Siena Grill at Siena Golf Club

W:  As mentioned before I am a total bitch in the morning if I don’t get to eat right away. This is exactly what happened on a morning where we went to go visit a couple of dear friends that live in the Summerlin area. After having a karaoke induced night mixed with $1 you call it anything at the Silverton Casino I was not a happy camper to be woken up early to grab a bite to eat.

S:  We usually try to find a place for brunch but this time all we really did was wake up and said...Crap, we have a brunch date in an hour.  So the group decided to go to Siena Grill

  

W:  Beautiful restaurant with the view of the golf course. Lush, green and full of old gray haired men sipping on beers and enjoying a day at the lawn. But the food did not impress me. It was not bad nor was it great. It was just good. Plain ol’ good. Not awesome, not spectacular. Just good. After fumbling through both the lunch and breakfast menu I didn’t find anything in particular that I wanted. Menu offered the standard fair of sandwiches, omelets, salads and breakfast stuff. Just plain boring stuff. 

S:  Honestly, I have no idea what I ordered and it was definitely not very memorable either.  I am pretty sure I got the crab cake sandwich.  The service is not very quick but it's fine.  The crab cake was not anything extraordinary but still pretty good.  Very typical, not too exciting. 

W:  I settled on the “create your own” omelet. I basically put everything that was offered into my omelet. I had diced ham, sautéed mushrooms, spinach, onions and peppers and it was all smothered in Swiss cheese. It came with a side of hash browns and I chose sour dough toast. The positive - the hash browns were crisp and brown . The negative - the omelet had a thick layer of cheese that weighed down the fluffiness that an omelet is supposed to be. But the best thing there was the thick , slightly toasted sour dough bread. Schmeared some butter and orange marmalade on it and I was in heaven.

S:  But I heard the golf course is great!  I heard they are great with keeping up their tracks.  They have nice wide fairways, fast greens which is great for interesting short game.  It's reasonable prices around $40.  The drink cart girls makes their round often and the tracks are really fun.

W:  I looked at their table advertisements and I would come back for their happy hour just to sip and enjoy a beer or two and try to find an old rich man that would leave me riches one day. Other than that I would not return if I had a choice.

Siena Grill
10575 Siena Monte Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89135

Twin Creeks at Silverton Hotel and Casino

S:  Thursday nights are reserved for the Pub Crawl at the Silverton! It starts at 7pm to 11pm at the top of each hour you start at the Mermaid Bar and ends at...I am not sure...

W:  $1 you call it. Whatever you want. $1. No strings attached. No Lies. $1.

S:  That means, any beer, any top shelf spirit for just $1. Or you can concoct a really flaming drink like Grey Goose and soda with a splash of Chambord liqueur.

W:  My favorite drink is a Grey Goose and soda with a splash of Chambord liqueur ... wait ... The Silverton Casino is one of those hidden gems that you find out and is reluctant to let people know for fear of your secret getting out. But I don’t care. I LOVE this place for the mere fact that you can get shit-faced for $20 including tip. After getting totally smashed we decided to head over to their Steak House that was offering tapas from 8 pm – close for 75% off. Really? Are you shitting me? Figured that I HAD to give this place a try. There’s nothing I can lose. I’m already shit faced so if the food tasted like shit then at least the alcohol would soften the blow. 

S:   Please note that after 8pm is only in the Twin Creek lounge area, which makes sense, don't want to sit next to a bunch of sloppy drunks. I know because I was one of them, at one time. And coming from the service industry - please tip off the bill that has not been discounted yet. So for a $72 bill and  you owe only $24, don't just put down $30!!!  Put another $5/$10, even if someone else is taking care of the bill! And yes, you do get charged for bread! It's $2.50 and you just saved 75%, it will be fine.We ordered Calamari, Meatballs, Bacon wrapped Shrimp, and Stuff Mushrooms. They are all pretty tasty and great bang for its buck.  The bread basket is filled with warm and pillow-like varieties from pretzel to raisin.

