Valley Cheese and Wine (Excuse the dual post I realized you cant see half of the lettering)

Valley Cheese & Wine
1770 W Horizon Ridge Parkway
Henderson, NV 89012
(702) 341-8191

Free Tastings
Every Friday, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PMEvery Saturday, 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Hours: Monday thru Saturday 11:00 am until 8:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am until 5:00 pm

When we wandered into this shop on our Henderson excursion we were greeted with warm smiles,  welcomes and offers of assistance form the establichments two owners Bob Howald and Kristin Sande. After wandering around the shop for a look at the amazing selection of gourmet non parishables, to include everything from pickles, peanut butter and a variety of canned spanish pescados to black truffles and balsamic vinegar. The wine selection is extensive to say the least! We moved from there to the cheese and charcuterie counter where Bob gave us some samples of several of his favorites. We bought several snacker size portions for our weekly european picnic style meal and left with a sack of tasty treat and a list of amazing restaurant recommendations from Kristin. Whether you live in Las Vegas or are just a travler passing through this shop is a must stop! The owners passion for food and finer things shows without a doubt. Stop by and see for your self!

Friendly faces and fantastic cheese!

Valley Cheese & Wine
1770 W Horizon Ridge Parkway
Henderson, NV 89012
(702) 341-8191
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 11:00 am until 8:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am until 5:00 pm

Free Tastings
Every Friday, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PMEvery Saturday, 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM


When we wandered into this shop on our Henderson excursion we were greeted with warm smiles,  welcomes and offers of assistance form the establichments two owners Bob Howald and Kristin Sande. After wandering around the shop for a look at the amazing selection of gourmet non parishables, to include everything from pickles, peanut butter and a variety of canned spanish pescados to black truffles and balsamic vinegar. The wine selection is extensive to say the least! We moved from there to the cheese and charcuterie counter where Bob gave us some samples of several of his favorites. We bought several snacker size portions for our weekly european picnic style meal and left with a sack of tasty treat and a list of amazing restaurant recommendations from Kristin. Whether you live in Las Vegas or are just a travler passing through this shop is a must stop! The owners passion for food and finer things shows without a doubt. Stop by and see for your self!

Artisinal Foods

If you live locally or are simply a foodie at heart this website is worth a look http://www.artisanalfoods.com/shop/learn/
 Their site states the owner is a professional purveyor of ingrediants, both their site and store are home to several items that you just wont find at your local grocer. Very near the strip so if you are interested in fine ingrediants take a peek inside, or check out the web page above when you get back home for their extensive list of culinary delights!

And then there was O

We couldn't spend the whole trip off strip so we decided to see "O" by Cirque Du Soleil with dinner before at Sensi. Both being located in the Bellagio this makes a nice evening out without a lot of rushing so as not to miss the show. Sensi was wonderful! The large granite slabs, flowing water, and the glass enclosed kitchen located in the center of the restaurant lend to a very interesting atmosphere. The service is good, not Michelin Star but better than most. We started with the fresh naan served with a variety of sauces followed by the sushi fusion roll sampler. Next braised short ribs with mashed garlic potatoes, a side order of spinich and the ultimate bone marrow on bruschetta! We finished with coffee and a tasty chocolate hazelnut log that tasted like what every candy bar wants to become when it grows up, topped with homemade ice cream. Our meal was complete with about 15 minutes to spare before the 10pm show. We headed to our seats to watch the comical pre show clown act, which was very entertaining and transitioned seamlessly into the main event. All I can say about "O" is that if you haven't experienced this yet then words cannot do it justice. Likely the greatest show, ballett, circus, act, stage performance ect. of all time! From beginning to end the onlooker is mesmorized by the dreamers fantasy being brought to lif in front of them. We sat three rows back in the "wet seats" we didn't actually feel more than a few drops but you should be ready in the first few rows for some water. ] The tickets are between $75 and $180 and worth every penny. The auditorium sells out every night for 1800 seats and 2 shows with a gross of over $3 million each night. SEE THIS SHOW!

