Haagen-Dazs 2012 Limited Edition Flavors

Mr. Monkey found this on our doorstep today.

After I posted about the Haagen-Dazs Suite Sweet at the Hotel Triton, a nice Haagen-Dazs representative e-mailed me and asked if I'd like to try the 2012 limited edition flavors.  Obviously, my answer was yes!

Four beautiful pints.

Totally frozen and perfect even after their long journey.

As described by Haagen-Dazs:

• Coconut Macaroon -- Inspired by centuries-old recipes spanning from Europe & Asia, our coconut macaroon ice cream is made with soft, chewy coconut macaroon cookies folded into delicate coconut ice cream.
• Spiced Caramel Biscuit -- The classic European biscuit, Speculoos, inspired our spiced caramel biscuit ice cream; crumbles of sugary, crunchy cinnamon-sparked biscuits blended into velvety caramel ice cream.
• Vanilla Bean Espresso -- We looked to Italy's classic dessert, vanilla affogato, to create our vanilla bean espresso ice cream: a twist of intense espresso swirled into creamy, rich vanilla ice cream.
• Salted Caramel Truffle -- We looked to the classic French confection, fleur de sel, for our salted caramel truffle ice cream: smooth, sweet-cream ice cream, ribbons of rich salted caramel, and decadent chocolaty truffles.

The moment I finished photographing the cartons, Mr. Monkey dove into the Coconut Macaroon.

He ate the whole thing right then and there!  If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!  Luckily, I'm not a coconut fan, so I didn't mind that he finished this pint all by himself.  I guess Mr. Monkey the Coconut Lover was really the lucky one.

I've had a few bites of the remaining three flavors, and they are fantastic.  The chunks of biscuit and truffles are rather generous.  But my heart belongs to the Vanilla Bean Espresso.  It's like a creamy frozen vanilla latte but better!

Thank you, Haagen-Dazs!

These samples were complimentary.

Just a Spoonful of Sugar: Sucre

We were walking down Magazine Street when we happened upon Sucre, a sweets shop that offers macarons, cupcakes, chocolates, other baked goods and candies, and gelato. I really liked Sucre's window display and branding.

We couldn't resist getting some gelato, which we enjoyed while sitting at a small table on the sidewalk.

Sweets for the Sweet: Serendipity 3

Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace is an old standby for us because it's free, and we never have to wait for a table. Those three letters really work wonders.

We often come here for lunch when we meet friends with kids.

Empire State Onion Rings -- tower of onion rings sprinkled with Romano cheese, ranch and BBQ Seren-DIPS ($10).

Thai Beef Salad -- marinated skirt steak, iceberg, napa cabbage, cilantro, jalapeños, tomato, Asian pickle, and toasted peanut dressing nestled in a coconut shell ($16.50).


The One and Only Las Vegas Strip Steak Sandwich -- 10 oz. New York strip steak, sunny side up eggs, smoked bacon, cheddar and jack cheeses on garlic French bread ($20).

High Heel Pump -- prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, beefsteak tomatoes, arugula, basil pesto, and balsamic glaze ($16).

Margherita pizza ($14).

Mac & cheese, essence of aromatic truffles, panko crust, pancetta bacon ($15).

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate ($10). Small child not included.

Sometimes we visit just for dessert. I highly recommend doing this.

Smores Hot Chocolate -- Serendipity hot chocolate, melted marshmallow, graham crackers, Hershey's Kisses ($7). CRAZY GOOD.


Deep-fried Oreos, cookies 'n' cream ice cream, hot fudge, marshmallow sauce ($14).

Naughty & Nice Ice Cream Sundae -- hot apple pie, vanilla, dulce de leche ice cream, warm caramel, whipped cream ($12.50).

Complimentary ice cream sandwiches for VIPs.

Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace is a fun place to satisfy your sweet tooth.

These meals were comped.

Dairy Dreams and More: Milk

If you've been a loyal reader for a few years, you already know that I adore Milk.

But, while I've shared my experiences with Milk's desserts several times in the past, I never showed you Milk's savory offerings.

Manchego cheese and whole wheat grain salad with baby arugula, select seasonal fruit, dates, caramelized walnuts and walnut vinaigrette ($12).

A salad that will actually make you go, "Ohhh, yeah!"

