Week 103 Blogging from NJ: Blue Moon Mexican Cafe

Hello readers. :) Welcome back! I am finally back in Vegas from almost a month straight of nonstop traveling. I think I was actually here a week combined within the past month, so it is time to get caught up on blogging. 

Yes, we have been busy traveling, but we also are happy to announce if you haven't heard already that we are expecting our first child on January 14, 2014 and could not be happier! 

Remember, you can always find our blog through our Facebook page and if you haven't already, check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants

What Teray Says...

So this week for the blog I am reviewing a restaurant in Englewood, New Jersey. Why Englewood, NJ? Well, two reasons, one I am from NJ and two that is where the NJ Patty's Closet is located. As you guys know my Patty's Closet outfit of the week is a huge part of this blog, so I figured if you are going to be visiting the NJ store and live in the tri-state area, why not give you a fabulous place to eat while doing so. 

We chose Blue Moon because it was recommended by the girls working at Patty's, plus I was craving Mexican food that week of my pregnancy, so this was perfect. Blue Moon is a restaurant and bar that reminds me of a place you could do anything from hang with friends to go on a date. If I lived there, it would definitely be somewhere I would frequent, just because of the of the vibe there. 

At Blue Moon we sat outside because the weather was beautiful. Our waitress greeted us right away and brought us chips and salsa, which were delicious. For our meals I ordered the burrito lunch special. My sister ordered a salad and so did my mom. Speaking for my lunch special it came with rice and beans as well and was absolutely wonderful. It was some of the best Mexican food that I had in a long time. 

The prices were amazing too. The three of us had lunch for under $30, pretty good deal. Our waitress was friendly and helpful and the food came quickly. There were so many choices on the menu, so there is something for everyone. Also, the sangria is supposed to be amazing but being I was preggo, my mom doesn't drink, and my sister is gluten free, we didn't have any alcohol. 

Overall, I loved Blue Moon. I would recommend it to anyone in the NJ or NY area being the drive is not far for either. I definitely rate Blue Moon 5 out of 5 because it was top notch. 

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thank you to Patty and Juan from Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week.  This week my outfit is from the Englewood, NJ store. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique.  Don't you love this maxi? Not only is animal print a Jersey staple, but maxi dresses are the perfect thing to wear in the heat and humidity. I love the material because it is so comfortable I feel like I am wearing pajamas.

If you haven't been to Patty's you can check out items from all of their stores on their Facebook page which is linked above. They post pictures of all of the new shipment items on Tuesdays and Fridays and each store has different items. If you aren't lucky enough to have a PC near you, you can shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. 

Until next time, cheers to our expanding family! xoxo 

Week 95 The Meatball Spot (Town Square Las Vegas)

Welcome back readers. We will have a few blogs coming out this week, so please stay tuned. We can't believe April is almost over, where is the time going? Remember, you can always follow us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants and we are also on the LV Informer, which an awesome Vegas online newspaper, so if you haven't already, definitely check it out, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/category/lv-local-interest/blog-connection/. 

What Teray Says...

So I used to go to Town Square, like every week-end to shop or go out to be exact. In 2013, I rarely frequent there unless it is to do my quick stops at MAC, Victoria's Secret or Patty's Closet of course. I noticed a few months ago that The Meatball Spot had opened and thought that it was an interesting concept. Once I saw that the NJ Housewives had visited there though I was sold. 

Brett and I did our typical date on Saturday night around 8:30-9:00. The place was crowded but not crowded to the point that we weren't seated right away. We were offered both inside and outside but with the wind that night chose outside. It took a little bit before our waiter greeted us. Being this was my first cheat meal of my Hot Pilates 30 Day Challenge (check my FB if you don't know what I am talking about, which is linked on the side under our favorite sites), I was sceptical what to order. 

Brett decided to get a beer but I stuck with water. There looked like there were a lot of great drinks on the menu, I just chose not to try them. For an appetizer we ordered classic meatballs in tomato sauce with no cheese. They came out rather quickly and while they were good, they were nothing to write home about. Maybe this is because I am so used to amazing, authentic Italian cooking where the meatballs are to die for. These were good, but not to die for. 

For dinner I ordered the garbage salad which to most people is also known as the antipasto. Brett ordered a meatball sandwich. My salad again was good, but nothing to rave over. I should have ordered something else, but I wanted to save room for dessert. 

Speaking of dessert, that was by far the best part. I got a sugar cookie ice-cream sandwich which was one of the highlights of my week. The milkshakes also looked good and if I ever went back it would be for that. 