W: The lamb chops were EXCELLENT. They were tender and had a slight char from the grill. Seasoned simply with salt and pepper.  But I was pleasantly surprised at the selection and quality of food that was presented to me and my drunken comrades. We ordered 1 of every item on the menu and went for seconds and thirds of the items that we enjoyed. The bread basket was AWESOME. It was filled with fluffy goodness. From my alcohol induced memory I believe it was a selection of pretzal bread sticks and raisin rolls. Warm. Crusty. Delicious.

For a party of 5 our total bill was $30 with tip. Really. No Shitting. No Lies. Just Good Shit.

 

How bad did you get trashed at the Pub Crawl or Twin Creeks? 

Silverton Casino Lodge
3333 Blue Diamond Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89139

Arturo's Taco Truck

W:   I love getting head. Waiting in line and the anticipation of getting head is unbearable. Sounds wrong and raunchy but I love stepping up and asking for head. Late night is when I like to get head. One of my guiltiest pleasures. Stopped twice and got head both times late at night. Driving around in the dark of the night looking for the street corner where head awaits. And of course it’s a family outing. We all love head. Ah Ha! On the corner of Bellevue Dr and Fair Oaks Ave. The mighty taco truck awaits!

S:  Honestly, before the crazy food truck phase, I've always have a fondness for roach coaches.  Before the decked out in-your-faces colorful hot wells, I am more drawn towards a modded pickup truck with insulated silver diamond-pattern doors with attached griddle or fryer. Generally, you can find these trucks frequenting construction sites. The first roach coach that I tried was actually in Mexico, so to see Arturo's keeping the ghetto fabulous, I was very excited!

W:   As a lover of almost all things Latin, this taco truck exudes authenticity. Well, probably not but if real Mexican food does not taste like this then I will be majorly disappointed. This place is a mobile taco truck that is parked in an empty parking lot next to a rundown building between 6 pm to 3 am. The people watching is one of the best parts of the experience. It’s awesome when you see dumb ass drunk bitches walking around in 8 inch high heels trying to avoid the cracks of the pavement and swaying back and forth waiting in line. On this particular night there were an entourage of velvet orange and blue pumps that paraded up and down the lines. Believe me Latin women are beautiful, curvy and sexy. But these were not. They were busted.

S:  Don't forget about that one chick that slipped.  It was so hard not to stare but she was a good sport about it, rolling on the pavement in her mini skirt.  I have to say especially, just in case you cannot tell by now, the head meat aka cabeza brought me back to Mexico City.  There were a variety of meats from carnitas, tripas, cabeza and you can eat it multiple ways, from burritos, tacos, mulitas to quesadillas. The meats were chunky, perfect for each yumful bite. They were seasoned just right, tender, and with just the right amount of natural juices present. Arturo's has this amazing guacamole salsa that is creamy and tangy that goes beautifully with my cabeza tacos. Cheap great eats!

W:   Our party of 7 ordered roughly 21 tacos and 1 quesadilla. Mostly all cabeza. The meat was luscious and moist stacked on top of crisp tortillas. The brightness of the lime and cilantro and the sharpness of the finely diced onion covered in either the salsa verde or salsa rojo made the night. The head was braised until it melted in your mouth like meat butter.  Really… meat butter. No other way to describe it. There were no remnants of any musky gamey taste. Just nice juicy head. Best of all you get to see ugly sloppy girls fall of truck beds and step into the cracks of the parking lot and get their heels stuck and try struggle to escape in their drunken stupor. Awesome. Dinner and a show.

Has anyone else seen stupid antics at Arturo's? If so, what happened and most importantly what did y'all eat? (thought we'd bring a southern twang since Mexico is south of the US). 

Arturo's Taco Truck

Bellevue Dr and Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105

Nha Trang

We are from Vegas and we go to LA to visit family quite often. And when we are there it often involves "W" gorging himself in an all-you-can-eat Asian experience of food. Let me just say there is no exaggeration when I say we go and squeeze in 6 meals a day. One general rule when hanging out with us: "W" MUST EAT RIGHT WHEN HE WAKES UP. To involve other activities would mean suicide for you and your guests when this raging bitch attacks.


