I have hardly been home during the month of
January so I haven't gotten much blogging done.
I spent a whole week in Las Vegas for the
Miss America Competition. Here I am with
Miss America 2011, Teresa Scanlan.
Theresa was the youngest ever Miss America
crowned at the age of 17. She was also the
only contestant from Nebraska to ever win
the title of Miss America.
You couldn't meet a sweeter, nicer, more mature
young woman. Every person I saw her engage
with felt her warmth and sincerity. Truly it was
a delight to get to meet her.
I was there with our Miss Orem who
will be competing in June for Miss Utah,
Hannah Harkness. Hannah was one of my
Young Women and she and her family invited
me to attend Miss America with them.
Here she is meeting Teresa.
I would not say that I am someone interested
in pageants, but I have now twice had the
opportunity to attend Miss America with
young women in my neighborhood, this year
with Hannah and in 1996 with Miss Utah,
Amanda Moody. In both cases it was a lot
of fun to see the whole process following
the competition all week long.
A lot of time was spent trying on formal gowns
at the trunk shows where girls can get competition
gowns at a discount. Hannah chose a Sherri Hill
gown and got to meet Sherri, the designer.
Not a gambler, I had a lot of fun shopping
for shoes and clothes
and eating, eating and eating.
I had never heard of Hash House A Go Go!
Don't you just love that name. Their motto is
"Twisted Farmhouse Food". I don't know about
twisted, but exceptional and huge definitely describe
their portions.
Biscuits and gravy with mashed potatoes,
Pork tenderloin benedict with a BBQ cream sauce (absolutely killer),
Coconut and mango pancake (18 inches across),
Chicken and asparagus skillet with a biscuit that
must be 4 inches tall,
and my dish, Sage Fried Chicken and Waffles.
I had heard and read of this Southern classic dish so
I just had to try it. Wow! This is a must try. If
you are in town Hash House a Go Go was a foodie
paradise.
Another recommendation would be Mon Ami Gabi
at the front of the Paris Hotel. Outside seating will get
you front row seating to the Bellagio fountains across
the street but you have to wait for those seats and
they are crowded from the moment they open until
they close. We ate inside.
Your meal starts with this wonderful warm bread
that comes in their signature paper bag.
We sampled all kinds of things. I loved these
waffle fries as an appetizer.
The famous French sandwich, Croque Monsieur - yum.
It's a good thing we walked everywhere with all of
this eating going on!
Miss Wisconsin was crowned Miss America 2012.
I had to give a loud cheer having been born and
raised in Wisconsin.
Miss Utah won the swimsuit and physical fitness the
first night so that was fun too.
It was a treat all the way around and I was so glad to
be invited. A big thank you to my friends, the Harkness family.
It was a very fun and educational week where
Miss Orem learned a lot about the Miss America
pageant and we had a lot of foodie and shopping fun.