Now onto service, our server was very friendly, he just wasn't the best. He forgot part of Brett's order and didn't really check on us. Brett didn't want to tell them that he forgot because he said we had to be authentic for the review. While, I really liked the atmosphere, I will most likely not return for a meal, but would to sit at the bar for drinks and dessert. That being said, I rate The Meatball Spot 2.5 out 5. 

What Brett Says...

This week we decided to head to Town Square, every once in a while it is nice to head out to a place that is crowded...lively and great for people watching.  One of the newer spots in Town Square is the "Meatball Spot."  It's in a spot that has not been kind to other restaurants, it is on the main level right below Coconuts.

I guess when you look at the Meatball Spot it looks like a cross between old school diner meets fast food restaurant with a bar.  They also have an outdoor patio, didn't really look that special.  I can tell you that it was Saturday evening and the place was packed.  There were couples, groups, and families.

One reason I can safely say I will most likely not return is the service.  The service was horrible, not wanting to unfairly judge I checked out Yelp just to see if it was a fluke...it was not a fluke.  We were sat immediately and then sat there, and sat some more.  It took the server a while before we were noticed and once we were noticed we were told it would be a little bit longer.  We asked for water...took forever.  I ordered a beer...took forever.  This is the kind of place where I should have actually timed everything.  We decided to start with an appetizer, asked to keep the menus so we could look them over.  While we were eating the appetizer the server tried to give us the bill.  At no point did he ask how it was, if we wanted more drinks, or if we wanted more food.  I had to let him know we wanted to eat more, we ordered our entrees.  The entrees took longer then expected for what they were, the server did ask how they were but we never got water refills and I never got a second beer.  Before we were done eating he once again tried to give us the bill, I asked him if we were even allowed dessert.  We ordered our dessert, only because we heard good things about dessert, ate it and ran.  Having been a server before I am usually a good tipper, this guy is lucky he even got 15%...I can't even remember the last time I didn't tip 20% or higher.

Now onto the food.  We started with an order of meatballs; 3 classic meatballs in classic sauce.  For a place called the Meatball Spot I would assume they would have the secret to the greatest meatball ever, well they don't.  They have the secret to a very normal nothing special meatball.  We decided to continue on with what was already a pretty horrible experience, I ordered the Large Hero (3 meatballs on a french baguette with sauce).  I chose to go with turkey meatballs and Parmesan cream sauce.  The sandwich was pretty good; the bread was good, the meatballs were once again average, but the sauce was amazing.  They would do better just selling sauce.  Unfortunately you do not get anything with your sandwich, they literally just put a six inch meatball sandwich on a plate.  I am curious as to why the large hero is $1 cheaper then the meatball appetizer, same amount of meatballs but you get it on bread.  I would assume the bread would make it more expensive.  Teray decided to get their garbage salad, this however was correctly described.  $14 (five bucks more then my sandwich) for a glorified side salad.  For an entree salad this thing was small, aside from being small it was pretty plain.  I'm not even sure if they put flavor in their salad dressing.  Trying to salvage the meal we decided to get dessert.  We each decided on one of their ice cream sandwiches, I got the peanut butter cup sandwich and Teray ordered the strawberry rainbow sandwich.  I think we figured out what the Meatball Spots focus should be.  I got to eat mine and half of Teray's and I have to say that these things are absolutely amazing.  

I think it is clear what my opinion is.  If you happen to be at Town Square and are in the mood for a ice cream sandwich go here, if you are in the mood for a meatball sub go to Subway.  The only reason I ever go here again is to get a to go order of the Parmesan cream sauce or for their dessert.

Rating: 2 out of 5 (the ice cream sandwich accounts for one and the fact that they did in fact have meatballs account for the other one)

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thank you to Patty and Juan from Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Take a look at my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. Sometimes I just want a casual but hip look, especially when we decide to go somewhere that doesn't require you to dress up. I love this tee because it has such a unique design. A skeleton with leopard Mickey ears, who would have thought? It is cut deep on the sides so you can pair it with something girly underneath. I loved the look on the mannequin so much when I was there I got this fedora too, to wear with my outfit. You can find this 
look at the Rainbow PC location.

Remember, if you aren't lucky enough to have a Patty's Closet near you, you can shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com. Also, make sure to like their Facebook page which is linked above. You will be able to find out about newest store openings, events and of course see pictures of the new shipment items from all the stores on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

Until next time...cheers to positivity. xo 

Week 88 Streets of New York Pizza

Welcome back food and fashion lovers. I hope your February was great. Can you believe tomorrow is March 1st? Crazy how fast this year is going! Anyway, for all of the new likes on the Facebook page, just wanted to give you a quick thanks. 