Honey Pig!! Off Strip NIght Three

After finding the Chinatown district the night before thanks to my friend Lewis, a Vegas local, we decided we had to go back tonight for Keorean BBQ! Again from our hotel on the strip this area is only a 10-15 minute drive. On this one we went with local advice and picked this resturant listed as #3 by Yelp. The portions were huge, the meat tasty and tender, great variety of Kimchi and wonderful staff! Earlier in the day they offer an all you can eat menu. We did the combo A that came with pork belly, bulgogi, veggies and drinks for around $30. They are open from 11:30 am to 8:00am so when you are tired of the clubs and casinos this is a great spot to visit to finish you night...or start your day!

Las Vegas...OFF STRIP!

   Night one of our Summer 2011 Vegas trip we arrive at our hotel, get unpacked and head out for pedicures. We used Yelp to find the best/highest rated facility and drove out into the real Las Vegas. We found a real gem! Luxury Nails and Spa at 9730 Tropicana Ave, Ste 10 Spring Vally Las Vegas is a great little spot for a little pre strip pampering! All of the staff spoke clear English and spent a lot of time talking to us verses talking to each other during the pedicure. They also do a hot stone massage and work on any rough spots for around $19. Afterwards we started getting a little hungry so we Yelped again and found the top rated Sushi place in the area, "Naked Fish's Sushi & Grill" at 3945 S Durango Dr. Ste A6 Spring Valley Las Vegas, NV. The wait staff were pleasent and knowledgeable. Their recommendations were spot on and the daily specials were out of this world. They are open late and excited to see you! Just what I was looking for, but to top it off the sushi was on par with any I've had on strip in 5 star hotels or in LA and our bill was under $70!
    Day 2's off strip excursion took usfor lunch to "Grind Burger Bar and Grill" Found once again on Yelp! The burger was perfect from bun to the temperature of the meat. The decor is great, however a little risky if you have kids in tow. If you love burgers and don't feel like spending $50 on the strip for a dry overpriced lunch come check out this place a couple of blocks away from the Luxor. Our search for a late night off strip meal took us to to Spring  Mountian and Lucky House Chinese Resturant. Only a few miles off the strip and within sight of the MGM grand, where the owner of this great little place works as an exeuctive chef. The seafood is kept live until you order it and brought to your table for viewing to show freshness prior to cooking. Again this tasty off strip meal was better than expected, open until 4am and under $50 for more food than 4 people could have eaten! To ice the cake of Lucky house the staff and service was exceptional, only to be overshadowed by some of the Michelin Star places in town.
   Brunch for day three found us using a Living Social deal that we had purchased prior to the trip. The place is called "Due Forni" and they do true Italian pizza like no one else! With their two specialized imported pizza ovens they serve up artisan pies to order in record time! The price is a little  higher here, $20 for the pizza we ordered but in their defense one of the ingredients was a real black truffle shaved over our lunch while we watched. The ricotta, honey and tosted pistachio signature desert is a must with a hot cup of Lavazza coffee to finish. Service and quality are obviously very important to all of the staff!
The remainder of the trip will be blogged over the next few days! Thanks for reading! Find us on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1444214126 or on Yelp as Tawnya Mullen or Greg Kaufman  https://www.facebook.com/greg.kaufman1

