Amongst all the chaos of September, Mrs. Sip and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Las Vegas, celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday. Here’s what we got up to in Sin City:
Our trek began with a delayed flight out of Vancouver, which allowed us to enjoy a drink and snack at Romer’s Kitchen & Bar. I ordered the Steamworks Flagship IPA, while Mrs. Sip and I split some Truffle Fries.
Finally arriving in Vegas late at night and after enduring a long check in process at our Resorts World Hilton accommodation, we journeyed to the nearby Peppermill & Fireside Lounge. By the time we got there, the late night (11pm-2am) happy hour was in effect, so we shared the Nachos Nachos Nachos with Al Pastor, which we liked as there wasn’t nacho cheese sauce on the dish, making the nachos soggy. To drink, we had the Atomic Duck IPA and Mango Drop Mango Wheat Ale, both from Able Baker Brewing. We liked this funky place, sitting on the Fireside Lounge side, heckling the 70s and 80s music videos that were playing.
The next day was our food tour, through Secret Food Tours. We paid $96 US each, after taking advantage of the company’s 20% discount offer during the summer. I opted for the Downtown tour over Strip tour, as more tastings were offered for a cheaper rate. One upside of the Strip tour is they go to a couple celebrity chef locations, if that’s your thing. The Downtown tour focuses on hidden gems and favourites of locals.
Our guide Katrina was fantastic and we lucked out with a private tour, as no one else booked for that day. To begin, we were taken inside the California Hotel and Casino, which despite its name has many Hawaiian-themed elements and offers travel packages to Hawaii residents. As a result, the Aloha Specialties Restaurant is a favourite of visitors and locals alike, and where we dined on Teriyaki Chicken and Spam Musubi. Both dishes were very good, with the teriyaki sauce being a highlight. I wanted to hook it to me veins!
Up next was some chocolates (Red Velvet Truffle, Almond Butter Krisp, milk and dark chocolates) from Ethel M. Chocolates. Due to an issue our guide was having with paying for items due to Aloha Specialties system being down, a stop at Lappert’s Ice Cream was added to the itinerary. There, we had large scoops of Hawaiian Salted Caramel and Coconut Pineapple ice cream.
We then travelled to the Circa Resort & Casino, where we visited Saginaw’s Deli for a shrimp cocktail. Shrimp cocktails are a Vegas staple, particularly in the long history of the Downtown area, so it was neat to try this version.
From there, we continued to walk through Fremont Street and ended up at Dirt Dog. Here, we tried the Elote Dog, which was loaded with Mexican ingredients, such as corn and cotija cheese. We also grabbed our first beverage of the day, with Mrs. Sip wanting to try their Get Trashed cocktail, complete with tequila soda, watermelon Red Bull, soju and a chamoy rim.
Up next was Evel Pie, an Evel Knievel-themed pizza joint. I’ve always been fascinated with the stuntman, so visiting the eatery was a cool experience. Our Hog Heaven pizza slice was delicious and I loved checking out all the memorabilia that adorned the walls.
The Container Park then summoned us, as we popped into Bin 702 for their Lobster Crudito sandwich. With happy hour on the horizon, we got servings of the restaurant’s Bin 702 Blonde Ale and North 5th IPA.
The final stop of the tour was Sorry Not Sorry Creamery, where we put some icing on the cake with bowls of Blackberry Basque Cake and Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll ice cream. I’d say my only complaint of the tour was that two servings of ice cream was a lot, although we appreciated that the one earlier was a add on.
With our friends now arrived, we were off to Area 15 for an evening of entertainment. Unfortunately, our late start meant that many of the attractions we wanted to see with our Level 3B pass (two day passes for $135 each) were already booked up, while others were closed for private events/maintenance. As a result, we’d have to return the next day. Our main event on this night was checking out Universal Horror Unleashed, the closest thing Mrs. Sip was going to get to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios parks. We enjoyed the four-house exhibit, getting spooked a few times along the routes.
Following the walkthrough, we went over to the main Area 15 building for some food and drinks at The Beast. Mrs. Sip and I split the Bavarian Pretzel, while I enjoyed the Firestone Hazy IPA. We also nibbled on our friends serving of nachos, as all dishes are so much larger than we get at home.
Back to Area 15 the next day, we started at the John Wick Experience, which is a cool escape room type activity, where some stellar actors lead you through getting out of The Continental assassin safe zone. We really enjoyed our pre- and post-event cocktails here, trying the Fortune Favors the Bold (mezcal, peach liqueur, lemon juice, honey, firewater bitters) and The Mother F*cking King (bourbon, peach puree, Thai chili syrup, thyme).
Prior to heading back into the main Area 15 building to experience Dopeameme, Wink and VR games, we grabbed some grub at The Beast food truck. Mrs. Sip and I shared a trio of Queso Tacos, one each of beef, chicken and pork, along with a tall-can of Able Baker Signal Mango Wheat Ale. Then a wild windstorm picked up and we ran for refuge inside.
