Vegas for a foodie

I know there are lots of posts on Vegas floating around but I was curious if anybody knew of any roadfood type places in Vegas or from elsewhere and brought to Vegas that are worth hitting up. I already have all of my dinners planned for my trip to see the Badgers take on UNLV in September, which also happens to be the weekend my aunt is getting married (hopefully my luck doesn't end there) and I am on the prowl for any spots considered "must do" that most visitors wouldn't know about. Are there any transported Tex-Mex places from Texas? Any famous restaurants from Santa Fe or elsewhere in New Mexico? I saw that they have a L&L drive-thru and I will attempt to make it there for some Hawaiian BBQ and compare it with Aloha grill and I always make it to In & Out when im in town so thats already on the intinery for the long weekend. Thanks for the help.

Almost everything in Vegas is a facsimile of something from somewhere else, so you'd have to be a bit more specific. If you search for the Vegas off the Strip thread, you'll find some recommendations that are in keeping with what a LTHer in Vegas might find interesting other than that which is in the strip hotels.

We're actually headed to LV for 5 nights starting Friday. We've been just slowly ranking all of the restaurants based on LTH reviews. We've only got plans as far as Saturday: Salt Lick for dinner after our flight on Friday, and Craftsteak on Saturday.

We might do LoS on monday or tuesday, or for a lunch, but that still leaves a ton of choices.

We'll have a car, we're staying on the strip (Caesar's and then the Luxor), and any advice is appreciated. Under $100pp is nice, under $50 is better, and we don't drink, so that's not a concern in the price.

Ed,

I'd highly recommend a visit to Orchid's Garden for dim sum. It is quite good and has a very large array.

I wrote:Dim Sum at Chow’s (Now called Orchid's Garden)
I have written about this place in the past. It’s a large (think upstairs at the Phoenix) Chinese restaurant serving Dim Sum on carts at lunchtime. The clientèle is 98% Chinese and little English is spoken. It’s very interesting going there. Americans are treated with suspicion, as if they stumbled into this place by mistake, but once they discover that you indeed are looking for a good dim sum experience, they treat you well (at least they treat you as a novelty). One of the few English speakers on staff came to my table often in case I needed to ask for something special, which they will gladly bring from the kitchen if it is not already on one of the many carts cruising the room. Sorry, I didn’t have my camera with me. There is a full menu available for dinner as well as a “secret” Chinese language menu…OK, it’s not really secret, since almost everyone eating there is Chinese and can read the thing.

Similarly, I'd recommend at least one meal (breakfast) at the Peppermill. It's a Vegas classic that probably won't exist anymore sometime in the near future. For a snack in the middle of the hot Vegas day, check out Luv-It frozen Custard just off Las Vegas Blvd. in the no-man's land between The Strip and Downtown. I think their custard compares favorably with Kopp's, but I'd love to hear what someone else thinks, since I've only had Kopp's a few times.

Orchid's Garden
5485 W. Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV
702-257-8807

Luv-It Frozen Custard
505 E. Oakey Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
702-384-6452

Peppermill Inn
2985 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
702-735-4177

Yeah, we're absolutely planning a visit to the peppermill. I'm not a breakfast kind of guy, but it's an institution, and the bride likes that type of food.

Da Beef wrote:I saw that they have a L&L drive-thru and I will attempt to make it there for some Hawaiian BBQ and compare it with Aloha grill

I've eaten at one of the L&L's on S. Maryland Pkwy (I can't remember which one) and it was pretty dingy. The food there was not as good as the L&L I've been to on Hawaii's big island, but maybe one of the other ones around Vegas is better. L&L does have a steadier source of Portuguese sausage than Aloha Grill (who only get when someone brings it back from Hawaii) so it's worth going just for that.

Las Vegas is a pretty darn big city these days, and there's plenty of city besides the Strip (although I doubt I or many others would come just for that other city). What I mean is that "out-there" are the same kinda places that we love and post about here on LTHForum. It's not all Bobby Flay and Palm Steak and Hubert Keller's burgers.

SteveZ has done fantastic work in bringing this part of Vegas to us. He, with Dave Feldman, may be the best source for info on Vegas eating. Still, as much as Steve can eat (sorry ), he's only scratching the surface. Take for instance, the Chinese restaurants west of the strip. I'm sure there's some Katy's out there, a KS Seafood? I believe there is.