Remember, you can always find our blog on the LV Informer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/ and as mentioned above, we do have a Facebook page, so check it out and hit like if you have a chance, http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants.

What Teray Says...

This week Brett and I wanted something quick and easy to eat being we were going to be heading off the next day for a staycation. I had gotten a Groupon about two weeks back for Streets of New York, and it was perfect for a quick meal. 

Streets of New York is located on Ft. Apache and Tropicana, which is less than 10 minutes from our house. We went at around 8:30 on a Saturday night, and the place wasn't too crowded, which is fine with me, because I was able to hear Brett talk and relax. Sometimes when we are out I get so overwhelmed with the noise and people watching, I don't get to enjoy the company of Brett to the fullest with all of the distractions. 

We were seated right away by a very friendly hostess. He was a young guy with a nice demeanor and he got our drinks right away and brought us some menus. We decided to go for the beer battered combo for our appetizer which consisted of zucchini sticks, mozzarella sticks and onion rings. The portion size was very good and plenty for the two of us. For dinner we ordered the Classic # 7 pizza. You can only get this if you dine in the restaurant. On the Classic #7 was salami, capacola, swiss cheese and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and Italian dressing. It was like a pizza and sandwich combination and it was fabulous! I would definitely recommend that if you go there. To drink we got a pitcher of Bud Light and for dessert we got the Passion cookie which is like a pizookie, a huge chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream, which was my favorite part of the meal. Yum. My mouth is watering thinking about it. Overall, the food was delicious. 

Now, I know Brett is going to compare this to real New York. He has only been there twice, so I am not sure it is fair that he compares it. He didn't grow up less than an hour away like I did and spend most of his life visiting there. Here's the thing, nothing in Vegas will ever compare to New York, it s not even fair to compare. It is totally different and both have delicious food. People wonder why it is not the same and I was always told growing up it is the water which leads the bread to tasting better leading to things such as pizza and bagels tasting better. I will stick by that idea for my whole life. For Vegas NY food, this was delicious. 

As for the service, the staff was very friendly, but our waitress was nothing to write home about. There was only one other table besides us and she didn't really check on us or anything. We didn't need anything, but if we did then we probably would not have gotten it during dinner. As for the atmosphere, I really liked it and the concept and think it would be a fun place to go with a group. 

Overall, I rate Streets of New York 4 out of 5 and would like to go back for the lunch special. 

What Brett Says...

Like Las Vegas New York City is a epicenter for good food.  The best of the best can be found in both cities.  One thing I have learned in my years living in Las Vegas is that Sin City has the worst pizza of anywhere I have been.  NYC on the other hand has proved it's pies are the best, time and time again.  I was there for three weeks in 2012 and every chance I got I was grabbing a slice.  So this week we ventured out to solve the problem with Vegas, finding a place that makes great pizza.  What better place to start then "Streets of New York."  They make pizza, sandwiches, and pasta.

I was expecting a small pizza joint with a couple tables and counter service, I mean that is NY pizza.  Well they opted to go with more of a corporate restaurant feel.  There was a good amount of tables, a bar area, and a see through kitchen area.  We grabbed a booth, they were pretty dead so we had choices.  The place had a good layout and it looked good, more importantly it looked clean.  This is a place where the cleanliness actually stood out.  It also had more of an East coast feel to it, more wood and less modern.  It isn't a bad thing, sometimes you have to get back to basics and give people comfort.  They also have a television that streams their deals and advertisements, I bring this up because they have a slide that offers Military, Police, and Fire a discount...I think 10-15% off.  That's great, they serve and help people and protect us.  Now the part that frustrates me, on a small soap box, why is it that business refuse to recognize EMS?  The military fights for our country, police enforce laws and protect us, fire protects property and saves lives...EMS specifically saves lives yet we never get a discount.  I don't advertise being a paramedic when we go out but it would be nice to just be included in the category as important.  I am use to it, literally no where offers EMS a discount like military, police, or fire.  Whatever, I don't do it for discounts.  Off my soapbox.

Now onto the service; it definitely had it's goods and bads.  Everyone was polite and friendly.  We were sat quickly, felt very welcomed.  Unfortunately they only time we saw our server was to place our drink order, food order, and pay the bill.  Our drinks were brought by someone else, our food was brought by someone else, someone else checked on us throughout the meal.  Service was great, we just rarely saw our actual server.  We were never neglected, I would just expect that we would be paid attention to considering we were one of maybe 3-4 tables.  So, kudos to the staff as a hole.  It seems like they know they have a weak link and more then made up for it.  I hope she tips them out well, but I doubt it.

