Posts Tagged ‘restaurant’

Trip Report: Pearson Technology Summit 2007

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

I am back from Denver, Colorado. I was out there for the first ever Pearson Technology Summit. I work in Iowa City, Iowa in the “A & I” group. We basically write systems to manage high-stakes educational testing. Things like the end of school year state-wide test. We provide the actual tests and score the answer sheets. I currently work a product called Pearson Access on the Identity and Access Management team. (Fancy name for the group that manages peoples user accounts; their usernames and passwords.) This is a rather detailed account of the trip which occurred Tuesday, November 6, 2007 through Friday, November 9, 2007.

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Date Night: Riverside Casino

Friday, October 19th, 2007

Riverside Casino & Golf ResortYesterday was “date night”. Nancy surprised me yesterday afternoon. She called and asked if it was okay to change the plans. I left in the morning thinking that we were going to go to Biaggi’s for dinner. Instead, she made plans with another couple to go to Riverside Casino. The girls were going to have massages and then the foursome was going to eat at Ruthie’s Steak & Seafood, a restaurant in the resort, at 7:00pm. I said, sure, that was fine.

I had never been to Riverside yet, so I wanted to see what the casino was like.

I was impressed. I had only been to the other Iowa casinos when they first opened as riverboat casinos. And I was in a commercial for the Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino when it just had greyhound racing and slot machines. The Riverside casino had a “quality” look about it. Not something you expect in Riverside, Iowa.

I had a good time playing blackjack. This was my first time playing blackjack. (I don’t like playing slot machines.) I made $22.50. W00t!

Dinner was very good. We started with oyster’s Rockefeller. I had the Caesar salad, fillet mignon, medium rare, with lump crab béarnaise, asparagus with hollandaise, and a French Merlot. Nancy had the warm spinach salad, veal chop, medium, heartland corn, and white wine. For desert, Nancy had the white chocolate key lime tart and I had the raspberry créme brulee. We both had coffee with our desert. The food was excellent. This restaurant ranks up there as one of the best in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. And the price reflects the quality. 🙂

Overall, I liked the facilities a lot. It took me more than a year after its opening to visit. But I did sign up for the Resort Club, as I expect to be back.