Think of Goldilocks, the Filipino place found by accident. I think there are a lot more places like it.

There are In'n'Out Burgers locations in LV. I think we have been to the one near the University, but there are a few more of them around town. It is a fast food chain, but I always enjoy their burgers and fries.

There is a lot of discussion of In'n'Out here on the forum.

Rossemary's, which is far off the strip and one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, I found it very good, but Chicago has a lot of these type restaurants.
http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/
8125 W. Sahara
Las Vegas, NV 89117

And a favorite of mine for old classic steakhouses,

http://www.hugoscellar.com/
Four Queens Casino Hotel
202 Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Personally, I head to Las Vegas for a week every couple of years and enjoy the many very good restaurants at very reasonable prices ... and NEVER eat on the LV Strip.

There are any number of good Asian restaurants on Spring Valley, a number of great soul food restaurants around town, a Peruvian place.

I would go back to the LTH archives for about a year and you will get dozens of ideas that are all pretty good.

I also recommend the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas for the past few years. Ignore the reader's votes but focus on the critic's choices. To be honest, that has been the most consistent source of new ideas for Las Vegas.

Personally, I really liked the food at the L&L on Maryland Parkway. It was a step above the usual fast food that you find at that price. However, in my old age, I am less a fan of the meat and two large scoops of rice and macaroni salad that is presented at many Hawaiian cuisine restaurants throughout the US. The meat has a phenomenal taste but ... how about some vegetables??

Hi. I’ve been reading the various Vegas threads lately. I am going the week of the 13th. I just saw on the web that Commander’s Palace in the Aladdin is closed and relocating. Anybody have more info?

D.

A brief report on a few meals in Las Vegas:

Salt Lick: Great brisket, especially the fattier cuts. Very good sausage. Good ribs. The Red Rock (and the canyon itself) is gorgeous.

Craftsteak: Top to bottom, every single thing we ate was nothing less than very good, and almost all was exceptional. The short rib blew away every braised short rib I've ever had, with richness and beefiness that I didn't know existed. The heirloom tomatoes were stellar in late july, and I imagine will be even better in a few weeks. The six sorbets and gelati were served with beautiful small fresh strawberries.

I can't stress how good of a meal it was.

All American Bar & Grill in the Rio: Heh. We were running late for Penn and Teller. Their dry aging room looks nice, but avoid the burgers.

The Spice Market buffet at PH/Aladdin: Everyone has been talking this up as the new best buffet in Vegas. If it really is, or even if it's in the top 5, I never plan to go to another LV buffet again. Really average. Beth preferred the buffet at Casino Windsor in Windsor, ON to this one, and I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite, myself.

Lotus of Siam (dinner): The black pepper + garlic wings are what everyone else says they are: awesome. Kang care, the northern red currey stevez ate in another thread, struck us as fairly bland. Nam prik noon was fresh, vibrant, well garnished and a tiny bit too spicy for me, and way too spicy for beth. I wish we'd gotten the red. Chicken satay was chicken satay. Nua nam tok was very good.

Memphis Championship Barbecue (the location near the Airport): Beth preferred the overall experience at MCB to Salt Lick. I had the opposite feeling: except for the deep fried dill pickle slices (heaven. seriously. heaven. I want more now) and the spareribs, I wasn't terribly impressed. The brisket was dry and bland. The pork shoulder was chopped and had spent too long in a steam tray. Fries were prefab. Great corn for a restaurant, though, and nice iced tea. The spare ribs, though, were very good.

(A side note about the Barbecue: Although we liked the ribs at both places, we both felt that UJs and Honey 1 blow them out of the water, with the smokey pork jerky bark they develop)

Bouchon: Beth had gone here for brunch on Sunday while I was at a training session, and she talked me in to a return visit. I'm very glad she did. Reports here had me worried, but it was universally excellent bistro fare.

Endive salad with roquefort and walnuts was superb, with creamy and funky cheese and brilliantly fresh endive. The asparagus with hollandaise and piquillo peppers beat Craftsteak's (excellent) roasted asparagus by a longshot. Marinated olives were great as well, especially the picholines and nicoise.

