Venetian

Today, we mobilized everyone to go to Bouchon at the Venetian. It took a lot of effort to wake Zoe, for some reason:

As far as getting people to the Venetian, this presented somewhat of a problem, as we were seven adults and two children (and no car). We decided that the monorail would be a good way to do it, but it turned out to be a bit of a bust: with all the walking, we could probably have just walked to the Venetian (in the rain, but we were used to it at this point). It's also expensive and slow. My recommendation: take a cab! Zoe enjoyed it, though:

We eventually made it to the Venetian, and went to Bouchon via the Grande Canal, of course.

Lunch (we got there too late for breakfast) was very good, but it is probably better for breakfast. Our main complaint was with the wait staff, who could not seem to get any orders straight. One of them even moved the stroller that Alex was in, waking him up in the process. Also, in this haven of Thomas Keller cuisine, I was surprised at the chips that they served. This being Bouchon, when they asked whether we wanted chips, chloe and I both said yes, imagining some kind of "fried in duck fat" extravagance. Unfortunately, the reality of Bouchon Chips turned out to be rather disappointing: a bus boy with a handful of Kettle Chips (and no idea who to give them to).
Zoe decided that Chloe would look better in a habit


Next: a parting of ways to go in various directions.



Kenji, Gail and I went back to the hotel so I could learn how to play craps after wandering around the Grande Canal with Stephanie


Kenji, Gail and I had dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, where my plan was to get something light, but I did not succeed. The food was excellent, as usual. Kenji's "day boat" scallops in particular were excellent. I've seen the "day boat" description several times now, and did not know what it meant. It turns out to refer to the method of cultivation.