FoodTrek: From Vegas to Seattle - To There and Back Again

It had been too long since I'd had a proper adventure, and what other place is fit for adventuring than Sin City itself, Las Vegas? The last time I was there, I made it a point to Skip the Strip (Aug 2013 post), and I continue this very satisfying pattern of avoiding the bright lights, big city, celeb-chef-land of trendy restaurants and frankly everything imported, but nothing truly local. I've spent many years enjoying that part of the city, and it will always draw crowds and endless fascination. And pools that catch on fire. Yes, I was in town during the Cosmopolitan Cabana Party From Hell, but only heard about it via Facebook and personal texts asking if I could see the smoke. I had no idea what the hell anyone was talking about. What could possibly be more exciting than a mother-effin' pool on mother-effin' FIRE? This latest jaunt to Vegas, Downtown-Local Style and lovin' it!

"Deconstructed" carrot cake at Therapy - the dessert I wish to marry - Photo by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Skip the Strip, It's Downtown Vegas, Baby

Glitz and glamour, a fortune at the press of a button, the playground for legendary stars like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and the spiritual home of Elvis Presley -- without even speaking the city's name, we know this to be Las Vegas. You would think Nevada would just cease to exist, because its famously infamous city is a place where you don't have to name the region or the state, you simply mention what happens here, stays here. All-night mega-club parties hosted by the latest (pseudo) celebrity. Beers in bong-sized glasses and cocktails with alarming neon hues. Every headline show is Cirque du Something-or-Other. High end luxury shops seeming to have more locations than Starbucks. It's a place that seems literally made of diamonds, which leads one to think, if we're surrounded by such profane wealth, is it even special anymore? I decided to track down my own diamonds in the rough, and stayed away from the Strip for the most part -- my fortune was made in old-school Downtown Las Vegas.

Keeping in real in Las Vegas, Downtown Style - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Mixed Plate: Viva Las Vacation

If you didn't already see from my Twitter Feed, I am in the exact opposite of the Evergreen State. I'm in the land Scorched by Fire. And Elvis. Yes, I'm currently in the Devil's Playground, aka, Adult Disneyland, aka, Las Vegas, meeting up with family and friends for a totally wholesome reunion. It is, after all, the Ninth Island, and you'll see more Hawaii people in Vegas than you will their home state. But fear not, I return this week, slightly sun-crisped, and ready for more bloggeriffic misadventures. I can already guarantee my Vegas shenanigans aren't as epic as a SyFy Original (Read: Cheesy) movie, starring Malcom in the Middle and Barry "I love this crazy town" Bostwick. Viva -- blog atcha soon, beautiful babies.

Mixed Plate: Viva La Thanksgiving

And here we are yet again... another Thanksgiving ready to unfurl its tryptophan wings and cast us into a turkey-stuffing-pie food coma vortex. And for those readying to battle the Black Friday shopping crowds, I salute you with a less than enthusiastic wave of a half-eaten turkey leg. Instead of showing a typical Thanksgiving pastoral, I opted to share photos from a recent trip to The Ninth Island (aka, Las Vegas), when my family and I gathered for my cousin Deven's birthday. It wasn't Thanksgiving and there wasn't a roasted turkey to be seen, but it got me thinking about what makes any holiday worthwhile. It's the time we set aside to spend with family, the rare moments everyone's in the same place at the same time, and the chance to sit back and gaze at the family gene pool party. Dive in, y'all, it's the holidays.

See, Las Vegas isn't all seedy hookers and pimps - they keep the nice stuff under glass - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Does our family always get together like this for a birthday? No. But when someone says they want their birthday in Vegas, it's as if God spoke and the whole family jumps on a plane to heed this Almighty call. My cousin Deven turned 42, which is a significant year in Japanese culture -- yakudoshi, like a rite of passage, or a year of chaos, depending on what Google tells you -- so it all basically translates to: let's have a big-ass party. I think that's what every culture is based on, be it feast or famine, we relish the opportunity to celebrate something. It's a good thing, as Saint Martha would say. And that's kind of what Thanksgiving is like, because we're not really celebrating the fact that the Pilgrims came from afar to bring a persecuted religion and smallpox to a trustworthy, indigenous people, we just want an excuse to go on a carb-binge with the cornbread stuffing, eat three pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream), and pass out on the couch by three in the afternoon. Ahh... tradition.

