to use. The rooms were the most modern and spacious of all the hotels I've stayed at in Sin City. Since the W Hotel recently scrapped plans to open an outpost there, Red Rock will be the only game in town with its straight-lined aesthetics, somber colors and mixture of natural resources and man-made materials. Although the light burned out in the toilet room, the flat-panel TV seemed to work fine above the marble bathtub.
Triple George Grill has a clubby feel that lets you forget you're eating next door to the rowdy Hogs & Heifers bar.
This is the beefsteak tomato salad, dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette and chopped red onions.
My petit filet was hardly little.
Medium rare, just how I like it.
JP reflects while we gaze at his reflection sipping wine.
The baked mac and cheese was soo gooey and yummy. Most restaurants these days opt for white cheeses like gruyere and raclette to transform the white trash pasta dish into a gourmet treat. Triple George Grill wisely stuck with basic cheddar.
Neither JP nor I finished our steaks. So we asked for a takeout box. Realizing that we didn't have cutlery in the hotel room, I sliced my steak into strips before packing it. JP laughed at me. But I laughed at him the next morning when he grabbed his chunk of leftover stuck and bit into it as if it were an apple.
The view from the Wynn's 18th floor
I liked Red Rock's his-and-hers bathroom better. My room reminded me of an upscale Golden Girls resort.
JP dressed for the sorbet colors and Pop Art flowers decorating the room. Here, he's taking a photo of me snapping a shot of him.
The table setting for Thomas Keller's Bouchon in the Venetian Resort Casino
The tools for the seafood appetizer
This is the petit plateau. Imagine what the grand plateau would look like. We did add a half dozen oysters to our order.
Oysters, clams and boiled shrimp make my plate smile.
JP had the trout.
I had the gigot d'agneau. Half of our table ordered the lamb. It figures that we're reporters who like wolfing down cute, furry creatures.
JP treated me to a snack of oysters at Joe's in the Caesars Forum Shops after I finished an afternoon of reporting.
The peanut butter pie was insanely fluffy. Nothing stuck to the roof of my mouth. The Oreo pie crust added enough weight for the delicious mousse-like filling.
I saw this table setting three times during my stay at the Wynn. I'm not a big fan of Chinese food because it's so similar to Vietnamese food. And if I'm going to eat Chinese, I might as well dine on my peeps' cooking. But I love dim sum. Red 8 in the Wynn offered a curtailed but scrumptious list of dim sum treats.
JP said he is a pork bun man. So we got him some.
From left to right, Chinese broccoli sauteed in garlic, deep-fried yuba crepe stuffed with mushrooms, plump and shrimpy har gow and a bun filled with BBQ pork
Sticky rice steamed in a lotus leaf
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