Onto the food, what we came here for.  Hoping and praying we have found genuine NYC pizza.  I decided it was Saturday night, I worked all week and I ordered a pitcher of beer.  Nothing makes pizza better like having a buzz.  We decided to start with the "beer battered combination" which had zucchini slices, mozz sticks, and fried onions.    Pretty standard appetizer but what they do is give you a decent amount and somehow made it in such a way that wasn't super oily.  It was all really good and you didn't really feel like it was deep fried.  Now onto the pie.  We decided to go with "The Classic #7," I mean keep it simple and go with what they call the classic.  They probably make hundreds a day.  It had salami, capicola ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and seasoning.  I'm not one to put lettuce and fresh tomatoes on a pizza but I'm open minded enough to try it.  I'll admit it was really good.  I would happily eat it again, it did take some skill to eat it like a slice but I pulled it off and enjoyed it.  I would have loved to try a white pizza, which is what NYC pizza is all about, but they didn't have one on the menu.  I was really surprised, I mean you could build your own but to not even have it on the menu?  Regardless I was impressed with everything I ate.

Overall...I am torn.  The place was dead but you aren't going for the crowd.  The feel of the restaurant is good and comfortable.  I think it is safe to say our issue with our server was a fluke based on the rest of the staff.  They do honor two out of three branches of public safety as well as the military so that is a good thing, with a little downside.  The food wasn't up to par with actual New York pizza but it was far better then Las Vegas pizza.  I think this place would be a hot spot if it was in a better location (Hacienda/Ft. Apache).  

Rating 3.75 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thank you to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I love a dress that you can dress up or dress down. You will see you I shared two ways that you can wear it. The one on the far right is just if you wanted to dress it up, the lace in the dress do the shining. The back is also open, I will post a picture of that on the blog. The second way, in the middle, is how I wore it last night. Brett and I decided to go to a more casual place for dinner so I through on a brown leather jacket and some combat boots. I love the tough girl chic look. I paired it with some girly, flower accessories from Sparkle by Patty's Closet to complete my look. This dress is one of those pieces that you can wear to many occasions, so I suggest you add it to your wardrobe. You can find this at the Rainbow location. 

If you aren't lucky enough to have a PC near you make sure that you check out their online store at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com.  You can also access their FB page which are linked above in the description to see pictures of new items on shipment days (Tuesdays and Fridays) and keep up to date on all of the newest store openings and events. Tell them Teray sent you!

Until next time, cheers to spring being in the air. <3 xo

Week 81 Marche Bacchus

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Year. Can you guys believe it is 2013 already? Time really flies. We are happy you are still here with us enjoying this blog and if you are a new reader, welcome. We love to hear from everyone so feel free to get in contact with us through email, Twitter, and our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants .

Also, remember you can always find our blog through the LV Informer, one of our favorite online newspapers out there. We are under the Local Interest section, check us out: http://lasvegas.informermg.com/

What Teray Says...

So this week wasn't a typical romantic date or double date which we normally go on for this blog. Brett's family as in town and his mom picked Marche Bacchus to go on Christmas Eve. Marche Bacchus is located over on Regatta Drive on the lake in Summerlin. They have other restaurants and a spa over in that complex, both of which we have been to, so if you haven't checked out that area, you definitely should. 

Marche Bacchus has a pretty cool vibe, when you enter you walk through a wine shop, and the wines looked pretty awesome, but we didn't buy any being we prefer to catch the latest sale at Lee's Discount Liquors. His family was already sitting so we walked back into the enclosed patio. When I heard that we were going to be sitting outside from Brett a few hours before I had to tweak my outfit because it had been freezing outside the past couple of days. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but what are you going to do, it was a holiday. It was nice to see that there were some space heaters there, but at the time we didn't have any. 

Our waiter was very accommodating and got us some heaters, which actually warmed it up. I was able to take my coat off for about 30 minutes of the meal. On a typical night I would have loved to gone there with Brett because it really has a romantic feel, it was just so cold that it was hard to concentrate on the meal, hence why I kept the red wine coming. 

Brett is going to go into more detail about the food because I honestly could not tell you what anyone besides myself had between being cold and people watching. I know that I ordered a Caesar salad for an appetizer and mussels for dinner. 