Early morning and "W" hears the door creak open. Abruptly woken up to go eat breakfast at a place that has been gloated as the best place in the city for a big bowl of Vietnamese Noodle. Nha Trang is the name and Noodle is their game ... before 10am. They are infamous for Bun Rieu and Bun Bo Hue.


S:  I am a huge fan of Bun Rieu. Something about slippery thin rice noodles swimming happily in a bright red-orange broth with shrimp/crab paste makes me weak in the knees. Our uncle (who is probably the unofficial mayor of all the Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants in LA) is buddies with the owner. This tiny hole in the wall cannot even put a quarter of my husband's family in there and they are tiny little Asians, well majority of them.


W: When we got seated we ordered the Bun Bo Hue while "S" ordered Bun Rieu. The steamy broth arrived with delicate pieces of sliced beef and slippery noodles. The broth was perfection. One of the best I had ever tasted. I added the herbs and the bean sprouts. The heat of the broth slightly steamed the bean sprouts but  still kept its textual integrity to add an extra crisp, clean, crunch. All the spices and flavors enveloped my face as I peered into the bowl while slurping the broth. It’s practically indescribable. Not of pork nor of beef. A nice mix of porky and cowy flavors.


S:  Of course, I got the Bun Rieu, the flavors are infused with the savory crab tomalley, salty shrimp paste, tangy tomatoes and shallots all nicely simmered in pork knuckles and whole blue crabs.  It is by far one of the best broth I have endured. 


W: Luckily on that day they had the Siu Mai with bread. Weird right? I didn’t know that the Vietnamese was into folding dim sum like their Chinese counterparts. At first I thought I heard wrong and my uncle was speaking Vietnamese but as I was reminded … "Siu Mai" no matter how you say it in any language means the same thing. 


S: The Banh Mi Xie Ma is a fusion of Vietnamese/Italian infused marinara sauce over Chinese marinated pork meatballs. You eat it the lucious meat and sauce with fresh baked crunchy French baguette.  Dericious! (yes, I know how to spell delicious...it's my thing, ok?)  The pork was very silky and it was very appetizing.

W:  The siu mai was not what I expected at all. It was a delicate meat ball covered in a light and tangy tomato sauce with shards of cilantro sprinkled throughout. My uncle informed me that this is what siu mai was in Viet Nam and how he used to enjoy it and how it’s really hard to find in the states. I was informed to dip the crunchy French bread and slather some of the meat onto the bread. Reminiscent of an Italian meat ball sub but the lighter skinner sister version. If an Italian Meat Ball Sub had a sister it would be this skinny bitch. The younger, hotter, skinner and prettier one. 

S:  Great imagery, is there any part of the stereo typical gay you do not fit?  Overall, I will definitely come back.  This place will be to you as a temple, offering broth that enlightens the palate and leave you wanting more.   You actually think I am exaggerating...but you will see how irresistible this broth is when you show up pass 11:30am and watch the line forms and when some items are already SOLD OUT!  If you're a believer in the sanctity of broth, you must visit Nha Trang...before 10am.  

W:   The place was very cute. Small. Crowded. But cute. The food came out in a matter of minutes. My uncle’s friend was there, he wasn’t the owner nor was he employed there but was somehow became our personal waiter. He brought out our food and cleared and cleaned the table. He would talk to my gregarious uncle while he was seating customers. Who knows what type of relationship the gentleman and the owner has but who cares. The food was excellent, the service was awesome and the grey haired man provided amusement. 

Has anyone else tried the other items here? If so what were they and how did they compare to the Bun Rieu or Bun Bo Hue? We would love input so that next time we can try the other items ... but the predecessors are sooo addicting ... salivating as i'm writing this ....

NHA TRANG

311 E Valley Blvd
Ste 103
San Gabriel, CA 91776

(626) 572-7638

Open Door

W:  Let me first start off by saying that I have been to this place once before so I know the quality and excellence of service that this place is able to provide. Now let me begin. Arrived in Los Angeles by 11 am and started our drinking binge at 3.

S:  We?  Folks, let me paint a picture for you guys.  There is 9 of us a '03 Toyota Sequoia and only two people were drinking in the car.  "W" and my husband.  I am not judging, just clarifying. No need to justify why we had to pregame to Open Door when we are going there for Happy Hour!

