Greetings from Las Vegas. This is Day 3 of our trip report, covering Thursday, October 14, 1999
After a quick breakfast at the Vacation Villa welcome center, we spent an hour in the model of our home, discussing some of the upgrades and options we'll be selecting when we meet with a professional interior designer in the Sun City Anthem Design Center. We also shot a complete video of every room and design element in the house, to have for reference when we are back home.
Later in the morning we were visited by two of our dear friends from Summerlin, Gladyce and Marty Ehrlich. We showed them our Vacation Villa, which they agreed was one of the best "hotel rooms" in town for what we are paying. Then we showed them the model home, taking note of the suggestions they gave us for options based on their experiences.
After this, the four of us drove over to Sunset Station to meet some other folks for lunch at the Costa del Sol Oyster Bar. Janice and Michael Holveck, a very nice couple from Vermont, were waiting for us when we arrived, and we were soon joined by Laverne Dillon, a long-time online friend from Connecticut, with her husband Bob in tow.
The Dillons were skipping lunch. Except for Rosalyn, who ordered bouillabaisse, we all had lunch portions of the Oyster Bar's signature pan roasts. The term pan roast makes it sound like some meat on a plate, but it is actually a mixture of seafoods and seasonings in a bisque-like broth, pale orange in color, served with rice in a bowl. It is hard to describe the rich, robust flavor, but for Oyster Bar regulars it is almost addictive.
The cost of our meals, beverage, tax and tip included, was $11.00 a person after a credit for my Entertainment Book discount. After a most enjoyable 90 minutes in the company of some wonderful people, we reluctantly said our goodbyes.
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around Henderson, continuing the process of getting better acquainted with our future home community. You may have read or heard that Las Vegas is the fastest-growing city in the nation's fastest-growing county, but this is true only if you exclude medium-sized cities. The fact is that if both medium- and large-sized cities are considered, the growth leader by a wide margin is Henderson. And we can believe it as we drive around the area. Much of Henderson seems to be one massive construction zone. Detours and lane reductions are everywhere. Streets that used to go from Point A to Point Z are now rife with barriers to complete passage. New roadways open up overnight. Cement trucks and earthmovers seem as common as passenger vehicles. Trips that normally take 10 minutes can now take 30. But of course, it is all for the benefit of the citizens who need these improvements to cope with the explosive population growth.
At dinnertime we journeyed to The Mirage for one of the most delightful meals, in some of the most delightful company, that we've ever experienced in Las Vegas.
First, some background. Over the past few years, a restaurant called Yolie's has been a popular recommendation for meat eaters. Billed as a Brazilian steak house, this Paradise Road eatery specializes in rodizio cooking, a Brazilian style of barbecuing in which various types of marinated meats, poultry and seafood are skewered and slowly roasted over coals in a specially designed rotisserie. For one price, the diner gets a small serving of each and every item. But these are all-you-can-eat dinners, so repeats of any or all items are yours to enjoy until you decide you've had enough.
Now comes a restaurant, courtesy of The Mirage, that takes rodizio to a new level and will make you forget that Yolie's even exists. That restaurant is the Samba Grill, which describes itself as "The All You Can Eat Rodizio Experience." And it is a memorable experience indeed, which I shall shortly outline to you.
Many of you know the work of Patti Shock, who writes restaurant reviews for the same e-Vegas website where I contribute my Las Vegas Blurbs. Patti's credentials have earned her enormous respect in the food-service industry. She is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Tourism and Convention Administration at UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. She has written numerous books and articles, and is in constant demand as a speaker. Patti is frequently quoted in newspaper stories dealing with issues in the hospitality industry, and has former students working in many of the area's restaurants.
Several weeks ago I suggested to Patti that we combine a planned dinner get-together with a visit to a restaurant she hadn't yet dined at and reviewed. The idea jelled, and Patti selected Samba Grill as our venue. To make the occasion even better, we were joined by Sven Edstrom, operator of the e-Vegas website, and his lovely wife Donna, both of whom had just returned from a visit to Sven's wet and chilly Swedish homeland.
Samba Grill is located at the edge of the Mirage casino floor, and the gambling sounds wafting into the dining room just add to the festive atmosphere the restaurant strives to convey.
Soon after we were seated, our servers placed a variety of side items on the table. These included black beans and rice, delicious sweet-fried plantains, creamed spinach, farofa carrots, and unlimited servings of "Samba Salad" tossed tableside. We also received a basket of tasty bread, accompanied by a unique spread composed of bananas, black beans, cocoa, olive oil and seasonings.
Then, for the next hour or so, an unending selection of marinated, barbecued specialties was brought to our table in random order. Here's what we received: Slow-cooked sausage and sweet peppers; honey-brushed turkey breast roulade wrapped in bacon; Brazilian-style baby back pork ribs; parmesan-crusted grilled seasonal vegetables; filet of Atlantic coast salmon; churrasco beef ribeye "Picanha" style; huli huli chicken Hawaiian style; lemon-soy flank steak; oregano marinated chicken with chayote "Xu Xu" squash; slow-roasted pork loin with whole roasted pineapple.
This would be an incredible amount of food to deal with if it arrived at table in a non-stop parade, so diners are provided with a way to control the delivery of each course: a small wooden doll called a "Samba Doll." The Samba Doll wears a red hat at one end and a green hat at the other. Stand the doll so that the green hat is up and the server will continue to bring food without interruption. Stand the doll so that the red hat is up and the server will stay away from the table until the doll is flipped and the "green light" given again.
All the food was absolutely delicious. My favorites were the two beef items, which picked up the flavors of their distinctive marinades very well and came off their skewers in slices that were rare and melt-in-your-mouth tender.
The price for this dining extravaganza? A surprisingly modest $28.95 per person.
Near the end of our meal, we asked for copies of the menu inserts, with Patti explaining to the hostess that she intended to write a favorable review of Samba Grill. A few minutes later, executive chef Patrick Glennon came over to meet us and discuss his concept. Still in his 30s, Glennon has a wealth of experience. Irish-born, raised in Connecticut and fluent in several languages, he spent six years training under some of the greatest chefs in France. He has practiced his profession in Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, France, Spain and Italy. He has owned and operated restaurants in California, creating the original Samba Grill in Santa Monica, and cooks privately for a number of the entertainment industry's most prominent stars.
Chef Patrick created the Mirage version of Samba Grill at the request of Steve Wynn, and he hired away Yolie's top chef to help do it. With the added treat of live Latin music five nights a week, this is definitely a dining experience you will enjoy like none other. I couldn't recommend it highly enough.
For those who want to order indvidual dishes a la carte, Samba Grill's menu offers about a half-dozen creative entrees, but I just can't imagine visiting this extraordinary restaurant and denying yourself the complete "Rodizio Experience."
And talk about a perfect ending: Patrick Glennon picked up our entire tab.
Samba Grill opens at 5:30 p.m. every day, closing at 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Located in front of the Caribe Restaurant, it seats 130, and reservations are recommended for parties of six or more.
You can read Patti Shock's complete Samba Grill review in her "Eating Well in Las Vegas" column at the e-Vegas site, http://www.e-vegas.net
Thus ended a wonderful Day 3, the type always made better by the company of friends, and in this case made even more special when Sven gave me a check made out to Shade Tree Shelter, representing royalties I earned from viewings of Las Vegas Blurbs on our Website.
--Best wishes from David ...in Las Vegas.
