Frankie's Tiki Room - Las Vegas

I love Tiki bars, always have and always will. And I really like dive bars as well. So naturally I really love dive Tiki bars, and Frankie's Tiki Room fills the bill perfectly.

Frankie's Tiki Room

If you click on the picture above you can go to the Frankie's Tiki Room website which, as you can imagine, is quite interesting.

Frankie's Tiki Room is not somewhere your average visitor to Las Vegas is likely to stumble upon. On the other hand, if a tourist did find this place, they most probably were stumbling. It is out where the locals live and play, and it is kind of a non-descript white building with a small parking lot next to a gas station. The reason I talked my buddies into going was that I had seen an ad in Modern Drunkard Magazine, the magazine my brother-in-law bought me (along with a subscription) for my birthday.

Modern Drunkard Magazine is a mighty fine read. Click on the picture below for a link to their website, you won't be disappointed.

But I digress. As any good dive bar should be, this place was amazingly dark. When you first walked in you were, for all purposes, blind. There were a couple of small televisions playing cuts from some of the strangest movies I have never seen. They looked like they ranged from the 1930's to the 1960's and the common theme was, well, that is a very good question. Things vaguely Tiki, I guess.

But what they considered vaguely Tiki seemed to range from Zombie movies, very appropriate, to Hawaiian dancers, also appropriate, to what looked like an early version of Charlie's Angels. A very early version. Scene's from I Married A Genie would have fit in, somehow. Right next to the scenes from I Married A Zombie.

The drinks ranged from the standard dive bar beer and a shot to the standard Tiki fare such as Mai Tai's, Navy Grog's, and Zombies, to their more eclectic Tiki creations such as the Green Gasser and the Bearded Clam.

Bearded Clam Glass


I stuck with the Zombies, which were very good indeed. The bartender said it was someone's original 1956 recipe, and I have no reason not to believe her. They were quite tasty and very rummy.

The More Standard Tiki Fare


My buddies all stuck to the standard dive-bar drinks, mostly Rum and Cokes. No sense of adventure. I was also the only one to buy the must-have Frankie's Tiki Room calendar.

How About A Date


Frankie's Tiki Room was a great little find and I want to thank Modern Drunkard Magazine for bringing it to my attention. If you ever get to Las Vegas I would strongly recommend that you make the extra effort necessary to visit this place.



After we left Frankie's we headed to the Double Down Saloon. Both Frankie's Tiki Room and the Double Down Saloon are owned by the same person, group, or whatever. There is also a Double Down Saloon in the East Village in Manhattan and it too is part of the same group. I will certainly make a point of getting there.

I will cover The Double Down Saloon and the rest of my trip, if it all fits, tomorrow. Time to watch some football and then meet The Mysterious Chinese Woman and a couple of her Mysterious Sisters for dinner sometime between the end of the Jets game and the start of the Giants game.

Back From Vegas

I just got back from Las Vegas and will be posting about my trip tomorrow.

Have you ever noticed that when you are on an airplane and the pilot makes an announcement that starts "Well folks..." whatever follows is never good? Luckily this time it was simply heavy turbulence as we started our descent into JFK. But it was HEAVY turbulence. Actually, if you have the stomach for it, turbulence can be kind of exciting, like a roller coaster.

The Knicks have now won four in a row and are talking about the play-offs. Hope blooms eternal, even for a team with an 8 - 15 record.

Birthday Blow-Out

Ah, birthdays. They only come once a year and there is a good reason for that. I kind of forget what it is, though. Oh yeah, if they came more than once year we would age more quickly.

The day started out with mimosas and a bagel with lox and raw onions. One of my favorites and the bagel shop just down the block and across the street from me makes some of the best.

Then later, after boring the Mysterious Chinese Woman to tears by playing about a hundred birthday related songs (thank you Rhapsody) we headed out to lunch at the Mesa Grill in Manhattan. Quite a bit smaller than the one in Las Vegas, but every bit as nice with friendly service to boot.

Mesa Grill


I started out with a Mescal Margrita at the bar. Not too bad, but a tad sweet for my taste. I would have asked the bartender to make it with just squeezed lime juice instead of the mixture that they use, but she was really busy. I just didn't feel like it would be appropriate, although I am sure she would have accomodated me. She was very friendly.

Me And My Margarita


After a short wait at the bar, which I quite enjoyed, we were seated at our table.

Beauty And The Beast



So Many Decisions


I have always liked the cowboy upholstery here. I wish I could buy a couch like this. The Mysterious Chinese Woman, on the other hand, didn't share this opinion.

