I'm not much of a gambler, but I must admit, part of the lure of the casino is the ladies and gents handing out free drinks and meals. It's not a true casino experience if you don't have a free drink in hand. Yet, this may end for the folks — and tourists — in Atlantic City. Due to the current economic slowdown, many of AC's 11 gambling halls are considering cutting back on freebies. Last year the casinos spent $1.63 billion giving away free stuff, a 2.4 percent decline from the year before. And with fewer folks headed out to gamble, the amount they spend may decrease even more. This means no free martinis, no free buffet breakfast, and no more perks.
So tell me, when you go out to a casino, do you expect free drinks? And when you do go, what do you order? I usually keep it simple with a vodka tonic, but some folks go crazy and order complicated drinks. How about you? What do you order at a casino?
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Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's a known fact that the employees at Google live a charmed life. Besides massages and Internet-wired shuttles, Googlers are invited to free breakfast, lunch, and dinner each and every day. The Google campus has 17 gourmet cafés, complete with 700 culinary staffers and 20 chefs. Last Friday I was lucky enough to check out some of the cafés — more on that later! — and speak with Eric Dela Cruz, a chef at Cafe 7. To see what his life as a Google chef is like read more
Fab and I are so excited for the premiere of the Sex and the City movie that we are hosting a SATC marathon! The party will be in Fab's new apartment, so it's also a housewarming. Since food is featured frequently in SATC, I'll be serving heavy appetizers inspired by episodes of the show. Carrie liked to go out partying while Aidan preferred staying in and eating fried chicken. Miranda asked Charlotte if her hoo-ha would like some French fries. After her book party, Carrie stops to eat a hot dog with her cab driver. Miranda orders Chinese so frequently the Shanghai Garden knows her order. And Samantha experiences raw food with Smith.
Keeping all that in mind, offer guests a smörgåsbord of delicious bites. Chicken fingers with French fries and spicy ketchup, mini-hot dogs and maple mustard, crab salad in crisp wontons, and raw tacos in lettuce cups. For these delicious recipes, read more
I recently attended a Dark Dining — which was actually a blindfolded dining — event at
Jardiniere. It was put on by Tazo Tea as part of their
Tazo Taste Infusion events. The events are being held in three cities — San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver — and encourage you to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship that go into fine food. I'd recommend looking into it, as there are some
interesting things going on.
Luckily I was invited to their dark dining event, and am happy to report back. The tea was infused into each dish and drink, and the pairings were fantastic. I managed to take a bunch of pictures while blindfolded — I held my camera out and let it do the work. To see how the event went, click the "Start" button.
If you love turkey sandwiches, but are stuck in a boring recipe rut, consider making these scrumptious sandwiches. Spicy pepper turkey is layered with walnuts and spinach. Both a bruschetta topping and mayonnaise are slathered on the bread. Feel free to get creative with the recipe. Sun dried tomato tapenade or fresh pesto would be equally delicious substitutes for the bruschetta spread. To take a look at the recipe, read more
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