W:  Before exiting the car we decided to chug a Pacifico beer before entering the restaurant (classy right?). Anyway, my cousins have become regulars and our large party of 15 did not have to wait too long to be seated.

S:  Love the decor, it was adorable.  The place is very cute with a large faux cherry blossom tree smack dab in the middle. The restaurant is small able to fit up 20-25 people.

W:   This place is tiny, she means roughly 50 midgets or so.

S:   There is this amazing blackboard that is like an interchangeable menu. Their menu was super cute too!  That is when I set my eyes on UNI MAC & CHEESE!!!!  There's also truffles, foie gras, sweet bread....the selections...I cannot wait!  It's UNI MAC & CHEESE, this brilliant chef married two of my favorite things together. I wonder will he deep fry it...j/k.

W:  We started our meal with the “usual” as stated by our dear friend Peter, truffle buttered edamame beans and truffle oil tater tots. Truffle anything is good. Truffle on a leather shoe would make it taste fantastic. As part of the happy hour menu we flooded our table with these items. Now this is where it gets a little blurry … literally … after a few sochu drinks (flavored soju with hints of fruit juices) and saki bombs … sashimi style fish was served. We had salmon … something white  … and something else that was white … albacore …. hamachi …. Anyway each was dressed with an Asian-eque sauce. A variation of soy based sauces with a little zip and tang. I remember from my past experience that these were delicious and I could have agreed that these were the same. We ordered like kings and queens (especially me) and as the night progressed the food brought me out of my liquored induced state and clarified my vision once again.

S:  We had the Albacore Sashimi - topped with crunchy scallions and served with shiso leaves and a red Japanese berry that tasted much like a raspberry with a seed in it.  Salmon Sashimi dressed in a ponzu sauce.  The fattiness of the salmon was cut by the tang of the soy sauce mixture. The crunch provided a textual anomaly that made it surprising. The Bacon and Egg Shooter. In the glass is a beef consomme broth with a over-easy poached egg and topped off with a piece of candied bacon. You get your cow, pig and chicken all in one. First you shoot and then take a bite of the candied bacon. You get a combination of unami flavors of sweet, sour and savory.

W:  The uni mac and cheese was a complete stand out for me. We ordered two because "S" is a fatass. The waitress suggested mixing it all up and making it look like dog shit. Wrong. I did not enjoy it this way. It muddled the flavors and hid the subtle but brininess of the uni.

S:  The second order was so much better, it was one of the "rare" moments where "W" kept repeating how amazing it tasted.  There were 15 of us and everyone was very nice enough to let me finish the last few delicate bites.

W:  We ate it our way. We broke the soft poached egg and allowed the yolk to ooze all over the mac and cheese. The uni looked like little islands floating in a sea of yellow with crisp macaroni noodles nestled underneath. We scooped up a little bit of everything and entered it into our mouths. For once I was actually silent. I just looked in awe of this masterpiece and could not stop staring it at, beside the fact that I felt like a total fatass trying to get every morsel and lick the casserole dish clean. Some complained that the cheese was not strong enough and didn’t taste like mac and cheese. But I disagree. The cheese echoed the subtle smelliness of the uni in a good way. I know smelliness does not sound appetizing but eh, I don’t know how else I could explain it. Any cheese with a stronger taste would have over powered the whole dish and we would have lost all the flavors and be bombarded by cheese. Just cheese. Not uni mac and cheese. But just cheese. Go and eat out of the iconic blue box if you want mac and cheese. Go and cry me a river.  With the addition of a rich poached egg it tied the whole dish into one creamy and luscious mess.

S:  Let's not forget about the Confit Duck tacos.  It was so moist and perfectly cooked.  All portioned perfectly into a savory bite.