I chatted a bit with the new manager here, Claudia. She hadn't been to the Las Vegas restaurant yet, but I think she said she was slated for a visit.

Bar Man And Claudia


The Mysterious Chinese Woman settled on the Red Snapper Filet done up in Bobby Flay's typical Southwestern style.

Looks Yummy


And the Mysterious Chinese Woman assured me that it was every bit as good as it looked.

Me, there was no question. I went for the rib eye.

In All Its Glory


About To Dig In


The steak was every bit as good as the one I had in Vegas. This time I ordered it medium instead of medium rare and it was done to perfection. Now I will have to say that the steak in Vegas was larger, but the one here was more than I could eat, so size wasn't really the issue.

After our meal we went back to the bar to have one for the road. The couple who was sitting next to us while we ate and who were very friendly stopped at the bar as well and bought me a birthday drink. That was nice of them.

The bartender, Susan, finally had time to pose for a picture. I have to say, she was one of the most efficient bartenders I have ever seen. She kept everything humming and made all the drinks for the bar as well as for the entire restaurant. Plus, a few people were eating at the bar so she helped them with their selections and served up the food when it was ready. My hat is off to her.

Susan The Efficient


We then headed back to Brooklyn where we stopped into Pete's Waterfront Ale House for what turned out to be a few beers and a shot of Sam's Apple concoction. Goes down good on a chilly day and went down mighty fine even on a warm day like this one was.

Beer For My Men And Whiskey For The Horse


You know it is a special day when Gaid comes out from behind the bar to give you a hug.

Gaid And Bar Man


I think he really wanted to hug the Mysterious Chinese Woman

Plenty To Go Around


My friend Arden also stopped by to say hello. You may remember he is the one who had the photography exhibit at the art show in Red Hook.

Arden And Bar Man


Even Jim, the most excellent cook, popped out of his kitchen to say hello.

Jim Out Of His Lair


Quite frankly, my day should have ended at Pete's. But one thing Bar Man has little of is common sense. For some reason I decided it would be a mighty fine idea to end my day with a beer and a shot at one of the best dive bars in Brooklyn. Although, truth be known, it really isn't that much of a dive bar anymore. Oh, the bar is the same, it is the patrons who have changed. I think shutting down the Brooklyn House Of Detention may have cut into their business a bit. And with the no smoking laws even dive bars seem more upscale somehow. No kids in this one, yet.

Montero Beckons


I think I was finally starting to feel the effects of my rather long day. The guy just behind me was in Pete's while I was there and after chatting a bit I convinced him that he too should experience Montero.

Bar Man On His Last Legs


Somehow the Mysterious Chinese Woman seemed to be holding up much better than me.

Eternally Perky


And, finally, it was time to wend our way home. Where did the day go?

Holiday Spirits Abound


All in all it was a mighty fine day. And there was still a bit of Cavas Hill Cava left over in the refrigerator so I could kind of continue my celebration this morning.

Oh, and both the Knicks and the Nets won yesterday. The odds of that happening are pretty remote. Especially since the Knicks were playing a decent team, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Nets hadn't won a game all year.

Observations On Turning 65

You start getting discounts that you could have used when you were much younger and didn't have any money.

Heading out to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for my birthday lunch, then on to Pete's Waterfront Ale House to harass my favorite bartender, Gaid.

Will post more tomorrow, with pictures, I hope.

Listening to Warren Zevon's Studebaker. I had a 1950 Studebaker that I entered into a destruction derby. Came in third and sold the car for junk on the spot afterwards.

Confusion Reigns

Just got this in my email:

FIRST FRIDAY Holiday BLUES SHOW
Featuring
BLACK COFFEE BLUES BAND
dec 5th 11PM

Waterfront Ale House
540 Second Ave
New York
212-696-4104

Only problem is that Friday is December 4th, not December 5th.

Addendum - Just received a message from Sam of Pete's, he said the Black Coffee Blues Band will, indeed, be playing tomorrow, December 4th. Sam blamed the typo on too much eggnog. If you have ever had Sam's eggnog (and if you haven't, you really should) you would understand how that could happen.

How Generous

I just received an email from Verizon notifying me of a change to my terms and conditions.

This is the change:

1. If you are on a term plan and Verizon ceases offering service to your location prior to the end of your term commitment, you will not have to pay an Early Termination Fee.

