sake + cheese: vegas

When I was in Vegas I came across a Vosges boutique and promptly stopped in to pick up a few of their newest chocolate bars.

* bapchi's caramel toffee exotic candy bar

milk chocolate with butter toffee, walnuts & pecans

like a grown-up Skor or Heath bar, this was my favourite of the three.

* amalfi exotic candy bar

white chocolate with lemon zest and pink peppercorns

the white chocolate was super creamy and the lemon cut the sweetness, the pink peppercorns added crunch and a slight peppery aftertaste.

* black salt caramel exotic candy bar

dark chocolate with Hawaiian sea salt and soft caramel

sweet and salty is one of my favourite combos so I obviously liked this.

* left to right: black salt caramel, amalfi, bapchi's caramel toffee

* Vosges Haut Chocolat

Caesar's Palace

Las Vegas, NV.

So I'm back from my three-day family trip to Vegas. We saw lots of short skirts, bright lights and compulsive gambling. Unfortunately I'm not any richer, but had a good time nonetheless. Since this was a family trip, I didn't make them endure my usual gluttony-filled agenda, but we still ate a few good meals.

After landing in Vegas and checking in we had dinner a very late Grand Lux Cafe in our hotel. The food was pretty greasy, but satisfyingly good at 1 a.m. (4 a.m. Toronto time).

* short rib sloppy joe

* short rib grilled cheese

* Carolina BBQ pork sandwich

Lunch at Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Hotel. We originally wanted to hit up Le Village buffet, but the line was ridiculous (as it was at all the buffets).

* fresh and hot baguette

* chicken liver mousse

* french onion soup

* frites

* gaufrette potato chips

* grilled salmon and spinach salad

* croque monsieur

* open-faced crab salad sandwich

Dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab in Caesar's Palace. All of our steaks were cooked nicely, the stone crab claws were sweet and tender, and the sides were perfect with our meaty mains. Pretty good for a chain restaurant.