Friday, April 10, 2015
Breakfast at home: oatmeal with diced pink lady apple, cinnamon, soy milk. Cut my hair, showered. Finished packing. Rode UberX to SFO. Lunch at Lark Creek Grill: Patrick had a fried chicken sandwich with side salad ($14.95). I had a side of mac and cheese ($6.95) and a side of seasonal vegetables ($5.95). Food and service by Poem were excellent. Virgin America flight 906 to Las Vegas in seats 14A and 14B. Taxi to vdara took 15 minutes, about $20. Checked in to Vdara by Cody. Room 41011 has a great view west across the freeway with a desert mountain range in the distance. Unpacked. Nap. Walked to Paris. Dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steak: Hell's Kitchen Limited Edition Tasting Menu with Tŷ Nant and wine pairing: $595.10 after a $100 tip. Patrick has frequently watched Gordon Ramsay on television and had been looking forward to trying the beef wellington and sticky toffee pudding. They added a lit candle to the sticky toffee pudding for his birthday. The complete menu: Hell's Kitchen Limited Edition Tasting Menu. Amuse Bouche: Scotch Egg (berkshire pork sausage, red wine braised cabbage; wine pairing: Chartogne-Taillet, Champagne, Cuvee Ste.-Anne, MV), First Course: Baby Beet Salad (heirloom beets, burrata, lolla rossa, spiced pecan crumble; wine pairing: François Pinon, Vouvray, Les Trois Argiles, 2011), Second Course: Butternut Squash Risotto (seared scallop, sage, mascarpone; wine pairing: Mateo, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, 2013), Third Course: Roasted Beef Wellington (glazed root vegetables, potato puree, red wine demi-glace; wine pairing: Frank Family, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2012), Dessert Course: Sticky Toffee Pudding (sweet date pudding cake, brown sugar toffee, brown butter ice cream; wine pairing: Chambers Rosewood, Muscat, Rutherglen, MV). Afterwards we walked to Bellagio for Cirque du Soleil's O in section 104, row H, seats 19 and 20. Our seats felt close to the stage. The show was magical and enchanting, and I was very pleased to have finally experienced it. We were amazed at the technical mastery and technology required.