bartolimu fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Feb 1, 2021

• Estiatorio Milos. Fresh Greek seafood in a modern setting. Preparations are simple and emphasize the excellent-quality fish. Lunch is prix fix at $30, which is fairly inexpensive for Strip fine dining.
  
• Secret Pizza. Face the entrance to Estiatorio Milos on the second floor of the Cosmopolitan. Turn right. See that blind hallway lined with movie posters? Secret Pizza is down there, I promise. It's a New York-style slice shop in the middle of Vegas. One of the least expensive lunches on the Strip, and they'll do take out orders too.
  
• Jaleo. Jose Andres's first foray into Las Vegas dining, most famous for their wood-fire cooked paella. Also recommended: the Secreto, a skirt steak of pata negra pork (the same ones used to make the most expensive Spanish hams).
  
• Bouchon Bistro. Home of the best brunch service on the Strip, and Tony Bourdain's favorite (duck-fat fried!) french fries. The Eggs Benedict are legendary, and the quiche will redefine your egg-pie paradigm. The moules au safran with fries are my dinnertime favorite.
  
• Viva Las Arepas. Venezuelan-style arepas with fillings both classic and imaginative. I especially like the pabellon (beef, black beans, plaintain & cheese), anything pork, and an agua fresca. The empanadas are pretty great too!
  
• Bajamar Seafood & Tacos. This was suggested to me as the best seafood restaurant in Vegas. While I can't speak to that, I can say they're excellent. Bajamar is a traditional Tijuana or Ensenada seafood cart transplanted into an old '50s diner. Great variety of tacos and tostadas filled/covered with all kinds of fresh seafood. The aguachile with beet juice is excellent, as are the marlin taco and the wipeout (octopus and scallop) taco.
  

• Esther's Kitchen. New American with an emphasis on homemade sourdough, pastas, and an excellent cocktail program. Have the carbonara, and the bread with garlic-anchovy butter (for just SIX DOLLARS!). They also practice whole-hog butchery, and their porchetta is the stuff of legend.
  
• Velveteen Rabbit. A trendy cocktail bar with adventurous offerings - a previous menu included a vinegar-heavy, borscht-inspired vodka cocktail that was pretty awesome. Sensitive noses beware: while they don't allow smoking indoors, for some reason they burn patchouli incense most of the time. Maybe to scare away hippies? I dunno, but the cocktails are good.
  
• Cornish Pasty Company. Relocated from its original Commercial Center location, this spot features outstanding meat pies, extensive vegetarian/vegan options, and a surprisingly diverse beer list. The tikka masala (chicken or vegetarian) is excellent, and their Scotch egg may be the best in town.
  
• Hop Nuts Brewing. Currently the only brewery in the Arts District, though that's due to change this year. 18b is a serviceable pale, their porters and stouts are generally solid, and their bar staff is friendly and knowledgeable.
  
• Makers & Finders. The first of two coffee specialists in the Arts District. Concentrates on providing a leisurely cafe experience, with well-made pourovers, espresso drinks, and a small list of snacky foodstuffs.
  
• Vesta Coffee Roasters. These dudes are coffee nerds, with strong opinions on roast, sourcing, and preparation. This is the only place I've found a flavored cappuccino that isn't heinously over-sweetened. They also sell beans, both single-origin and blended.
  
• Jammyland Cocktail Bar & Reggae Kitchen. Seriously great Jamaican food with an ambitious, rum-driven cocktail program. Order the patties, or anything jerk.
  
• The Goodwich Downtown. Despite the name, this place is between the Arts District and all those government buildings I mentioned before. This is the best sandwich shop in the universe. Menu rotates, but in general the pork sandwiches are amazing the the vegetarian options are transcendental. Be sure to get a side of house-made pickles!

• Atomic Liquors. Any list of Vegas bars should start here, primarily because they hold Tavern License #1 for the State of Nevada. They were the first place licensed to sell alcohol in the Silver State, and while they haven't operated continuously, they're back to being an iconic location. They've leaned pretty heavily on the tourist attraction side of things lately, and the booze programs have suffered because of it. Still worth a stop, but not enough to stay all night.
  
• The Kitchen at Atomic. Located right next to Atomic Liquors in the building where some of the movie Casino was filmed. They've fallen prey to Generic Pub Syndrome in the last couple of years, but it's still a nice space with fairly affordable eats.
  
• Oak and Ivy. Located in the Container Park, a rent-subsidized retail sector and personal project of Tony Hsieh. Probably the best whisk(e)y bar in town; the extremely knowledgeable staff has a firm grasp of the classics but isn't afraid to get weird. In the summer, order the standout mint julep. Otherwise, I like the Smoke & Spice, Nothing Nice, which uses a freshly oak smoke-infused glass with a rim of BBQ rub.
  
