What The Truck

Hey everybody-

Sorry it's been a while, I am shifting to a new schedule at work, and things have been a little hectic in my world. I have a bunch of posts to get through, and a bunch of things to knock off the 30 for 30 list, however I need to start with some other excitement.

In Vegas the Food Truck Scene is finally starting to blow up, it's no where near the level of LA and their scene, but in the last year over a dozen trucks have sprung up serving everything from burgers to Gourmet Desserts and everything in between.

Every 2nd Saturday the El Cortez hosts Vegas StrEATS a food truck fest that draws about 6-8 trucks, it's a nice little setup (which sadly is getting too crowded for it's own good), but it served as the soft launch for one of my new favorite trucks HAULIN BALLS. They serve up homemade meatballs and other deliciousness with a heavy helping of sarcasm and innuendo (which makes every meal that much better). I also tried SLOPPI JO's newest menu item, Deep Fried Mac and Cheese with her world famous pulled pork inside of it, let's just say amazing is an understatement.

The Haulin' Balls Truck


Haulin' Balls Blue Balls Special (Pulled Pork and Slaw)


Haulin Balls GodFather Meatball Sandwich (Signature Menu Item)


Sloppi Jo's Fried Mac N Cheese

After StrEATS I was able to check out another Food Truck Event The Las Vegas Street Food Throwdown 3 Battle Pork.

This was the 3rd of the Street Food Throwdowns, where several food trucks compete in a set challenge, the winner usually gets some sort of trophy, but let's be honest, the people who are eating are the real winners!

This throwdown included Sloppi Jos, LuLu's On the Move, Top Notch BBQ, and Tasty Bunz.

They all offered some tasty items, but the standouts to me were LuLu's Pigs in a Blanket (A hotdog stuffed pretzel), and Sloppi Jo's Bacon Cupcake(yep you read that right Bacon Cupcake). All 4 trucks brought their A game but a the end o f the night it was Jolene and her crew at Sloppi Jo's who won the Maple Bacon Cake/Trophy.

Sloppi Jo's Bacon Cupcake (Foodgasm)

Sloppi JO and the Trophy, congrats again

I am uploading more food truck photos to my facebook, there is an album for Food Truck Photos check it out.

I also attended 4Square Day, a gathering of over 16 trucks, it was an amazing time, I forgot to take photos, but did get a chance to finally try BBQBOY and ISLAND BREEZE, both were amazing and offered some great wears. I look forward to eating at them again, and trying some of the new trucks that pop up as time goes bye.

And with that I'll end this Blog Post, there will be another coming shortly going over the multiple things I've scratched of the 30 for 30 list.

Until Next Time

Shave and a Haircut...WTFs a Bit???

Today I scratched another off the 30 For 30 list, when I cashed in a GROUPON at ELLIOTT & CO in Henderson.

I forgot my phone at home so I have no before and after photos, but let's just say my hair is the shortest it's been in years (and it actually looks decent), and my face is smoother than it's been since my first pimple broke out.

I have always wanted to get a straight razor shave, I have just never found the reason. I put it on the 30 for 30 list knowing there is no shortage of places in Vegas to get it done, but when I saw the Groupon I knew this was an offer too good to pass up.

I walked into the shop a little nervous, I was going to trust a total stranger to take a straight razor to my throat. But after meeting the guys, I was put at ease. The staff very professional and the shop was nice. There was a flatscreen TV showing the baseball game, a few barber stations, some comfy chairs in the waiting area, and Frank and Dean playing on the stereo, what's not to love.

I got there right in time for my appointment and was seated in my chair right away. I have gotten my share of haircuts in my day and usually it's just hop up, snip snip snip, and you're on your way. That however is not the case at Elliott and Co, first we talked about what I wanted for a hair cut, then it he cut for a good 20 mins taking his time to make sure everything was done correctly. They tapered the back of my neck (usually it's just rounded off, but the taper looks great). Then it was time for a wash, shampoo, and conditioner treatment.

After the cut and wash it was time for the shave. As I stated I've never had a straight razor shave and I was a little nervous, but once it started I wondered why I waited so long to get one. It started off with a hot towel treatment. Then the a few a hot lather (I really need to get one of those machines so amazing). Then like a surgeon he took the razor to my face. I will admit it feels a little weird, and you can hear the whiskers as they get cut. It took a little longer than I expected, but they shaved both with and against the grain. After the shave, there was a mask was applied (also a first for me). The mask came off, there was a cold towel treatment followed by a few oils.

After the shave, they took the time to clean up all the edges of my haircut with the straight razor, and even took care of my pesky unibrow.

All in all the entire process took around an hour and a half, and I have to say it's an experience I'll never forget. Many thanks to the guys at Elliott & Co as well as Groupon for helping me scratch one of my list. I will without a doubt be back!

