{ personal }

Encore, Jaleo and Carnevino

I know, what happens in Vegas status in Vegas. But my flight is delayed and I need to kill time. So here are some quick reviews.

Pretty impressed with Encore. Stayed at the Wynn a few years ago and was not impressed. But Encore I would repeat. We got a suite on the 62nd floor with a nice view of the Wynn and the golf course. Service was top notch.

Friday night we had dinner at Jaleo, tapas place at Cosmopolitan. Good dinner, would repeat. The jambon was awesome. Brings back good memories of Madrid.

Saturday night we went to Carnevino, Italian steakhouse at the Palazzo. Was disappointed. The pacing of the food was annoying. Finish one dish, wait 20 minutes for the next dish. The waiter forgot that one member of the group wasn't having the tasting menu (vegan convert). For almost $200 per person would not recommend. The pasta and bison were good, but doesn't make up for the other shortcomings.

Going Broke Eating

It's been about 4 years since I've worked in downtown San Francisco.  One of the benefits of working in downtown is the variety of eating options.  I had the following today,

• bagel and cream cheese at Katz for breakfast
• kebab over rice for lunch at the Crocker Galleria
• frozen yogurt snack at Cefiore
• beef jerky snack from the corner liquor store
• thai fried rice at King of Thai for dinner
• frozen yogurt dessert at Cefiore

That's a lot of food.  Good thing I have a fast metabolism.

Eating Right

Six days into the month.

Not good.  Granted, this is only credit/debit transactions, but it's still pretty scary to see this breakdown.

Cleaning My Tumbler

The third biggest problem in my life right now is my Cal coffee tumbler stinks. A few months ago I bought a Cal Golden Bears coffee tumbler when I started drinking coffee on a regular basis. I really like the design. It's a deep, rich blue tumbler with the Cal logo in yellow/gold.

Unfortunately, it's plastic, not stainless steel. Plastic retains the odor of coffee and after a while it stinks. I've tried soap and hot water, but the odor remains. After much searching these are some of the suggestions I've come across

* soak in vinegar
* clean with baking soda
* soak in water with denture cleaning tablets
* put some crushed charcoal in the tumbler and let it sit overnight

Until I resolve this smelly problem I'm using an aladdin migo tumbler. It's not bad, a bit plain looking. It's about an 1/8th of an inch too tall to fit directly in the Keurig B70, so I have to use a separate mug then pour it into the migo. Not that big of a deal.

No Pizza for You

Still peeved that Amici's East Coast Pizzeria won't deliver to my neighborhood after dark.  That's right, Amici Mission Bay (next to the ballpark) won't deliver pizza to my neighborhood after dark.  WTF.  Take a look at this map.  That's just insulting.   I mean really, it's not like I live in Compton or East Oakland.  They do deliver to my neighborhood during the day, but once the sun goes down their drivers are too scared.  Just insulting.  At least I rent.  Imagine if you bought at that Soma Grand place.  $1 million for a condo and you can't get pizza delivered.

Free WiFi at Starbucks

Found out that if you register your Starbucks card online you get some great benefits.  If you're lactose intolerant like me you can save that 40 cents they charge you for soy milk by using your card to purchase instead of cash or credit.  Also can register for two hours per day of free ATT wifi.  That's pretty handy if you're traveling.  Bought myself a $25 card this morning.

Move Over Vodka, Here Comes Shochu

This is pretty cool: my friend's wife's friend's brother's shochu alcohol company is mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle.  The article talks about shochu, a Japanese alcohol that has surpassed sake as Japan's most popular drink.

Here's someone else with his own alcohol: Jarno Trulli Vino.  Short of inventing your own pyschodelic drug, having your own alcohol is pretty sweet.

Las Vegas Lawry's versus SF House of Prime Rib

Last month I was in Las Vegas and ate at Lawry's The Prime Rib for the first time.  It was good, but I felt San Francisco's House of Prime Rib was better.  Today, I'm not so sure.  A friend was visiting from Los Angeles, so we had dinner at HOPR last night, and I left a little disappointed.   Their salad is still awesome, and we did get a round of free drinks for the long wait, but the prime rib just didn't hit the spot.  So I think I'm going to have to rate Lawry's better than House of Prime Rib.  Lawry's also has a surf and turf (lobster tail) option, which House doesn't.  I've also heard Houston's (along the Embarcadero) has good prime rib, but stay away from Broadway Prime in Burlingame.