What threw me for a loop is that we were supposed to have a prix fixe meal and I was craving what was on that menu being I had researched it before. Considering I totally was in the mood for something else besides what I had ordered the food was really good. The wine was definitely the best though. HAHA. :) For dessert I ordered vanilla ice cream, which was great, just what I needed after this meal. 

Overall, our service was excellent. Joe was on top of everything and way over accommodating for all of the obstacles in the situation. I would rate service definitely a 5 out of 5. Atmosphere for a warmer day and a romantic date would have gotten a perfect rating too but because it was so cold and not as described between the food and the seating I rate it 2.5 out 5, so for my final rating I will rate it 3.5 out of 5. I will definitely be back though with Brett and maybe some of our friends on another date to try it when the weather is normal. 

What Brett Says...

This week we didn't choose where to go, my mom actually chose.  My family was in town for the holidays and wanted to do a nice Christmas Eve dinner.  I'm not really sure how she found it; but based on their website it seemed like a good choice.  They were also running a prix fixe menu for the night.  It was definitely our largest group for the blog, it gave us a different perspective.  My mom made a reservation for the "enclosed" outdoor patio.  They said they had heaters to keep things warm.  Based on our experience sitting outside at "Garfields" we decided it would be a good time.  We decided to celebrate Christmas Eve at " Marche Bacchus" which is a French restaurant.

Starting with the restaurant itself.  When you walk in you go through a little store filled with different types of wines, it was a cool little store.  We didn't buy anything but it seemed like a good place to go if you need to find wine that might not be available elsewhere.  They have a nice indoor dining room that has a very finished look.  The patio where we ate was pretty cool; there was plant life throughout the patio.  It had a really cool feel.  They had a fountain and it just had a different look then the rest of the patios in Vegas.  That's where the good part ends.  The enclosed patio was not that enclosed, there were no seals and they sat use five feet away from a wide open panel.  Every time there was a light breeze we all felt it and it was cold.  As for the heaters...our table obviously drew the short straw.  You would think a reservation for six made a week in advance would give them time to plan but that wasn't the case.  Our table, the one next to the wide open panel, was the only one that didn't get a heater.  In fact there were some tables that had two.  We had to ask the staff to fix the situation; it took about 20 minutes to actually get a heater and then another 10 minutes to get a second heater that they weren't sure would work.  Once we got the heaters eating in our jackets seemed more bearable.  Since our server was the one running around trying to find us a heater that also meant that we weren't allowed table service till that was done. but I don't blame him for the delay.  That honor goes to the poor planning management.

Service.  Our server's name was Joe.  He was an awesome server; he helped us with the heat situation while taking care of his other tables.  When he finally got to us he did an incredible job taking care of us.  My family can be a little demanding at restaurants and he kept up and never showed any frustration.  He was very accommodating; constantly answering questions and getting us what we needed.  He was getting us drinks as we needed them and overall made our experience better.  He is the type of server that I would chose to have at all of our meals.

Now onto the food end of the experience.  This was also a problem.  One of the reasons my mom chose Marche Bacchus was because of the prix fixe menu.  Based on my experience in the restaurant industry you shouldn't advertise something if you can't follow through.  Our reservation was at 7pm, when we were sat we were given the prix fixe menu as well as regular menus.  We had plenty of time to look over the menus and decide what to get.  I would say four out of the six of us decided to get the prix fixe menu, unfortunately when it was time to order Joe informed us that we shouldn't have been given the prix fixe menu because they were out of the entree (prime rib).  I find it pathetic that by 7pm on a holiday that they didn't have enough of their promoted meal.  What makes it worse is that they didn't appear to be that busy.  We had to look over the menu again to decide.  Is started with the escargot appetizer, it is something that I like and don't get to eat that often.  Not too many places offer it.  They did a good job with the snails; they serve them traditionally in garlic butter with bread on the side.  For dinner I opted to stick with red meat, I was looking forward to the prime rib.  I ordered the steak frites; steak and fries.  The portion wasn't that great but it all tasted good.  The steak was steak but the fries were pretty amazing.  On the side I also ordered the truffle mac and cheese...simply put this is awesome.  For dessert I had the Chocolate Mousse Trio, I was also impressed with this.  The presentation was professional and the taste was rich.  I enjoyed the trio flavoring.

Overall I am torn.  I enjoyed the food that I was allowed to have and the service was awesome.  Joe as a server gets an easy 5 out of 5.  The food gets 3.5 out of 5.  The restaurant itself and it's practices get a 1 out of 5.  I can't give an overall rating because they were too many differences between the categories.  If you do actually choose to try them out do yourself a favor and sit in Joe's section, that way if all else disappoints then you at least have good service.

