Vegas – a short working return with brief respites of IPA

I HAD TO GO to Las Vegas for a couple days this week to work at a meeting for my dayjob.  I’m not a gambler, so Vegas doesn’t hold the allure for me that it does for many, but it is a fun place to wander around in. You can’t help but enjoy the lights and energy of the place.

I went to see the Zombie Burlesque show the last time I was in Vegas (it’s hilarious), and didn’t see much else in terms of shows playing this time around that I needed to see (sadly, I was there a week too early to catch Roger Daltrey) so… I basically worked 10-12 hours a day and just had a couple good dinners and walked around a little at night. On the first night in (Wednesday), I just went to the rooftop bar at Twin Peaks, where I did some writing the last time I was in town.

Thursday – a visit to Beer Park and Sin City Brewing

I stayed at the Paris, which has a rooftop bar and grill called Beer Park, so on Thursday night after a long day working, I had a burger and sampled a couple IPAs there. Nothing crossed my beer radar to write home about, but the 10 Barrel Joe IPA was decent. It was a pretty cool venue with lots of taps, so I did a little writing there.

I also stopped back at Sin City Brewing, a spot I discovered the last time I was there. They’ve got a solid IPA and a great attitude.

Friday night – a long walk to Emeril’s and Beerhaus

On Friday night, I took a long walk down the Strip and took most of the pictures that I have from the trip. I had a steak and jambalaya dinner at Emeril’s in the MGM Grand, wandered into the New York, New York and enjoyed the themed walkways there (all of the restaurant and bar facades are meant to look like places in New York). There was a packed Irish bar there and a dueling piano bar in full swing.

I closed out the night with a shot of Johnny Cash courtesy of a live Americana roots music band and a Joseph James Citra Rye Pale Ale at Beerhaus! The Citra Rye turned out to be my favorite beer discovery in Vegas.  Here are some pictures from that night:

Saturday – a goodbye from the patio of Cabo Wabo

On Saturday, I had just enough time after the meeting closed for lunch at Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo, which is next door to the Paris. I had a couple margaritas and people watched for an hour before heading to the airport.

Here are some pictures from Cabo Wabo, as well as of inside the Paris: