While I am usually in Las Vegas annually to attend the ST:LV convention, every now and then a programming conference for my day job will have a stop there and allow for a second foray to Sin City. That happened to me last fall, sending me to the MGM Hotel and Casino for a full week of nerdy stuff that filled multiple (virtual) notebooks with ideas on how to improve the various products we supply to our clients.
As good as that conference was, though, each day generally ended at the dinner hour, leaving me free to roam the strip and experience some of the amazing culinary delights unique to the city. I am not one to try my luck at the casino, so that pretty much ruled out sitting at a table playing poker or feeding a slot machine. Food, on the other hand, is one of my major weaknesses, so eating my way up and down Las Vegas Boulevard was far more in line; fortunately, the walking made me feel slightly less guilty about all of the calories I packed in during that short week.
One amazing happenstance was being able to connect with a dear friend of mine while I was in Las Vegas; being a far more frequent visitor than I — and also being a fellow foodie — he immediately began to recommend interesting places to try based on his prior visits. When I told him that I had plans to stage a few scenes of my upcoming books in Las Vegas, he took that as an additional challenge and made a Herculean effort to seek out spots that my detectives might enjoy. That my characters were fictitious didn’t stop us from sampling multiple goodies in their name, or seeking out ever more interesting experiences, one right after the other.
One of our first stops was a hidden patio bar at the Wynn; we’d heard that there was a water and laser show that took place just after dark, and to our surprise, found that they also included several massive animatronic birds singing show tunes. (The drinks were pretty good, too.)
Honestly, while I know Vasily is a huge fan of pizza (he goes to my favorite, Naples, regularly), I have yet to write any scenes where Sean partakes of one. That didn’t stop us from crisscrossing the Cosmopolitan looking for an alleged New York-style pizza parlor that was not listed in the directory for the resort; we only found it after bumping into a beverage manager for the resort coming out of the buffet who was willing to walk us to it. (And yes, the pizza was worth it.)
Our longest hike took us from the MGM all the way down to the Resorts World Casino/Hotel and an alleged speakeasy on the top floor. We happened to hit it on a night when a major country music performer was playing in their massive venue, otherwise I’m not sure we’d have been able to sneak in without a reservation. The views were spectacular, the drinks, divine, and the cheesecake something I would return for again and again.
But I think the most intriguing spot we found was the unassuming door pictured at the top of this post. It was behind the seats in the food court at the Cosmopolitan, and belied the fact that one of the most amazing tequila bars in the city was in operation just a few feet away from generic fast food. We’d heard about it as rumor, and after doing some internet scouring, discovered about where it was supposed to be and when it opened — which was a good thing to know, for within moments of the door being unlocked, the very small space was full of people, just like us, there for an one-of-a-kind experience. I’m not sure I’ll ever try their signature drink again — I’m not a ghost pepper fan, honestly — the other drinks on the menu looked good enough for a future return.
After I returned from my trip, notes in hand, I set about writing those books; while I feel strongly that all of these locations would definitely be places both Vasily and Sean would visit, unfortunately the plots took a slightly different turn than I’d anticipated, and (possibly spoiler here) none of them made the final cut. All is not lost, though; I’ve kept those original ideas on the back burner. They will appear at some point, I’m certain.