Poulet roti was served with a puff pastry tart topped with onions, tomatoes and bacon, which soaked up the juice as beth finished the perfectly cooked chicken. I had one of the specials: Maine diver scallops with piquillos, artichokes, and shiitake caps. Would it ever show up on a menu in Normandy? No, but I don't care. Superb.

Creme brulee and sourdough waffles for dessert. Hard to distinguish these one way or the other, except that the creme brulee looked and tasted like it involved at least two whole vanilla beans per serving.

Lotus of Siam (lunch): We had a few hours to burn before our flight, so came back for another order of the wings, the roasted duck curry, and nua sao renu. On the second trip we noticed a few things: Steve Dolinsky's smiling face on the wall by the entrance, which made me forget for a moment I was in Las Vegas; a ton of people eating off the buffet, but a group of 5 coming in with one woman saying "I was told we should order off the menu instead of the buffet"; and that Lotus of Siam has a really nice touch with grilled beef dishes. They're tender and just fatty enough.

That said, overall, I felt like LoS didn't stand out above Yum Thai, Sticky Rice, Spoon Thai, etc. It's certainly operating at their level, but I don't think I'd say it's better than 'em.

Luv-It Frozen Custard: Steve mentioned this place in another post, and we hit it up just after it opened on Wednesday. Nice rich custard, but way too sweet. Not as good as Scooter's or Kopp's or what we make at home, but not bad for vegas. I'd rather get gelato from the stand in the Venetian, except that it's $5 for one scoop.

Anyway, all in all, a really excellent eating experience in las vegas. Next time we go we'll probably stay off the strip in Summerlin or Henderson or something, and drive in for dinners and shows.

We're not classic vegas people (we didn't do any gambling or drinking, for instance), but the collection of restaurants and shows and off-beat museums made it a really enjoyable trip.

dodger wrote:Hi. I’ve been reading the various Vegas threads lately. I am going the week of the 13th. I just saw on the web that Commander’s Palace in the Aladdin is closed and relocating. Anybody have more info?

D.

Commander's Palace has been closed for a while now, and I haven't heard anything about them relocating elsewhere in town, despite what it says on the website.

For similar fare, there's Emeril's place at MGM Grand (I believe) and VooDoo Steak, at the Rio. VooDoo Steak has recently added dry-aged steaks to their menu, but have kept some of the creole fare that was popular from the old menu.

I know, it's no Commander's Palace, though.

gmonkey wrote:For similar fare, there's Emeril's place at MGM Grand (I believe)

I know, it's no Commander's Palace, though.

I have eaten at Emerils at the MGM, but not in many years.

When I lived in New Orleans from 1992-1995 I loved Emerils restaurant on Julia St and ate there many many times. I havent been in at least 5 years, but during those early days, when the chef was always in the house and not a food network bon vivant, Emerils was really a wonderful restaurant.

Emerils Fish House in the MGM has, IMHO, always sucked. The food is a very grim, TGI Emerils version of what he was serving back home. In fact it was always more like a fake version of Paul Prudhomme's food at K-Paul (meaning catoonishly cajun) then Emerils food at Julia Street. Anyway, I cant believe it has improved with age. I have always enjoyed his Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian.

iblock9 wrote:Emerils Fish House in the MGM has, IMHO, always sucked. The food is a very grim, TGI Emerils version of what he was serving back home.

I've got to agree with you there! I went to Emeril's Fish House shortly after it opened and had one of the worst meals I have ever had in a Vegas restaurant. In fact, it was that meal that made me swear off Strip Hotel Restaurants with famous chefs' names attached. Like everything else in that part of Las Vegas, they are a reasonable copy of the real thing, but generally not the real thing. I have been in search of non-strip chow ever since.

Having just returned from vegas (literally, watering our dead veggies right now so I'm staying up for a while!) I want to comment on B&B in the context of the celeb chef thing. And my comment is that I've never been to Babbo so I probably shouldn't comment but we found B&B in the Venetian to be underwhelming. We had a very nice meal at Mon Ami in Paris (mainly to use weekday LEYE certificates ) and loved Rosemary's for lunch. Didn't exalt at the temple of Lotus of Siam either, though I'd go back.