Now all that I could think was that before the change, even if Verizon terminated service to your area, you would be charged an Early Termination Fee. I think the change is good, just surprised that it was actually needed.

Just so you know, I have Verizon DSL, land line, and wireless service and am generally very pleased with my service and their customer service. I just thought that change was kind of funny.

Slow day, obviously. I need to get out more. Friday is my birthday and the Mysterious Chinese Woman is taking me out for dinner at some secret location. That should give me something to post about.

Oh, for anyone wanting to send me a birthday card, my address is:

96 Schermerhorn St. Apt. 2A
Brooklyn, NY 11201

I had a nice several days out at my sister-in-law's place for Thanksgiving, spread out over four days. Went out to restaurants three times and had a huge Thanksgiving dinner. No pictures though. I feel kind of awkward taking pictures to post when I am at family get-togethers.

But They Love Him In Tanzania

Well, as you probably know, the Knicks did pass on Allen Iverson. However, if you are ever in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, you might be able to pick up an Iverson Grizzlies jersey.

It seems as though the Grizzlies were going to hand out 3000 Iverson jeresys at a game, but after they cut him it didn't seem, shall we say, appropriate. Instead they were shipped to the birthplace of their rookie center, Hasheem Thabeet, where they were handed out to improvished children.

Now, if those kids had access to ebay, they could probably sell them for a nice chunk of change.

Hey, I wonder how Tiger's wife was going to pull him out of the back window of a Cadillac SUV, even if she did break the window out with a golf club. Or was it both windows with two golf clubs?

I see where Sprewell, infamous for saying he wouldn't play for the Timberwolves for a paltry couple of million a year because he had to feed his family, is about to lose his mansion in Purchase, New York for falling behind in his mortgage. Last year he lost his yacht. Maybe he should have kept his day job.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did. But then I started the celebration on Tuesday afternoon and didn't get back home until last night.

Oh yeah, Brett Favre is having the best start that he has ever had in his entire NFL career, and he is currently the highest rated quarterback in the NFL.

Just thinking, last year the Jets released Pennington and he then went on to lead Miami to a conference title and a spot in the playoffs. This year the Jets released Favre and he then went on to lead the Vikings to....? And it isn't like the Jets even get anything for these guys.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and congratulations Joe Mauer, AL MVP.

Go Twins.

I Can't Help Myself

Okay, I know, no more banging on the Knicks. But when the New York Daily News starts printing jokes about them, well, I felt compelled to share one with you.

How many Knicks does it take to change a tire?

Just one, unless it is a blow-out, then the whole team contributes.

Hey, I didn't make it up.

Oh, the Knicks passed on The Answer. Now, of course, everyone is second guessing that decision. Just two days ago, though, everyone was saying what a mistake it would have been to get Iverson. You just can't win. One thing, Iverson would have put a few more fannies in the seats.

I wonder how many people will show up for this afternoon's game against the Nets. If they were playing in Madison Square Garden it would be announced as a sell-out even if the place was half empty. It is kind of fun to watch how they manipulate the camera angles to avoid showing empty seats.

Making a Muffaletta New Orleans style sandwich (they serve many) and some Glogg for an indoor tailgate party tomorrow. Maybe Rice Krispy squares too, if I feel ambitious.

One thing about this afternoon's Knicks/Nets game, someone does have to win.

Did you hear about the new Knicks cologne? You splash it on and the other guy scores.

It's Inevitable

With basketball's biggest headcase, Starbury, out of the game, isn't it inevitable that the Knicks will make a play for the biggest one still in the game?

Let's all put our hands together and welcome Allen Iverson.

Okay, nothing official yet, but, if I was a betting man...

Redskins Safe

Phew, the Washington Redskins can keep their name:

"Supreme Court declines to take Redskins' naming case Native American activists had claimed that team's nickname is so offensive that it does not deserve trademark protection."

I wonder if they will go after Redskin Peanuts now.

Hey, I know, I promised not to go on about the Knicks anymore, but I had to laugh at a New York Daily News article that referred to the New York Zombies. I guess with Curry returning to "action" that might be appropriate. Curry kind of moves like a zombie, and not one of those fast ones, either. Kind of a "Night Of The Living Dead" type of movement. Actually, with his history of injuries, Curry is kind of like the zombie who falls into the sugar mill in "White Zombie," one of the best zombie movies ever made.

Too Hard On The Knicks??

