Kim's (Bundysmom) Bday Madness at Planet Hollywood
After a really great time at the wine event on Thursday night, I had the lovely all day drive to look forward to on Friday to get to Vegas. Given the fact I didn't quite make it home until after the sun rose on Friday, it was safe to say I wasn't going to make it time for Kim's actually birthday dinner. HA HA HA.
Amazingly, I got packed, got my work stuff done, and I was out the door, a few hours behind schedule but at least it was still day light on Friday! Whoo Hoo. My drive was rather uneventful except for the two bad accidents - one fatality wherein it looked like the car literally rolled onto the freeway lanes from the onramp and then an interesting truck fire almost to Vegas - it appeared the truck was incinerated.
Arrived in Vegas late Friday evening, barely making my friend Kim's Bday dinner at Planet Hollywood! Good thing everyone else was late and she stalled a bit for me to get there. We had dinner at Yolo's in Planet Hollywood - pretty good food. Obviously, on the LV Strip so not inexpensive. Kim being the practical chain smoker that she is - she left us with ample opportunity to find ways to get them to embarrass her. The manager offered to have a special drink concocted for her, which with a group of girls is always likely to result in the infamous blow job shot.
From there, we wandered over to the Extra Lounge to watch Kim's friend Matt perform his piano gig. He was rather entertaining - it was my first time seeing him after hearing so much about the show.
The best part of the night by far was the embarrassment Matt the piano man dealt out to Kim. He knew it was her birthday and shortly after the show started, he called her name out and brought her up to the stage to sit on the piano bench with him. He sang the song with the chorus that says "why don't get drunk and screw" HA HA. We managed to capture the whole thing on video on my camera. I just need to upload it to YouTube and get it linked on here. Kim had it easy though - the rest of the people they called up later in the night for bday songs were more raunchy and interactive....I couldn't see Kim doing anything like that....she wanted to kill us already for just having to sit there on stage! LOL
I had a great night hanging out with Rebecca and Kim, and Kim's friend Carisa who I had only met one other time prior to moving away from Vegas.
Thanks Kim for a wonderful birthday and helping ensure I managed to stay out until almost 3am my first night back in town! HA HA
The Extra Lounge is small and I recommend if you want to watch the entire show, plan to arrive no later than 9pm. It is a free show but sitting at a table requires a two drink minimum which is fair. We got there about 9:15pm and managed to find one table left which was perfect.
I have to admit, Matt was fantastic. For a one man show, he definitely kept us entertained every minute. His stage personality is quite engaging and he has a pretty great sense of humor about things. He takes "tipped" song requests. Like other dueling piano shows, he doesn't miss the opportunity to embarrass people for birthdays or whatever other celebrations may be taking place. Since he knew it was Kim's Bday, she found herself on stage while he sang "Let's get drunk and screw". I do have video but still need to upload it to You Tube.
Matt has quite the interesting background as noted on his website - started in Nashville in various country bands as a keyboard player, eventually having his own band. He's also traveled performing with a USO band for soldiers and also worked for the Disney Cruise Line (which you know earns big points with me!).
Matt performs at Planet Hollywood Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9pm until 2am. Matt also performs at Harrah's Dueling Pianos on Sunday (separate review to follow). In addition, Matt performs every Sunday with the Worship team at Calvary Chapel Green Valley.
Check out Matt's website at: www.matthewnewbold.com where you can hear his own songs (Christian genre) as well. Matt can also be booked for private parties, corporate events and church services.
I arrived late since I was driving all the way in from California so I didn't have as much of an opportunity to check the place out as much as I would've liked.
As with most strip restaurants, the prices tend to be higher and you can plan $15-25 per entree here. They have a pretty extensive bar and tequila menu which would be worth coming back to check out. Drink prices are pretty much in line with most of the other higher end casino bars - expect to pay $10 and over for specialty drinks. I opted to deviate from a tequila based drink and try what is becoming my new favorite drink over mojitos - the Caipirinha (pronounced KIE-PUR-REEN-YAH). The Capirinha is the national drink of Brazil and is made with cachaca, sugar, and lime. Like rum, Cachaca is made from sugarcane alcohol, which is obtained from fermented sugarcane juice which is then distilled. Yolos features a Strawberry Caipirinha $11 which was rather tasty. The Caipirinha is somewhat of an acquired tasted and I've learned you either love it or hate it so I don't necessarily recommend ordering it unless you love the taste of a strong and sweeter mojito as that is the closest thing it reminds me of.
I had the Blue Corn Chicken ($17) which was crispy fried chicken breaded with blue corn flour, poblana & roasted garlic mashed potatoes and roasted tomato-chile de arbol salsa. The chicken was good but I think the blue corn might've made it a little drier than I would've liked. The flavor was excellent though.
Like most other Mexican restaurants, they offer a variety of tacos, fajitas, and specialty dishes like Chicken Mole for $16 (which I should've tried!) and Salmon a la Diabla for $20.
For a Friday night, they were busy but not overly packed and I think you could do a walk in but reservations are preferred. The service is prompt and the manager came around several times to check on patrons as well. Dress code is typical Las Vegas - you see everything ranging from shorts and flip flops up to evening dresses and tuxedos.
