Comp Memorial Day Weekend in Vegas Report: Robin Williams and The Burger Bar, but not together...

What? This pic is not impressive? Yeah, well that's because I took it before the venue filled and did so with my cell phone and we all know how wonderful cell phone pics are. Not.  Screw the pic, the show was AWESOME, once in a lifetime.

The story is that Gene and I have been to Vegas a number of times over the year. He's always very meticulous about keeping us in players cards and using his both in his slot play and being tracked by the pit bosses when he plays blackjack, craps, or poker.  Me? I'm meticulous about losing my players cards.  One, I don't gamble that much, and two, I can only do one thing at a time: either remember to collect my money or remember to collect my player's card. I choose the first. My brain shuts down on the second.

After all these years we finally got a truly nice reward from a casino.  The Luxor sent Gene an offer for a comp weekend and comp show tickets.  (I admit I didn't believe him when he said the show would be Robin Williams, not some magician we'd never heard of but it was true.)  They comped four nights plus two RW show tickets, worth $250/seat.  So then I figured they'd be in the "comes with your own oxygen cannula" section but this photo is taken from our seats (before everyone got there--it was a sold out show.) They were perfect for us.  I actually don't like being on the floor if I'm too far back because no matter which of our seats I pick some giganto man in a cowboy hat sits in front of me and I can't see squat.

Enough about the seats. The show was fabulous. It was everything we could have wished for.  Robin Williams in concert is the same as Robin Williams everywhere else: you just about pee your pants laughing and wonder how in the hell his brain works. He should donate his brain to science when he dies because he's the ultimate combination of ADD, intellectual, and 8-year-old boy.  The jokes were fast and furious. I've never heard anyone talk so fast AND I finally found the one person who drops the F-bomb more than I do (hurray!).  I said to Gene as we were leaving "If he's that insane now that he's out of rehab, what the hell was he like in concert (and personally) when he was a coked up alcoholic?"  Every time I see him I think of an interview I read a while back where a reporter made the comment that it would be so cool to be the child of Robin Williams because your book-before-bed would be a performance but his response was that his kids roll their eyes and say "No voices, dad. Just read it."  Hey, no matter what you have you want something else, eh?  That story always makes me smile.

Let's see...I've seen Robin Williams this trip and last trip I finally got to see The Amazing Jonathan, now my one big comic dream is to see Dennis Miller live.

Okay, on to other celeb stuff.  Did anyone see the Giada DeLaurentis Weekend Getaways show to Vegas where she ate in The Burger Bar by Chef Hubert Keller?  Since it's located between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay it made my "would be nice" list but every time Gene and I walked by there was a line down the hall to get in.  I'm sorry but I just don't have the patience to wait 2 hours for lunch, or any meal, anymore.  I don't mind waiting but not at the end of a line five stores down from the restaurant.

Late Tuesday night, before we flew out Wednesday, Gene had gone to cash in his final vouchers from Mandalay and I got this phone call from him in a silky, temptor's voice, the kind of voice that when we were young would have been a booty call instead of a burger call "Baaaaaaaaaaaby, Burger Bar is seating riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight now.  Wanna come have a little diiiiiiiiiner?"  Yeah, well when we were younger "Wanna come with me?" was a whole different connotation but since we'd already had the hotel jungle sex, I was up for the burger.

Is it just me or is sex better in a hotel after you've been married a while. Gene teases me but there's something about leaving the "TO-DO" list and work at home that makes me feel sexy again.  You know what I mean or is it just me?

Lousy picture, but Gene had a regular beef burger on a plain roll with provolone.  He said that he was pleasantly surprised.  He really thought it would be more hype than anything else but he said the burger was actually very tasty. I appreciate that he's always game to go try new restaurants with me and that he's honest. 

He's much more of a burger connoisseur than I am so I appreciated his judgment.

The restaurant itself is long and narrow with an actual bar that does run the length of the left wall, booths on the right wall, and tables down the middle.  Decorated in dark woods with white walls, and refreshingly bereft of quirky crap.

