Not knowing where we could find a good meal before leaving town for Las Vegas, I packed up a cooler and headed to my new favorite grocery store, Gather Natural Market in Atascadero. I shop there every week now.
I said hey to Brett, the owner, and picked up a stack of organic grab-and-go lunches made by Nautical Cowboy (one of our favorite local seafood restaurants): a pesto chicken sandwich on focaccia, an Indian-style curry wrap, a chicken caesar wrap, and a half roasted chicken—shareable size—with a green salad. The artisanal, organic meals are “locally sourced, nutritious, and delicious.” We’ve had them many times already, and what I love is that I can find all the accompaniments in the same area of the grocery store: chocolate-covered mangoes, grapes, and various kombucha and coffee drinks.
Brett was perplexed. Where are you going? And why on Earth?
Two words: the Adventuredome.
I don’t gamble. I don’t smoke. I haven’t been drinking much lately, and I’m a bit of a freakish germophobe, but I took my entire family to Las Vegas at the end of August. It was my youngest son’s 13th birthday, and all he wanted to do was go on a roller coaster. Magic Mountain and Great America had been closed since last summer, and though he said he’d settle for waterslides, The Ravine in Paso Robles has also been closed due to the pandemic.
As you know, there is painfully no fun to be had in SLO County. For six months now, we’ve all been losing our minds, and for some of us, our sense of good judgment. My kids and I have been taking little trips to the beach and lakes and Lake Tahoe and all that, but everywhere we go its rules, rules, rules, and quite frankly, I’m over it. I don’t like to break rules, but I read somewhere that you are morally obligated to break the bad rules.
We needed to leave the state for some freedom. Sin City? I was OK with that at this point.
I did my research and found the closest open theme park: The Adventuredome at Circus Circus was located 467 miles from SLO County … a less than six-hour drive. We’d stay two nights at the casino hotel, spend one day at the theme park, and the second day at the casino pool and Splash Zone—yes, they have water slides too.
With cocktail servers.
I’ve learned that many of our best local chefs have gotten their start in Vegas. And for every casino, there’s at least one signature restaurant. For the Bellagio, I hear you need to go to LAGO by Julian Serrano, and then there’s Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace. At Circus Circus, where we stayed, they have The Steak House.
When I dragged my family out of the theme park for a midday bite, the main reason we decided not to eat at The Steak House was because we spotted an $85 steak on the menu behind the glass. As my husband and I looked down at my middle son with expensive taste (who will order steak and lobster the minute I bend down to pick up a dropped napkin) our eyes agreed we needed to search for Plan B. Due to COVID-19, the buffet I had possibly visited back in the ’90s was one of the few things in Vegas that was closed.
One of the many security guards told us we were fools to go anywhere but the Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge. He said he just ate there for breakfast, and he was going back for dinner.
We walked across the Vegas Strip to a place with pink and blue and neon all over that had been in the movie Casino and featured in Carlos Santana’s “Feel It Coming Back” video. The place was so popular and bustling we had to stand by the slot machines in the air-conditioned entry as the host team called names on the waiting list like auctioneers.
It was then we realized we were in an institution—a landmark that has been around for almost 50 years. We were led past an open kitchen and diner-stool seating to a cozy booth under a kitschy hanging Victorian lamp and a pink tree. The lighting was dark and the vibe was all day and night happenin’.
This place felt trusty and safe, cool, efficient, and, most of all, fun—there were more than 150 items on the menu.
We all settled on lunch: Baja and California burgers, a Philly cheesesteak with sweet potato fries, and chicken wings. Nearby, couples took turns on shared bowls of tropical cocktails. The signature drink is the Scorpion: 64 ounces with no fewer than six liquors, recommended for five or six people to share.
Yes, there were some plastic partitions, and the servers wore masks, but nobody, and I mean nobody, in Vegas was worried about getting the corona.
The portions were huge, and the food delicious. I could see why the security guard frequents the joint.
The staff had service down to a science: friendly and attentive, and electric-blue-mini-skirt chic. The hostess, an older gal with a smoky voice, came to check on us and I told her how great our service had been. She told me her wait staff hadn’t started out that way that day. She had a girl faint in the morning. Two others rolled in late.
“They party too hard,” she said, shaking her head.
OK, backing up a bit: The Las Vegas scene inside the theme park was magical. We got there right at the opening for rides, and there were barely any lines at all. The children ran freely around with smiles, pure joy, and happiness. The same went for the waterslides and pool, which were a bit crowded in the 107-degree heat.
And still, my kids said later that the magic of the Peppermill was their favorite part of our whole trip.