As luck would have it (har-har), my Wasabi Family Vegas Extravaganza took place over Halloween week, so that explains the spooktacular past-due holiday photos. Unlike typical family jaunts to Las Vegas, we made sure to plan some quality family time, like seeing a show and then a nice family dinner on Deven's birthday. There was also a trip to the Hoover Dam, but I missed that, as I was already en route back to rainy Washington, but from what I heard, Hoover Dam was dam good. I will say this -- when you live in the Pacific Northwest and it's already in the middle of nonstop rain and zero-dark-thirty by four in the afternoon, taking a short trip to the sunnier skies of Nevada is like a shot of adrenaline. The temperature is no longer three times the surface of the sun, it remained in the pleasant upper seventies to low eighties, and there was barely a cloud in the sky. My lackluster Vitamin D levels jump at the thought of it.

From rain to shine - a vacation from the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Halloween week in Las Vegas is about what you'd guess -- people dressed in costume, running around Downtown and The Strip, with you playing that mental game in your head: Halloween costume or actual stripper/pimp? October is also the pesky month where a lot of performers go on vacation and the shows take breaks, since it's typically a low-season time, but my cousin found a show he wanted to see -- Criss Angel's Believe at the Luxor -- and seeing a rock n' roll illusion show was actually pretty fitting for Halloween night. I'm always amazed at Las Vegas performers with regular shows, many doing two performances a night, weekdays through weekends. Most people's offices are a little cubicle, but a performer's office is a stage full of pyrotechnics, scary-looking props and a live crowd, which I think can be the scariest thing of all. Regardless of what performer you see in Las Vegas, you can never deny them the art of showmanship and the ability to keep a crowd's attention, which I think is magic all its own.

Vegas Halloween, and the cage where the gambling cheats go - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I was simply told, "Bring a wig," from my other cousin and aunt helping to plan this Halloween Night outing. As good a suggestion as any, really. So a few of us wigged-out, wore funny glasses and we spent a night on The Strip, catching a magic show and seeing all sorts of crazy stuff in and out of the casinos on All Hallow's Eve. I'd have brought my cat's ears headband, but Indy was still using it.

Just like any other night in Las Vegas - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Despite all the family time, I did steal away for a few hours to wander the Strip one afternoon. I mostly wanted to visit the Bellagio and see their seasonal garden display. I'm not a gambler, so seeing pretty garden stuff is my granny-old lady highlight. As always, they aim to impress and the gorgeous autumn harvest-themed display in the atrium area is a must-see, whether you're planning on gambling your kid's college fund away or not.

Talking trees, giant pumpkins and oh yes... WINE! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I managed to snap a few photos of the delightful pastries in one of the Bellagio's specialty bakeries, Jean Phillipe. This bakery is hard to miss -- it's in the retail area and you'll be drawn to the ceiling-high fountain of melted chocolate cascading down a sculpture of blown glass. You're amazed, then you kind of shake your head, thinking: only in Las Vegas. I had to take a moment and admire the beautiful Halloween themed desserts. I know we're not thinking of ghosts and goblins anymore, but you can't help but adore these sweets. I couldn't bear to eat something so cute, so I picked up some buttery, flaky croissant -- chocolate and almond -- and some of their pretty chocolate-dipped biscotti. Maybe not as precious as a pastry ghost, but just as delicious.

Spooky sweets at Jean Phillipe Bakery in the Bellagio - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The Bellagio is pretty close to Caesar's Palace, so I ran in there just to visit their Vosges Chocolate boutique. Their chocolates are exquisite, as is their packaging. Purple boxes and ribbons -- Prince would feel very at-home. I can usually find their bacon-chocolate bar at Whole Foods, but their real gems are of course their truffles, which you either have to order by mail or visit one of their shops. A stupid amount of money later, I had a shopping bag full of holiday gifts, more sweets for my cousin's birthday celebration, and even something sweet to bring home to the Mister. It felt like a total Vegas Moment, shopping for luxury chocolates, surrounded by fake Greek statues and wondering just how the hell they built that spiraling escalator in The Forum Shops.

Hail Caesar and your bitchin' shopping mall - Photos by Wasabi Prime

As a travel note -- if you find yourself buying stuff and wondering if everything will fit into your suitcase, there is a UPS Store right in the Flamingo Hotel, which is right across from Caesar's Palace. Why more hotels don't have UPS Stores is beyond me, but I'm glad for that convenience. It might be an expensive way to get things home, but the way airlines charge for bags, you're spending over twenty five bucks either way, so may as well not have to carry it yourself.