We weren't nearly as impressed with the service as we were with the food.  The waiter was efficient and got slightly warmer as we dined but he only perfunctorily visited the table and when Gene ordered a basic burger, I saw him roll his eyes.  Hey, screw that attitude.  Your base product should be the best thing on your menu, not to mention that customer service is like acting or poker, a stone face is required when needed.  I don't care what he thought of our order.  That annoyed me. Having worked in Food & Beverage, I also tend to watch the employees to get a feel for the undertone of the place. Our waiter was young, handsome, and full of himself but in the big picture I didn't see a single employee who looked particularly friendly or happy to be there. I saw no ribbing amongst the wait staff and not a single bartender riffing with a guest. 

That says a lot about a place and none of it's good.  That's not just busy night, especially since we were there on a Tuesday and it was relatively quiet. Imagine churlish staff on a Friday or Saturday night after you've stood in line for an hour and a half.  Not good.

I ordered the veggie burger with bleu cheese and a side of sweet potato fries which I shared with Gene.  The veggie burger was very good, nice and meaty with a great texture. I'd love to get a great veggie burger recipe to make at home.

We quizzed the waiter after the meal and he told us that the beef is ground in-house fresh every day, which is great. The veggie burger patties are brought in commercially.  I'm a little disappointed by that but still, it was a delicious burger.

The best thing we had, okay that I had, was a fanciful cocktail named the Mai-chipotle-Tai and it was to be reckoned with.  A traditional mai tai spiked with  jalapeno/pineapple syrup, it sounds horrible but tasted delicious.  Not something I'd order more than once, but it was grin-producing fun with it's sweet beginning and slight back of the throat burn at the finish. It's one of those drinks you'll either love or hate at the first sip.

Overall, the food was very good and worth waiting until the last night of our stay for, even if the waiter wasn't friendly enough to make the impression of wanting to go back.

Comments

[ntsc The Art of The Pig]

My introduction to Robin Williams was the out-take reel from the first season of Mork and Mindy.

Mind blowing funny

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

Um . . . sex in a hotel better? You pose such interesting questions. It maybe easier to keep the to do list out of your mind in a hotel. So better might be a word that would come to mind.
Robin Williams always seems worth it!
Great post.

[Rachel]

Yes, assuming you have a nice hotel and maybe a little tequila- a hotel is much better!
Those sweet potato fries look divine.

[Glenna]

ntsc--Oh I bet that was! That was when he really bounced off the walls!

Tanna--LOL! I like asking questions, makes me feel not so alone in my insanity. Hee hee.

Rachel--I like the way you think! hehehe

[Auntie M]

Sex always better in a hotel? I seem to recall a trip to Eureka Springs where we had a fantastic suite with a canopy bed at Crescent Dragonwagon's B&B. She'd left a book of "hot" vegetable poetry in the room. There we were in that big canopy bed. I was reading the poetry to Unc. I could handle his snoozing during the romp through the eggplants, but as the rabbit "parted the tomato plant's soft furry leaves to get to her secret something-or-other" he SNORED. Nope, it's not ALWAYS better.

I get dibs on the Dennis Miller trip. Boys stay home!

[Glenna]

Auntie M--Hehehe...men!
You're on for the Dennis M!

[Jay Stevens]

Sounds like a wonderful weekend. I am jealous.

Jay
http://www.free4thofjulyrecipes.com
Free 4th of July Recipes and Desserts Found Here

[Jay Stevens]

Sounds like a wonderful weekend. I am jealous.

Jay
http://www.free4thofjulyrecipes.com
Free 4th of July Recipes and Desserts Found Here

[Deborah Dowd]

You are so lucky! What a wonderful surprise! Looks like you and Gene had a great time, and there is nothing like a break from piles of dishes and laundry and bills to truly relax you! And Robin Williams? That's f-in' fantastic!