Ice Cream: Bailey's Shake from Haagen Dazs

Best.  Thing.  Ever.  Try it.

Del Frisco's Steak House

This weekend we had dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House in Las Vegas.  I don't know what the "Double Eagle" means, but I'll bet it stands for double delicious!

Waiting to be seated...

Melissa being shy...

Steak Tartare:  I've actually never had this before, but I really liked it.  If you've never had tartare, it's basically chopped raw steak with onions, pickles, herbs, etc.  It's usually served on a crouton of some sort.  It sounds weird, but it's actually great.  I'm sure sushi sounded weird to you at first as well.

Cob Salad: Bacon, Blue Cheese, Creamy Balsamic Dressing

Steak:  I chose the 16oz. Prime Rib eye.  I'm usually a filet man, but I went with the Rib eye with truffle butter.  I could have slowly sipped that butter.  Incredible.

Creamed Corn: Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of all the sides.  We were too busy eating them.  But this is the creamed corn.  We also ordered baked potatoes, potato au gratin, and mushrooms.

It was a delicious night.  

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

This has been one of my favorite side dishes for a long time, but I've never tried to actually cook it before.  Well, last night I made the effort.  And it turned out perfectly. 

Ingredients:

Brussels Sprouts

Olive Oil

Bacon

Shallot 

Salt

Pepper

Balsamic Vinegar

Put 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a pan and bring to high heat.  Reduce heat to half and drop in a couple strips of bacon sliced into small chunks.  Cook bacon until fat is rendered and mildly crispy and add chopped shallot.  Cook shallot for a minute or two until tender and strain the oil of all bacon and shallot.  Also, strain about half of the oil.

Place sliced Sprouts in the pan with half of the oil and brown for 2 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add other half of the oil back in the pan and drop pan into the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Take out of the oven, add bacon and shallot, finish with balsamic vinegar.

Delicious!  

Countdown to Del Frisco's Steak House: 7 Days

Next week Melissa and I are having Thanksgiving in Beaver, UT with the Smith family (my side).  Afterwards we will be meeting Mel's family in Las Vegas for a weekend of golf, food, and fun.  I was just informed tonight that we will be eating dinner at Del Frisco's next Saturday night.  Before tonight I had never really heard of it, but I've read some reviews and apparently it's a pretty darn good steak house.  Needless to say, I'm really excited.  

Del Frisco's has received a 4.5 out of 5 stars on yelp.com.  That's pretty good.  Here's an excerpt from their website, "The cornerstone of the Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House menu is aged USDA Prime Beef. We serve only the best hand-cut steaks, chops and freshest seafood, including Australian cold water lobster tails. We use the freshest ingredients to create mouthwatering appetizers, flavorful side dishes and irresistible desserts."

Okay, I'm sold.  Let the countdown begin...

Lunch: Lomo Saltado

Before 

I was introduced to Lomo Saltado a few years ago by my dear friend Jon Bjarnson.  He worked at a little restaurant called La Carreta for a few months and asked me to come and try it.  La Carreta serves Peruvian-based cuisine, which was new to me at the time.  He advised me to get the #16 (Lomo Saltado).  I obediently followed and my life hasn't been the same since.  That's a little dramatic; let's just say, I haven't had a more delicious Peruvian meal.  Actually, I don't think I've ever ordered anything other than that.

Lomo Saltado is basically grilled steak and vegetables on a bed of fries and white rice.  I know it sounds weird, but it's magically delicious.  The steak is grilled with a touch of soy sauce at the end; the fries and rice are a perfect starch to soak up all of the juices, and the veggies are incredible.  It's an oniony, steaky, French fry-y treat.  Go check it out.

After (Owned)

Lunch: Salad

I am pretty bad at eating healthy sometimes.  I LOVE rich, greasy, delicious food.  I could eat a cheeseburger and fries everyday for lunch and then follow-up it up with a steak for dinner.  Okay, probably not.  But it feels like it sometimes. 

Luckily, I also have a desire to be healthy and skinny as well.  This desire gets me to the gym everyday, has me running half-marathons every year, and basically works as my conscience for when I'm about to drive to In and Out and order a Double Double.  

The thought of eating a salad for lunch makes me sad, but I want to be healthier today, so I'm doing it.  I've come to realize that the old quote, "nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" doesn't apply to me.  I learned this after a brief conversation with a 24 Hour Fitness Instructor:

Me: What do you eat everyday to stay so in-shape?

24 Guy: Eating is the key to staying in-shape.  I make a huge batch of grilled chicken and brown rice on Sunday and I eat it throughout the week with fresh steamed veggies.

Me: You eat that everyday? Do you ever eat out or switch it up?

24 Guy: Not really.  Sometimes I eat fish.

Me: Burgers?

24 Hour Guy: Nope.

Me: Pizza?

24 Guy: No way!

Me: Coke?

24 Guy: No, I just drink water all day.  I don't even drink juice.

Me: I hate you.

24 Guy: I have a six pack.

Me: ...Touche

Pizza Survey

What is your go-to pizza place?  And why?

Around the office we have a heated debate about which delivery pizza is the best.  Now, the debate isn't over fancy gourmet pizza, we're talking places like: Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa John's, etc.

Leave your comments below!  I'm interested to see which pizza wins... 

For you hot dog lovers...

We made hot dogs last week and I wanted to share my favorite kind of hot dog with you: Nathan's Famous.

Next time you have a hankering for a delicious frank put the Oscar Meyer crap back on the shelf and grab a pack of these bad boys.  They are much better and deliciouser!  And they are kosher, which means that they are made from high-quality cuts of meat and follow rigorous USDA requirements to ensure quality.  

Or...just go to J-Dawgs.