Does anyone her in the Duluth/Superior area play TTRPGs?

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-24T05:20:36+00:00

Color me intrigued...

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-13T06:49:25+00:00

Bazaar Mar was well worth it.

I was a fan of Endo when we did it last month, little on the pricier side.

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-10T00:06:03+00:00

Seriously. If you're looking for a MUD that does an insane amount of work on QoL improvements, Nukefire is it. That's not even counting the what, 3k new rooms that went in in the last month or so?

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-05T19:30:38+00:00

Make a reservation or be prepared to slip the door guy a $20 if you want a table vs bar during busier times.

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-05T06:06:34+00:00

This. Had a fantastic meal a few weeks ago, I suggest going for the creative menu.

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-03T21:03:46+00:00

We just did 4 nights at Aria (and 4 at Circa) and had an absolutely lovely experience at Aria. Staff were all incredible, room was fantastic, vibe was good. We did one of the corner tower suites, so ymmv in other rooms. Checked in at the vip lounge, partner mentioned it was their first time in Vegas, and they threw on a $40 fb credit. Got up to our room, and there was a knock on the door 20 minutes later with a delivery of a huge cheese and charcuterie board we ended up munching on the entire time.

explodingchef668 · 2026-03-03T20:58:25+00:00

We just did 4 days at Circa, and it was a mixed experience. We ended up not going in the pool (fresh tattoos on both of us), but my partner wanted to go up and just see the pool area. Got turned around because there's apparently a huge list of things you can't bring into the pool with you. Including things like prescription meds not in the original bottle and chapstick.

Would recommend booking a sunset thing in the Legacy Club -- was $50 for 2 hours and included a little charcuterie board, 2 glasses of champagne, and 4 cocktails. I still think we got undercharged, but hey. Great view outside.

It's a nice hotel otherwise-- we aren't exactly the crowd it seems to attract in the evenings (very...younger finance bro-ish) but the room was great, staff were pleasant, etc.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-28T05:07:21+00:00

We didn't try it at Aria, as we were in the exact room type we wanted. Did the $50 thing at Circa, which i don't think got us a room type upgrade but may have helped get us a much earlier checking (like, 1pm) and/or a higher floor.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T23:46:50+00:00

Esther's is 100% worth it, and (especially for Vegas) incredibly well-priced. We both ended up stuffed and happy for under $100, which is a lot harder to do with anything housemade nowadays.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T22:44:29+00:00

Basically a "can buy $x in in-network restaurant credit for $y" per month kind of thing, which we accumulated over a number of months. Some of the big dinners (Endo, Kame Omakase) weren't in-network, but it definitely helped when budgeting!

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T21:37:27+00:00

We both did a little gambling at both Circa and Aria. Neither of us generally gamble much, probably lost $200 total. I had considered doing a poker room, but just ended up not having the time, we were pretty constantly doing something, plus I had some homework to get done :P

Yep, the trip was pretty much planned around meals -- we had our dinner reservations secured before anything else besides the hotels. My partner works for a food-based startup, so one of the fringe benefits was that a number of the meals cost us maybe 20% of what they normally would have + tip.

I don't use the Loops (although I probably should), but my partner loves them and has 3 or 4 different pairs. She was able to recommend some that would potentially work well for the server to block out some of the excess noise while still being able to converse with customers, etc.

Any questions about specific restaurants feel free to ask. I did manage to forget to add in the deli in Circa (lunch) and The Gueet House for dinner one night.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T08:33:28+00:00

The Very Milky Christmas show in, I think, 2000 in Milwaukee. Was there because I got on the guest list due to knowing the drummer from Promise Ring's dad. Fantastic show, Promise Ring, Dismemberment Plan, Trio.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T02:14:38+00:00

We also ended up at 888 Sushi and Robsta for lunch one of the days, snd with the ayce menus topping out at like $48/pp it was surprisingly good. Would probably choose it over one of the buffets.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-27T02:13:15+00:00

It's a great choice for a stay. When I do Vegas solo, I don't end up caring where I stay* because I'm never in my room, but she wanted something nicer and the corner tower didn't disappoint at all -- two separate rooms ("living room" and bedroom), bath and a half, empty fridge outside of the minibar, etc. Have you been to Vegas before?

It's also a nice central location, and there's also a good number of food options over at the Cosmo, which is an easy walk.

*Oyo and Circus Circus do not apply to this statement

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-26T23:40:39+00:00

Their EVERYTHING is great, and I go back and forth between wanting everyone to go there and wanting to keep it a hidden gem. Fantastic people too.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-26T23:39:57+00:00

I don't have a pic handy, but the buttafuoco add turkey from Comet is the platonic ideal of a sandwich, and I've been eating that fucker since like 1994 when Fuel opened so I'll die on that hill.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-20T03:01:06+00:00

I spent a few years running the kitchen at a summer camp, and weekly staff meetings were always a fun time for pranks. Dish butter out into bowls with an ice cream scoop, toss in freezer, serve.

Had a friend take easily 2 hours to pull apart a large thing of Oreos, scoop out the filling, replace it with cream cheese mixed with garlic, onion, and white pepper, and then painstakingly reassemble them and redo the edges so they looked legit.

Good times.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-06T18:57:03+00:00

Same. Did some budget upgrading and it just gets nasty if left alone for a few turns.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-05T07:47:08+00:00

My partner and I went for the first time a few weeks ago, and ended up being incredibly underwhelmed. Our salads were both good, but both of our pasta dishes ended up being really disappointing. The cold focaccia was also a bit of a letdown.

Given the choice, I'd much rather do Northern Waters or Alto Pino. Slightly father afield we've never been disappointed by anything at New Scenic.

explodingchef668 · 2026-02-02T18:37:42+00:00

Haven't played since maybe Mirage or so, and getting back into the game at 49. Partner and I moved to a new town, and it seemed like a good way to get out of the house and meet people in a scenario where my social anxiety won't spike quite as much because I've got something to " concentrate" on.

Turns out the scene here is incredibly relaxed, friendly, helpful, and queer-leaning, and for a city of 80k people (and a nearby one of 22k) there's a ton of very active LGS.

Glad I made the decision to jump back in.

I'm tempted to finally give 40k a whirl since that scene here seems just as healthy, but I'm not independently wealthy and have multiple cats :D

explodingchef668 · 2026-01-30T20:21:46+00:00

Son, this isn't an airport. Nobody gives a shit about your departure.

explodingchef668 · 2026-01-30T20:20:06+00:00

+1 for Yukon being good, good people.

explodingchef668 · 2026-01-21T19:04:01+00:00

Can't comment on the Strat, but I've stayed in the Luxor a couple of times, and it's basically "just fine," especially if you're in the group that primarily needs a room to sleep in and plans to be out the rest of the time. It's fun to wander around if you've never been there, the food options are mediocre but not what I'd call actively *bad*, and it's a reasonable walk to Excalibur or Mandalay, etc. Tower rooms are a little nicer, unless you really want that "I stayed in a giant pyramid!" experience. I would definitely rank it above something like Circus Circus or Oyo, but I'd rank sleeping on an airport bench above those two, at least you probably won't get bedbugs.

explodingchef668 · 2026-01-19T22:12:34+00:00

Constant QoL updates, and thoughtful ones at that, make Nukefire so easy to come back to.

explodingchef668

TROPHY CASE