THE LINE AT PHILIPPE'S

Philippe's, near L.A.'s famed Union Station.

Home of the original French Dip sandwich.

Get in line and wait your turn. Business suits, grungies, the hoi palloi and the down and out.

Open Daily, now serving breakfast.

Beware the mustard.

CRYSTALLIZED

One of the things I love most about travel is the opportunity to try new foods and tastes. That's one of the reasons the blog and associated websites are moving towards a newer focus on not only places we go, but the foods and drink that go along with those places.

Last year's mega-Road Trip - "Nineteen Days, 25 States, 6000 Miles" - was no exception. We sampled wines in Missouri and Virginia, down-home cooking' in North Carolina, seafood in Pensacola and quite a few other regionalized dishes.

One of the more enduring discoveries was this stuff: Crystal Hot Sauce.

We ran across it in New Orleans, where sauces are pretty much legendary and obligatory. It was sitting on a table with Tabasco and Cholula, the industry titans. So we sampled the Crystal after a local assured us it was "Better'n Tabasco".

It's a completely different taste and experience. Crystal, which seems to be available much more widely than I had anticipated, is perfect for eggs, Mexican food, sauces and much, much more. It's a more subtle Louisiana spiciness versus the vinegar heat of Tabasco. 

A bit of New Orleans in your cupboard.

(This is not a sponsored post, BTW. I just love the stuff and discovered it while traveling. Enjoy.)

NOW ON TOUR

Do you have a favorite thing to eat? Perhaps favorite restaurant chain? Favorite drink?

Chocolate!!!

Pilgrimages are typically referred to in religious terms, but there's no reason you can't make a pilgrimage...to the home of your favorite soda, or food. Have you eaten a hamburger at the oldest surviving McDonalds in Downey, California? Visited the oldest surviving White Castle building in Indianapolis (sadly, long closed but still architecturally sound)?

The Coca Cola Corporation has a well-known visitors center and museum at its corporate headquarters in Atlanta. Hershey, Pennsylvania is an entire city and theme park built up around the celebration of chocolate. Many creameries in the upper midwest offer tours of their milk and cheese operations. And even of they don't offer a tour, the tasting room can be quite delicious.

Just a taste, please!

Many companies have these sorts of attractions for you to come, sample their wares and perhaps learn a bit about how your favorite things are made. It's a pilgrimage with benefits, so to speak.

Celestial Seasonings has a terrific tour at their tea facility in Boulder, Colorado. The SPAM Museum is in Austin, Minnesota (no, not Hawaii). The Sea Spirits Distillery on Maui has a great tour in a gorgeous setting. McIlhenny Company, makers of Tabasco, has a famous visitors facility just a couple of hours from New Orleans.

If you're a wine drinker most wineries have tasting rooms. With wineries in virtually every state there's no doubt a pretty decent place just begging for a day trip. Or maybe visiting a brewery is more your speed. Or a distillery.

The point is that we often default on the standard adventures for our time on the road. Flying off to parts unknown and head to the beach, park or other. We don't often think about visiting those places, those institutions which may be a favorite part of our day.

It's worth the trip.

(There's a terrific website, Factory Tours USA, with loads of possible tours in all fifty states.)

Samples!!!

DOLCI

Dessert menu at the Caffe Domiciano, Rome.

One of my favorite travel things to do is late-night dining under the stars 

in an historic part of a wonderful city. 

Oftentimes these are among the most memorable of moments.

I think we ordered gelato...and cappuccino, of course.

VIVA ITALIA!

Trying something new this week. A single destination all week long on the blog and social media: 

ITALY!

It's a spectacular country with a long history, spectacular scenery, incredible food, 

and wonderful people.

We'll be expiring all of them., all this week on the 

Thumbnail Traveler blog, Instagram and Twitter feeds.

So, let's start the week off. Today's destination is Rome, the Eternal City. Here on the blog we start off with a quartet of shots depicting this most intriguing of destinations.

Stazione Termini - Rome Train Station

Piazza Navonna at night

Quaint Italian Ristorante

The Vatican Museum

The Colisseum

EAT LOCAL

Road trips are often adventures into local towns and local cuisine.

Friday night I was at the James Beard Foundation fundraiser in downtown Los Angeles, and was talking about this sort of thing with one of the vendors there (Tabasco Foods booth). Being from New York he had traveled quite a bit but this was his first time here in La La Land. Accordingly he had asked for a recommendation about a 'really L.A.' place to eat.

And that's the key. Find yourself someplace local, someplace unique.