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week

Thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I love this dress; it is ballerina glam as I like to call it. The top portion is a pleather corset which can be adjusted to your shape because it has ties in the front. It is a blush color. The bottom is a light tan ballerina type skirt. This dress is very flattering not only for the colors but for the fit. Because it was so cold when we went to dinner Christmas Eve, I paired it with a pair of rose colored tights and nude patent pumps. You can find this fabulous dress for the 
holiday week at the Rainbow location.

If you haven't already you need to like the Patty's Closet Facebook page which is linked at the top of this description. Each week they update the page with the latest shipment items and new store opening details. If you aren't lucky enough to have a Patty's near you, you can check out their website at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com .

In the meantime, cheers to resolutions, goals, keeping them and meeting them. <3 xo 

Week 77 808 Tapas

Welcome back everyone! This is such a busy time of the year, so we are a little bit behind on our reviews, but our goal is to be caught up within the week. We hope that everyone is doing well and we thank you for your continued support with this blog. 

Remember, you can always find us in the LV Informer under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/. Also, we have a Facebook that we update frequently, so feel free to like our page! http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants

What Teray Says...

So being it was Thanksgiving week-end that we went on this date, Brett and I really did not want to eat heavily being we had the day before at dinner. I suggested Brett go through Groupon and try to find one for something light and we lucked out and found 808 Tapas. 808 Tapas is by the same people that own my favorite sushi place in Vegas, 808 Sushi. It is located in the Village Square Plaza over by the movie theater. If you don't know where this is located, it is W. Sahara and Ft. Apache. There is also is a Patty's Closet and Sparkle there (you need to hit those up). 

808 Tapas was pretty busy when we arrived, but we got a table right away. We were greeted by one of our servers (they were doing community serving because it was so busy) who took our drink order. We both decided on water being we had been celebrating the previous two days with alcohol and needed a break. :)

We started off by ordering the shrimp cerviche and the fish tacos. Shrimp cerviche is always something I order no matter what tapas restaurant I go to. This one was a little different in the way the chips were (they were thinner) and the flavor of the cerviche was not what I was used to. I am not sure if this is because everything was chopped up so small or the flavoring they use, but it was by far the best I have ever had. Yes, I will through it out there, this cerviche is way better than my favorite place in Las Vegas' cerviche which also has tapas (you can figure it out).  The portion size was great too because there was plenty for both Brett and I. 

The fish tacos (you get two of them) were also amazing, again probably some of the best I have ever have. I can see why they are a favorite on the menu. The size of one is perfect for one person (it is full size), not a mini taco you would expect for tapas. 

The next things that we ordered were the dynamite (which I have made Brett a fan of from eating in NJ with my sister every time we went to sushi) and some sushi. There were many rolls to order and I cannot remember the name of the one we did. The dynamite again, was like the other tapas some of the best I have ever had. I knew I would love the sushi because I as I mentioned in the introduction, 808 Sushi is my favorite sushi place in Vegas, so it was a given for me. Also, the portions were fabulous to share on both of these menu items. 

After finishing those tapas we ordered a few more things. Brett picked the chicken skewers and the pork belly skewers. I picked the garlic edamame. I tasted both of the skewers. I am not the biggest skewer fan but they were pretty good. I let Brett eat most of those. I on the other hand devoured the garlic edamame. I am such a garlic fan and this just hit the spot. I could probably eat this every day for every meal, but then Brett would never come near me. Hahahaha.

The food at 808 Tapas is top notch, probably some of the best that I have had. The service was good, but I was getting a little confused who our waitress/waiter was and it took awhile to get the check, but I know that they were busy. If I were the I would get more seating, because this place is definitely going to be a huge success. Overall, I rate 808 Tapas 4 out of 5. 

What Brett Says....


So we have already been to “808 Sushi” so naturally we figured we should try out “808 Tapas.”  I was pretty excited because 808 sushi was pretty impressive, so the bar was set a little high already for their take on tapas.  They are located at Sahara and Ft. Apache in the same strip mall as the movie theater.  As of right now you should expect to become frustrated with the parking situation, don’t take it out on your restaurant experience.  The powers that be that run that particular shopping corner have decided to expand and improve it.  Unfortunately whoever they hired to do it all is a complete moron, they have made the parking lot worse then a random dirt lot next to the Super Bowl.  The lanes are all jacked up and there are random curbs. Plan on at least 15min just to park, for this reason alone I will not be returning to any business in that complex until it is completed.  That’s my rant about that stupidity but now lets get to 808.

