********THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED.********Sunday at the Wynn was filled with relaxation and family. Very un-Vegas. I slept in, and, by the time I woke up, Mr. Monkey had already been gambling for a few hours. We met for lunch at Tableau, the restaurant inside the Tower Suites. How hoity-toity is Tableau? It has fancy-schmancy orchids on every table and footstools for your purse, so you don't have to put your purse on the ground.
Mr. Monkey had a huckleberry-pomegranate-banana smoothie, while I opted for freshly squeezed orange juice.
As usual, we split two entrees. The Kobe burger with aged cheddar and fries was so good! Now that I'm eating more wisely, stuff like this is a real treat for me. The Kobe beef was thick and beautiful and perfectly pink inside. I savored every juicy bite. The fries were crisp (but not too crisp) and had the best seasoning --
Old Bay, baby!
The dungeness crab club with smoked bacon and avocado on toasted wheat was also awesome. Mr. Monkey liked this even more than the burger. The crab was fresh, piled on generously, and paired superbly with the bacon. This dish also came with the phenomenal Old Bay fries.
On the recommendation of our server, we also got some polenta green onion rings. Wow! All my contraband items rolled into one! The Monkeys actually ate only 1.5 rings each, as the polenta was incredibly filling. Very interesting concept. Basically, it's polenta with mashed-in green onions fashioned into ring shapes and deep fried. And even the ketchup at Tableau is gourmet -- there were fresh tomato seeds in it.
After lunch, Monkey Father-in-Law gave us some "fun money" (which means he was on a winning streak). Woohoo! Mr. Monkey drove out to visit a former co-worker who now lives in Vegas, while I took my "fun money" and went to the Wynn salon to get a manicure and pedicure. As you may know, I'm not a fan of whirlpool spa pedicures, but somehow getting my tootsies taken care of at the Wynn allayed my fears about the whirlpool.
I picked out my usual range of subtle nudes and pinks and ended up doing my fingers in Essie's Real Simple and toes in Essie's Spaghetti Strap.
Perhaps the best part of my salon experience was seeing Steve Wynn
again on my way out! He was getting his nails done, too! It was hard to get a picture without looking like a total idiot. The manicurist and guest closest to the window both smirked at me, knowing exactly what I was doing.
After my second brush with the hotel magnate, I spent some time with my new family, while Mr. Monkey was still at his friend's house. Little Monkey Niece's ("LMN") parents decided a trip to the mall across the street would entertain her. LMN is seriously out of control, so much so that she requires a leash.
A leash.
LMN's favorite part of the mall trip was the Sanrio store. Ok, it was my fave part, too, because, suprisingly, the Paul Frank store didn't have anything that caught my eye.
When Mr. Monkey came back to the Wynn, the whole family headed to Okada for dinner. The
whole family.
[rant]
Like every hotel, the Wynn has a handy-dandy book in each room that informs guests of hotel amenities and services. While checking up on the dress code for various restaurants, I noticed that Okada and a number of other restaurants at the Wynn caution guests, "Please, no children under five." I told Mr. Monkey this to no avail. LMN is not our child, and who are we to tell Mr. Monkey's brother and father what to do? I guess ballers are above the usual rules. Yes, I'm rolling my eyes right now. *sigh*
We headed to Okada with LMN. I must admit that I was rather embarrassed when my brother-in-law asked for a high chair at such an establishment. I was even more embarrassed when LMN got loud. I slumped in my seat a bit when a number of patrons shot us well-deserved dirty looks.
[/rant]
The inappropriate presence of LMN notwithstanding, the ambience was pleasant, and we had a good meal, although the portions were rather small.
Mr. Monkey and I started off with a
robata platter, which was an assortment of beef, chicken, sea bass, and vegetables cooked on the big charcoal grill above. All of the items on this platter had a nice smoky flavor, and the sea bass was particularly enjoyable.
Next, we had a spider roll and some albacore. The albacore was fresh and cut well. The spider roll was tasty enough but unremarkable.
The Monkeys dined on baked sweet miso marinated black cod, as well as
robata grilled Alaskan king crab. The cod was quite good. I could've eaten two of these fillets...not so much because it was that delicious, but because it was so damn small. Ditto the crab. Yummers, but far too little to satisfy us.
Mr. Monkey actually ordered a salmon skin cut roll after we polished off our entrees. By the time I got back from the restroom, the roll had arrived, and Mr. Monkey had eaten almost all of it. I got to eat one piece. Oh well. Better for my waistline!
And that, my friends,
finally concludes the Monkey tales of the Wynn. (I'll be getting to my meme soon, Winnie!)
