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Tony's Travel Tips

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Folic and Fant ast ic Food at Harrah?s<br />

Sout hern California<br />

By Tony Reverdit t o<br />

Forget t he t rek t o Vegas, w e have Harrah?s Sout hern<br />

California has all of t he bells and w hist les and is in our ow n<br />

backyard. I w as first int roduced t o t his aw esom e resort<br />

casino w hen I w on a st ay in a silent auct ion at The Black<br />

and Whit e Ball in Long Beach. Lit t le did I know t hat I w ould<br />

be going for an overnight er every m ont h since I first<br />

experienced t he excit em ent a year and a half ago. The<br />

resort and casino are convenient ly locat ed in Funner,<br />

California, 15 m iles east off t he 76 Pala exit off t he 15<br />

freew ay. When w e m ake t hat final t urn and see t he hot el,<br />

w e know w e are in st ore for a great t im e w it h excellent<br />

food.<br />

Ow ned by Caesars, Harrah?s has locat ions all over t he<br />

count ry. We love t he room s, love playing t he slot s and t able<br />

gam es and t he Caesars Rew ard Card is valid at all of t heir<br />

resort s. It ?s supercool because your gam bling and food<br />

purchases earn point s t hat are good for fut ure free st ays<br />

and resort credit s. Anyw ay, not t oo long ago, t hey added<br />

one of m y new favorit es, t he int eract ive solo st at ion video<br />

m achines w hich gives you t he opport unit y t o play any of<br />

t he t able gam es one on one w it h a dealer st at ioned in t he<br />

cent er carousel or sim ply play yourself against t he<br />

m achine. They also current ly have every ot her slot t urned<br />

off t o m aint ain social dist ancing and lim it t able occupancy.<br />

In addit ion, t hey are in t he process of replacing and adding<br />

perm anent dist anced m achines in m any locat ions of t he<br />

casino.


Sout hern California<br />

ACCOMODATIONS<br />

By Tony Reverditto<br />

Things got very ?suite? upon check in, normally we stay in<br />

a regular room which is always nice, but, on this visit we<br />

stayed in one of the Oh So Suite rooms. Just over a<br />

thousand square feet with a cozy living area and a large,<br />

master with a comfy King bed. We were able to check out<br />

the fun below from our huge private balcony while taking<br />

in the stunning pool and mountain views. The soaker<br />

Jacuzzi tub also had a tremendous view and the room was<br />

wonderful on every level.<br />

2 WEBSITE.COM/MAGAZINE


Speaking of the pool, the Grown-Up Splash Zone was<br />

Awarded 2019 Readers' Choice <strong>Travel</strong> Awards ?Best<br />

Pool". This is where you can relax, take a dip and soak<br />

up the SoCal sun in style. Guests 21+ only have access<br />

to 3 Hot tubs, multiple Cabanas, Luxury Loungers,<br />

Daybeds and 2 Fire Pits. The amazing Lazy River is a<br />

wonder to behold in which you can float around on an<br />

inner tube while remaining relaxed and refreshed.<br />

Inner tubes available at the Dive Shop.<br />

3 MAGAZINE NAME


Sout hern California<br />

Since we did early check-in at 1pm, we headed to KJ Chinese Restaurant which has a<br />

massive menu of authentic Asian food from many regions. For example, they have Dim<br />

Sum, Noodle Soups, Congee, just about every seafood and meat that you could imagine,<br />

Chef Specials, on and on. We frequently order the Pad Thai, but one of our new favorite<br />

dishes is the Rice Noodle with Salted Fish & Chicken, it is such a complex heavenly dish.<br />

We also tried something new, Braised Yee Noodle, which is a typical Cantonese noodles<br />

made from wheat flour with the most fantabulous gravy. The portions at ?KJ? are very<br />

generous and packed with authentic flavors.<br />

4 WEBSITE.COM/MAGAZINE<br />

According to the delightful PR<br />

and Sponsorship Supervisor<br />

since 2018, Shannon Gavin<br />

who did a magnificent job in<br />

arranging our stay, they<br />

recently added an Italian<br />

restaurant called Che Bello<br />

(which means beautiful). It<br />

currently occupies the buffet<br />

space and is open only on<br />

Friday through Sunday<br />

evenings. This eatery offers<br />

gorgeous classic Italian<br />

favorites including<br />

made-to-order pizza featuring<br />

toppings of your choice or<br />

grab a hot and ready slice, a<br />

variety of pastas,<br />

made-to-order sandwiches<br />

and salads and a range of<br />

specialties like Tuscan short<br />

ribs and rotisserie chicken.