There are some of my readers who think that I am, perhaps, a bit too hard on the Knicks. Well, with last night's loss to the Warriors the Knicks now have the worst start in franchise history. That is right, never in the history of the Knicks have they started out 1 and 9. Oh, and did I tell you that the Jazz will get the Knicks 2010 first round draft pick? Think about that, Isiah and company gave up the Knicks 2010 first round draft pick, among other things, for a guy who isn't even playing in the NBA anymore; the self-proclaimed "best point guard in the game," Mr. Starbury.

A small consolation is that Isiah Thomas is already getting booed at FIU and there were chants of "Fire Isiah!" after they lost their opener to Monmouth 99 to 70.

As a bonus, a couple of Stephon Marbury quotes:

"I'm telling you what it is: I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA. I don't need anybody else to tell me that."

"Don't get me wrong -- I love Jason Kidd. He's a great point guard," Marbury said. "(But) how am I comparing myself to him when I think I'm the best point guard to play basketball? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, how can I sit here and compare myself to somebody if I already think I'm the best?"

Oh yeah, he made those comments in January, 2005 - that year the Knicks went 33 and 49. Still, that was better than the next year when they were an incredible 23 and 59. Imagine that, and with the best point guard in the game on the team. Oh, yeah, and after improving to a merely miserable 33 - 49 season we managed to have the same 23 and 59 record the next season. And all with the same self-proclaimed best point guard to play basketball.

Did I tell you that those two 23 - 59 seasons were the worst two seasons in Knick's history? At least up until this year.

Okay, I am over it now, really, I am.

Fans Must Wake Up???

According to Rex Ryan, head coach of the Jets, the fans need to wake up and cheer louder to help their team win. That's right, we need to be prideful because this the fan's football team. The fact that they are 1 and 4 over their last 5 games should have nothing to do with a certain lack of enthusiasm. Personal seating licenses and the promise of higher ticket prices should have nothing to do with fan loyalty.

Anyway, I decided to submit a Letter to the Editor of the New York Daily News which published several articles and a back page headline about Ryan's ravings. I thought I would share it with you.

Dear Editor,

Jets coach Ryan says fans must wake up in order to save the Jets season? Give me a break. I have been going to Jets games and cheering them on since back when they played at Shea Stadium. We had a regular tailgate group that went to all the games. Then the Jets limited the parking so our group could no longer tailgate together. Then they wanted to hit me with a $15,000 a seat PSL fee and said they would raise my ticket prices from $80 a game to $140 a game. Guess what, I no longer go to Jets games and am no longer a die-hard fan.

Funny how Jets management wants you to cheer the team when what you really want to do is scream in frustration, not only at their poor play, but also at their poor management decisions and total disregard for their fans. This is one fan who did wake up.

And don't even get me started on the Knicks. I used to have season tickets for them as well. Don't get me wrong, I don't abandon a team just because they have a bad year or two. But when teams seem to have a total disregard for their fans ($15,000 for the right to buy tickets) or their management seems to be totally imcompetent (the Jazz will get the Knicks first round draft pick this year, thank you Isiah, we really needed Starbury) then I will walk away.

Ah, it is a chilly, overcast, damp day so a good rant kind of heats up the blood. If the letter actually gets published, unlikely, I will be sure to let you know.

Yummy Pork Parts

Monday, it being a nice sunny and fairly warm day, the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I decided to do somthing a little bit different. We went to the Chinatown in Queens. Usually we go to the one in Manhattan that we can walk to, if we are feeling ambitious. To get to the one in Queens is a bit more of a trip involving a couple of subways. First a train to Grand Central, then a switch to the train out to Flushing, Queens.

We were a bit disappointed, this being the first time either of us had been there. It is, supposedly, bigger than the one in Manhattan, but it is not nearly as picturesque. Much more of a commercial looking area with a heavy Asian influence. I guess that is because it is newer and doesn't have all of the neat little nooks and crannies like the older one in Manhattan.

Anyway, we didn't stay too long, just took a little walk around and stopped at kind of a neat place for lunch.

Chao Zhou Restaurant


There is nothing very fancy about Chao Zhou Restaurant, kind of a cafeteria look to it. But it was doing a nice little business and, always a plus, almost everyone in there was Chinese. It looked like a place where a lot of the people who worked in the area stopped for lunch.

The Usual Crowd


The prices were very reasonable, a lot of $5 lunch specials, things like bitter melon over rice with your choice of beef, chicken, shrimp or sliced pork and garlic leaf with preserved meat over rice. Things that the Mysterious Chinese Woman said were typical peasant food. They also had the usual stuff like sweet and sour pork and quite a few fried noodle and rice noodle dishes.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman had a healthy looking bowl of noodles with vegetables of some kind.