Because, after all, do you really want to travel all the way somewhere, 

just to eat at a restaurant you have back home?

Burrito and fries - The Belmont Brewing Company, Long Beach

CHASING MARTINIS - SOUTH DAKOTA

This week the Chase for the Friday Martini  

takes us to Rapid City, South Dakota for a martini and buffalo burger

at the Gold Bison Grille, inside the Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza.

Slightly stylized and really very tasty combo, even though it's not 

the first thing that might come to mind for a healthy dinner.

A different angle on this shot is included in my book CHASING MARTINIS. 

Have a great weekend.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ - LARGE NACHOS, PLEASE...

A beer and nachos are sometimes all you need to be happy in life, and in a college town 

you can usually find both in abundance.

Evening break after a long day on the road a few years back. 

Lumberyard Brewing Company. Flagstaff.

Pic of the Day: The Fremantle Markets

There is nothing like grabbing something to eat at a marketplace. The food is fresher, more tasty and likely a lot healthier for you. Well, maybe not the latter, but yum!

The Fremantle Markets. Fremantle, Western Australia.

Pic of the Day: Mediterranean Diet

My doctor recently put me on the Mediterranean Diet.

He quickly quelled my excitement at thoughts of pizza and lasagna, telling me it was more about freshness and vegetables. Seafood would replace red meat.

Yeah. I can live with that.

(Seafood and rice at the View Point Restaurant. Srd Hill, Dubrovnik.)

Pic of the Day: Nachos!!!

A plate of nachos from the Lumberyard Brewing Company, Flagstaff, AZ

Pic of the Day: EAT!

I take a lot of pictures of food. There are some people who believe in the power of suggestion.

Yeah. That's my excuse.

I LOVE BEING SURPRISED

"If people come three times a week to your restaurant they are the ones who find something they really love."

                                           - Wolfgang Puck

I love being surprised.

A meal. A view. A destination. An experience. When something is better or radically different than expected.

I am not often motivated to do what is commonly referred to as a "restaurant review". That's just a small part of Travel, capital T.

Then you find the exceptions.

I'm in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for a couple of meetings related to my day job. It's a smallish kind of city, in a flat part of the country. It's an outdoorsy kind of town, with summer and other seasons making up for a fairly drab winter. It's the doorway for many to Yellowstone National Park, or Grand Tetons if you're aimed a bit southerly of that.

I'm staying in a nondescript chain hotel, not really different from its brethren properties throughout the world. Nice, certainly, but not particularly 'Idaho".

As I do whenever I travel, I look for the local things to do, see and experience. As I've said -- probably ad nauseum -- it's the difference between traveling with a small "t" and Traveling. Capital T. For me it's vitally important to get out and find out what makes a place unique.

Among the real keys is to eat at a local place.

I found a place online called Jaker's. It's actually part of a small 5 location upper Midwest chain with properties in Missoula, Great Falls and Idaho Falls among them.

It looked "okay" from the outside, and online. Nothing extraordinary, but I kept seeing the name at the top of places to go in town. The website, however, didn't fill me with much in the way of expectations. It looked, frankly, like just another sports bar with a restaurant attached. Pictures of guys clanking beers, and other images on the site were not too promising, though the menu appeared to be good if a little pricey -- with the caveat that if you eat in the bar there are discounts to be considered.

I went back and forth, and really wasn't certain I was going to Jaker's until I climbed into the massive Chevy Suburban I'd been blessed with by the rental agency. Mind made up, I pulled into the already-full parking lot, pulling in on the south side of the building.

When I walked in I was immediately struck by how NOT "Sports Bar" Jaker's is. Warm and inviting, with a low lighting decor in both the restaurant and bar. I was immediately greeted and when I indicated I was headed for the bar the hostess smiled, pointed me in the right direction, and told me to take any seat I liked.

As I walked in, the hostess at my side, I was surprised by the nicely appointed bar with seats to my left, and a row of booths which bisected the room to my right. Along the far side were hightops with a good view of the festivities. Naturally I selected one of the hightops, in the corner on my right. Great view of the entire room, and comfortable,

Despite three bigscreen TVs, which weren't annoying the way they can be in other establishments, the bar at Jaker's was a warm and inviting place. The sound on the televisions was down, and the ambient music was a nice selection of popular jazz -- an instrumental version of Waters of March at that particular moment, one of my favorites -- a very pleasant surprise in a place where my Suburban's radio had an unnatural selection of country music on the pre-programmed list.*

The sound level was also surprising. Not the loud, usually boisterous crowd, the room was filled with hushed conversations, with a clientele mix of elderly couples, business people and younger people gathered at the bar itself. Again, a warm white noise versus an overarching chaos of conflicting conversations.