Family dinner time, Election Day-style! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

On the night of my cousin Deven's birthday, his sister Dawn and my Aunt Sharon made sure everyone was decked out in election-themed gear they made ahead of time. Buttons, pamphlets, the whole deal. Not that my cousin is running for office, but at the time, election felt like a fitting theme, plus I have an uncle who's a state senator and his own campaign brochures made for good inspiration material. The whole family gathered at the Second Street Grill in the Fremont Hotel -- because Downtown Vegas is how Hawaii folks roll -- and we wore our fake-candidate buttons proudly for Deven's birthday dinner. Like some crazy Hunger Games thing, we made a "tribute" to Deven and his love of chocolate, piling gifts of sweets from all over the world on the center of the table. I know it wasn't Thanksgiving, but it felt like a long-overdue holiday gathering made even more special since people had to travel a ways to meet up. My cousin Dawn wins the Mileage Award, having traveled all the way from Sweden to attend her brother's birthday. All this and us cousins didn't have to sit at the kiddie table -- who says Vegas isn't a town for winners?

Food, family and funny photos while on The Ninth Island - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Much like Thanksgiving itself, the trip was full of big meals, but it was less about the food and more about the time it gave us to spend together. It was a reminder that no matter what the occasion, however funky the location, time with family is a rare gift. Costume wigs optional. I don't live close to my family, the closest immediate relative is a state away and my parents are nearly an ocean away, so this trip was like Thanksgiving and Christmas, all rolled up into one. I honestly can't think of the last time so many of us got together like this and I can't think of when we'll be able to do this again. So as you gather to feast upon the turkey, raise your head from your plate for a moment to see who's sitting with you. Be thankful for the occasion that brings you and your crazy clan of family members together for a night. Viva La Thanksgiving, y'all.

Mixed Plate: Happy Haunting on Halloween

Have a marvelously spooktacular, sugar-coated, pumpkin-smashingly good Halloween this week. It's a bit of a bummer when All Hallow's Eve falls on the middle of the week, but that doesn't stop anyone from binging on candy corn way back in September, in anticipation for October 31st.  And don't forget to practice your Thriller zombie dance, you never know when a Michael Jackson musical ensemble will happen.

This is a Wasabi-Dials-it-in post because as of this moment, I'm on vacation for a whole freakin' week! I'm leaving the homestead in the Mister and Indy the Pup's capable hands, and running away to Las Vegas, to meet up with the rest of the Wasabi Clan who's flying out from Hawaii, Oregon and even as far as Sweden to celebrate my cousin's birthday. We'll take our family reunion moments where we can get them! I've never been away on Halloween, nor have I been in Las Vegas during Halloween, so I fully expect to see some some crazy-ass crazy during my time on The Ninth Island, as Hawaii-folks lovingly call it.

I don't gamble, but rest assured, I will always bet on Wesley Snipes. I may buffet-it-up once or twice, so keep tabs on my exploits on Twitter. So till we meet again on the bloggosphere (first week of November, no worries), be safe out there, begging for candy like sugar-junkie-hobos and wearing that shirt "This Is My Halloween Costume" for the fifth year in a row. Because that never gets old.

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

UnRecipe: Kimchee Soup? That's Hot.

Despite the goodly merits of common sense, I've been on a spice-capade all summer long. Even on the days when we were sweltering in the hot, heavy air of 90-plus degrees in our own living room, my mind would still wander to things like, "I'm miserable but hey... a spicy ramen would be really tasty right about now." I even ventured out into the 100-degree hellfire that is Nevada in July to get -- what else -- kimchee saimin. So that's what the season has left me reduced to: a puddle of flopsweat, slowly inching towards a spicy bowl of kimchee soup.

Sweating summer away - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Why? Why?! WHY?? Maybe the addictive qualities of spicy food in summer is like how the Love in Janet Jackson song goes, like a moth to the flame, burned by the fire... but not really any of the rest of it. I've heard there's an evaporative cooling element in sweating over hot food and letting nature turn your body into a giant swamp cooler. Nice in theory but rather unpleasant, and like most swamp coolers, inefficient as all get-out. There's no way to Spock-logic this one, when the Spicy Bug bites you, the heat is on and it's never turning off.  