And one small house keeping note #18 attend a UNLV Men's BB game had to be changed. Unfortunately the UNLV BB schedule and my work schedule overlapped too many times this season, while I did get to attend a game it was before the 30 for 30 launched. #18 is now attend a Las Vegas Wranglers Hockey Game, which I plan on doing next Wednesday.

The Night of Too Many Celebrities

Tonight I crossed another one of the 30 For 30 List, I went and saw Greg London at the Las Vegas Hilton.

I will start this review off by saying that I did get free tickets from Showtickets 4 Locals, so the price was right!

The theater is pretty small, we got there after they had seated a majority of the crowd and still got really good seats, other than the balcony (which I don't think they use that often), there isn't a bad seat in the house.

First surprise, I got a water from the bar, it was tap on ice with a lemon, but it was free. So show and a drink cost only a $1 tip. Score one for not charging $5 for an 11oz bottle of Fiji (like the cosmo did at the Girl Talk Show).

The show started with an intro from The Arnold, and then Greg hit the stage. I have to admit I didn't know what to expect when I walked in the door, but I was impressed. His show is high energy, fast paced, and was over before you knew it. In his 60 mins he had to do at least 20 impressions, most of which included a fast wig/prop change. He was backed up by a pretty decent band, and his background dancers didn't hurt the show any (they may have stole the show at one point but I won't spoil it).

Greg London is very talented, the guy can sing, play the guitar, piano, and trumpet, and he can sing while impersonating other celebrities. Some were better than others, but all in all they were pretty good.

The show had a range of music from a few years ago to a few decades ago. The Ozzy Ozbourne but is pretty good, it starts off a little weak, but it ends really good. The show follows a story of his career, and as I said it's non-stop from the moment the curtain raises, until the final bows.

If I had paid full price I probably would have been a little upset. Having got a free ticket I have to say that the show was pretty damn good. If you want to check the show out, I'd check the discount ticket places on the strip, I'm fairly certain you can score a discounted ticket to the show. My only complaint is that it's in the Hilton, which is out of the way, and their box office is about a country mile from the theaters, but those are minor complaints.

If you're looking for a Celebrity Impersonation show, you'd be hard pressed in a Post Danny Gans Las Vegas to find a better show.

A Twestive Evening

Last week I scratched another off the 30 For 30 list when I attended the Las Vegas Twestival. I have been active on Twitter for a while now, I have met some pretty kick ass people because, and got to attend some pretty fun events because of it.

Twitter is pretty much a micro blog, it gives you 140 characters to update what is going at this moment in your life. A lot of companies are starting to embrace twitter and are doing some pretty kick ass promos.

One of my 30 for 30 items was to attend a TweetUp, or a gathering of people who use twitter. Many of these are sponsored by a hotel or a company, and usually have free food and drink or services offered at a steep discount. I have attended a few TweetUps since I started the list, but I thought The Twestival was the worth blogging about.

Unlike most TweetUps the Twestival was a fundraiser, it was being held to raise money for AFAN, a very deserving charity here in southern Nevada. I ended up receiving a comped ticket from a Friend, but I still ended up making a donation at the door.

It was held at the Caramel Ultra Lounge at the Bellagio, I am usually not a huge fan of ultra lounges, but I have to admit the crew at Caramel rolled out the red carped and ensured that we were taken care of. The venue was small but the crowd was lively and the times were fun.



Me at the Twestival Photo Credit to Ryan Shewchuk

The event wasn't the biggest or most attended TweetUp but it was nice to meet up with a few tweeps, and it's always nice to help a good cause. They had a silent auction and I was all about getting the 3 layer cake from Retro Bakery, sadly it wasn't meant to be as I was out bidded by 2 parties in the last few minutes. What would I have done with a 3 layer cake...to be honest probably sit in my living room and eat it all, honestly Retro Bakery is that damn good!!!

While I didn't get my cake I can say I had a fun time, met some amazing people, and helped a needy cause.


Joe and I at the Twestival Photo Credit to Ryan Shewchuk

You can expect some more blogging from me in the next few weeks, I still have several 30 for 30 things yet to do, and not that things are slowing down at work, I may actually get them done!!!

I Survived The Fremont Street Zipline

On the 16th, I organized an Unofficial YELP Event (cross one off the 30 for 30)to Check out the Fremont Street Zipline in lovely downtown Las Vegas.

I had a GROUPON that lowered the cost from the normal $15 to $10 (plus mine was free for a previous referral credit I had). There were about 6 of us there, one of the group got turned away for being over weight, they have a strict weight tolerance, thankfully I am now down to below their maximum allowed weight (by 1/2 a lb clothed), I actually had to take my phone and keys out to make weight.

