The Dinner

I’ve often thought the most enjoyable events are unplanned. One of my favourite ski trips was only decided upon at 1 am (we made the mountain by 9 am). One of my favourite road trips involved tossing a coin at every major intersection to decide which routes to take. There’s something great about a day or night which you expect to be ordinary but turns out extra-ordinary.

So hence the great Vegas dinner was unplanned, with the intention being just a quick steakhouse dinner.

We were all staying at the Luxor and thought we would try out the steakhouse before hitting the town. There was Shane, Erica, Nikki, myself, Donald (Scotland) and three of the Finns.

At the restaurant, as we were a party of eight, and dressed up a bit, they offered us the private room, and that suddenly changed the atmosphere from just a steakhouse dinner to an “occasion”. When you suddenly have the room to yourself it is so much more intimate.

The head waiter, Brett, gave us the best service you could imagine. He recommended starters, advised on wines, told us stories, and kept us entertained. His tip was US$300 to US$400 which gives some idea how good he was. This is a photo of him with the girls. He just helped make the night.

We had massive seafood platters to start with – lobsters, crabs and oysters galore. The steaks went up to 24 ounces in weight, and the desserts were magnificent. Coupled that with many bottles of fine wine and what I thought would be a 60 minute meal took four hours or so. A superb combination of the best food, best wine, best decor, best service and best company and conversation.

The final bill was horrifying, but everyone there agreed it was worth the price for such a great night – we all had such a great time. Afterwards we went gambling of course and some then went clubbing where the best champagne flowed. I think the Nevada GDP grew a lot that night.

It was a great great night in Vegas, with many good relations formed between New Zealand,. Finland and Scotland! A night definitely to remember.