Eating Healthy


Needless to say, my attention was caught by a less healthy choice. I mean, How can you pass up a plate of pork parts that includes ears, snout, tongue, and intestines.

Yummy Yummy Pork Parts


You know you ordered good when the waitress asks you if you are sure and then gives a glance at the Mysterious Chinese Woman to see if it really is okay.

I was thinking maybe I would get kind of a pork parts stew, but this was more like cold cuts. In fact I often get the ears like they serve here when I go to an Asian market in New Jersey. The ears from the market are prepared with a chili paste, though, so they are much hotter. They make for a nice chewy snack and go good with beer.

The pork parts were served with several slices of pickled carrots and some kind of a large white vegetable, a chinese radish, I think, also sliced and pickled. They were quite good and really went well with the pork parts. They did cover up the dish a bit, so here is a bit of better shot.

Pork Parts Uncovered


Pork Tongue On Tongue


If you are a bit adventurous I would certainly recommend a visit to Chao Zhou. You could also order those pork parts sauteed with ginger and scallions. Or you could try the sauteed pig heart with peppers in a black bean sauce or, perhaps, the pig intestine with preserved vegetables in a noodle soup. And how could you not want to stop in for one of their breakfast specials, pork and jelly fish congee, only $3.95.

Actually, except for the congee, kind of a rice porridge, I like most of this stuff. If this place wasn't so far away I would go back fairly often. I will have to check for a place in Manhattan that serves similar fare. I am sure there are a few.

Guest Ap PEAR ance

Every once in awhile, because Bar Man is, after all, considered quite the trend setter, I will receive word, or even a free sample, of a product so that I can pass along my comments about it. Needless to say, people hang on my words like they would hang on to, oh, a hot poker.

Anyway, the other day I received three bottles of Original Sin Pear Cider from someone representing Original Sin asking me my opinion. I have had the Original Sin Apple Cider before, and quite like it. The Pear Cider is something new that they are introducing.

I Drank Them Already


I was going to share these with my brother-in-law, Jim, but he couldn't make it over. I had no alternative but to drink them all myself, before they went bad. I should have at least saved one for the Mysterious Chinese Woman. Bad Bar Man. But, I drank one, then another, and then I said "The hell with it," and drank the last one.

The Pear Cider was quite good. Not overly sweet and without an over-powering pear flavor. I have had pear ciders that were just too cloying to be enjoyed. I found the Original Sin to be quite refreshing. It would be great on a picnic on a warm spring day or at a tailgate party on a warm fall afternoon. Or out fishing on a hot summer day. Hell, it would be okay in an ice-house during the middle of winter, although I would probably prefer peppermint schnapps in the ice-house.

Now, I can't see myself Original Sin Pear Cider on a regular basis, and I sure wouldn't belly up to a bar and order one. Although I have a friend of mine, a bartender, who drinks nothing but hard apple cider. His local watering hole always keeps it on draft, mostly for him. But, I digress.

Anyway, I could see myself buying a six-pack of this every once in awhile. And I bet it would be good mixed with a sparkling wine. At only 4.5% alcohol it could stand to have a bit more of a bite, though. I suspect the primary market for this will be women.

One For The Road

Things That Make You Go Huh

Today is Sunday and I have decided to devote Sundays to my posting about, well, about things that bug me, perplex me, or otherwise interest me.

First off, for weeks there has been this controversy about offering Swine Flu vaccine to prisoners, both domestic and at military prisons such as Guantanamo Bay, while ordinary United States citizens cannot get their vaccine. A lot of baloney, if you ask me. Clinics in New York were prepared to vaccinate up to 4,500 people per day at each of seven different clinics. That would be a total of 31,500 people who could have been vaccinated. A total of 1,700 people showed up. Just who are these people who want to be vaccinated but cannot be due to a shortage caused by vaccinating prisoners? Oh, by the way, no prisoners have actually been vaccinated yet. A weeks worth of "news" coverage on a total non-issue, if you ask me.

Here is something else I found interesting and may explain why there are so many illegal and non-union workers in the building trades. Federal law requires that workers on stimulus-funded projects receive so-called prevailing wages, roughly equivalent to union pay. In New York that would be about $50 an hour for someone doing interior demolition. Now, and maybe I am out of touch, it seems as though $50 an hour is a tad high, and certainly explains why someone would be motivated to seek out cheaper labor.

