Is it hot in here, or is it just me?
Joe Pasta is my go-to place for a dish of chicken parm.
Or veal.
Parmesan.
Garlic bread.
A mini pizza. Crunchy salad
Sitting at the bar, I was startled when I saw the chef create several intense bursts of flame. Not sure what he was preparing, but I asked him to tell me when he was going to make it flare again.
He came over soon and asked "Are you ready?"
My camera and I braced and WHOOSH!
I don't think it was my meal - or a bowl of spaghetti - in the dancing flame.
A nice dining tradition when going to a show at the Performing Arts Center, is stopping to eat in Centre Pointe at
FATZ CAFE.
It's on the edge of Tanger Outlet Shops and has always been a treat.
The grilled salmon with skewered veggies, served over rice is a favorite. And, for dessert, I tried the peanut butter and chocolate pie.
The Oreo cookie was a special surprise.
A new place I knew as a favorite food truck now had moved indoors on upper Meeting Street by the off ramps of the Ravenel bridge.
Hello, My Name Is BBQ was larger inside the building than I expected.
But, then, food trucks usually do not offer dine-in seating.
Oh, it still has its "meals-on-wheels" and appears at food truck rodeos but the inside move intrigued me.
I stopped in on a Saturday evening on my way to the Music Farm and had them create a Pork on Pork meal for me by adding bacon to the Holy City BBQ menu item.
You really can't get too much of a good thing.
They offered the largest variety of barbecue sauces I have ever seen. Mild to hot to outrageous. Mustard, tomato and Jalapenos. Hit the link and check out their menu.
(Click on the photos to see more detail.)
I have heard comments around me like
"Hah, He must be a blogger." when I take out my camera to snap a shot of my meal.
I usually hand the commenting person my card.
It says I DO have a blog.
Labels: Centre Pointe, chicken parm, Fatz Cafe, Hey, Joe Pasta, My Name Is BBQ, PAC, Please click http://photo.meetup.com/687., Tabger Outlet Stores, veal parmesan
Oh Mickey...For Shame.
I've worked with Mickey Mouse before. I was in tourism promotion and he was quite the charmer.
He drew crowds and pleased children of all ages.
I guess it was a rule in the Disney hierarchy...Mickey in public did not speak.
Or groan. Saw this version in Las Vegas along The Strip.
He was sprawled out in front of the elegant
Venetian Hotel & Casino.
I went inside and found a delightful air-conditioned indoor mall (Well, this place IS pretty warm all year long.)
This one had a simulated blue sky and - being Venice - the expected gondoliers.
I don't gamble and my skin doctor strongly suggests that I NOT sit around the pool in a desert.
That leaves lots of walking around, gawking at the sights.
And stopping in for a beer at
B.B. King's place.
I missed going into his one in Memphis but I saw he was not performing tonight in Vegas.
A trio was onstage but took a long break right after I walked in an sat down. They eventually came back as I was leaving. My tab showed I had paid an additional 10% item listed as L.E.T.
My server explained that was a
Live Entertainment Tax that clubs charged if there was music.
When you're sightseeing, it's good if you can get to a high spot for the best overall view.
The 108-story
Stratosphere Hotel/Casino/Tower was just the place.
They call it
"Vegas Without A Net."
Rides at the top jut you out into space, then suddenly jerk down at an angle, giving the illusion you're free-falling.
You also can REALLY free fall from atop the 1,149 foot observation tower (tallest west of the Mississippi) wearing an elaborate harness attached to a strong cable.
Even with a $4 discount for
Seniors, I remembered I don't gamble.
The
Bellagio Hotel & Casino has a striking visual soaring over its lobby.
2,000 hand-blown glass flowers - called the
Fiori di Como - by world-famous artist Dale Chihuly grab your attention in an attention-grabbing lobby.
Many of the throngs sitting at slot machines probably didn't look up except to see if anyone was winning.
These hotels are not built and paid for by winning customers.
The clerks in this store explained I would have to go elsewhere to get a cold and refreshing beverage.
Nearby was P.J. Clarke's, the bar that's featured on
Mad Men, the hit 1960s tv series.
"If they are in a bar, it's P.J. Clarke," the bartender told me.
He also encouraged me to take my "go cups" to the circular escalator and find my way back to The Strip.
I remember when the first escalator was installed in the 1950s in Charleston, SC, my hometown.
Not the first one ever built, the first one in Charleston.
My brothers and I went there to check it out. More than once.
Wow.
It was in Condon's Department store, downtown, across from where Joe Pasta's restaurant is now.
The stores - there were two connected by a skyway - were converted to student housing for the College of Charleston.
That's the beauty of travel -- it makes you appreciate what you have at home.
(Click on the pictures for more detail.)
Las Vegas is about 2,000 feet above sea level.
The "high desert" is about the 7,000 foot level at the Grand Canyon.
(Please click http://photo.meetup.com/687.)
Labels: BB King Blues Club, Bellagio, circular escalator, Condon's, Fiori di Como, gondoliers, hand-blown glass flowers, Joe Pasta, L.E.T., Mickey Mouse impersonator, Stratosphere Rides, Venetian Hotel
A VERY wet day....
Standing in line at the
South Carolina Aquarium could have been soggy.
My out-of-town relatives were weather prepared.
A friendly staff person was handing out loaner umbrellas to make sure ALL were kept dry.
My younger brother and his wife had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the day before.
Family had arrived from Florida and North Carolina to share their day.
I was invited to tag along with these visitors.
Well, yes, of course I brought my camera.
I haven't spent much time lately around youngsters.
They sure add excitement to any adventure.
Being short they do not hesitate to manuever their way to the front of a crowd.
They want to see.
So, they go to where they can.
Charlie and Kelly, their parents, said it had been several years since they had been to the Aquarium.
The little girls had been told they were going to see the
James Island Festival of Lights that evening.
I suggested they might want to explore the
Fire Museum near Tanger Outlet Stores.
They were standing in front of me looking at the jelly fish.
They said they were beautiful.
They were right.
They pressed their noses against the thick plexiglass looking at the cavorting otters.
Enjoyed close up looks at tiny alligators and turtles.
The younger child "Izzi" said she liked the otters the best.
Her sister Karlie said the sharks were awesome.
I don't think they even saw the small waterfall in the MOUNTAINS exhibit.
They had eyes only for the critters.
Water drips down even on a sunny day so I was shielding my camera from the elements. Got the shot I wanted.
A slow shutter speed makes the water appear to flow smoothly.
I was asked to suggest a place for lunch.
Joe Pasta met with approval from everyone.
Been there many times in the evening before shows at the
Music Farm or
Charleston Music Hall.Had not been there for lunch but was aware that it was family-friendly and the server did a fine job.
He apologized that the 4-year old had been served an adult-size meal.
He said it would be charged at the kid's menu price.
She started with a fork but soon Izzi
"took things into her own hands."(Click on the photos - twice - to see more details.)
Looking around, as the sun came out brightly, I saw quite a few families with children.
Most were using forks - but not all.
Labels: jelly fish, Joe Pasta, pep 'za, SC Aquarium, Significant Otters, spaghetti
