Day Four: You Are Now Entering, The Flavortown
This was our trippy, fun day. We had reservations for Guy Fieri’s Las Vegas, and wanted to dress appropriately for the Mayor of Flavortown, so we donned bowling shirts and shorts, and knew if Guy saw them, he’d give a thumbs up. We took a cab to the LINQ Casino, where Guy’s restaurant was and almost immediately saw a guy with two giant parrots. I tried to get by him, but Gabby wanted to take a sneaky photo. Well, she wasn’t that sneaky, and the guy saw her interest and promptly placed the parrots on her arms and told me to take lots of pictures, which I did. Gabby was happy to see the birds up close, while I was ready to get out of there. The man then approached me with the birds and I repeatedly told him no, and well, he didn’t listen and placed the birds on me. I was not pleased, hence, my cringe face. I would have been angry about it, but Gabby was pleased with her avian acquaintances, so I kept the good vibes up by taking her to the Flamingo Casino where we could see the famous flamingos. It was a nice way to kill time for a bit, but what was even nicer was the LINQ promenade. A bustling street filled with shops, restaurants, buskers, and bars. It took us back to walking down the streets of Galway or Dublin, but not quite as busy. Gabby spotted a Ghirardelli shop with an sundae bar and asked if we could come back after lunch, and how could I say no?
It was time for lunch so we made our way inside the LINQ proper and promptly found Guy Fieri’s Las Vegas (the name could use some work). We had been excited for a fun hoppin’ place full of partying and flavor, and found the place to be very subdued and kind of quiet. Maybe it was because it was noon on a Thursday. Or maybe the people in there didn’t know the Mayor’s penchant for rocking, followed by rolling. Despite being let down by the vibes (not Guy’s fault), we had a great lunch, and hope to come back sometime with my son, Bruce, who would love all the food on the menu. I got the Smash Burger with fries, and as you can see, they load that thing with lettuce, and honestly, I wish I had ordered the burger without lettuce, tomato, and onion (I already didn’t order the pickles because those things are gross). The burger got lost in the shredded salad on top, and I feel like it muted the Mayor’s intended flavors. It was after the fact that I remembered the French dip is supposed to be amazing there, and wish I had gotten that. Gabby, however, loved her chicken sandwich and said the flavors were complex and packed a delightful punch. It might be her favorite chicken sandwich, which says a lot because that’s her go to order at fast food joints and chain restaurants. We were happy to go, but hope the next time is more exciting and flavorful.
We followed lunch up with a dairy-free sundae at Ghirardelli, and it was pretty amazing. I could barely tell it was dairy-free ice cream, and Gabby was so happy not to take any pills and just sit and enjoy a creamy desert without worry of getting sick. With full bellies, we made our way to down to the basement level of the Horseshoe, entering Twilight Zone mini golf. This was something we had been looking forward to and hoped we could enjoy the twisted atmosphere while also getting in a fun game of golf. And oh boy, we practically had the place to ourselves. Both ominous and optimal for a game of put-put. So, we strolled along and I geeked out over all the references I could remember. Twilight Zone is a show I loved watching with my family as a kid. I do believe it’s one of the things that got me into storytelling and made me want to become a writer one day. If Gabby and I didn’t have plans for Omega Mart, we would have stayed for another round of mini golf, but sadly, we had to re-enter our own dimension, just to be transported to another, kookier one in Area 15.
Area 15 is a huge complex by artist Meowolf, and it consists of multiple interactive art exhibits. The one I was excited for was Omega Mart: a fake grocery store with odd items that are all slightly off from our world. There were some mundane items like instead of cream of chicken soup, it’s dream of chicken sop. And no, that wasn’t a typo. Then there’s more existential items like German Engineered Schadenfreude in a can. The whole place is incredibly surreal and we honestly could have taken hundreds of pictures and videos to capture it all and could have spent hours uncovering the mysteries of it all, but we were one again on a time crunch, so we only took about a hundred pictures and only spent two hours there. It was my son, Bruce, and my brother John who turned me on to Omega Mart, so I wanted to experience as much of it as possible to pass it all on to them, and let them know it’s even better than they imagined. Between the store proper, the hidden speakeasy, the (not so) hidden back rooms, and their corporate offices, there is a ton to do at Omega Mart. And the lore is insane! I wish we had time to uncover it all and figure out how and why Omega Mart is the way it is. I hope the small sample photos do that place justice. And if you ever find yourself in Vegas, hit up Area 15—especially Omega Mart—and spend a day there. It’s always great to support artists, especially when they’re coming together to give a truly one-of-a-kind experience like this. And when you can, eat some Tattoo chicken—tastes just like confusion.
It was time for us to once again head back to our world and get ready for dinner. But for that, we have an entirely separate blog, because Nobu was too special to not be on its own. We have lots to say and want to give it the proper distinction it deserves from our loonier activities of that day.
To Be Continued…