Oh, they passed a health bill in the House last night. That is all well and good, I guess. The problem is that I turn 65 on December 4th and this bill seems to affect a lot of the Medicare and Drug supplement plans I have also applied for. Not that anyone could possible understand the bill, but it seems to cut Medicare Advantage programs and eliminates the donut hole in Medicare prescription drug coverage. Seeing as how I have applied for a Medicare Advantage Plan and a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, what should I do now. It isn't like you can wait and see how it all shakes out. You have a limited time each year within which to make your decisions about these things. By the way, Medicare Advantage Plans are reasonable, but not cheap. I pay a bit over $100 month for Medicare Coverage and about another $300 a month for my Medicare Advantage Plan. Not complaining, but I do wonder how this new health bill, however it turns out, will affect all of this.

And the price of a Nathan's Hot Dog at Coney Island has now gone up to $3.15. One of the problems? Higher feed costs have driven up the price of beef. Let's hear it for ethanol. Food for fuel, what a concept. This is also affecting, among other things, the price of tequila as more and more agave fields are being converted to growing corn due to higher corn prices.

The New York Daily News sportswriter Frank Isola said in today's paper "The Knicks shattered the NBA record last night for the fastest team to hit rock bottom." And here I thought they had done that a couple of years ago. But only 234 more days until LeBron becomes a free agent.

Finally, don't you just love the commercial with the woman with the small children complaining about how the tax on beverages such as fruit drinks (not fruit juice) and sodas will break the family budget. I don't know about you, but I just want to shake that lady and say "Just give the kids a glass of water when they are thirsty. Water from the tap. It is free. It is better for them."

Well, there you go. My weekly rant. I feel much better now. I am sure that will change though, especially when I start getting hate mail from union members and mothers with fat kids.

Brunch At Bellagio

Back to brunches. Absolutely the best deals in Las Vegas are the brunches, and the champagne brunches on the weekend are the way to go. Try to get there early, though, as the lines get long and when the place fills getting to the food isn't as easy. They never let the place get uncomfortably packed, though.

The Line At Bellagio


The quantity, quality, and variety of offerings is truly amazing. You can even eat, or at least start out, healthy.



A Healthy Start


My start wasn't quite as healthy. I love pickled herring, and they had some really good stuff. Lox with capers and a coarse mustard was tasty and I had the blintz and watermelon as a palate cleanser.

The First Course


For the meat eaters amongst you, the choices ranged from sausage and bacon to carving tables with ribs, prime rib, ham, and more.







And if pizza for breakfast is your thing, they can accomodate that as well.

Bring Your Own Warm Beer


Of course no decent buffet would be without shrimp.

A Decent Buffet


One thing that they had here that was a bit different, a sushi station.



This seemed to make the Mysterious Chinese Woman quite happy.



And desert, let's not forget desert.





Well, the Mysterious Chinese Woman certainly didn't forget desert.

How Does She Stay So Slim?


The buffet thing quickly became our routine. Have a coffee when we get up, go for a little walk, hit the buffet, and then you only need a little something for dinner. A fun way to spend a day. We hit the Bellagio again as well as Mandalay Bay, Paris, and Ceaser's Palace. More on those later.

I Have Caved

Okay, when the Mysterious Chinese Woman starts talking about how "cute" Brett Favre is, I know I have lost the battle. And it is hard to root against the Vikings, especially when they play the hated Packers.

Here's To You Brett, I Give

A quick update to my Bogota visit. I found my receipt so I can now report that the sauce on top of the Arepa Chocolo was Hogao Sauce, or it should have been. It didn't look quite right, though, because Hogao Sauce is a tomato and onion sauce. Oh well, it was good whatever it was. And the "Oh, Brett is so cute!" Mysterious Chinese Woman had the Chipotle Salmon. The other empanada that I thought was beef was duck. My dish was called Sobrebarriga, and it was a slow-cooked flank steak. Again, I highly recommend a visit to this little piece of Columbia right here in Brooklyn.

Halloween

Ah, Halloween. I took a trip to my local watering hole, Pete's Waterfront Ale House, for a couple of pumpkin brews. Not wanting to be without costume I searched my wardrobe for my most horrifying apparel. Given my feelings for Brett Favre - pronounced Fav Ray, notice that the 'R' is after the 'V' - Sheesh!!!

My Most Horrifying Outfit


Second place would have gone to my Knicks paraphernalia (no paraphilia jokes, please).