The Road to Russell Peters at Pala Casino
What do you when you're hours away from seeing your favorite comedian? Eat, of course! Jeff and I went through the extensive dining options available at Pala Casino to try to figure out what we wanted to eat before the highly anticipated show. We had been watching the setup from our room for the last day and a half. Cave was so delicious that I really wanted to return again, but I knew I had to try out as many options as I could in order to get a better feel for the dining scene. I looked up all the different restaurants and their menu on the Pala website and decided to go with Luis Rey's because I really wanted to sit back and relax at a more casual setting with some live music. Luis Rey's has an indoor/outdoor lounge and bar that serves a blend of appetizers from around the U.S. and Mexico, which sounded good to me. I was in the mood for tacos and carne asada nachos, until...
I saw they had a Kobe Beef Burger available. The burger came with aged cheddar cheese, arugula, heirloom tomato, red onions, and chive aioli as well as dill pickle on it. The tasty truffle steak fries it came with didn't hurt either! And as usual, I had my patty cooked rare. It was a really good burger. It was the perfect dish for two to share before the show. We didn't want to get too full. You know what the real surprise was though? The fish and chips I ordered were even better than the burger! Wow. When you least expect it, a dish just surprises you. Luis Rey's fish and chips were made of halibut. A lot of restaurants like to skimp out on fish so they use cod instead. The halibut made all the difference. It was fried to a thin crisp and the malt vinegar and tartar sauce just blew it out of the water. Now that we were full, it was time to get the show on the road!
The culmination of my staycation at Pala Casino was the Russell Peters 'Almost Famous' show. If you're a fan of Russell Peters, you know that he travels with his resident DJ Spinbad. DJs don't usually leave a big impression on me, but this guy mixed Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into the opening. Anyone that shows love to that amazing show has my undivided attention. We had some really good seats as well. Row 8, baby! It was not too close so we wouldn't get called out and not too far to not be able to see the show! In reality though, all the seats were good since the Pala venue is very intimate. I have lots of friends who went to see Russell Peters two weeks after at the Anaheim Convention Center and they were beyond jealous of my seats. They were forced to look at the projector screen all night whereas I was up close and personal. Russell came out in a Sunkist bright orange matching suit. I wish I was able to snap pictures, but security told us we were not allowed to. I'm a goodie two-shoes and I will not apologize for complying! You do you! 
The show was everything I expected and more. Russell Peters was absolutely hilarious. It didn't even look like he had a script the entire night. He was literally just hanging out with us like we were in his living room and calling on audience members and going from there. Thank goodness I slipped under the radar for that! Ha. It's much more fun when you're not the butt of the joke.
After the show we headed to the food court area to pick up something quick to eat in the room. I stopped by Sushi Sake to pick up a tuna sushi roll with a side of Bluefin Tuna sushi. Sushi Sake even had omakase on the menu.
Up in our room, Jeff and I enjoyed the sushi as we watched the staff start clearing up the setup from the show below. Since it was our last night at Pala, we really wanted to make the most out of it. Our staycation had flown by so fast. We went to hit the slot machines for a bit and then headed into the heated pool. 
We had so much fun at Pala. I got to decompress from the busy LA smog-filled life and just relax. The two of us even got in some exercising at the gym and at the pool, a massage, and we both got to have some really fantastic meals. After working off all sushi after a long night swim, we stopped by Coffee Amore to pick up an eclair and chocolate strawberries for a late night snack.
The next morning upon check out, I grabbed an iced white chocolate latte to go for the ride home back to Los Angeles. I was so sad to go.
Thanks for the great staycation Pala! I was constantly surprised by all the delicious food options. If you or someone you know is looking to get away for a nice staycation in the San Diego area, I'd definitely urge you to check them out. To follow and see everything I did while on my fun staycation, review my previous posts below:
- CAVE-Mediterrean restaurant, lounge, and underground wine cave all in one. The first underground wine cave in Southern California.
- Massage and fine dining at Pala.
To check out what else Pala has to offer, you can visit their site here: https://www.palacasino.com
PALA CASINO
11154 Hwy 76 Pala CA 92059
