Soup Diary 100315

On the drive down to Los Angeles last week, because of a rather long detour around a twenty car pile-up on the interstate in Utah, we ended up in Las Vegas at dinner-time. Seizing the opportunity, we went to the Ellis Island casino for a meal. Ellis Island is off the strip, but kind of famous for its bargain dinner specials, including what always used to be a $5 steak dinner (including potato, vegetable, soup or salad, bread and beer). The price has gone up to $7 since our last visit, but the quality remains extremely high (somewhat surprising since in a lot of ways Ellis Island is not exactly a high-class place). We actually had to wait forty-five minutes for a table (I think in the past we always made a point of stopping there for a l;ate lunch, around 3:00, when things are a bit slower), but it was worth it. All the food was good (though I could do without the garlic they put on the green beans), and the soup was no exception. It had been a long time since I had minestrone, and the Ellis Island version made me regret the long wait-- lots of veggies and beans and not overloaded with noodles; a nice tomato-y flavor; and not overcooked, which is always a worry when I see minestrone on the menu. In fact, this was the first of several nice cups of soup I would enjoy on the trip, with notes on the others to come over the next few days.