Having grown tired of Vegas over the decades, I had an experience earlier this year that renewed my enthusiasm for the infamous city. For my 43rd birthday, a friend from Norway flew in so we could celebrate with style in Vegas. It was his first time, so I tried to be gentle with the planning.

The plan was simple: Nice hotel, good food and drink, a cool show and gambling, of course. With more financial resources compared to my college days, I set the bar high. I like the Vdara. Nice rooms, located close to the strip and no casino. I had already seen the acro-cabaret variety show Absinthe but wanted to see it again. I managed to get a reservation with culinary mastermind José Andrés at The Cosmopolitan. I read a book about playing Craps and left everything else open.

Arriving in Vegas, we check into Vdara, unpack and got appropriately dressed (bowtie) for dinner at José Andrés next door at The Cosmo. We arrive at the Jaleo Spanish Tapas restaurant, check in and are seated at a table by the bar. We order a plain Martini. Three couples join the table and we do introductions. New Zealanders, Californians and French Canadians. Cool group.

A waiter arrives and guides us to a small room hidden behind the bar at Jaleo. The room is minimalistic with vintage wallpaper, blue mosaic art on the wall, a curved table with a golden metal countertop overlooking a built-in black marble prep-station and eight tall chairs. The chef, sous-chef and assistant greet us. The chef explains what they have prepared for us the last 24-hours. I ask him how he would label the food in terms of chemistry and art. He says 50/50.

It is impossible for me to describe the food but some of the courses melt in your mouth while exploding with tastes I have never experienced before. I have had many good meals in my life and half way through, I ranked the food 3rd place after Kitchen 1540’s “White Flag Menu” and Kauai’s Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill. Then the freeze dried and powdered Foie Gras arrived and José Andrés went straight to first place. I shouted “sublime” and had to explain to the other guests that sublime to me meant connecting with something greater than yourself, something magnificent, like an awe-inspiring view, a beautiful waterfall, an ocean horizon, a large mountain. Everybody nodded.

Since it was my birthday, my friend wanted to give me the Vintage Wine Tasting Menu to accompany the experience. I do not have a very sensitive palate so I suggested just getting something from the bar. But he insisted and I agreed. The interesting part of the wine pairing for me was the quality of the wine. There were $1200 and $900 bottles of red wine, white wine and Sherry. The Sommelier explained each wine and why it was paired with the course, stuck a thin metal straw through the cork, pumped a fair amount in our glasses and then filled the bottle with Argon gas to preserve the wine. Ingenious! That way you can taste a small amount of a really expensive wine without buying the whole bottle. Needless to say the wine was exquisite.

Several hours later, we had got to know the people around the table quite well. The Californian couple next to us said they were going to a new show called “The Rabbit” or something like that. I looked it up and found the Vegas Nocturne show at the ROSE.RABBIT.LIE restaurant at The Cosmopolitan. It looked very interesting.

The dinner lasted almost 4-hours and we left happy, intoxicated on taste, alcohol and the experience as a whole. Outside the restaurant the New Zealanders stopped us and asked if we wanted to go with them to the Frankie’s Tiki Room. They said it was where the Rat Pack used to hang out. We said we would meet them there after the Absinthe show.

We walked over to Caesars Palace and the big circus tent located in the Roman Plaza, received a glass of Champagne and entered the tent. I am not going to write too much about the show as it has to be experienced to make it justice. But if you like raw, over the edge humor and eye-popping performances, this is the show. If your jaw does not drop more than 10 time, I owe you an apology. Imagine a classic burlesque variety show…just upgraded for Vegas. Go see it!

After the show we took a taxi to Frankies Tiki Room and met up with the Kiwis. They introduced us to another Kiwi, Lawrence, who is a wine and spirits rep. So free drinks for everybody…all night. He became our new best friend. I only had a couple of Rum Punch drinks. That was more than enough because they came in huge Tiki tumblers.

