Eating at "Road Kill Grill". (Confessions from a self-proclaimed ‘foodie’)

Food in Swaziland is simple.  We eat very “clean” food (not that our weight reflects that in any visible way).  We don’t eat fast food, food with preservatives and Ian and I love to cook at home together. 

But when you live abroad and plan to head back “home” the dreams and visions of past food loves start to dance in your head.

When Ian and I landed in Canada, our first lunch stop was to get Poutine.  What is Poutine you might ask?  It is a delicacy from the French part of Canada and it consists of a bowl of French fries, delicately sprinkled with squeaky cheese curds, all covered with smoking hot beef gravy.  Then you flavor it to your personal taste by adding white vinegar, ketchup and lots of fresh pepper.  It’s divine, but you can almost feel your arteries closing while you consume it.  

Ian and I love watching The Food Network on Sunday afternoons, and a particular favorite is Guy Fiery’s “Diners Drive-Ins and Dives” (DDD).   A few months ago we discovered that DDD has an APP for our phones, which we both purchased immediately.  Now you might ask WHY we would do that when we don’t even live in the US, but you should check out the APP yourself and you will see why. You can follow the locations of the show, add locations to your personal “bucket list” or just search the APP while you are in a new city.

Ian watched a particular show about a food establishment in Las Vegas called “Road Kill Grill” and immediately added it to his “bucket list”.  Not only that, but he arranged for us to arrive in Las Vegas a day earlier than needed for the Med Assets conference, JUST so that we could go there.  No word of a lie.

A 30-minute taxi ride, with a driver who had never been to “that part of town” ended in an old suburban area that had to have been the very first houses ever built in Las Vegas.  As we arrived it was clear that this was not at DINER, nor was it a DRIVE-IN … but it clearly qualified for the show, if you know what I mean.

This place is a butchery, and they smoke and preserve meat, with the claim to fame of being the largest Deer meat processor in the southwest (pause).  

I won’t lie, if the taxi driver hadn’t driven off so quickly, and my husband hadn’t planned this visit for so many months, I think I would have headed back to the Vegas strip for a light lunch.  But no, the scene was set, the actors in place and we entered the “establishment” with great expectations (I could use the words “hesitation” or “anticipation” here).

We were not disappointed. A large stuffed coyote was the main decoration in a very small cafeteria-style room with five main food items on the menu. You could order meat, meat or meat.  We chose meat … ribs to be exact.

The food was good old-fashioned southern cooking complete with all the usual sides of mac’n cheese, potato salad, slaw, baked beans or over cooked green beans.  The ribs were good and the BBQ sauce even better.  The salt induced coma that I fell in to shortly after eating required me to not only have a two hour nap in the afternoon, but our stomach’s actually refused any thing further for the rest of the day, including dinner.  

We still have one more very busy week of fundraising and meetings ahead so Ian and I decided to make a “wise” decision last night and stay away from the big costume party/blow out that annually closes the MedAssets conference.  Instead we decided to do a “tapas-hop” and try a few appetizers from a few new restaurants.

Our final “hop” landed us at a restaurant that is a MUST GO if you are ever in Las Vegas. It is located at Mandalay Bay and is called Rx Boiler Room.  It was there that we fell in love … with a slider.  (For those who don’t know what a slider is, it’s a very small 2-bite size burger).  I was highly skeptical of the “Surf  & Turf” slider that was described as “Filet Mignon, sweet butter poached Maine Lobster with Maltaise sauce”, but when we questioned the Waiter about it, he literally rolled his eyes with the look of love and said “you must try it”. And we did. And we fell in love with a slider.

The rest of the menu was equally outstanding and the Meze platter of baba ganoush, tzatziki and taramosalata finished of our visit to Las Vegas (and helped redeem my memories of ribs that almost killed me). 

Whether it’s fresh green beans from Project Canaan, “fresh” Poutine in Canada, or famous ribs in Las Vegas, we love food.  And we are thankful that we have access to good food and choice each and every day when so much of the world does not have such luxury.

Live from Georgia … thankful to be able to eat meals with Spencer this weekend.

Janine