Which is why it's always number one on my list to visit Aloha Specialties to get their amazing kimchee saimin, on the second floor of the California Hotel in downtown Las Vegas.  Their menu is all local Hawaii food prepared the way people like it -- ono kine grindz with immense portions. Their kimchee saimin is no different, you could easily jump into the bowl and swim a few laps before the spicy heat reduced you to a withered nub. I had the benefit of getting there earlier in the day, so there were more tasty slices of beef, tofu and kimchee chunks swimming about, plus the broth just tasted more hearty with that peppery beef flavor -- it was probably the best bowl yet. I sweated off a layer of skin and smiled with delight at the vanquishing of this spicy hellbeast. It's an adventure to brave that part of Ye Olde Vegas. About the only thing Downtown has over the semi-gentrified Strip is the quotient of scary drunks and cracked-out bums, aka, The Real Las Vegas, but I did notice a new zipline "ride" that you can take which spans the length of the covered Fremont Street. No thanks, I'll take my deep fried Twinkies and creep away with what's left of my dignity. However, I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed I missed Night Ranger.

The heat is on, as is Night Ranger - Photos by Wasabi Prime

To drown my missing-Night Ranger-sorrows upon returning to the not so hellfire-hot land of Washington, I made a spicy kimchee soup of my own. In typical UnRecipe fashion, it was made with pretty much whatever vegetables were left that didn't get prepared before I left on my trip. Which is to say, it was a lot of veggies; so much so that I didn't add any noodles to the soup. I defrosted about two quarts of chicken broth, but any broth would do. I seared some thin slices of pork in a super-hot wok and got a good sizzle going on a mix of vegetables like strips of carrot, onion and even slices of sweet potato. Yeah, everything was going into the soup-pool. Right before I added the broth to deglaze the wok, I added some broccoli, bok choi and mushrooms. Then a whole jar of kimchee, pickling brine and all. Don't be scared, it's what makes this whole soup worthwhile. The broth was flavored with an extra dose of pepper/chili Korean kochujang sauce and soy sauce. I threw in dashes of rice wine vinegar to give it the tartness of a hot and sour soup. Large pieces of firm tofu were added last, right before serving, so they wouldn't get broken apart.

I was making this soup quite literally by the seat of my pants, as I'd never made kimchee soup before. I'd had versions of it as a stew, fried rice or saimin, but not like this. The devil-may-care attitude towards cooking was rewarded, as the soup turned out totally delicious, getting better like a stew as the flavors concentrated every day. Sweet potatoes added a slight sugary bite to combat the salty spiced broth. Even if it wasn't exactly like the saimin at Aloha Specialties, it curbed a major craving. Asian cuisine is actually quite basic and the strong flavored sauces tend to rely on the same ingredients like vinegar, soy, garlic and ginger to really punch those tastebuds in the kisser. If loving spicy food in the middle of summer is wrong, I don't want to be right. I also know it'll probably be Instant Rainy Season soon enough, and something like this will totally hit the spot.

FoodTrek: Wasabi's Journey to the Ninth Island

According to most geographical references, Hawaii is an archipelago of eight main islands, along with a few smaller surrounding islands. But the books don't realize there is an Ninth Island. Geographers and volcanologists' ears are perking up, wondering, "What's this?! Is there an underwater volcano creating an instant island as we speak?" Perhaps some mad scientist of James Bondian proportion, creating some nefarious hideout in the Pacific? Or perhaps we're still on Lost withdrawal and suspecting the Dharma Group is somehow involved. Not so much. The Ninth Island is, in fact, on the Mainland. And it's called Las Vegas.

Greetings from Bat Country - Photo by Wasabi Prime

OK, Wasabi, WTF? I pinky-swears, it's totally effin' true. I cross my heart and hope to die of eating too much Spam Musubi, Las Vegas is like a second home to many folks from Hawaii, where some folks (usually retired) will fly off to Nevada as often as once a month. You figure, when we of the Mainland-borne wish to escape our humdrum lives, we imagine the sandy beaches of Waikiki -- but what about the people in Hawaii? Don't they deserve a far off destination vacation that offers them a garden of earthly delights? And midnight oxtail soup?

Bright lights, big city... and buffets - Photos by Wasabi Prime

It's an odd combination of things that makes Las Vegas the unofficial "Ninth Island" of Hawaii, but the straight dope is, there is no Aloha spirit for gambling in the 50th state -- it's all illegal. There's not even a state lottery. But this doesn't change the fact that Hawaii people love to roll the bones. I don't know if it's the concentration of Asians and our obsession with luck and the money-lined Hand of Fate, but that's just how they roll in Hawaii, preferably with dice in-hand. Las Vegas has always been a playground for grown-ups, and it took the business-savvy thinking of fellows like the late Sam Boyd, who owned several downtown Vegas casinos, to make the connection between the love of gambling and enticing the vacationing Hawaii folks to his casinos by offering Island comfort foods and vacation packages customized for Hawaii travelers. For the most part, the Hawaii visitors tend to stay downtown and avoid the glitzier, more expensive Strip, plus the Boyd-owned casinos get people hooked into their comp systems and one tends to stay where one has freebies. Hawaii folks mean business -- they come to gamble, and more to the point, they come to win.