The next morning we met the Kiwis around noon at the Bouchon Bistro at the Venetian for Bloody Mary’s and Foie Gras. After that, we headed to Mon Ami Gabi at Paris for Champagne and good stories. We got a table overlooking the strip and enjoyed the scenery for hours. We decided to go see the Vegas Nocturne show that evening and headed over to the Cosmo to get tickets. We talked to a concierge and he gave us free tickets. Sweet!

I suggested we should get a Craps table so we could all learn the game. We found an empty table and asked the boxman if it was OK if they would teach us the game if we each put $100 down. With cash in hand, you seldom hear “no” in a Vegas casino. The added benefit at the table was that the stickman (an Asian female) was incredibly rude and funny. “No. You stupid! Place bet here!” Not only did we fall over laughing, but we learnt the game fast. After two hours of rolling dice, I had won $640 with my friend in second place with $400. Everybody at least doubled their money. Good game!

We headed back to the hotel and got ready for Vegas Nocturne. We met the Kiwis at the bar just before the show started not knowing what to expect. Little did I know that this evening would become legendary.

Again, I do not want to describe the show in detail, but the Vegas Nocturne is special, much like Absinthe, in its rawness and authenticity. I have become tired of the over-polished Cirque du Soleil shows. The difference with the Vegas Nocturne is that they are trying something new. Something that is amazing but not a perfectly polished production. The performers make mistakes, make jokes about it, which leads to the biggest laughters.

Now, the main reason why I am writing this (in addition to be able to re-live it) is because of this guy: Captain Frodo. Half way through the show a skinny dude dressed like Bjorn Borg runs up on stage with two tennis rackets and introduces himself as the Great Captain Frodo from Norway. We stand up and yell “Heia Norge” and he bows to his fellow countrymen. They he starts contorting through the tennis rackets, falls off stage, gets the audience to help him up all while telling jokes. Incredibly entertaining and funny.

After the show we thank him for a great performance and he says we should hang out at the bar, see the next show, have dinner and watch him perform by the tables in the restaurant. He gets a hold of the Maître’d and she tells us that she can hook us up for the next show, dinner and then the nightclub afterwards.

The second show is more daring and edgy. I enjoy every second of it. Captain Frodo has another amazing performance. I would vote for him if he ran for Prime Minister.

We get a table in the restaurant, order food, and watch mesmerized as all the performers from the show now perform around our table. A dude plays on rotating glass, strange harmonies filling the room. It is a magical atmosphere, almost surreal.

Suddenly Captain Frodo runs up and tells us to join him for a side show. We follow him into a small room with a handful people. He say he will show us the difference between a show and a side-show. For the show part, he balances a tablespoon on his nose while playing the piano with his hands behind his back. Impressive! For the side-show, he jams the spoon into his nose and plays the piano with his nose, with only the top of the spoon showing. Amazing! He pulls the spoon out, licks it, thanks us for watching and runs out for his next performance.

We go back to the table with stars in our eyes and tell the Kiwis about the side-show. We finish dinner, walk over to the bar and order Espresso Martinis. In the corner of the bar is a large black piano. We watch Captain Frodo play the most beautiful, haunting music on a saw on top of the piano. He is wearing a yellow helmet. We watch step-dancers, jugglers and singers perform on the piano. It is the most dynamic, entertaining and amazing bar environment I have ever been in. This is how it must have felt like in the Victorian social clubs I have read about.

The Maître’d walks over and tells us they are ready for us and guides us back into the theatre and the first row. A small bar is placed in front of us. The stage starts rotating while resident singer and beatboxer extraordinaire, Butterscotch, starts the night off with kick ass rhythms. Other singers join the stage and then a rapper jumps up and kills it. The crowd goes wild!

The party lasts until the early hours. The Kiwis suddenly decide they want to learn line-dancing so we take a taxi to a country music bar and start line-dancing. It was a big change from raw Butterscotch rhythms and techno-ambient mixes from DJ Wiki at the Nocturne to ‘Honky Tonk Badonkadonk’ by Trace Adkins.

After line-dancing, it is time to end the night. We thank the Kiwis for being good company and head back to the hotel. We wake up 2 hours before the flight, head out to the airport and fly back to Phoenix.

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Best Vegas trip ever…so far.

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