The setup is pretty nice, you go to their office, step on the scale (everyone got weighed), sign the waiver that no one ever reads, and get your wristband. After the office, you hop on an elevator and go up to the top of the garage, where they have a queue for the riders. There were not too many people hitting up the zipline that afternoon, and the wait was pretty short.

After the queue you get to the harness station. They pretty much have a one size fits all harness, and let's just say they're not really built to fit a 6' guy...SNUG was an understatement!!! After narrowing the chance that I'll ever have children at the harness station it was time to zip.

This was the hardest part of the entire thing, you walk out onto a platform at the top of the scaffolding, yes you are hooked in for safety, but having a mild fear of heights, the walk was not the most fun. They then latch you onto the line, and tell you where to hold your hands (important so you don't hit yourself in the face when you stop), and they send you on your way.

The Zipline isn't really that long, but I will say it was a RUSH...at the end they take your photo, as well as a few that they take while you're on the line (I was turned around at the camera so it wasn't a good photo), and they do a nice job of jacking up the photo price!

All in all it was a great time, I will probably do it again (maybe at night), if someone wants to go again. After the Fremont Line, I really want to go try their lines out at BOOTLEG CANYON


One of the best 30 for 30 Things I've done thus far...sorry it took so long to post, March Madness kicked my ass!!!

I apologize that the video isn't the best and that I talk really fast, I'm working on my editing/vlogging skills, expect a few more in the future!

I am Iron Man....well not really...but I did play with them

For those of you who know me from AVP or the poker world in general you have probably heard of the Ironmen Of Poker for those of you who don't, they're a group of guys from Iowa who come once a year and bring Hilarity to the desert. It is not uncommon for them to play any two cards, felt old ladies, and they have a prop bet sheet that is for the ages.

I thought it would be fun to scratch something off the list and see first hand the insanity that is the IMOP. My schedule allowed me to play in the Thursday afternoon tourney at the TI, which was one of their "official" events. The tourney is actually a pretty good little tourney, it plays a little fast, but there is a good value for the $50 buy in.

I was seated with a few of the Ironmen to start, and having played with them I knew what to expect. Since the IMOP made their schedule known, and they were rolling with a crew of around 10, I knew that the field would be a little bigger and the prize pool should be pretty nice. They ended up with 42 runners (including a few eurodonks who rebought). Sadly I was card dead the entire tourney, I did hit a monster with 8-3 in the BB, but didn't get paid off. I ended up getting knocked out in the mid 20's when my pocket 3's got snapped by Eurodonk's A7soooooooooooooted, when he the board runs 4 to broadway. (I can never win flips.

I didn't get a chance to partake in much of the hilarity, but it was nice to see the guys, if you are even in vegas during the IMOP, you need to find them and play, just be warned, you never know what is coming up.

An Evening With Louie

Last night I attended Louie LOL at the Palace Station. I had seen Louie Anderson's old show at the Excal, but hadn't had a chance to check him out at his new digs.

As you know I like Louie am from Minnesota, and while I'm about 30 years short of his target demographic (we're not talking Laughlin old, but close), I have to admit the show was pretty good.

I will preface my review with the fact that I only paid $6 for the tickets. I got hooked up with "free" tickets from Show Tickets 4 Locals. A great company if you live in vegas (not always the best shows but sometimes a good one gets sent out). The tickets are normally $49.99, and Palace Station is running a Locals special of $15 off, I don't think the show was worth $50, if I had paid the $34.99 I would have said the show was decent, but since I only had to shell out $6, I will say the show was pretty good.

The opening comedian was OK, he had a few good lines, but a lot of his material was pretty bland, and you could tell he is still polishing up his act. He did about 15 minutes and included a few plugs, but who goes to a show for the opening act?

Before Louie hits the stage they show a video montage of his career, you forget how many things he's been in, and then the big guy hits the stage.

If you know of Louie, you know that he's from MN, he grew up pretty poor, his mom was a packrat, and he's fat. That is the premise of most of his set, some of the jokes are older than me, but his timing is pretty solid, and his jokes are well polished.

He also threw in some current event riffs, including a charlie sheen riff that included the line of the night, "his new show is going to be 2 and a Half Kilos".

I will admit his show isn't for everyone, he doesn't work blue, he said Shit once and immediatley apologized for it, and the show is "all ages" but the average age of the crowd was on the far side of 50. However if you get the chance to scoop up some discounted tickets, it's a good time, the show with opener clocked in at a little under 90 mins, which was about the right amount of time.

I do have to say that even thought I didn't drink, the prices in the theater seemed fairly reasonable, and the service was impressively fast, so they have that going for them as well.

I am now heading out to play in the 2pm poker tourney at TI, another of my 30 for 30 items, but also this will allow me to observe some if the IMOP debauchery. (I will go into details in my next post.