A Splendid Night Out

JB had a fairly good weekend at work. If you don't know, he currently has a consistant schedule of working graveyard shift at a local bar down the street from our house. He likes having the consistency of a shift and a graveyard schedule really isn't terrible for the relationship department. We may not get to sleep next to each other but at least we can have dinner and watch a movie at night. We still get some solid snuggle time in but instead of sharing the bed all night he leaves at 11.30 and I head straight into sleepy-time snuggled next to our hound dogs.

So, he had a couple of fairly good tipping nights from his regular gamers. Growing up in Las Vegas you would think I would have a better understanding of the whole industry and it's unspoken rules but until JB came into my life I had no idea. For example, did you know that you should tip at least 10% of any winnings from the slot machine to your bartender? I'm told this is an industry standard and bartenders actually get kind of mad if you don't. Apparently it is for the free drinks and extra attention they may give you whether you win or lose. Also, many of his regulars he actually sees come in to sit and play the machines 1-3 times a week or more depending on the player. That floors me! I can't imagine wanting to go in and sit down in the smokey bar and play video poker that much. I don't think I even play bubble breaker on my phone that often and I love that game (plus it's free). Ha.

Anyway, he had a couple of players hit on his shift and he was able to come home with some much needed cash. Yippee!

In order to celebrate this unexpected bonus we agreed that a decent dinner out was in order. We grabbed our entertainment book to look for a coupon and ended up at The Melting Pot. JB had never been and luckily we were starving because no matter how you slice it, 4 courses is a lot of food... We tried a few new yummy things that were on the specials list and one course just pops out above the rest: The Mediterranean Cheese Fondue. It was oh-so-lick-your-fingers-and-order-a-second-helping-good. I think if I can't find a recipe online I am going to try to recreate it. They make the dish at the table so I think I have most of it down. They start with a cup of dry white wine, followed with chopped garlic, shallots and dates, then added fontina and gruyere cheese and finished it all off with truffle oil. Mmm Mmm, just thinking about that mixture makes me hungry. I HIGHLY recommend making that little fondue at home if you get the chance or at least heading to the restaurant bar for their version.

Sigh. I love cheesey goodness.