Category: Travel

Southwest Roadtrip Day 2: Route 66 Roadside Towns

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Today’s leg of our trip focused on all things Route 66! There was plenty to see and do – and we couldn’t wait to hit the road!

But, first things first – keeping in line with our kitschy theme, we had to hit up The Pioneer in Laughlin for breakfast before starting our day.  What can we say – the Pioneer was a goldmine of kitsch, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Old West theme!

In Ed’s words, “When you’re in a gamblin’ kind of place, you gotta have a shrimp cocktail, no matter how early it is” – so here is my happy guy with his Shrimp Cocktail:

I chose to stick with coffee and pancakes. :)

Route 66 Roadside Town #1: OATMAN

Oatman is quite a place – and yes, you read it right – the sign mentions Wild Burros. As you walk through the main drag in town, there are tons of donkeys just cruising around unattended! They are descendants of all the pack animals brought to the tiny town by miners back in the day. You can buy a bag of carrots to feed them for $1, so of course we did!

Another big claim to fame for the town is the Oatman Hotel – where Clark Gable & Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon! The actual suite is undergoing renovations, but here is the entrance:

Oatman is a cute little old west town, and it was fun to take a few shots of all the old signage.

After leaving Oatman, we made a few stops along the way to take in the scenery.  A man was even nice enough to take a picture of the two of us!  Here are a few shots, but man – it really doesn’t do things justice!  One thing we both agreed on was that it was during this stretch of the road that definitely seemed the loneliest, and definitely most forgotten …


We even drove by the infamous Cool Springs Mobil Gas Station, which is an icon of stops along The Mother Road:

Route 66 Roadside Town #2: KINGMAN
We got into Kingman, which is one of the better known roadside towns. It was home of the Route 66 Museum, so we had to make a stop inside to check out all the memorabilia.

Also in Kingman is Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner. We were holding out for another place to actually eat at which was a few towns away (more on that later!), so we settled on a milkshake at Mr. D’z.

We didn’t have too much time in Kingman, because we wanted to make sure to get to the Grand Canyon Cavern in time to check it out before it closed. On the way, we passed through a TON of open road, some Hualapai Indian Territory, and the teeny tiny town of Peach Springs.

Route 66 Roadside Attraction: GRAND CANYON CAVERN & CAVERN INN

The Cavern was so awesome! We were glad to make it in time for the last tour of the day (they don’t let you go down there unattended). We took an elevator 21 stories down underneath the ground with 4 others and our tour guide, Johnny. Tough to capture – but here we are in the Cavern!

Also on site is a ton of other fun stuff, like dinosaurs & the groovy old sign at the Inn!

Route 66 Roadside Town #3: SELIGMAN

We hightailed it out of the Cavern as soon as the tour ended en route to Seligman – where the fictional town of Radiator Springs (from the Pixar movie Cars) is basically inspired from. There were promises of a pretty extensive (and wacky) mega gift store, as well as the diner we’d really been holding out for all day – The Snow Cap Drive-In. We are bummed to report the Snow Cap was CLOSED by the time we got there! However, they had lots of pictures of cars just like the ones in the movie Cars – so these pics are for you, Facey family! :)
Look at the eyes they put in the windows:

We were really disappointed, the Snow Cap just seemed like the ultimate place to stop … SO old school!

They’re most famous for their “Dead Chicken” – and we didn’t get to find out what it was all about!

Route 66 Roadside Town #4: WILLIAMS
By the time we got to Williams, the sun had already gone down – but this was the most bustling of the roadside towns. Don’t get me wrong – its still teeny & quaint – but the lights were on, the Old West vibe was strong, and there were lots of people milling around. This is the Route 66 town before we left the Mother Road to head to the Grand Canyon.

To finally quench our ultimate Route 66 diner quest, we had a bite at Cruiser’s Cafe 66.

That wraps things up for day 2. We gotta get some rest – we’re planning a big day of hiking at the Grand Canyon. We both can’t wait to see it, we’re getting up early!

Southwest Roadtrip Day 1: Laughlin, NV

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So, our long awaited road trip is finally here! Carrie and I decided this year for our annual anniversary vacation that we’d take in some of the amazing sights we’ve got within our own border. And how best to do that? Road trip!!

We will be spending the next nine to ten days driving around the Southwest, primarily Arizona. We won’t give you spoilers as to where – you’ll just have to keep checking back over the next ten days to see where we’re at!