We’ll be back during the next pandemic for sure. Δ
Flavor writer Beth Giuffre is ready for the next food-driven road trip. Send your foodie suggestions to bgiuffre@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Sep 10-17, 2020.
Awesome! For all the local restaurants struggling through to eke out a living and survive this public health crisis who could use some positive ink, you devote an entire article to some FREEDUMBER taking her family to one of the mass spreader cities right about the time thousands of other clueless morons went there on their way to or from Sturgis, the biggest superspreader event on EARTH. I’m sure to be on the lookout for her and her brood as they defiantly inject themselves into the single biggest risk scenario according to the CDC. Eating out and going to bars are huge risk factors. Her cavalier attitude about precautions given the fact she has been caught on video at reopen events stating that one of her children is auto immune compromised is very telling. Taking a child with a suppressed immune system to the COVID19 soup that Las Vegas because you’re bored is, is playing fast and loose with one’s parental responsibilities.
Bummer! Would prefer to see the Food writers stick to pieces that benefit local businesses that could use the exposure.
Instead, Ms. Giuffre uses a whole page extolling the virtues of ‘Freedom’ out of state where nobody was worried about the corona, and how local places were responsibly closed to to mandates designed to keep the virus under control.
I would have preferred this in the opinion section and more attention to Gather Market and other local places trying to keep the doors open in such a difficult time.
Emily Chapman
Atascadero
I don’t normally comment on my own columns, but I feel the need to say I did write an article on Gather. It comes out on Thursday. As far as opinions in my column: Columns are allowed opinions, news article are not. I am not a news writer, I am a columnist, and as a food writer, I am hearing perhaps a different story than you. This business has been hurting and I hear how much it hurts them. They tell me all the time how much they want to say it in my column, but the public has not made it easy for them. And as far as the name caller is concerned, my son’s doctor (the head of the brain center at his children’s hospital) told me in February that the coronavirus was nothing to worry about and to carry on as normal. I keep waiting for the doctors and nurses we see on a regular basis to tell me otherwise, but they say COVID-19 is a running joke. They want their own kids back in school. I’m not sure if you are parents, but if you had a child with epilepsy or autism, who hasn’t had school or accommodations for seven months, you might feel differently about keeping a promise to bring him to a roller coaster. Especially since the risk of dying from COVID is 0.034 for children and 1 in 19.1 million for most adults. That’s a fatality rate less than the seasonal flu. Guess you haven’t taken any weekend trips. Thanks for reading, and good luck with all that virtue signaling.
Love that a dinning experience was more memorable than the motivating roller coaster ride.
Hey haters, not everything needs to be stuffed full of politics. I appreciate the mental breathing room of family experiencing an adventure. Life outside of lockdown still exists!
I didn’t know Gather had grab n go meals again! Thanks for the heads up. I’m in Atascadero often and grateful to know they have quick, healthy options that I can grab on the fly. I’ll be stopping there on a regular basis now!
Also, I personally appreciate reading a story about happiness, adventure and dreams coming true. It’s incredibly refreshing these days. It’s also nice to have some easy travel ideas for planning a quick getaway. Because let’s face it, that’s incredibly refreshing too and it’s hard to know where to go under such limiting circumstances, especially with kids!
We’ve done a little traveling this summer and know it’s absolutely possible to combine travel with caution. I’m sure as a mother of an immune compromised child, you take more precautions than the average healthy person could begin to imagine. I’m sure there are immune compromised kids in the “COVID-19 soup of Las Vegas”, who navigate eating out with their families in fun and safety too. How lucky for your son that you are able to find a balance between nourishing his emotional and mental wellbeing as well as his physical health.
I didnt know Gather had grab n go meals again! Thanks for the heads up. Im in Atascadero often and grateful to know they have quick, healthy options that I can grab on the fly. Ill be stopping there on a regular basis now!
Also, I personally appreciate reading a story about happiness, adventure and dreams coming true. Its incredibly refreshing these days. Its also nice to have some easy travel ideas for planning a quick getaway. Because lets face it, thats incredibly refreshing too and its hard to know where to go under such limiting circumstances, especially with kids!
Weve done a little traveling this summer and know its absolutely possible to combine travel with caution. Im sure as a mother of an immune compromised child, you take more precautions than the average healthy person could begin to imagine. Im sure there are immune compromised kids in the COVID-19 soup of Las Vegas, who navigate eating out with their families in fun and safety too. How lucky for your son that you are able to find a balance between nourishing his emotional and mental wellbeing as well as his physical health.