Medianoche -- roasted pulled pork and ham with Manchego cheese, pickles, and roasted garlic mayo ($12.50).

Fresh, pressed, hot, meaty, and cheesy.

As pleasant as the salads and sandwiches are, we all know what Milk does the best!

Are you drooling yet?

Ice cream sandwiches are $4.50 each. Giant macarons with gobs of ice cream!

Our red velvet and peanut chocolate chip sandwiches were fantastic. They always are.

Fancy-Schmancy Ice Cream Sandwiches: Coolhaus

I was glad to see Coolhaus at The Railroad Revival Tour.

I really like Coolhaus. I'd tried it in the past after another concert, but it was too dark that night to memorialize our foie-gras-ice-cream-ginger-molasses-cookie sandwich and brown-butter-candied-bacon-ice-cream-snickerdoodle sandwich with my little pink camera.

Pick your cookie. Pick your ice cream. Pay $5 for your personalized ice cream sandwich!

Red velvet cookie + red velvet ice cream.


Maple waffle white chocolate cookie + Nutella toasted almond ice cream.

Both the ice cream and the cookies at Coolhaus are inventive and delectable. Even I'm willing to wait in line for Coolhaus.

Fun Flavors: Lake Street Creamery

For dessert, we and The Cruisers indulged in two pints from Lake Street Creamery.



Lake Street Creamery describes its donut flavor as "the fresh natural taste of cake donut -- now in ice cream form."

Pancake Breakfast is "cakey, satisfying flapjacks, pure maple syrup, and bits of real bacon, sprinkled with fresh-ground peaberry coffee." Lake Street Creamery advises this is "not for vegetarians or the excitable."

We all enjoyed these two flavors. I liked Pancake Breakfast more for its touch of salt amidst the sweetness. It's not the creamiest ice cream you'll ever have (in fact, it's a tad icy), but the creative flavors are certainly worth sampling.

Worth Two Trips in a Weekend: Burger Bar

We were sad to go back to work after such a fun Christmas weekend in Las Vegas, but, in just five days, we were back! We stayed at THEhotel during New Year's weekend in a free room like this. Mr. Monkey's father played at Mandalay Bay, so that's where we ate all of our meals.

For free again. Yay for us!

Burger Bar is brought to you by Michelin star-earning, James Beard Award-winning, Top Chef Masters finalist, awesome DJ, and all-around cool dude, Hubert Keller.


Big burgers, TVs everywhere, and Keller quality? How could this not be a winner?

Beer-battered jalapeño pickles ($5).

Mr. Monkey loved these so much. I only ate one because I'm not much of a pickle fan, but, if you are, Mr. Monkey says you should get these.

Peppercorn burger -- NatureSource beef, fresh and dried peppercorn, and Dijon mustard served on a plain bun with peppercorn cream sauce on the side ($15.80).

Mr. Monkey raved about this, too. I enjoyed a good portion of it myself.

Hubert Keller burger -- buffalo, caramelized onions, baby spinach, and bleu cheese on a ciabatta bun ($20.25).

I preferred my burger over my husband's. I liked the feel and heartiness of the buffalo. I liked the sweetness of the onions. I liked the creaminess and sharpness of the bleu. Damn. I want to eat another one now.

Nutella milkshake -- chocolate ice cream, Nutella, chocolate sauce, and chocolate whipped cream ($8.75).

This made Mr. Monkey very happy. It was gigantic.

We were so delighted with our New Year's Eve lunch that, after a show on New Year's Day, we returned for a late-night snack.

Burger Bar sliders -- buffalo with caramelized onions, Angus with plain bacon, NatureSource beef with American cheese all served on plain buns ($13.25).


We asked for onion rings instead of fries. This order was the ideal size for us that night. Sinful little tastes in Sin City. Nice way to sample three different burgers.

Trio of sundaes -- (1) coffee ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, Oreo crumbles; (2) strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberry slices, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbles; and (3) chocolate ice cream, miniature marshmallows, chocolate whipped cream, Oreo crumbles ($9.95).

These reminded me of tiny flower pots! As tasty as they were cute.

Burger Bar is a tad expensive for burgers, but I think everything we had was worth the premium price. We'd gladly pay for Burger Bar ourselves if we didn't have the luxury of the comp.