W:  There’s a new trend where everybody is experimenting and making all sorts of tacos. Tacos is the new thing. It’s the new steel tipped bootie for fall 2012. Now everybody thinks that they can put anything into a taco shell but the confit duck tacos are something EXTRAordinary. The succulent and tenderness of the duck leg paired with a crisp mini flour tortilla topped with ribbons of green onion and a sweet plum sauce was excellent. You had to build your own which made it even better. I love when guests are able to build their own food and become part of the food process experience. It makes the experience more enticing and brings out the sexiness of food. Putting a person in a taco and smothering them with sauce is not very sexy but when you put ingredients like the ones described above, that makes it sexy and irresistible. 

S:  I am clearly more of the eater between the two of us and "W" is more of the chef.  But we definitely enjoyed our time here.  Have you guys checked out Open Door, it has some great reviews online!  Do you think they meet par or just overrated?


Open Door
122 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-9829
Map It

Foo Foo Tei

W:  Foo Foo Tei is located in a middle of neighborhood and they serve Osaka style stringy ramen noodles swimming in over 30 different kinds broth.  I always like to be different. But this is one time being different did not pay off. I was ordered, even mandated to try the #17 at Foo Foo Tei. I was told this was their pot of gold. Their Pièce de résistance. Their claim to fame. Their… you get the point. 

S:  With all that said, I decide to order infamous #17 - Nanchatte Tonkotsu Ramen.

      Fun Fact:  Tonkotsu broth, not to be confuse with Tonkatsu (Pork Cutlet) is created from slow roasted
      pork bones but Nanchatte in Japanese mean, fake, half-arsed or just kidding.  So number #17 is
      translated  to Just Kidding Pork Broth...they made it with chicken instead and it is even creamier than the
      traditional Tonkotsu beside the fact that they include cream to it.

W:  The #17 is a creamy white ramen broth that has pieces of pork and crisp vegetables floating inside.  Silky, milky and smooth. It opened up a new dimension of taste buds. But instead of following the herd I decided to be special and ordered #19, a spicy kim chee style sea food noodle soup. Don’t get me wrong, I was not disappointed but I was not amazingly wowed. My sister who followed the crowd placed the 8^th order of the # 17 at our table. And I was reminded that I was #19 …

S:  #17 was amazing, the velvety broth was sprinkled with a type of liquid crack to entice you to slurp so much that you can even get a milk mustache from its creamy base.  The soft boiled egg was cooked to perfection with a bright orange of gooeyness.  And the pork ... the succulent pork belly; they browned the skin and the next layer was marbled fat and then the meat. It was so yumful that my arteries was saying, "It's ok...I understand.  Go ahead and eat it."  Wow, I really was not trying to sound like a Fatass but guess it just comes naturally LOL. Whatever, I am writing from the clogged heart people! Anyway the symphony of silky chicken broth, pork meat and slurping with the ramen was delightful.

W:  As Fatasses, we did not stop there. We also ordered some amazing appetizers: friend chicken wings, takoyaki squid balls and vienna style sausages served with mustard and ketchup. 

S:  Calamari - love the wasabi mayo, it cost extra but a must for this dish or it will just be a typical calamari dish - Asian style. It has a nice kick to it, but nothing too mind-blowing.

S:  The Takoyaki is something different. I still cannot figure out what is the flaky topping is. But it is QQ, which is a Chinese adjective that describes the mouth feel when your chewing. There is some bounce to it and tons of flavor. I'm sure they put some five spice or nori mix into the batter but very different because it is crunchy and the mayo offsets it with some creaminess.

W:  The takoyaki squid balls were covered in a mayo based sauce. Probably kewpie which is a sweet Japanese mayo and was sprinkled with bonito flakes. Hot balls in my mouth.  AWESOME.  Explosion of flavor. Enough said. The sausages were nothing too special. Grilled little sausages that reminded me of a more flavorful kielbasa sausage. But who could go wrong with a meal consisting of balls and sausages.

W:  The chicken wings were gigantic. If chickens had one night stands with turkeys then these would be the drummettes that would have been produced. Let’s call them Turken wings. They were covered in a thick batter that sealed in the juices. Crispy and crunchy… every attribute you look for when ordering something deep fried.

S: We would definitely come again. But be forewarned. Take people’s advice #17.

Have you guys every tried Foo Foo Tei's other broth, how was it? 

And if you did try #17, do you crave for it?

Foo Foo Tei
15018 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745