Thanksgiving Dinner at Makino’s in Las Vegas


Dallas’s parents and sister :: George, Kathy, Caroline


I think this is the relative from HI who won $30k last year. We made him pay for dinner for everyone.


I know Uncle Neil in the back (from MI) & Great Aunty Mary in the front left is Dallas’s grandmother (Doris)’s sister. The rest? Hawaiian relatives.


In the back left and right are Hawaiian relatives. In the middle is Aunty Gail & Uncle Sonny. In the front are Aunty Glenna & Uncle BB.


Peggy & Neil with their daughter Miko and her fiance John. They got married the next day.


Dallas and I with our friends Molly, Matt, Adam & Sarah. Matt & Adam are brothers.


Hawaiian cousin (?) in front. Cory & Chris in back.


Uncle Neil with some Hawaiian relatives


Aunty Laura & Hawaiian relative. They look alike, huh?


Uncle Sonny in the back. Aunty Glenna & Uncle BB in the front. All from Chicago suburbs.


Aunty Glenna, Chris, Uncle BB, Uncle Sonny, Dallas’s dad George.


Aunty Glenna, Chris, Uncle BB, Uncle Sonny, Dallas’s dad George.


Great Aunty Mary, George, Aunty Laura, Uncle Neil, Aunty Gail


Aunty Gail, Aunty Laura


Dallas with his brother Jordan

For Thanksgiving dinner, about 40 or so of Dallas’s family gathered at Makino. As well, our friends joined us for dinner. Makino’s is a Japanese buffet. We had dinner there a few years ago with all of the family, and this dinner was pretty much the same. Except with more relatives putting us on the spot and making a fuss about our engagement.


The Paparazzi

There are always a ton of people taking photos at this dinner and usually I’m not one of them. These photos are Aunty Gail and Uncle Sunny’s photos. Hopefully they don’t mind if I share them.

After dinner we went out for a while then headed to a club. Dallas’s brother Jordan’s friend is a promoter in Las Vegas and got us into one of the hottest clubs on The Strip, Tryst (located at the Wynn). As VIP guests we didn’t have to stand in line to get in and we didn’t have to pay the $40 cover either. SCORE! The club itself was pretty cool. Dancefloor that opened up to an outdoor pool of water and a waterfall, crazy lights, go go dancers. We drank and danced like crazy until something like 4 a.m. We would never go to a place like this in Chicago and never go dancing here either, but when in Vegas….

Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace

When I lived in New York I always wanted to go to one of Bobby Flay‘s restaurants, but at the time they were way out of my budget. I’d thought about going when I went back and visited, but never did. So, when Cory and Chris asked if we’d like to join them for Thanksgiving lunch at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace, we said “for sure!”

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

Mesa Grill was featuring a Thanksgiving menu, but we decided not to order from it. It would have been nice to actually have turkey on Thanksgiving, but we came to try the food that Flay is known for, and so we ordered from the regular menu. This is what we had:

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Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale: Corn-Cilantro Sauce

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Goat Cheese “Queso Fundido”: Rajas + Blue Corn Tortilla Strips

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Oyster Special: Can’t remember exactly what was in these, but they were cooked oysters put back in the shell with some sauce

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New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin: Bourbon-Ancho Chile Sauce, Sweet Potato Tamale + Crushed Pecan Butter

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Southwestern Spiced Duck Breast: Carrot-Habanero Sauce, Chorizo-Goat Cheese Tamale + Thyme Butter

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Grilled Lamb Porterhouse Chops: Tangerine-Roasted Jalapeno-Mint Sauce + Plantain Tamale with Molasses Butter

I really liked the cheese appetizer, of course. Unlike other fundido I’ve had, the addition of goat cheese added a nice tanginess to the appetizer. I also really liked the tamale. For the entrees, I had the duck, Cory had the pork and Chris and Dallas both got the lamb. We all tasted each other’s food and everyone agreed that the pork was the tastiest. We all enjoyed the duck as well. It was agreed that the lamb was a disappointment. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t flavorful at all. Overall, I was glad to try Flay’s food, but I wasn’t head over heels.

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

After lunch, Cory and Chris were off to meet up with some others in the family. Dallas and I hung around Caesars and then headed back to Planet Hollywood, where we were staying. We needed to rest off our food coma because in a few hours we were due to go to a buffet!