I will start with the food.  Teray and I are both fans of tapas, so we know what we like.  808 throws in the Pacific Islander/sushi twist, I wouldn’t say they are a true tapa restaurant like Firefly.  They have some as well as larger meals and sushi.  We did a good mixture of cold food, hot food, and sushi.  Everything we had was pretty good.  The menu had a good flow to it and nothing stood out as not belonging.  I do think they are pushing the sushi a little too much, especially since they have a dedicated sushi restaurant.  I think that they should think about doing an all-you-can-eat deal like so many sushi places do.  They have enough on the menu that they could pick a couple from each category and make a special AYCE menu.  I think it would lend itself better to the sushi and tapas.  All that aside the food was good and I did enjoy everything.

As for the actual restaurant; I wasn’t impressed.  It was a long room with a bunch of table and then a sushi bar.  It looks like they were confused when building…is a tapas restaurant or is it a sushi restaurant.  The sushi bar is in the back and kind of hidden.  In the center of the layout is a large high top table that can be used for larger parties or several smaller parties.  I think this is a great idea, I just think they are too small to use it for their layout.  Aesthetically they restaurant is boring, the walls are just red.  So you have red walls, tables and a sushi bar you can’t even see.  Another thing that was annoying was the hostess stand.  It was halfway into the restaurant, so you walk in and have the dilemma of whether it is seat yourself or wait to be seated.  Since there was nothing to make the hostess stand obvious and there was no sign you just stand there and look stupid.  Which brings me to my next point; where do you stand while waiting for your table?  Do you stand by the hostess?  But then you are standing next to people as they eat.  They do have benches but they are in the complete opposite direction of the hostess stand.  Or you could just do what a bunch of people did, stand at the door with it open…forcing me to continually ask them to close it because I am sitting at the first table and it is kind of cold.  All in all the restaurant itself makes me think this would be a better take out place, like I said the food was good.

Now onto service.  I’m torn on this one.  Everyone we dealt with was very friendly and helpful.  Unfortunately we dealt with everyone.  I’m not sure if it was because they were shorthanded or if the management chooses to use a community server set up.  Either way it was as annoying as the parking.  The hostess was also the bartender and I guess even a server.  We didn’t have a set server, so we weren’t sure who to give our order to each time.  Also, we were constantly interrupted because someone new was checking on us.  There was no communication between the employees…how many times can we get asked if we are ready for the check.  They kind of do the same thing at 808 sushi but it is executed much better, at times it was just getting annoying.  Towards the end we just wanted to leave so it would stop.  I will say when we did order the food came out pretty quick and the fact that we got bugged every couple minutes by a different person made it easy to get water refills.  I just don’t think it works, I would much rather have had a single server.

Overall I would say the experience was a bust, a let down compared to 808 sushi.  I would recommend management go out to eat at Firefly and see how tapas service is done right.  The parking is horrible.  The restaurant is visibly unappealing.  The food was very good.  The service was annoying but very friendly and attentive.  I would either go here for takeout or find out when they are dead, definitely not a good place to go Friday/Saturday night.  I will most likely not return.

Rating 2 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Thanks to Patty and Juan of Patty's Closet for providing me with my outfit of the week this week. Patty herself helped me pick this fabulous look at Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. As much as I love to dress up, sometimes you just want a casual, fun look. This sweater fits just that description. It is the classic color combo of black and ivory which can be paired with many options for bottoms. The sweater is striped and the best part about it is the skull patches on the sleeves. Talk about unique!!! You can find this sweater at the Rainbow location. 

If you haven't already started Christmas shopping I suggest you head over to a Patty's near you. You can find all of their locations on the Facebook page, which I linked above. They also have Sparkle the all accessories store and Heart and Sole the shoe store. Also, if you aren't lucky enough to have a Patty's Closet near you, you can shop online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com . A lot of you always say you would love to come shop with me. Well, if you hit up the Rainbow location of Patty's, Sparkle, and Heart and Sole you will find me there every Tuesday afternoon; so hopefully I will see some of you there! <3

Until next time, cheers to time for joy and time for cheer xoxo

Week 66 Mac Shack

Although I love September, I will be happy when this month is over because our schedules have been absolutely crazy! If you talk to Brett he probably will agree we wouldn't have it any other way. There were so many great things to celebrate in the past couple of weeks so between those events and both working a lot, we are a little late on this post. Once the month dies down, we will be back to normal (posting on time). 

