What happens in Vegas is TASTY!

I was told by my manager at work that there was going to be a meeting that everyone in our office would be attending in Las Vegas the first week of October.  As it got closer and the dates and agenda was set I thought it would be great to see a friend that I worked with about 18 years ago before he transferred there.  We would be in Vegas for about 48 hours travelling out on a Tuesday morning and back home on Thursday morning.  The agenda showed one of the nights free, so I contacted my friend and we made a plan to meet at the hotel I was staying at and go to one of the 8 or 9 Las Vegas places that Guy visited on the show. 

I arrived into Vegas and looked at the agenda for the meetings and they had changed, they scheduled a team building Vegas-style scavenger hunt of silly items on the Vegas strip.  After talking to my manager we did some of the items and then he let me off to go and do some Triple D things.  I called my friend, Bob Bricker, and arranged for him to come to the hotel and pick me up and head to dinner.  The place I chose was "Forte European Bistro and Tapas Bar" which features Bulgarian cuisine.  This is the one place in Vegas that I wanted to go to as it was the place that Guy's crew pulled the biggest prank on Guy in the history of the show. 

I can't do justice to the prank by trying to explain it but it is a Triple D classic and the crew along with owner Nina Manchev and her father Stephan pulled one over on Guy that has become a classic!

Forte is in a strip mall and by seeing it you would have no idea that you in the Gambling Capital of Las Vegas.  As you enter you see a lot of Bulgarian and Eastern European paintings and decorations.  Like a number of places featured on Triple D they have a section of the menu where they feature the items presented on the show.  We decided to try one of their unique Bulgarian appetizers and then share the two Triple D main dishes.  First they brought over some bread along with olive oil and mix of spices and Bulgarian paprika for dipping, and was very tasty.  Our appetizer was the Marcona Almond stuffed dates which were wrapped in bacon and drizzled with a Jerez Sherry reduction.  I must tell you that I was very surprised, this was delicious. 

Marcona Almond stuffed Date appetizer

Just as we were finishing the dates they brought out the first of the entrees.  We had ordered the Bulgarian Mixed Grill and the Thracian Clay Pot.  The pot takes an extra amount of time so for us it became like a 3 course meal.  The Bulgarian Mixed Grill featured three in-house made Bulgarian style sausages called Kiutte, Kebabche and Loukaniko served with Bulgarian Bean Relish, European Bean Slaw and Liutenzia, which is tomato and red pepper mixture.  This was delicious the sausages, one was burger shaped and the others were links. All were great and had various degrees of spice.  The sides added to the flavors of the sausages. 

Bulgarian Mixed Grill

Then the Thracian Clay Pot came out and I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.  Inside the traditional Bulgarian Clay Pot was Charcuterie meats with tomatoes, onions, feta and topped with an egg.  The egg came out poached and the whole thing was awesome.

Thracian Clay Pot

As we were finishing up, I noticed sitting at the bar was the father of the owner, who I remembered from the episode and I knew I wanted to get him to sign my book and if Nina, the owner was there I wanted to meet her, too.  I introduced myself to Stephan and told him about my travels and he happily signed my book and told me that Nina was out having dinner on the patio with a friend so we went out and get her to sign the book and we took a couple of pictures.

There I am with Nina and Stephan

As we were taking care of the bill (very inexpensive!) Stephan asked it we would like a drink and although both of us are not big drinkers we said yes and asked him to send something that is traditional to Bulgaria and he sent over a Watermelon smash and we toasted to goo times!  The drink was Russian Vodka based with fresh mint, lime and watermelon infused and it was very refreshing.  This would be the perfect drink on a hot day, This must be very popular to the patrons of Forte in the heat of Las Vegas!

Watermelon Smash courtesy of Stephan Manchev  Upper Picture is the cup in English the bottom is the cup in Cyrillic

After saying goodbye to Nina and Stephan we headed out and reminisced about old times working together and it was a great time with an old friend!

Our meeting agenda showed that we would be having a team dinner the next night but because of the logistics of getting around Las Vegas they cancelled that and told us we would be on our own.  Woo Hoo!  There were a few places I still wanted to try.  I saw that one of the admins of the Triple D Facebook sites was going to be in Vegas so we arranged to meet at a Triple D place for dinner.  After the days meeting ended I decided that I would try a couple of places before meeting Shelley and her husband.  I got a cab from the hotel and headed to the next places that were next to each other.  "Naked City Pizza" and "Moon Doggies Bar" are interconnected so I tried Naked City Pizza first.

Naked City is a pretty bare bones place.  You order at the counter and they bring the pizza to you.  I ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza and had some water along with it.  The pizza was presented in a take home box.  The pizza was good, thick sliced tasty.  The pepperoni was small but spicy.  The place is a family style place with 4 or 5 Xbox screens for the kids to play.

Naked City Pepperoni Pizza Slice

I headed next door to Moon Doggies.  It was a dark smoky place with video poker and slot machines at the bar.  The place was packed and seemed to be a place the locals go.

I sat and the far end of the bar and decided to get a beer and as I was talking with the bar tender I told here why I was there and she got excited and went to get the owner. 

Blue Moon at Moon Doggies

The owner is a Buffalo, New York transplant so there is a lot of Buffalo sports memorabilia adorning the bar and Buffalo snacks and wings are available.  He signed my book and also gave me a t-shirt!  As I was there I got a message that Shelley and her husband had been delayed and would not be able to meet me.  I really didn't want to go to where we were going to meet, not because I didn't want to try it, I did, but their specialty is Stromboli and They served us Pizza for lunch and I had just had another slice, so I was just about pizza'd out!  I got on my phone and used the Food Network app to see which other Triple D location was nearby.  The app is excellent and shows how far the places are from your current location.  I decided to get a cab and head to "Lola's - A Louisiana Kitchen",  The cab driver told me he had never been there but had seen it on the Food Network, the only channels he watches are The Food Network and Velocity, alright a Triple D fan!

This place is all Louisiana and decorated with memorabilia of New Orleans, sports stuff from the Saints and the LSU Tigers. 

I was seated at a small table and I asked the waitress what was featured on their episode, she showed me the items and I decided on a Po Boy named for New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, the D'brees Roast Beef Po Boy.  I also ordered a side of Lola's grits.  As I awaited the meal, the waitress brought me some char grilled bread.  Lola came by and signed my book and we talked about the show and the filming process, she is a really nice lady!  They also brought me some extra items to try.  Two char-grilled Oysters and a small plate of New Orleans style sausage.  The Sausage and sauce was delicious but a bit spicy.  The Oysters were awesome!  Some of the best I have ever had!

Char Grilled Oyster and Bread

The sandwich came and Lola told me it would be messy and "get into it"!  The sandwich was really good and the side of grits were unreal!  I can say that they were by far he best grits I had ever eaten!   What a great meal and a great place!

D'brees Roast Beef Po Boy

Lola's Creamy Grits

An interesting side note is that Lola's is in a former bread factory.  Holsum Bread was baked in this building until about 2008 and the coolest thing is that they pay homage to the legacy with cool neon signs.

Lola paying homage to it's past

I headed back to the hotel and for me I went to Vegas and didn't see the inside of a casino, but who cares!  What happened in Vegas for me was delicious!  My Triple D count stands at 419!