Sep 1

Sep 1 Pala Casino: A Relaxing Staycation

food, Pala Casino, San Diego, staycation, travel

I woke up early the next day for some much needed R & R at the Pala Spa. I was still sore from the workout at the Pala gym from the night before. I'm really out of shape. Can you tell? I was more than ready to get into my robe and slippers and just relax during my staycation.

The Pala spa has 14 different treatment rooms including 2 Signature Spa Suites for couples. Jeff and I got a Couple Suite, which gives you the option of having the massage outside or inside. We chose being inside because we just wanted to relax and have an hour to ourselves with zero noise. He got a Swedish massage since he's a whimp and I got an Asian Shiatsu type massage. I love the heated massage tables --so relaxing! Once we were done, we took a seat in the spa lobby just to relax and unwind. One thing that I loved about Pala was that they have fruit emulsion water everywhere. I filled up my water bottle and headed back to my room where I proceeded to knock out until dinner. The massage was that good! I was gone for at least 3 hours. Also, on a side note, I noticed that Pala played all the music I grew up with. It was very nostagltic. I found myself randomly bursting out in song and dance from my favorite 90's boy bands when I was out and about. By the time I woke up from my nap, it was time for an early dinner. Since I had such a delicious meal at CAVE the day before, I was eager to try out other eateries at Pala Casino. We decided to try a steakhouse called Oak Room. Normally I would never think of going to a steakhouse at a casino, but I knew the food was going to be good since there was a line out the door for Oak Room right when they opened. All the tables were filled, which was a good sign! We were given some warm, toasty bread. My favorite bread was the long pretzel one. Who doesn't love warm bread? We started off with half a dozen Kumamoto oysters. The tiny, but sweet oysters were a great precursor to the rest of the meal.I was set on ordering the halibut when our waiter listed off the specials of the day. My interest piqued when I heard Chilean Sea Bass. Sold! The sea bass flaked off with each bite. Two thumbs up from me! Jeff ordered the Bone-in Ribeye so we could share. We like to order our steaks rare. If it doesn't look like it was just mooing, we don't want it! It's also a testment to a chef's cooking ability. It's not easy cooking a steak rare. Our ribeye was cooked to a perfect juicy rare on a sizzled buttery plate. All items from Oak Room are a la carte, so I also ordered two sides. My favorite side was the trio of mashed potatoes. There were three flavors of mash potatoes on the plate. The left was horseradish flavored, the middle was cheddar cheese flavored, and the right was butter flavored. Heavenly! Grilled corn. As you can imagine, we were stuffed beyond belief at this point. Our awesome server insisted that we did not leave without trying the dessert. Who are we to refuse dessert? After all, stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Sweets is always the solution. Then again, we weren't at all stressed during our staycation at Pala. Any excuse is a good excuse for my sweet tooth. I'm not going to question it.We loved, loved, loved dessert. The creme brûlée was amazing. Creamy, light, and sugary! Although the food thus far at Pala had been exceptional, we only had one thing on our minds! Russell Peters! Live! To find out how the show and my subsequent Pala food adventures were, make sure to check back in my next post.