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Vicinity hires president,
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Las Vegas Foodie Heaven
In case you're wondering, this is not another article about National Doughnut Day, or the anniversary of the first hotdog, or celebrating the peanut butter sandwich. Rather, I want to offer a few tips for anyone, like me, who loves to enjoy food wherever they go.
How do you take a holiday that offers amazing food memories?
Whether those memories are about a world-class doughnut (yup, I've had one) or a world-class meal at a restaurant (not to be missed), they can provide your tastebuds with stories for a lifetime.
We’ve just come back from a few days in Vegas, and since neither one of us is very interested in gambling, we focused on other entertainment. Having married a chef, both of us highly value a great meal. I know that for some, spending hundreds of dollars on dinner is an astronomical amount that could never be justified, but never fear, I can offer a few suggestions that are more about comfort food, and straightforward flavours.
When Martin and I prepare for a holiday that has good food potential, we start researching far in advance. We keep notes of places we want to visit, or items we want to try, and ideas can come from recommendations, a Food Network TV show, or a magazine article. We also make a Google map of restaurants, markets, even doughnut shops :) Then I check Trip Advisor, as the amount of information from reviews can help me pick what fits our taste. Their City Guides are also a fantastic travelling tool, and don't even require WiFi, as they work on GPS to post map information.
Once we start planning a specific trip, we have to think about allocating days for rich delicacies and lighter fare. It's important to make sure there is some activity between meals too, or by the end of the trip we simply couldn't eat any more. What often works is to do lots of walking. Sometimes we stumble upon other cool spots that way, too.
For our Vegas trip, we really did hit the jackpot. It was especially nice to travel with foodie friends. We had a meal at a restaurant owned by a chef that Martin has followed his whole career - Joel Robuchon. We also enjoyed a dinner on a patio opposite the Bellagio fountains, thanks to a friend's recommendation. And our notes told us about a breakfast place that had awesome chicken and waffles and BLT Bloody Marys. We sampled Guy Fieri's food, and our travel companions booked lunch at Todd English's original restaurant as well. I can't post all the beautiful pictures here, but I will be posting many on my Happy Gourmand blog.
I will add that we are eating salad this week for dinner, and getting back to full workouts. As I do my push-ups in the morning and dish up some yogurt, I smile, and remember all the wonderful flavours and the quality time with friends.
I wholeheartedly recommend everyone try a foodie holiday - or at least some foodie time during your next trip. You never know when you could find a world-class doughnut (in case you want my recommendation, try The Doughnut Plant in New York City).
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