In this article, I am featuring<br />

the upscale Seafood and Steak<br />

House, Fiore! Steak + Seafood.<br />

When you enter, you are<br />

transported into a chic section<br />

of the resort. We naturally<br />

ordered a glass of wine and<br />

appetizers. While all of the<br />

choices were enticing, we had<br />

to try the Lobst er Tem pura,<br />

garnished with Sun Dried<br />

Tomato Aioli and<br />

deconstructed Pesto Sauce and<br />

The Crab Cakes drizzled with a<br />

Classic Remoulade Sauce,<br />

needless to say, both were<br />

crispy on the outside and filled<br />

with divine shellfish, which is<br />

always a special delicacy. It was<br />

our civic duty to try the<br />

Signat ure Fiore Surf & Turf<br />

consisting of an 8oz Lobster<br />

Tail, 2 Jumbo Garlic Shrimp,<br />

Fried Soft Shell Crab and a 9 oz<br />

Filet Mignon. If your mouth<br />

started watering while reading<br />

this, this combination plate was<br />

delicious, although I like a little<br />

more seasoning on my<br />

seafood. We also ordered the<br />

Truffle Poached Scallops,<br />

served atop a Brussels Salad,<br />

and drizzled with a warm<br />

Bacon Dressing, Potato Gallette<br />

and Onion Bure Blanc. The<br />

scallops literally melted in our<br />

mouths and the flavor<br />

combination was phenomenal.


After indulging in dinner, we made our way out to the casino and enjoyed gambling<br />

into the wee hours of the night. When in the casino enjoying a cocktail or two, one<br />

loses all track of time through the excitement of the exhilarating sounds coming<br />

from the slot machines and random screams of joy from the winners.


We usually enjoy The Cafe?for<br />

breakfast although it is open 24/7.<br />

The Surf & Turf Benedict and<br />

Salm on Benedict which are our<br />

favorites. But they have a range of<br />

cuisine ranging from a unique berry<br />

salad created with honey collected<br />

from local hives to a hearty meatloaf<br />

topped with a mushroom ragout. The<br />

Café also features lunch and dinner<br />

which entrées like Seaside Market?s<br />

own Burgundy Pepper Tri Tip, AKA<br />

Cardiff Crack, Rib Eye and NY<br />

St eaks, Fish & Chips Sandw iches,<br />

Burgers, Salads and so much more.<br />

On this visit since I had surf and turf<br />

the night before, so I went for the<br />

Classic Breakfast bacon, scrambled<br />

eggs, hash browns and pancakes<br />

which was enough to feed an army<br />

and helped soak up the alcohol from<br />

the previous night of partying. They<br />

also offer a Late Night Menu from<br />

11pm to 6am with appropriate menu<br />

options.


After breakfast we try our luck one more time at gambling before heading home and<br />

this time I won an additional $350 jackpot. As a tradition we order Smash Burgers and<br />

Fries to go on our way out. Other ?Quick Eats? include Lord of Sandwich which boasts<br />

on serving ?The World?s Greatest Hot Sandwich? and Rita?s Cantina with awesome<br />

Mexican fare and a fiesta of flavors.<br />

It is always bittersweet to leave this wonderful resort and casino but knowing we will<br />

be back the next month always takes the sting out of our departure.<br />

HARRAH?S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, 777 HARRAH'S RINCON WAY FUNNER, CA<br />

Inform at ion and Reservat ions: 760.751.3100 or HarrahsSoCal.com<br />

Covid 19 Guest and Em ployee Safet y Measures:<br />

All guests must be 21+.<br />

All guests and employees are required to wear a face mask at all times unless actively<br />

eating, drinking, smoking or swimming.<br />

High-touch areas are regularly cleaned throughout the property.<br />

All guests and employees are required to pass a temperature check before entering<br />

the property.

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