In the meantime, remember, you can always find our blog on the LV Informer, which is one of our favorite online newspapers under the Local Interest section, http://lasvegas.informermg.com/. 

Also, if you want a quick way to stay updated with everything that is going on with our blog, my outfits of the week provided by Patty's Closet, or just are awesome :), we are on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/thenewlywedsguidetovegasrestaurants

What Teray Says...

So this week's review is going to be short and sweet on my end and most likely for Brett too. If you are Italian like me, sometimes you just crave macaroni. I could eat macaroni everyday, but unfortunately if I did, the scale would be creeping up. Mac Shack is located about a half a mile (if that) from our house at the Durango and Warms Spring intersection. Back home in NJ, we had this place called Salad Works where you would create your own salad (Vegas needs this right now, or if there is somewhere like this someone please email me). Mac Shack is just like that but with macaroni. You can either choose from some options they have already created on the menu or you can make your own by choosing your own macaroni, your own sauce and your own toppings. 

Brett and I chose items already on the menu. I chose the brocolli pesto which was brocolli pesto, garlic and chicken over penne. Brett chose the a bacon macaroni and cheese. Speaking for mine, it was fantastic. The ingridients were fresh and it had the perfect amount of garlic, which I am in love with. I had a taste of Brett's too, and it was pretty amazing. I never thought about having bacon in macaroni, but something about how it was mixed in with the cheese was delicious.

To top it off, the service was quick, the place was clean and we had a coupon for buy one get one free so we got out of there with two meals and two drinks for under 13 bucks. If you are looking for a quick meal, but don't want fast food, I would highly recommend Mac Shack and give them a 4 out of 5. 

What Bretty Says...

This was yet another week when our lives ave taken over and will not allow us to just sit down and relax.  It is nice to know there are places out there that you can grab a quick bite to eat...besides fast food chains.  This week we went right up the road to "Mac Shack," Warm Springs and Durango.  The whole premise behind Mac Shack is quality pasta dishes done fast, they actually have a pretty extensive menu.  Another reason we chose here was the Entertainment Book buy one entree get one entree free coupon.

The whole set up is off the wall for a pasta place.  You order your food at the counter, like any fast food place, and then you go grab a seat.  The dining room is more of a restaurant style but with the touch of fast food.  The set up of the restaurant reminds me of a Fazzolis if you have ever been there.  The beverages are self serve but there is an employee that brings your food to whatever table you have chosen.  Not really too much to comment on as far as service, they were nice.  They got our order right and they did check in on us at the table.  What is confusing is the tip factor; you order at a counter, but someone brings you your food, you get your own drink, but someone checks in on your throughout your meal.  Are you expected to tip?  I didn't.  Neither the physical set up or the service are reasons to go here unless you are in the area...it is a wash.

As for food, you can create your own dish or you can order one of their menu options; I chose to go with one of theirs.  I went with a mac and cheese with cheddar/bacon, I also added chicken.  I completely forgot the name of the actual dish and of course they don't have it on their online menu.  I have to say I was impressed, the pasta was amazing.  The flavors worked well and it was memorable.  I had to add the chicken and I do not see how this works without it, I think it would be too small and just too much overbearing taste without chicken.  If you get it, pay for the upgrade.  Pricing is a bit more the most quick restaurants but it matches the quality of the food, you definitely get what you pay for in this instance...especially if you have a buy one get one free coupon.

Overall I am torn on Mac Shack.  The food was amazing but the place itself was pretty blah.  I think this is another case of a new perfect carry out place.  Find yourself a deal and go check it out.

Overall 3.75 out of 5

Patty's Closet Outfit of the Week
Check out my outfit of the week provided by Patty's Closet Fashion Boutique. I love this look because it can be worn for either a night on the town or to the office. The flowered print shirt is my favorite sheer material, and has neutral, fall colors which can be worn with a lot of options. The high-waisted black pants fit perfectly and are defintely a staple every girl needs in her wardrobe (they are comfy too). The wedges are something that I purchased a few weeks back but I am beyond obsessed with them. Everyone I run into thinks they are designer shoes and you can't go wrong with a patent leather wedge! This whole entire look (shirt, pants and shoes) can be found at the Rainbow location.

If you haven't already you should check out Patty's Closet Facebook page (click the link in the outfit description)  for all the latest shipment items and details about new store openings. Lucky for us fashion lovers they are opening a Sparkle and Heart and Soul right by the Rainbow store on October 6th! Also, if you are not lucky enough to have a Patty's Closet near you, you can order online at shop.ilovepattyscloset.com

Until next time, cheers to the cooler weather approaching. xoxo