Food Fight Write was an amazing conference and the first food blogger conference I ever attended. I drove into Vegas with my parents (who are retired and can pretty much go on a trip on a whim) so I wouldn’t have to do the drive alone.
On the way to Vegas I snapped this photo of my favorite road sign. This road actually leads to a town called Zzyzx, which was once a mineral springs “health” resort run by a quack doctor who sold fake medical cures to people. It’s called “Zzyzx” so it would always show up as the last entry in the phone book. I’ve never gone down the road, but I would like to someday!
I also derived some amusement from the many “come visit our club in Vegas!” comments I got on Instagram.
Food Fight Write was being held at the Plaza Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas. Included with my prize winnings was a complimentary stay at the hotel which made the conference a lot more enjoyable since in between sessions I could go upstairs and take a nap.
The first night I was there, there was a welcome party for the conference attendees and all of the people who would be participating in the World Food Championships (which is like the best of the best for food competitions). This is one of the kitchen areas set up for competitors. They had contests in all kinds of categories and this was on one of the sidewalks just off of Fremont Street.
I did manage to catch a little Bon Jovi on my way over to the party. Otherwise the ceiling at Fremont Street just kind of acts like the biggest advertisement screen ever.
I actually don’t remember what hotel this was at, but it was on the rooftop with this cool infinity pool. I saw someone accidentally sit on the edge, not realizing the whole outer edge was overflow for the pool. Oops!
Here’s another little side story: I was supposed to call a fellow blogger to meet up with her at the party but when I dropped off my parents at the Flamingo off the Strip, I noticed my phone was GONZO. I didn’t know if it fell out of the car or what happened and I was in a mild panic about it. Luckily my dad had given me enough directions to get Downtown and I had my laptop AND my trusty Samsung Galaxy camera which had wi-fi so I could reach the outside world. I managed to connect my camera to the hotel’s wi-fi to meet with the other blogger and eventually discovered my dad had taken my phone. Geez.
The rooftop party was kind of bust for me. I had one tiny piece of food, this chicken skewer which was just kind of meh. The lines were incredibly long for drinks and I just kind of wandered around until I met up with Bri of BriGeeski (who, funny enough, lives in the same neighborhood as I do). We ended up ditching the party and going to Pizza Rock with Bri and two other bloggers, Kasey from Kasey’s Kitchen and Jessica from My Baking Heart. We were all hungry and the food options were looking pretty slim at the party.
Right next door to Hogs & Heifers is Pizza Rock. Pizza Rock seemed like the safer choice. Though for future reference, I would totally go into Hogs & Heifers.
I ate a side Caesar Salad. With anchovies. The anchovies were optional and our waitress straight up asked if we wanted them on the salad or not. I figured, why the heck not. I’ve never actually had a plain anchovy before and I know it’s generally put INTO the salad dressing and not on top. I was feeling adventurous. The anchovies actually were’t that terrible. They didn’t taste fishy to me, they just tasted incredibly salty. I didn’t enjoy having that much salty flavor so I kind of pushed them to the side after that but it was interesting to try them. They’re still better suited for being cooked/blended into other things if you ask me. I won’t be ordering any pizzas with anchovies on top.
[new yorker / $23]
We ended up ordering one pizza, to share between the four of us, which was a perfect amount of pizza. The New Yorker comes with sliced mozzarella, tomato sauce, sliced house link sausage, garlic, pepperoni, and ricotta. Normally I am not a fan of pepperoni on my pizza but their pepperoni was good. The pepperoni was smaller and the edges got really nice and crispy. It wasn’t too greasy or super salty but actually tasted like a good cured meat. The ricotta was excellent – creamy and almost like fluffy little clouds of cheese. The crust had a nice chew and a crisp bottom that was slightly charred from being in the oven.
Overall a very good pie! If I ever came back I’d want to try some of their other styles of pizza. They have a great range of pizzas varying from “American” style to California, to Chicago, New York and Italian style pizzas. It was a bit overwhelming trying to pick just one thing from their menu.
[sign in front of the bathroom]
It was a great first night in Vegas! After dinner I managed to figure out what room my folks were in so I could get my phone back and feel connected to the world again. Yay!
Pizza Rock
201 North Third Street
Downtown Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 385-0838
Hilarious bathroom signs!!!
I would have been freaking out about my phone as well. Thank goodness your dad actually had it.
One day, you will have to go to Zzyzx!
Hi CC – I totally loved the bathroom signs haha. Luckily I had my laptop, too, so I could message Jake and he talked to my dad to find out what room they were in. I do want to visit Zzyzx sometime, just to check it out. I believe it’s abandoned now but it would be fun to walk around and take photos.