ROK Las Vegas to Offer Half Bottle Service

USA Today reported on Friday that ROK, the new club at the New York New York Casino in Las Vegas that opens over Labor Day will offer bottle service with half bottles, starting at $175 plus tax and tip. We love this idea--not only is it great for a small group, but you're no longer tied down to one spot all night because you're broke after paying for one $400 bottle of Kettle One. Here's hoping the idea catches on across the nation.

Surf Lodge Review

As promised last week, we went to the Surf Lodge for dinner on our recent trip to Montauk to see if we sided with the haters or its fans. Well...we loved it! Even our SO, aka the Cranky Gourmand, enjoyed it—and he hates going anywhere entrees crack the $20 mark.

We got there at 7 on Monday and the adorable hostess offered to seat us inside right away (they don’t take ressies). We opted to wait for a table outside, despite her warning that it would be 40 minutes-ISH in a way that made it sound like it could easily be twice that. We weren’t starving and the idea of watching the sunset over the backdoor pond was too appealing to pass up.

Following the advice of a fellow patron, we ordered a “Summer something or other”-- a delicious (and deceptively strong) concoction of Snow Queen Vodka, chardonnay, muddled grapes, simple syrup and lime juice. Our bar tab of the cocktail plus a Corona was $18, which seems perfectly normal to us. We settled in our comfy, deep-backed chairs to watch nature do her thing—and people watch. It definitely has the most interesting crowd in town (read: no families or guys in muscle tees and cutoffs).

Our table wasn’t ready til about 9—so our wait time was close to two hours before we were seated. We had guessed with the hostess’s 40-ish minutes it would have been 90 minutes, but we were in vacation mindset and the extra time didn’t get to us. It helps that we were prepared to wait, and did we mention those Summer-something cocktails?

The food was delish. We wanted to order every salad and appetizer listed on the menu. The entrees didn’t sound quite as appealing. In the end we went with 2 salads (they use the term loosely), one appetizer and an entrée. Our fave was the salad of local roasted corn with nectarines and crab meat.

As for those who complained about the service, our question is: Does any place in Montauk have good service? To whit: We left our Amex at the check in desk of our hotel. We didn’t realize it until a few hours later. After a frantic search, we checked with the front desk. They had it waiting for us. A phone call from them to let us know it was there would have been nice!

Sadly for us, there were no celebs at the Surf Lodge and we didn’t have a chance to check out a room. We do want to point out to those that are thinking of going there for din din, that we went on a Monday. We could see how the place could go off on a Saturday night and potentially be obnoxious. If you ask us, this is just what Montauk needed!

That's Annie, above, after many of those summer cocktails posing with the hotel's vintage Land Rover shuttle. The hotel provides complimentary rides around town to guests.

On Our Radar: (Vicky Cristina) Barcelona

We haven't returned to Barcelona since college when we went to see the Olympics. While we had a fantastic time seeing track, volleyball, water polo, and much more, we saw very little of the city. We chalk it up to an Olympic experience as opposed to a Barcelona vacation. What we do remember is the late (late!) dinners and nights out, the long afternoon siestas, and the red wine and tapas. We've always longed to go back for more of the gorgeous Catalan city.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the new movie by Woody Allen, opens today starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, and Rebecca Hall, and promises to light our interest in Spain once again. Vicky and Cristina are two Americans spending their summer in Barcelona who meet and follow Javier Bardem (who can blame them?) to his home. Penelope Cruz, whose roll in Volver inspired us to take Spanish language classes, is Bardem's ex-wife and crazy, sometime lover. We're hoping Vicky Christina Barcelona proves to be as good on screen as it does in the trailer.

When we make it back to Barcelona, we'd like to stay at the boutique Casa Camper Hotel in the stylish Raval neighborhood close to great shopping and the contemporary art museum. Started by the hipster, Spanish shoe company, Camper, the eco-friendly, non-smoking hotel offers amenities like a 24-hour healthy self service snack bar, the rooms come equipped with separate lounging areas with hammocks, and free bike rentals (one of our fave ways to explore European cities).

Check back for our review of Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The Best Summer Beach Read

Two days on the beach in Montauk flew by thanks to Tan Lines by J.J. Salem. Seriously, our SO even commented on how non-fidgety and low maintenance we were with our nose buried between the pages. This is definitely the dirty must-read of the summer. We picked it up because our first love, summer must-read author, Jackie Collins, wrote the book jacket review and Cindy Adams called it "smut from the gut".

We stayed with it because it has one of the most attention getting first lines ever. (We know we have some readers under 16, so we won’t reprint it here.) The story line about 3 late 20-something women is not without its flaws, but it’s a confirmed page turner! Just do yourselves a favor and buy the book.

To find out our other summer beach reads, click here.

Review Update: ZO Skin Health from Obagi

Last week we told you how we were starting a new skincare regimen, the new Anti-Age Jump Start Kit, ZO Skin Health from Obagi. The initial results were good: Our skin really was soft as a baby’s-you-know-what, just as Dr. Obagi had promised. This, despite the fact that we were a little flaky around days 3 and 4 and that we had a few breakouts. We wondered if this is what Dr. Obagi meant when he said we might not like the short-term results? To be fair, our skin does tend to get flaky and those breakouts could have definitely been from stress, our hormones or both.

We were at the beach for the weekend, so fell off the wagon a bit when it came to our skincare. We still followed the Obagi regimen in the evening, but somehow, washing our face and applying two other products in the a.m. seemed like a hassle when all we wanted to do was slather on our SPF and hit the beach.

Speaking of the beach, after a day sitting underneath an umbrella on the sand, his products didn’t have enough moisturizing oomph for us. We recognize that not every product is formulated for every situation (that’s why we have a medicine cabinet packed full of different moisturizers and serums), but this left us longing for something richer that would truly hydrate our thirsty post-beach skin.

Now that we’re back from the beach and wanting a pick me up for our skin for fall (our hair, too, but that's a different post), we’ll get back to our Obagi Zo Skin Health Regimen, and continue to let you know how it goes!

Juicy Couture Sleepwear

One of the items we’re most likely to forget to pack on a girls’ getaway is a comfy nightie or PJ’s. Probably because we don’t own much that’s not lacy, frilly or otherwise meant to seduce our man. Either that or we just love lounging around in hotel robes that much. Juicy Couture to the rescue!

The girls who made track suits chic are now taking on the world of sleep with a line called “Choose Sleep”. They’ve launched the line with a bunch of adorable camis

and PJ pants.

We do love the robe, too, but can’t see it fitting in our luggage.

If you’re in NYC tonight, stop by Bloomies for the Juicy Couture/Teen Vogue launch party with sweets and surprises! It’s from 6-8.

Which magazine has the best fall fashion?

It’s that time of year again, when magazines as big as phone books land on our doorsteps chock full of the best fall fashions. Yesterday, both the NY Post and the NY Daily News reviewed the various September issues. We’re a little behind on our magazine reading (our mags have yet to catch up with us after our recent move), but we know from our Twitter friends that Lucky deserves more than the 2.5 lips and 2 hangers it got from each paper respectively.

What do you think? Got a favorite September issue?