My server, a charming young woman named Megan, arrived almost immediately and took my drink order. When she noticed I didn't have a menu she immediately got me one from the hostess' station. While she was gone getting my drink I had a chance to go through the menu in a bit more detail. The menu online, like the rest of the website, wasn't exactly right and I discovered a few more selections than had been promised online. 

When Megan got back she took my order, said she was so happy I'd come in, and left to take care of the order. 

While I waited I read a placard left on the table -- the type that usually screams about the daily specials, or a tasty dessert, or beers and wines. In this case the placard was a detailed description of the restaurant's ingredients, noting the vast majority were sourced from Idaho. Obviously a point of pride and rightly so. The whole Locally Sourced movement makes for fresher and tastier dishes.

Another item of note was the inclusion of the story of Jaker's. Their philosophy and origins. This is indicative of an eatery proud of what it brings, ahem, to the table. The menu speaks to that with detailed notes and a nice selection ranging from very high end to the more reasonably priced options.

I ordered a 6 ounce sirloin with baked potato (Idaho!) and asparagus. 

When the food arrived -- not so fast as to make me feel unwelcome, but not so slow it got annoying -- it looked and smelled delicious. 

The steak and potato were excellent. The flavors on the steak were nicely balanced and added to the flavor of the meat without overwhelming it with spices or salt. Beautifully prepared. The baker was, naturally, just a great baked potato. It had better have been, considering my location.

The only issue was with the asparagus, which was stringy and tough. Very few restaurants get it right. I'd originally planned to order the broccoli, which would have been a better selection.

As I ate I watched Megan's interaction with the other tables. She was pleasant and engaged, with a warm personality. She said she was new, and a question I had regarding the available vodkas threw her for a moment, but she quickly consulted the bartender for the straight answer. (I was looking for a local brand to taste. They had two available. I'll just note I picked wrong...)

In all, a truly pleasant evening in a nice environment with excellent -- and I mean excellent -- food. (Next time, I thought, I order the broccoli.) I found myself thinking, several times, how sad it would have been to stay at the hotel for dinner and to have missed such an enjoyable night. Fortunately my own travel advice won out over a complacent attitude.

Their website does them a disservice, capturing none of the relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere of the real thing. If this seems like a complaint, it isn't. What concerns I had were picayune compared to the overall appreciation I have for a great night out. If you're in one of the towns Jaker's have properties they certainly warrant your business.

I love being surprised.

Post Script: I returned for a second night and as expected thoroughly enjoyed the evening, proving this is not an accident. The server, this time the confident and friendly Trisha, was wonderful. Attentive and upbeat. I overheard her at other tables explaining the details of the preparation and making it alluring. The food itself was delivered in a timely but not rushed manner. The steak, to be honest, was just a *touch* less tender the second time around -- I'm supposing this is due to the cooking being a bit more on the rare side than the medium rare the night before -- but the broccoli, as predicted, was terrific, as were the garlic fries. In my final assessment Jaker's is perhaps thankfully many miles from my home, lest it become a major habit and distraction. (In the best possible way.) This is where I'd happily hang out if I lived in town.

* The musical choice is a sophisticated one. Having returned for a second night at Jaker's I paid more attention to the musical selection. I'm certain it's an ambient collection, but whoever makes the decision at Jaker's to use this as a mood-setter deserves credit. It's perfectly suited to the atmosphere. At one point an upbeat instrumental version of Offbeat of Avenues was on the playlist. Pop Jazz, straightforward and standard...it's a wonderful accent.

JAKER'S BAR AND GRILL

The Little Things, Part 2 - SUSHISAMBA

"A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting."

Charlie Trotter

Las Vegas is a town becoming renowned for hospitality. Yeah, I know. That seems self-contradictory, but it’s true. The bad customer experience...and I've written about a few previously...is a surprise these days. A far cry from the impersonal buffets and indifference service staff, today’s Vegas is becoming highly dedicated towards individualized service. 

They have to. 

The competition for dollars has become intense, perhaps more than ever before following The Great Recession, which saw Las Vegas go through difficult and perhaps eye-opening times. Those challenges forcing service providers from hotels to tourist attractions to restaurants into a strong focus towards the customer experience. No longer is the attitude Old Vegas’ “we’ll put it out and you figure out how to enjoy it”, it’s largely become New Vegas’ “how can I make this better?” 