Hawaii or Vegas? Only the Fried Twinkies can say... - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Segway to the Wasabi mama and papa-san. They were in Sin City for my dad's college reunion; he went to an engineering school back in the swingin' sixties that attracted a lot of young men from Hawaii looking to conquer the world, armed with only a pocket protector and a slide rule. Funny thing is, the school was in California, not Hawaii, but since it was an unofficial reunion of mostly local guys from The Big Island, having it at the California Hotel is close enough... right? I decided to crash the reunion, since it offered up the opportunity to visit my good friend and partner in crime, the Angry Peanut, my best friend from college days who is now a Nevada resident. We spent one night visiting with the alumni of the Northop Institute of Technology and scamming on their buffet, which consisted of local favorites like kalua pork, macaroni salad, teriyaki beef, and plenty of rice. Plus one of the lovely wives of my dad's classmates brought homemade manju, which is a flaky pastry with a sweet bean filling. I know I'm supposed to be a food blogger/photographer, but this was also my vacation, so I didn't take as many food photos as I probably should have, mostly because I was too busy om-nomming it.

It really did feel like a mini vacation in Hawaii, as I could indulge in my favorite Island grindz, like saimin, Portuguese sausage with eggs for breakfast, Lappert's ice cream and a bottle of shoyu on every table. It was a reminder of how Vegas is a city of facsimile, with an uncanny ability to mimic so many places and regions of the world. I don't get drawn into the fake Venice or the fake Paris, but I do find an odd comfort when I stay at the more low-key downtown area of Las Vegas, hearing all the local Pidgin and eating familiar comfort foods that are cooked the way locals like it.

Welcome to the Hotel California, class of 2010 - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I'm not much of a gambler, so when I wasn't visiting with my parents, getting free drinks as they played video poker, I was hopping bingo parlors with Peanut or seeing movies to escape the insane summer heat. We spent minimal time on the Strip, visiting the summer garden display at the Bellagio, and seeing the light show on Fremont Street while avoiding getting pickpocketed, but the main purpose of the trip was to reconnect, with both friends and family, even if it was at a place where I'd giggle every time I saw "Loose Slots."

Much thanks to the Wasabi Parents who let us mooch off their comps, and clearly had The Force with them over the weekend as they both won jackpots. Much Wasabi Thanks to the reunion group for letting me crash their party. And many thanks to Angry Peanut, for showing her Wasabi Pal a rockin' good time in Bat Country.

Out of Office: Viva la Wasabi-cation

Special News Bulletin - I'm not behind my desk for a change! It's clearly not hot enough in the Pacific Northwest, I need to find a hell-on-earth inferno to scald the skin off my bones. Hm... where to go... how about right in the middle of Nevada? Great idea, Wasabi. Actually, it's more like I'm crashing Wasabi Dad's engineering college reunion which is taking place in Las Vegas, and I'll be living the high life (Miller, that is) in downtown, old-skool Vegas, because that's where the parentals like to roll the bones and feel the rush of $5 blackjack tables and lower minimums. Yes, indeedy, Wasabi Prime is slummin' it in Sin City, ready to hit the buffet lines, and looking forward to a few days being under the blog-radar.

I'll indeed be back. And yes, that's a threat.

I will be on Twitter, so stay tuned for drunken fits of 140 characters or less at @WasabiPrime as I'm pretty sure it'll be magical on so many levels.

The short break won't affect the posting, but either way, please check out all the amazing bloggers on the Om Nom Nom blogroll. I'm sure you already do, but I can't stress enough how fab all those folks are, so give them a visit and a shout-out.

If you're already caught up on blogs and wish to have your mind nosh on something more, check out my guest post on the Wisconsin Cheese Talk blog, where I've got a recipe about tasty cheese curds used in a sweet potato gratin. And when you're done with that, feel free to visit the folks at Serious Eats, where I'm helping out with their Market Scene series, showing off the wares of farmers markets; the first post was about a couple of markets in Bellevue and I'm working on another one for more Eastside cities, so stay tuned!