Our main event this evening was two-fold. We began with a spectacular feast at Herbs & Rye, an old school steakhouse off strip. I loved how their cocktail menu was broken up over different eras, with my selections being the Lion’s Tail (bourbon, all spice dram, bar syrup, lime, bitters) and Weekend at the Waldorf (rum, orange curacao, lime, strawberries). To eat, I went with the Filet Mignon with Mushrooms, while we got a flight of various sauces to go with the meats. Best of all, the restaurant offers happy hour pricing on all their steaks throughout the day, so it was very reasonably priced. My friend and I both celebrating September birthdays were given complimentary desserts of chocolate chip cookies skillets, completing our absolutely amazing meal. That was followed by a trip to the Sphere to watch some DJs our friends were interested in. While not my type of music, per se, I appreciated the unique experience and was happy to finally see what all the hype is about when folks talk about the venue.
Day three offered us a chance to check out the Strip and we took full advantage. We began with lunch at Ole Red, after striking out at both Beer Park (long wait for seats) and Bottled Blonde (no servers approached out table, so we left after 10 minutes). At Ole Red, Mrs. Sip and I split the Triple Decker Club, paired with Loaded Tots and a side of Cornbread. My beverage of choice was the Elysian Space Dust.
From there, we walked to the nearby Fuel Bar, a favourite spot of mine and Mrs. Sip, for a pair of Lynchburg Lemonades to enjoy as we continued walking. Speaking of walking bevvies, a couple others I particularly enjoyed on this vacation were the Smirnoff Ice Red, White & Berry and Clubtails Long Island Iced Tea. In our travels, I also picked up a unique Twix Snickerdoodle chocolate bar that was very tasty.
Our walk led us to the Arte Museum, where we checked out the immersive exhibits for a bit. We also made a point of visiting the Chef Food Truck (from the movie Chef), splitting a very good The Chef Cubano between our group.
We then started making our way back to our resort, with stops at The Chandelier (Cosmopolitan) for their rare Verbena Cocktail and Yard House (LINQ) for the Firestone Cali Squeeze Blood Orange, which one of our group really wanted to get their hands on.
Still on our trek back, we popped into a pair of speakeasy locations. First up, was The Count Room at The Flamingo, where I enjoyed the Revision Vegas As F*ck IPA. That was followed by Here Kitty Kitty at Resorts World, where we used our $100 food and beverage credit for staying at the hotel. My drink of choice was the Walk of Shame (mezcal, lemon juice, ginger syrup, coconut water).
The next morning, Mrs. Sip and I sadly had to check out, but luckily our friends were staying another night, so we were able to store our stuff in their room. We made our way back downtown, beginning with brunch at Broken Yolk Café. There, I had the Pucker Up Lemonade, combined with the Biscuits and Gravy.
One more speakeasy was on our friend’s must visit list and that was The Underground at The Mob Museum. This was an awesome place, feeling as close to a real speakeasy as you could find, complete with a password that changes each day. The memorabilia found around the room of this place, documenting the prohibition era, was fascinating. To drink, I had the Moonshine Mayhem (moonshine, pineapple, tea, cardamom), while Mrs. Sip – at my suggestion – went with the Banana Anna (cachaça, banana rum, pineapple, lime, walnut bitters, egg whites). Once a QR code for a secret menu was found, Mrs. Sip had to get the Bath Fizz (basically a Sloe Gin Fizz), served out of a mini bathtub.
Continuing on, we got a ride over to Beer Zombies, where Mrs. Sip and I got pints of the Punktoberfest and Silence of the Haze Imperial IPA. Another ride took us to The Stray Pirate, which was an amazingly themed bar, making you think you were sailing the seas. I ordered the Robbing the Gulf (tequila, watermelon, lime, jalapeño, italicus, tajin), which hit the spot.
Retuning to our resort, we had a parting drink at Allē Lounge on 66, which provided a spectacular view of the Strip. I drank the Chuckie (whiskey, apricot liqueur, pecan bitters, lemon juice, ginger beer), while we reminisced about all the wonderful experiences we’d shared.
The only thing we didn’t get to do, was travel the strip in one of the driverless vehicles now offered. The wait to take one was just too long and Mrs. Sip and I needed to get to the airport. While waiting and hoping our vehicle would arrive, I did grab a serving of College Street Big Blue Van Blueberry Wheat Ale from one of the nearby bars. This brew was yummy and a good way to end the debauchery.
As we waited for our flight to board, I purchased a bottle of Bacardi Caribbean Spiced at the Duty Free (aka Dufry, as if shortening the name by three letters and a space was necessary). The rum blends Caribbean spices with pineapple and coconut, which I’m looking forward to trying in the future.
That ends another very successful trip to Las Vegas. The city always changes and we’re happy to embrace those variances. On this occasion, we spent more time off Strip than on, which was different than most of our sojourns there. October will be an interesting month and you’ll hear all about it here – same Sip time, same Sip channel!
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