Anyways, we started off our trip literally during rush hour after work. We packed the car the night before and went to work this morning. After work, I drove to Carrie’s office and picked her up, and off we went towards Arizona. And where did we spend the night tonight before our “real” journey starts in the morning? Laughlin, Nevada.

Neither of us have been here before. Think of it as a “Vegas Lite”, but with more kitsch. As you can see in the pictures below, kitsch is the name of the game here. We are staying overnight at the Colorado Belle, a hotel shaped like a steamboat on the bank of the Colorado River. Hey, for $22, we’re in.

After checking in, we went downstairs for a little video poker action. After losing our $20, we walked around the facilities and found that the Colorado Belle sure loves its murals. Here’s me picking an argument with two gentlemen:

Tomorrow morning, the real journey begins as we hit Route 66 eastward and explore a wonderful, bygone era. Stay tuned!!

Las Vegas … in food!

Ed & I braved the crowds and headed out to Las Vegas this Memorial Day weekend. We have to say, a big motivation was all of the great food we’ve been hearing about, and we decided it was time to make the trek. We are pleased to report that it definitely lived up to the hype – we were very impressed. We felt like we barely made a dent in all there is to offer there! Guess that means we’ve got reasons to go back!

MESA GRILL – CAESAR’S


We got right down to business shortly after arriving by hitting up Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill at Caesar’s. Ed & I are big Iron Chef America fans, and we have watched – and salivated, over many dishes we’ve seen Bobby “throwdown” on TV. With his specialty southwestern style cooking, he creates a lot of what our Southern Californian palates crave … bold, spicy flavors and ingredients like chiles, avocados and beans. We were really excited about having lunch at Mesa Grill, and weren’t disappointed.

We began with the Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale with Corn-Cilantro Sauce. This appetizer tasted just as good as it sounds! We were so eager to gobble it up, that we forgot to take a photo first! Delightful in every way.

The menu all looked so good, that Ed and I opted for the Prix Fixe Lunch. We ordered opposite selections from each other so we could (literally) try it all! Here’s how it all went down:
First Course:
Green Pea + Green Chile Soup
Crispy Serrano Ham + Mint-Cumin Crema
OR
Blue Corn Pancake
Barbecued Duck + Habanero Chile-Star Anise Sauce


Ed chose the Pea Soup, and this was the highlight of his meal. Even I had to admit it was incredible, and I am not usually a fan of Pea soup! How it had so much flavor was beyond me … this dish was a 15 out of 10. Perfection.


I chose the Blue Corn Pancake with duck. It was very bold, and extremely flavorful … but ended up being a little rich for my tastes.

Second Course:
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Chipotle-Molasses BBQ Sauce, Cole Slaw + Bread and Butter Pickles
OR
Grilled Sea Scallops
Blue Corn Tortilla, Avocado Relish + Jalapeno Pesto


Ed chose the Pulled Pork. We’d have to say it was a little light on the chipotle, and a little heavy on the molasses … it was very sweet!

I chose the Scallops, and this was so delicious I don’t even have words! Actually, I do: JALAPENO PESTO. Yes, please!!!

The third course was an espresso flan … we spaced and didn’t get any pictures of that one! All in all, Bobby didn’t let us down. Our lunch was fantastic!

TAO – THE VENETIAN


On Friday night, we visited Tao at The Venetian for one of our favorite cuisines – Asian Fusion. The menu is very inticing, and the decor is incredible! It was extremely dark, and my pics didn’t quite turn out … so I “borrowed” a few from the web:
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As you walk in, the entryway is lined with bathtubs filled with rose petals and water … true rose water!
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We sat right in front of this super cool wall lined with backlit ancient opium pipes.
The food was amazing … we had a little of everything. Lobster wontons, Yakitori swordfish, asparagus tempura, kung pao chicken and a veggie roll. We’d say that the food was about a 8 out of 10 … but we enjoyed it immensely. The highlight was definitely the Lobster Wontons.

BEIJING NOODLE NO. 9 – CAESAR’S


The next day, we had an awesome lunch at Beijing No. 9, which is easily the highlight of our trip. It had it all … real, authentic chinese food that was fresh and not greasy! The noodles were hand made, the dumplings were hand rolled – it was casual, but stunning, all at the same time.


