eG Foodblog: Smokeydoke - Seven Days and Seven Nights in Fabulous Las Vegas

[Smokeydoke]

Greetings eGulleteers, I'm Smokeydoke and I'll be your tourguide for the next seven days on a culinary journey through Las Vegas.

 

First a little about me, I'm a foodie first and foremost, but my real name is Kathy and to pay the bills, I work as an Engineer. My husband works at UNLV. In the past I've worked as a manager for a pizzeria and worked at a bakery. We live in the Southwest community of Las Vegas, more commonly referred to as Mountains Edge.

 

Here is the obligatory shot of our kitchen. Sorry for the bad photos, I made a video but just realized I can't upload videos in eGullet, so I quickly converted them to jpegs.

 

      

 

Here's my pantry#1, with my (in)famous shelf of twelve different types of flours. Below that are my oils, vinegars and sauces. And of course, pounds of TJ Belgium chocolates.

 

  

 

 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Smithy
Adjusted title and tag to include "Foodblog" (log)

[Smokeydoke]

Here's our fridge #1, I just got back from a trip, so it's somewhat empty. Second pic is where I keep my snacks. As you can tell, I love cheese, I have at least five different types of cheeses at any given moment. This week I have Kirkland Organic Cheese Snacks (taste a lot like cheddar), Kirkland Bleu Cheese, Mozzarella, shredded cheddar, string cheese and Laughing Cow.

 

I also like deli meats and keep a variety, this week I have Hormel pepperoni, Del Duca Jamon Serrano (I'm addicted to this stuff, and it has to be this (cheap) brand) and some Cremosa Tartufa (spreadable Truffle Salami). I'm trying to get into the Cremosa Tartufa but I can't. I think I"m going to bin it. I do love Salami and Country-style ham. It'll be a reoccurring theme throughout the week.

 

  

 

As you've already presumed, I love Costco.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[Smokeydoke]

This mornings breakfast will be some coffee and a piece of cheese!

 

My blog will be different than most, as I won't log everything I eat during the day, that'll bore you to pieces. Rather, I'll report on culinary goldmine that I live in and report of food I've eaten in the past week or so. I also enjoy making cocktails.

 

This is a picture of a flat white I had at Sambalatte a few days ago. Please ignore the questionable foam art. Is it soft serve ice cream? Is it a pile of poop? I don't know what she was going for?

 

 

And here's some almond croissants I had Jean-Philippe Patisserie at the Bellagio. Imho, they are the best almond croissants in the world.

 

  

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[ElsieD]

I am sooo looking forward to this!

[Okanagancook]

Me too.  Thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

What kind of Engineer are you?

Edited February 23, 2018 by Okanagancook (log)

[Smithy]

This is going to be fun!  

 

Your kitchen looks like a very cook-friendly kitchen, and I admire the contents of your refrigerator and pantry.  Like you, I'm addicted to cured meats - it's generally best if I just keep them out of the refrigerator, except during splurge times.

 

Those croissants look fabulous. I hope you'll comment on prices as you go along.  In my extremely limited experience with hotel casinos, the food is inexpensive because they're counting on the casino to make money and the restaurant to keep the casino customers fed.  I have trouble believing that would be true of upscale places like Bellagio. 

 

Blog on!

[Shelby]

Wooo hoooo!!!!!  

[KennethT]

Very nice... I am jealous of your kitchen!  Can't wait to see the rest of the week...

[Darienne]

Here's one more for the trip! 

My sole experience with Las Vegas was stopping for gas in 1985 at 5:30 am and being stunned watching people play the machines inside the gas station.   I wish we had taken at least a bit of a drive around the city.  Maybe I could have spotted my hero, Gil Grissom.  

[rotuts]

Thank you !

 

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

Here's one more for the trip! 

My sole experience with Las Vegas was stopping for gas in 1985 at 5:30 am and being stunned watching people play the machines inside the gas station.   I wish we had taken at least a bit of a drive around the city.  Maybe I could have spotted my hero, Gil Grissom.  

 

I've driven through Las Vegas a few times, but I'm not sure I've ever stopped there.  My Nevada casino experiences have been in places like Reno and Laughlin, where the hotels or dinners were inexpensive.  I'm looking forward to the sorts of foods and sights we'd be able to enjoy if we went to the fabled Vegas!

[cakewalk]

I'm leaving for Vegas Monday morning. Not staying at the Bellagio, but we'll certainly make a stop there. (Hell, I want to make a stop everywhere!)

Looking forward to hearing if you have any off-the-strip recommendations. I know there's a real city out there. 

[munchymom]

5 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

This is a picture of a flat white I had at Sambalatte a few days ago. Please ignore the questionable foam art. Is it soft serve ice cream? Is it a pile of poop? I don't know what she was going for?

 

 

I think it's a hat telling you that you've been sorted into Caffeinedor!

[IowaDee]

Tee Hee, I got married there many moons ago.  I was all of 18  and hubby was a "grown up" of  22.  We had

to borrow a car to drive there.  And I was married in my high school graduation dress.  So chic, or so I thought.

