Beginning of a Beautiful Weekend with Friends, Food and Hard Rock

I went to Vegas a few weeks ago to celebrate the birthdays of two of my dearest and oldest friends. I met J and M back in elementary school, back when socializing took place on the four square and punch ball courts and dining out meant enjoying your cafeteria sloppy joes on the swings  We weren't the Three Musketeers by any means. After all, they were boys infested with cooties and other ickiness! We would talk from time to time, and by talking, I mean yanking on J's backpack in the hallway, or making fun of M's supersized thick-rimmed glasses. I mean, we were in an elementary school state of mind! After I moved away, I kept in touch with a handful of people from elementary school, including J and M. And over the years, that handful of people tightened into just J and M. We truly enjoy each other's company and find fun and humor in everything we do together-whether it be experiencing the experience of Coachella, gabbing away about anything and everything at our regular dinners, or partying the night away and rehashing a play by play the next day on Gchat.

Although I've somewhat put my hardcore partying days behind me, when I heard we were going to Vegas to celebrate J and M's birthdays, I promptly dusted off my bandage dresses and prepared to heartily celebrate with and for the birthdays of my childhood through adulthood friends.

Upon our arrival at the Hard Rock Hotel, we headed straight to Pink Taco for a quick and on the house pre-dinner snack. Although I've passed by the Pink Taco at the Century City Westfield mall dozens of times, I knew very little about the restaurant other than the tabloid fact that its owner Harry Morton (who is also heir to The Hard Rock Hotel) frolicked with Lindsay Lohan years ago. Since we went during in-between meal time, the restaurant was refreshingly mellow and uncrowded. The decor is simple but infused with the expected rock n roll vibe. A bar sits squarely in the center, with the bar counter installed with the ubiquitous Vegas card games machines. We sat at a booth in the corner and proceeded to order a little bit of everything. What was intended to be a snack was quickly turning into a full fledged meal. I'm a sucker for enchiladas and sweet corn tamales, so I ordered both. The enchilada was one of the best I'd had, blending together the perfect ratio of cheese and savory chicken. I'm unashamed to say that I inhaled both enchiladas in mere minutes. The sweet corn tamale, which I consider to be a delicacy because it's never on the menu or in season, was simply perfection. Sweet but not overly so, I could taste the freshness of the corn with every bite. In between the food inhaling, I looked up, looked around me and knew that a weekend of fun, laughter and celebration of everlasting friendship was about to get underway....

...I wish I could elaborate on the rest of my Vegas trip. But c'mon, you know the saying!