The Vdara & Vegas...Off Strip! #1

So we are in Las Vegas Nevada again! We hit this hot vacation spot (Literally, it is 113F here today and 105F at 12am this morning) a few times a year. This time we decided that since we have done, seen and eaten most of what is offered on the strip, that this time we would go off strip a bit. We have found that there are a few off strip restaurants that are owned by some of the executive Chef's at the more famous casino restaurants, with the same quality food at a fraction of the cost. We booked online through on online third party booker as we always do for vacations. We got our hotel  (The Vdara at City Center) at around a 30% discount, the site had it listed as a 5 star however I beg to differ with them there. I disagree greatly with the Standard 5 star rating system in general and if you have stayed in many hotels around the world I'm sure you do as well. I am going to write an individual post at some point listing a 10 point system that more accurately reflects these differences. However as it stands The Vdara would earn a 4 to 4.5 out of 5 on the current rating system (Somewhere around a 7 on my rating system of 1-10 example: The Wynn/Encore=10 and the Courtyard by Marriot in Flagstaff, Az =5 both excellent hotles but not so close in quality as a 1 star difference gives.) The Vdara is not a bad hotel by any standards, however there are several little "5 Star" items missing. The room was dusty when we arrived, some hairs in the tub and stuck to the celing, some of the furnishings are tattered and there is a shortage of outlets, none by the bedstand. One of the lightbulbs was out and the courtesy water that is included in our $20 a day resort fee was not in the fridge (Which never seemed to get cold and cost us some tasty leftovers.) There were no robes or sandles in the closet, or bubble bath by the tub.  These rooms are avaliable for sale as luxury condos for $700K and up over $2Mil. I am not sure why anyone would pay this ammount. We made the hotel staff aware of the issues as we were leaving the room and to their credit the fixed everything except the hairs and waters. On the second day with no courtesy waters in the Vegas heat we called our booking service who worked out a deal for $120 credit towards food, vacations and a resort fee credit, an returning to our room on the third day however there is still no water in the room and the fridge is still warm. I don't want you to have the wrong impression, this is a better than avarage hotel by most standards, but I have a problem with them claiming to be on par with hotel perfection that can be found just a few blocks away. Enough on this rant though, on to some great spots! (See the next posts for the amazing food we found off strip)

Pakasai Resort, Krabi, Thailand

We found this great little hide away on agoda.com. We flew in to Krabi from Bangkok after a week there with friends, it was time for a little us time since it was 2/14/2011. After landing we picked up our free sim card with pre paid cell minutesjust outside of bagage claim, booked and paid for a taxi (airport limosine) inside the airport, this decreases the risk of being over charged (or worse). The cab was a standard silver fleet car, neat and clean. The driver spoke little to no English but the woman inside the airport gave him a card with our Hotel info written down. (It is important to book a room in advance, as often times the taxi drivers will try to take you to a hotel where they earn a comission. This is not always a bad hotel, but can be a nightmare.) The ride to the resort was a little longer than expected but the drive was beautiful so we didn't mind. When we arrived the door man helped us out of the car while the bell men unloaded our baggage and carried it inside for us. We were escorted to chairs inside the open air lobby and given cold moist towels for our hands and faces then iced fruit drinks while we filled out the check in paperwork. The hotel staff were very friendly and spoke English very well. They even booked a wonderful Valentines dinner and transportation which turned in to an amazing evening on a hill side resturant deck over looking the ocean with delicous food and impecible service.
  Our room at Pakasai was medium sized (Large for South East Asia) standard firm eastern bed and pillows & air con. Our bathroom was beautiful wtih a large rain shower head and plenty of closet space. The concrete tub was situated on the balcony in a bed of river stones. The experience of enjoying a midnight shower outdoors in Southern Thailand under the stars with the sound of the ocean and birds was memorizing.
   While we were there we spent a lot of time walking the beaches and exploring the various shops, there are great deals if you are willing to barter a little. My advice though, purchase your beach items long before you hit them. There are day trip boats that will take you to some of the more secluded beaches for a small fair. Ask the hotel to recommend one that is trust worthy, we used the one located directly across the street from Pakasai for  a trip to Raily beach and later to Long Beach,  Ko Phi Phi.

 If you get tired of eating exclusively Asian, the Indian restaurant near the hotel is some of the best I've ever had, and if you are in the mood for a suit they have a tailor just next door. The street food here was tasty, just ask them to re heat whatever you plan to eat as this will take care of any bacteria that may be growing. Oh, and if you decide to try the tasty little coconut custards for a sweet fix....let them cool down for a very long time first, unless you like lava on your tongue. We'll upload a few photos on this post and more to follow on the slide show later. If we didn't answer your question, don't hesitate to ask!
Greg & Tawnya