10/25/21

Still a thrill to see Billy Idol—badass + sincere—light up a room. “I want to thank you for making my life so fucking great,” he said onstage this past Saturday night at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan to a packed crowd as part of his residency there.

His widescreen punk rock, dressed up with glam and hard rock, still dazzles. The fist-pumping hits kept coming, along with three new songs from his new EP, ‘The Roadside,’ one of which, “U Don’t Have to Kiss Me Like That,” was instantly anthemic. It was pure joy to hear Idol’s menacingly husky voice, matched with the fierce, eloquent guitar runs by Steve Stevens and the sturdy rhythm guitar of Billy Morrison. The two song-encore sealed the deal: a sparks-flying cover of “Born To Lose” (by Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers) and then…”White Wedding.” It was my first time seeing Idol (a former client) since 2014 when he released the “Kings  & Queens of The Underground “ album, for which SRO PR handled the PR including a memorable L.A. Weekly cover.

Cool how the new Las Vegas Weekly shines a super-appetizing light on the Spanish tapas scene here, including places where we’ve been/love (Pamplona + Firefly… see last photo to see Rana and me recently outside the latter) and others we need to check out (like Valencian Gold). LVW also zeroes in other non-Spanish eateries serving tapas, like Nittaya’s Secret Kitchen (right where we live in Summerlin) with its Thai delicacies including those crazy-addictive potato curry puffs. 

9/10/21
Thanking Las Vegas Weekly for pointing us in the right direction…to the newly opened Chef Kenny’s Asian Vegan Restaurant on Flamingo. We had quite a feast there this week: starting with tasty dim sum (BBQ pork steamed bun, shrimp dumpling) before moving onto to the instantly memorable entrees: Salt and pepper shrimp, Yee Shang Egglant and the House chow mein. The food was a home run on all levels—an exciting addition to the loudly buzzing Vegan food movement in Vegas. Colorful ambience, too—and the price is right. We’ll be back! (CC: Vegans, Baby by Diana Edelman)

8/7/21
In an L.A state of mind last night, we headed to Bordergrill at Mandalay Bay. Judging by how scintillating the Vegan Relleno and Chicken Poblano Enchiladas tasted, chefs/food visionaries Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken haven’t lost their touch at all when it comes to merging authentic + creative cuisine. Back in the day, Rana and I used to go to the first Border Grill which opened in 1985 as a 35-seat eatery on Melrose Avenue.

7/9/21
Last night my wife Rana Bendixen and I had the pleasure of being in the company of Ava Berman and Carlos Adley, owners of Fremont Country Club and Backstage Bar & Billiards, over dinner at the Chart House, which has a serious aquarium, inside the Golden Nugget Las Vegas. Ava and Carlos are absolute cultural visionaries who are pivotal to the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas and beyond.

6/30/21

Walking around the newly opened Resorts World last night, it was terrific to feel the unique spirit of Los Angeles, all under one roof. There’s Fred Segal, Wally’s, Craig’s Vegan Ice Cream, the soon-to-open Mulberry Street Pizzeria and L.A. chef Ray Garcia’s Viva, where his creative Mexican cuisine delivered on all counts including those transcendent chorizo and potato taquitos.

Had a blast last night at the long-running “The Rat Pack Is Back” at the Copa Room inside Tuscany Suites & Casino, conjuring an era of alcohol-spiked performances by virtuosos armed with truckloads of ribald humor.  “I love Vegas like Sinatra loves Jack Daniel’s,” as Dean Martin notes on the album “The Rat Pack: Live At The Sands.”

People need people, right? Thanks to everyone who came out last Wednesday in Las Vegas for the 3:00 PM happy hour meet-up. It was a fantastic turnout with new + old friends including  L.A. folks (some who live here, some who don’t) + Schneider Rondan Organization clients. Good vibrations were in abundance along with drinks + soul-satisfyin’ pizza at the super accommodating Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria in Summerlin. Definitely planning on making this a regular thing.

Back row, from left: 

Tour/road manager Adriane Biondo, singer Brendan Shane (The Nocturnal Affair), writer Lonn Friend,  guitarist Bruce Kulick (Grand Funk Railroad), singer Megan Ruger (The Voice), keyboardist Michael T. Ross (Raiding the Rock Vault), bassist Scott Snyder (Great White).

Front row:

Manager Paul Geary and me

It was a lazy + super sweet Vegas Sunday. Started in Chinatown at Take It Easy Roasters which has a traditional Colombian bakery. The “dalgona matcha”—honey milk topped with a whipped matcha meringue garnished with fresh cracked sea salt + chocolate shavings—was transcendent. Same goes for the vegan + gluten-free banana bread loaf with seared pecans, plus the bunuelo with cheese. Next up: the Arts District, where we stopped into the antique store Main Street Peddlers before heading back to Chinatown to wander around the sprawling food paradise, Shanghai Plaza, to check out future possibilities. Headed next to Pamplona Cocktails & Tapas Las Vegas, an off-Strip eatery on Sahara that surpassed all expectations + was priced right. Roasted beets salad with mushroom, goat cheese. Roasted potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and oil.  Shrimp in chili garlic oil with white wine. Homemade beef meatballs in Spanish tomato sauce with green beans. Couldn’t say no to dessert. The fried brioche bread with Spanish custard, caramelized sugar + cinnamon powder was sweetness to the square root of infinity.