Monday, September 21, 2009

Ugh my frickin' stomach!













That's right. Beer and upscale breakfast is how we roll. Well...at least it is how we rolled last weekend. Before I share our gustatory adventures I must preface this tale with a big, fat raspberry to all of you who mocked the Haugen household for our slight addiction to Twitter/Facebook. See, both of last weekend's events were due directly to said addiction.

On Saturday Jo and I attended the Village Craft Beer Festival. This was an event co-hosted by Buckbean Beer out of Reno, whom I follow on twitter. Last week they asked who wanted free tickets, I responded, and Bam! said the Lady...two free tickets worth $40.

We sampled multiple beers from 17 Nevada brewers. We hung out on the lawn. We stared at Lake Las Vegas. We listened to a fair to poor cover band. We ate sammiches. Basically, we did nothing. Nothing with beer.











Then there was Sunday. And the Lord said "let there be brunch!" Last month JoAnna met up with a friend she had met...ready...that's right...on twitter, and had an amazing dinner at Simon, Chef Kerry Simon's restaurant at the Palms Place. While at this dinner she was invited back for brunch by the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the resort.

So on Sunday we dressed up and went to Simon. And oh...my...God. Brunch at Simon is amazing. There is a full buffet of pastries, fresh fruit cut to order, hand rolled sushi, and a panini station. Not to mention the hand mixed cream cheeses, the peel-and-eat shrimp, and the Bloody Mary bar. There is also a selection available from the kitchen.

Jo had Simon french toast (brioche in Frosted Flake crumbs) while I had the breakfast prime hash.










Now, I will admit the crunch of the french toast was not my thing, but it was tasty. The hash, on the other hand, was amazing. The steak was tender, the egg and gravy seasoned to perfection with a hit of jalapeno puree to give the whole thing a kick. I thought I was in heaven. Fortunately, I had no idea what heaven was. As we sat back to let a bit of food digest, our waitress told us the special for the day. A crepe filled with roasted chicken and smoked ham covered in a cream cheese sauce. To quote my wife "when I dig into the chicken and ham crepe topped with a sunny side-up egg and a cream cheese sauce, I think there is a brief moment where I’ve actually died." (p.s. that is a link to her amazingly well written review of Simon on her newly minted, well read and reviewed travel blog).

We strolled in to Simon at 10 a.m. We slowly waddled out around noon. We didn't eat anything else for the entire day. It was glorious!

Kerry Simon is known for his whimsical take on upscale food. Simon's waitstaff all wear pajamas on Sundays. Included in the buffet line is a candy bar full of classic sweet tooth goodies. And his dessert plate is called Simon's "Junk Food." and has his famous cotton candy, a bit of caramel corn, and other assorted treats. It was a great way to end a fabulous meal.


So, to recap:

1) Ha ha...mock all you want but in two days Jo and I received 140 bucks worth of free stuff from twitter.
2) Beer is good. Craft beer is better.
3) Kerry Simon is awesome. So is his food.
4) go visit JoAnna's Blog

Peas,

Cory

2 comments:

leland said...

jealousy is most often reason for criticism....for me jealousy is jealousy....glad u both enjoyed it...i'll continue to live vicariously through you both...thanks for the articles....

Jill said...

It's never a problem to get stuff freebie...you just have to grab the opportunities when they come up. You two are masters of the art! Kudos to you!