Big Eats

The main reasons I was so excited about my trip State-side wasn't the blistering sunshine or shopping friendly exchange rate, in fact it was the food. Being an avid watcher of Man vs Food I fancied taking on my own foodie challenges - achieving the average weight gain of 2-3lbs per week of Brits holidaying in the US was on the list.

I LOVE my food and was pretty sure I could give those American portions a run for their money - oh, how wrong I was... It appeared on the surface that I'd escape the effects of jet lag, but after a few days of eating a mouthful of food and feeling fit to pop I investigated further (you can't beat asking Google a question) and discovered that loss of appetite was another symptom. So, here's my gallery of food I couldn't really eat, but had a good time trying...

Viva Las Vegas

Blue Moon, MGM Grand. Me and Sean foolishly thought we could manage a whole one.
The pizza box was about 50cm squared and the woman nearly fainted when I only asked for 2 plates :-)

The Seahorse Bar at Caesars Palace. Trying to get a lemonade in the US seems to highlight how different we are. I should have asked for Sprite and all would have been fine. The barman and me had a random exchange, which consisted of him asking me if I wanted something adding to my drink, "extra syrup?" and I replied "no, just a lemonade please".

Best Restaurant Fish Tank goes to... Beijing Noodle No. 9 at Caesar's Palace

This display reconfirmed my feelings that when I return to Vegas I'll be staying at Caesar's Palace. Amazingly beautiful macrons from Payard Patisserie at Caesar's Palace

After getting lost in Caesar's Palace we thought it best to refuel just in case we got lost again. At Cypress Street Marketplace there's a wide choice of take away snacks to grab. We went for hotdog from Nathan's, Sean had the chilli cheese dog and I had the very colourful Chicago. Hot chilli, pickles, tomato and mustard, yum!

32 Degrees was a cool little bar at MGM Grand. When the temperature outside is pushing 107 Fahrenheit a alcoholic slush puppy is the way forward. I went for the Tropical Mojito, as well as the usual suspects it had the additional of orange. Really tasty and not too strong, which was good as it was only about 3pm :-)

The best day ever, was so excited to go here and it was just as awesome as I'd hoped.

Above the bar we left our mark, placing our signed dollar alongside everyone else who'd made the pilgrimage to the heart of weirdness.

After travelling go knows how many miles to the middle of the Nevada desert, there's only one thing to do, grab yourself an Alien Burger!

 Aloha Hawaii

Cheese Burger, Beach Walk, Waikiki. Loved this place, the decor was utterly kitsch and the burgers were amazing and the fries, well oh my, the fries were in a different league. I opted for The Hawaiian, a beef burger topped with a slice of fresh pineapple and teriyaki sauce - perfect balance of sweet, salty & beefiness. Even the awkward free photo postcard couldn't tarnish our visit :-)

Yard House, Waikiki was the best bar we visited. We counted well over 150 beers, all on tap. The kegs are kept in a room with windows so you can see in and then your desired beverage travels from the kegs along pipes in the ceiling to the bar pumps. Our servers went a long way to making this place special, taking time to show us through the vast menu and help us make our choices. We both opted for local beers, which were all lovely, but Big Wave was a revelation!

The food wasn't bad either, my chicken club sandwich with avocado was amazing and my side salad was just as substantial as my sandwich - plus it was one of the nicest Caesar Salads I've eaten. All helped to mop up some of the beer.

Big Wave, the beer we discovered at the Yard House become a daily staple. Made by Kona Brewing Company on the Islands it had a very smooth taste with delicate hints of passion fruit. I'm not a huge lager fan, but this one is special!

Short stack of blueberry pancakes, with obligatory pineapple slice at Giovanni Pastrami, Waikiki Beach.

Mixing it up with a post dinner cocktail - an authentic Blue Hawaiian. Light Rum, Vodka, Blue Curacao and Pineapple Juice.

Traditional Hawaiian Food. The people of the cafe seemed pretty excited to have some tourists visit and made a suggestion on what we should try, we just agreed and we shared a selection of dishes. We only really know what two of them was, Kalua Pig with white rice (pork slow roasted under ground using hot rocks), Lomi Lomi Salsa (fresh tomato salsa with finely chopped salmon) and then we had two side dishes which we haven't a clue about, one was thick rice noodles with tender chunks of chicken and loads of ginger and the second was a green coloured stew that was coconut in flavour. Oh and we also had some Poi too. When we opened the lid to reveal the contents I have to admit I was a little scared, in nicest possible way it look awful. Thankfully it tasted nothing like it looked, each was delicious in its own right (with exception to the Taro paste, I didn't like that).

Ok, excuse the dodgy photography, I got the setting a little wrong, but I had my mind on other things! We visited Waihola Shave Ice, popular with locals it's meant to be the best shave ice on O'ahu and were President Obama used to get his fix. We patiently queued alongside side local kids to get out cone of loveliness, I went for a cherry and peach, with vanilla ice cream, so good!

I quickly came used to the fact that Hot Tea in the US wasn't Tea as I know it. So rather than keep fuelling my disappointment I opted for the Ice Tea instead - they sure get that right. I became slightly addicted to the refreshing taste of Starbucks Iced Tazo Black tea with Lemon.

Purple Bread?!

Pre dinner drink - Hawaiian Sunset. Vodka, cranberry juice and pineapple juice. Garnished with a chunk of fresh pineapple and a maraschino cherry. I remember eating them out of a a jar at my Nan's house when I was a kid, an amazingly happy foodie memory colliding with an amazing foodie experience was, er, the cherry on the top!

Seafood Lau Lau, a twist on a Hawaiian tradition this was one of the most amazing meals I've ever eaten. Huge scallops, prawns cooked with salmon in an amazing sauce made from the Lau Lau leaf.

 La La Land

Breakfast at our hotel day one...way too much just glad we didn't opt for the buffet breakfast.

Hotel Breakfast day two... foolishly though that going for a Smoked Salmon Bagel would make for a smaller portion. I didn't realise that what they meant by Smoked Salmon Bagel was in fact a mound of salmon, with a huge wedge of cream cheese and side salad with a toasted bagel chaser :-)

Getting to Santa Monica Pier through LA traffic was a emotional experience for all the wrong reasons, shaved years off my life. Arriving and finding they dish out the Coke in old school glass bottle made me very happy.

Tiki Tai Cocktail at Hard Rock Cafe, University City Walk. Spiced Rum, Cointreau, lime juice, orange juice and agave nectar - a really belly warmer, completely delicious! Now, where do I get agave nectar from?!

Sometimes my appreciation for food goes no further than loving their typography :-). Popcornopolis, Universal City Walk.

LA's Farmer's Market in Hollywood was a great treat. A maze of food stalls with every cuisine you can imagine.

We opted for a taste of the deep south at Gumbo Pot. I filled my face with a Blackened Chicken Po’boy and a fresh Limeade from an adjoining stall.

If you want to read more about my travels you can do so here...Transatlantic Fantastic