But perhaps more startling is when someone goes above and beyond, demonstrating a true dedication to the customer experience.

One of our favorite restaurants worldwide is the SUSHISAMBA in Las Vegas. Located at the Palazzo Hotel, it's a nice getaway with delicious food regardless of the occasion. Despite the fact it was involved (unknowingly) in the notorious nosebleed event of 2012*, it remains a must-do with every trip. 

(SUSHISAMBA, as the name implies, is a terrific fusion of Brazilian, Peruvian and Japanese cuisine and culture. The menu alone is an experience in cross-border/oceanic design and flavor. We have yet to have anything there that wasn't delicious.)

In the times we've eaten here, we've seen the staff under a variety of conditions, from swamped and chaotic on a Saturday evening to virtually empty on a Sunday night. 

In each circumstance the employees worked hard, presenting the food beautifully and keeping the water (and martini) glasses filled. It's not hard to return to a restaurant with that kind of a performance record. 

Needless to say, we highly recommend this place, and it would be hard to identify a way they could improve our customer experience. Las Vegas aims to achieve these days, and it's this sort of establishment that raised the mark.

We were a few bites into our appetizers — delicious of course — when the manager, Drago, approached our table to do the customary food and service quality check. How was the food? (Excellent.) How is the service? (Terrific.) Did we need anything? (Not at the moment.) Was this our first time? (No, we had been there several times and visit every time we're in town.)

In other words, a return customer.

Upon hearing this Drago smiled, expressing his appreciation for our return business, thanking us for the kind words about the food and his staff. What I picked up immediately was his enthusiasm. It seemed quite authentic and sincere. We started talking with him about the various things we've had, as well as the two or three must-haves every time we visit -- our favorite is the yellowtail sashimi tiradito. (We tend to stick more to the sushi end of the menu, but the sea bass and churrasco choices are also excellent.)

He took the time to chat, making us feel warmly welcomed and our interaction with himself and his staff personalized rather than “operational”. After a moment or so, having heard our favorites and taking the time ti get to know us, he leaned in rather conspiratorially and asked "do you have any allergies to seafood or shellfish?"

We shook our heads no.

"Ah. Okay, I have just the thing for you to try."

Not telling us what it was, he smiled conspiratorially and thanked us again, excusing himself to go check on other tables — no doubt making them feel as important as he had done for us. A few minutes later a plate of two scallop shells arrived, beautifully plated with Peruvian Bay scallops presented with a shiso lime butter crust. As amazing as it sounds, and a little amuse bush for us to enjoy. It was a thoughtful gesture, and appreciatively received. It was a small gift and the grand scheme, but certainly made a large impression.

The rest of dinner went equally as well. Our server was attentive, the food arrived regularly, was presented well and tasted brilliantly good. (The best sushi is a sensual, visual and textural experience in addition to taste --  SUSHISAMBA fires admirably on all four cylinders.) Drago checked in periodically, pleased that we were enjoying ourselves completely.

It was, to be brief, one of those dinners you remember for all of the right reasons: ambience, food, location, and most certainly the people who serve you. SUSHISAMBA hit all of the right chords in all the right order, and not for the first time — which is why we continue to return there each time we’re in Sin City (three or four times a year).

The staff, and particularly Drago, took the time to treat us as individuals — not just the next check at a busy table in an uncaring town. I should note that at no time did I ever mention that I am a professional traveler, nor that I write a blog related to my experiences. For all anyone knew, my wife and I would simply thank them and never comment publicly about our experience. The important thing for the employees was simply that we enjoy ourselves and come back to see them again.

And that’s seriously cool.

We have been to Las Vegas — no exaggeration — a hundred times or more. We’ve eaten at every level of eatery, ranging from the iHop and Peppermill, to SUSHISAMBA, Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak, Picasso — and the late, lamented Renior. We eat at local favorites (Nora’s and The Firefly), as well as the tourist spots on the Strip and in the big casinos.

In any tourist town it's easy to become jaded as a service person. You see the worst in people, and often bear the brunt of it. The same can go for customers. All too often we're seen as "the couple at table 3", or just another seating.

Which is why SUSHISAMBA is and will continue to be a regular stop for us. To be the sort of team who not only likes what they do, but can convey that in a way that allows the visitor to feel warmly welcomed and appreciated is a genuine talent. 

Especially in Las Vegas.

* (Nosebleed incident recounted in my 2012 Year-End review found here.)

 (A photographs in accordance with SAMBASUSHI's stated camera policy.)