For some reason,I had a streak of hitting jack pots on the slots.  Never a big one but enough pay for the trip.  The problem was

that I was not old enough to gamble. The staff would pay me and tell me to please leave.  Fine, we

just moved on to the next casino.   Thank God for the cheap buffets.  

Next time we were there, we had two kids in tow.  Probably to poor to play even the penny slots.

Really looking forward to your blog and to see all the changes.   I might have undergone a few of those

myself......

[kayb]

1 hour ago, munchymom said:

I think it's a hat telling you that you've been sorted into Caffeinedor!

 

Good one. I think I've found my house.

 

@Smokeydoke, I'll PM you my address and you can just ship me a dozen of those almond croissants....

 

Looking forward to this. Wish I could remember the off-strip Italian place (it was in a strip center, maybe not far from UNLV (?), very unassuming spot) where we ate last time I was out there. It was fabulous.

 

My personal favorites, though are the Bellagio fountains choreographed to Frank Sinatra.

 

[weinoo]

Significant Eater and I got married in Las Vegas as well - downtown, at the court house, by a court clerk.  I think it cost $35, and we filled out the marriage license in pencil. Don't worry, we're still married, and just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary.

 

We were going to dine at Jean Louis Palladin's restaurant the night we got married, but it was closed.  I think we still had a pretty good meal at another location.

 

And we were scheduled to head to Vegas in 2 weeks, to see a few shows at the Wynn, but they got cancelled (due to the Wynn), so we cancelled our trip.

 

Blog on.

[heidih]

Me too...Vegas eloper at a way too young age. Too nervous to eat much that trip. Then a father-in-law that resided there but the group was more into the all-you-can-eat breakfasts with towering carts of bacon and biscuits & gravy flying between the tables. This was way before Vegas became a food destination and before smoking was banned - so I was generally on a bike headed towards the foothills (lovely view). I do recall a nice hot chocolate up the mountain on a snowy day at a roaring fireplace/lodge type place.  What a difference compared to today's vibrant food scene!  Those almond pastries  

[Smokeydoke]

I love hearing everyone's Las Vegas stories! We got eloped too, best decision we ever made. I think the ceremony and the filing cost a total of $170.

 

 

Edited February 24, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[Kim Shook]

SO looking forward to this!!!!!

[Duvel]

Viva Las Vegas - I am going to enjoy this a lot ! Thanks, @Smokeydoke 

[Smokeydoke]

Whew! It was a stressful week, I am ready for the weekend! Let the eating begin....

 

Friday night means cocktail night. Last night's performance was Bijou.

 

 

11/2 oz gin

3/4 oz Chartreuse

1 oz sweet vermouth

2 dashes orange bitters

garnish with orange peel

 

You know how I always complain the wash line is too low on cocktails? Well, someone came up with a solution, make it a double! Brilliant. Which is exactly what I did here.

 

Let's just say Bijous should not be filled to the top of the glass, unless you're ready for a nap. It's strong and spirit-forward but I really enjoyed it. Went down smooth as silk. I'm loving sweet vermouth much more than I thought I would.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[Smokeydoke]

I got a few things lined up today, I'm making a brioche dough to make Rose Beranbaum's Sugar Rose Brioche. And I've got plans to go to a local BBQ joint called Rollin Smokes.

 

I'll report back in the afternoon!

[Smithy]

Cocktails can look so pretty!  The Bijou is a fine example.

[Smokeydoke]

Just snapped a picture of the brioche dough I made this morning.

 

   

 

It's looking mighty purdy, got a nice rise to it. It's going into the fridge in a few minutes, then be made into Monkey Dunkey bread. I was originally going to make Beranbaum's beautiful Sugar Rose Brioche, but I didn't read the recipe carefully and it asks for two batches of brioche dough, not one.   So, the Rose Brioche will have to be for another day. Instead we'll go with the lowly Monkey bread (which, in all honesty, is more in-line with what I'd bake at home when I'm not blogging).

 

Monkey bread can't be too hard, right? Nothing made out of Rose's brioche turns out bad, right? I mean, brioche, chocolate, caramel... what could go wrong here? *crosses fingers* I hope it's eGullet worthy.

[Smokeydoke]

If you've been reading eGullet lately, you know I've been obsessed with BBQ. I can thank @Kerry Beal and her plentiful Green Egg thread for that.

For a special treat, I took Mr. Smokey to the best BBQ joint in town, Jessie Rae's. Located in a bare industrial center, it doesn't get more divey than this. They specialize ins Las Vegas Style BBQ. 

 

   

 

I'm not sure how Las Vegas BBQ differs from other BBQ. It was good, some of it was delicious. We both got the two meat combos for $15. I got the pulled pork and rib tips. Mr. Smokey got brisket and hot links.

 

 

I'll tell you the truth, eating here and reading that it was the "best in Vegas" has put a damper on my kamado grill obsession. Honestly, I don't know what great BBQ is, as I've never lived/traveled to the South or Texas where BBQ is a way of life. This place was ok, much better than any chain, but I didn't think it was mind-blowing. If you're a BBQ aficionado, you may be disappointed.