Is there any other word in the culinary dictionary so closely attached to Las Vegas than "buffet"? To some, a visit to Vegas wouldn't be complete without strapping on a feedbag, waiting in a cattle line, then gorging the hours away in a hall of never-ending food product. Fiery discussions are held on who has the best buffet, who has the largest lobsters, who has the most varied cuisines and so on.
It's odd to say this, but I've had a love-hate relationship with In-N-Out Burger. The first time I had one was at the Bairstow Outlets in California, and I remember it being a d*mn tasty burger worthy of its hype. Was it the greatest burger ever? No. Was it one of the best fast food burgers I've had? Certainly in the running.
That was all the way back in 2000.
I'm always on the search for remarkable dining off the Las Vegas Strip. It's not that there aren't good eats on the Strip - far from it, but the expectations versus the costs of the experience I've thus far found to be lacking. I've definitely learned "have car, will travel" is a solid motto to go by, and it's pretty ridiculously cheap to rent a car in Vegas. My spacious V6 Toyota Camry was only $15 a day - how can you go wrong with that? It cost more to rent the GPS! Parking is never an issue with every hotel offering valet service, and tipping $3 is about right (more if staying at that hotel).
Outside of Vegas-proper, the suburbs of Henderson and Summerlin hold a treasure trove of good eats waiting to be discovered. You've already read my escapades in Chinatown (Raku, füküburger...), and Lotus of Siam - there are definitely more coming (Rosemary's, M Resort...)
Forget the concept that NYC is the city that never sleeps. That title goes to Las Vegas. Walking the Strip in the wee hours gives you an unusual perspective on this alternate-dimension's inner-workings. When else would you see gondoliers at The Venetian rehearsing their multi-tasking skills? Watching neophyte trainees awkwardly attempt to row the gondola while singing Mendelssohn's Opus 30 to an appreciative crowd of fellow gondoliers, their drill sergeant and a few random lonely Asian(s) is one of the best free shows around! It's also the time of day when the army of Mexicans handing out... let's say playing cards... on the sidewalk are replaced by an army of semi-coherent lushes amusingly stumbling towards what they hope are their hotels.
Outside of that - there's still the food. Sure the big 5-star establishments are shut down, but this is primetime for one of the greatest food segments known to mankind: stoner food. More importantly: AFFORDABLE stoner food.
Las Vegas has long been a bastion of culinary excellence - some of the world's greatest chefs hold court over rooms throughout the Strip (Boulud, Robuchon, Batali, Keller...). So it's a surprise that even with its proximity to the capital of wacky street food (Southern California), Vegas' street food scene is very much in its infancy. Fortunately the fine folks of the Slidin' Thru truck are trying to change that one massive festival at a time!
There might be no other restaurant in Las Vegas as universally loved as Lotus of Siam. Odd that in a city synonymous with high-end dining, a small unassuming Thai restaurant, located in an off-Strip and decidedly seedy stripmall would be a destination for food mavens all over. I heard of them years ago from rave reviews on eGullet.org, an internet forum dedicated to food and frequented by industry folk, insiders and serious foodies. Since my initial visit, it has become a guaranteed stop on every Vegas trip - a feat indeed since I prefer to check out new places everytime.