Hand made shrimp dumplings, and Ed’s chinese beer.

Okay … we went nuts over the decor of this place. We can’t help it, when it comes to a restaurant, the ambiance matters to us – and boy did this place have style. The entrance is lined with goldfish tanks … the walls and ceiling are covered in this lacquered white cutout pattern … and the hostess wears a 60s airline stewardess-type dress that’s orange. It’s AWESOME.


Needless to say, we fell in love with Beijing No. 9.

FIX – BELLAGIO

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Last but not least, our final hurrah was at Fix in The Bellagio. Fix is classic American food, done very, very well. We were drawn to look of this place of course, but once we peeked at the menu, we knew we had to dine there! We started off with Pineapple Mojitos, shared a delicious Rock Shrimp and Red Pepper appetizer with amazing chile sauce, and shared that evening’s special – a steak for two. It was awesome … the selection they gave us was cut so that half of it was porterhouse, the other half a filet mignon. With two sauces to choose from (a red wine reduction or white peppercorn), we had lots of options in how we wanted to enjoy our meat! But truth be told, it was prepared so deliciously, we didn’t even use the sauces. It was excellent. But there was absolutely no room for dessert after that one!

All in all, we’d say we are now completely satiated – this was hedonism at it finest, folks!

Carrie’s Birthday Fun Day!

Today was Carrie’s actual birthday and we decided to celebrate in numerous and diverse ways. It was truly an action-packed day, starting off in Palm Springs and eventually ending up at Disneyland. All in all, it was a great way to ring another fantastic year in the life of Carrie Kim!

As you know, we stayed overnight at the Viceroy and relished its swankness. Our first stop this morning was the Parker Palm Springs to get the birthday girl (and her husband) all pampered up at the spa and for a crazy good brunch.

The Parker is an incredibly fun-loving homage to early ’70s style, designed by Jonathan Adler. The grounds themselves once belonged to Gene Autry, but after Adler’s revamp, it’s a pleasure palace that will make anyone who experienced the ’70s smile. Anyways, after getting rejuvenated in the spa, we walked over to Norma’s, the Parker’s in-house breakfast/lunch eatery.

As it was my wife’s birthday, I saw fit to wear a shirt showing my birthplace and year of birth!

We started off with these amazing crab cakes – some of the best we’ve ever had.

I had Norma’s Eggs Benedict, which had asparagus and pancakes instead of the usual English muffin. Carrie had Claw’s and Chip’s Gone Fishing, aka fried sea bass and lobster done fish & chips style. Wow.

But a birthday lunch wouldn’t be complete without a cake. So I had them bring out the big guns: Chocolate, Chocolate Ice Cream Cake. But I had no idea it would be THIS big! We barely made a dent in this giant thing! But it was unbelievably delicious.

What next? How about spending the rest of the day at Disneyland? So that we did. Since it was Carrie’s birthday, she got a button announcing the occasion…and since I was celebrating with her, I got one that said “I’m Celebrating!”

Here’s the birthday girl in front of It’s a Small World.

Carrie even got a picture with Mickey and Minnie!

What a fun day it was…I think we’ve decided that from here on out, we should always not work on our birthdays!

Happy Birthday, Carrie!!!

Pics from the whole birthday trip are here:

Palm Springs Weekend 2009

Dinner at Circa 59

So after we got fully settled into the Viceroy, we headed out to dinner at Circa 59, the restaurant in the newly remodeled Riviera. We pulled up to the Riviera, completely unprepared for what we were about to see!

In short, it was visually amazing, if ever so slightly slightly derivative. It’s a little bit Philippe Starck in its grandness and glamour, but no worse for it. It’s very impressive to look at, and very well thought out. It deserves to do well, and we hope it succeeds. Here’s the view as we pulled up:

Here’s me sitting on one of the fancy couches:

And here’s Carrie!

Some neat shots of the interior:

Our meals were OK…Carrie had salmon with a jalapeño pesto sauce, and I had red snapper with Spanish chorizo and shrimp. Both were pretty good, but not enough to knock your socks off.

In all, we’re glad we went as the Riviera re-opened in October and we love checking out the newest stuff, but we’d probably rate the food as a 3 out of 5. Definitely not bad, but lacking the sort of bang and innovation you’d expect from the sheer looks of the surroundings.

Still, we were plenty happy, as you can see here!

See the rest of the pics here.