• Pinches Tacos. Most of the food spots in the Container Park are bad (the BBQ place in particular is execrable), but this little Mexican spot is a treasure. Pick up the inexpensive and un-fussed-with elotes, a couple of tacos (I like the lengua), and don't forget the perfectly crispy churro!
  
• Eat. Just a block from Fremont and an easy walk from any Downtown property, this little brunch/lunch spot is somehow still a locals' secret. For brunch, I recommend huevos motulenos, a 50/50 red/green huevos rancheros with fried plantains. The lunch-time roast beef sandwich and shrimp po'boy are both outstanding. No matter when you're there, get the absolutely barmy (deep fried!) deviled eggs.
  
• Carson Kitchen. A perenially-busy New American restaurant featuring a seasonal menu with a few permanent dishes. Of the constant offerings, I strongly recommend the deep fried chicken skins with smoked honey, and the veal meatballs with sherry/foie gras cream. Best of the current seasonals include the absolutely essential "pasta" puttanesca (the noodles are calamari!), the chicken liver mousse with cherry Fernet compote, and the decadent but not over-sweet peanut butter/banana cheesecake. Reservations strongly recommended.
  
• Evel Pie. No, I didn't misspell that - this tiny slice shop's decor is dedicated to all things Evel Knievel, a marked improvement over its former fondue-shop tenant. Inexpensive, NYC-style slices and pies with toppings from the traditional (properly spicy pepperoni) to the strange (rattlesnake sausage) with a solid beer list emphasizing local breweries. My favorite spot for something snacky downtown.
  
• Therapy. New American with an emphasis on being a little too clever/smug. IMO this is a more expensive, less interesting Carson Kitchen. But it's a reasonable choice if the wait at Carson is too long.
  
• Banger Brewing. Local brewery with a wide variety of styles, mostly good. Surprisingly quiet most times despite being right next to the Fremont Street Experience. Recommended: Morning Joe Coffee Kolsch, The Monolith Stout.
  
• The Underground at The Mob Museum. More than just a boring museum exhibit, this is a working distillery and attached bar with all the Prohibition trappings. Accessible during business hours from the basement of the Mob Museum; after hours, you'll need the password posted to their Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/mobmuseum_underground/
  
• Tenaya Creek Brewery. One of the oldest and most reliable breweries in town, with a welcoming bar area and food trucks outside on most evenings. Best offerings include God of Thunder Baltic Porter and Old Jackalope Barleywine.
  
• Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery. One of the most affordable spots to eat near Fremont, with a bonus very acceptable brewery attached. For food, go with a burger. For beer, Saison du Trip or an IPA.
  
• Vegas Test Kitchen, next to Ferguson's, is a space for rotating restaurant concepts and one-off dinners. Among the current participants is thread regular ogopogo's Yukon Pizza.
  

• Chengdu Taste. One of the few good Sichuan restaurants in town. For maximum mouth-numbing, aim for the Beef Tendon Cold Dish (fuqi feipian), and of course Ma Po Tofu. The cumin lamb is also solid.
  
• The Golden Tiki. A relatively new tiki bar with everything from Mai Tais to scorpion bowls. Also one of only a few places outside Disneyland allowed to serve Dole Whip. Great for dessert cocktails or just some Dole Whip with dark rum drizzled over it.
  
• Raku. My pick for best Japanese restaurant in town. Pick among many affordable a la carte selections, or splurge on omakase for $75 or $100. Either way, you'll get a great mix of robota, sashimi, and other classic Japanese techniques using outstanding ingredients. Menu highlights include literally the best tofu ever (house-made, with house-fermented soy sauce and green tea salt), Kobe beef liver sashimi, and the grilled eringe mushroom. But you should get the omakase, it's better than any $250 meal on the Strip.
  
• Sweets Raku. Raku's chef loved the stuff his pastry chef was doing so much, he got her a restaurant to experiment in. Night time service is a three-course dessert tasting menu. All of the desserts are prepped at the counter, so this is dinner and a show. They also offer a weekend "lunch" that is secretly the best brunch value in town - they add a croissant sandwich and bit of soup to the dessert tasting for a modest upcharge.
  
• Monta Noodle House. The third outstanding restaurant in the Raku strip mall, this place specializes in ramen. The tonkotsu is deep and rich, especially when asking for "kuro" black garlic oil. Also the home of the best gyoza in town, hand-made to order and worth a few minutes' wait.
  
• Zen Curry House. Domain of a monomaniacal Japanese chef who set out to perfect curry - and he may have succeeded. They serve a few side dishes as well (including very nice takoyaki), but the main question here is what protein you want drenched in sublime curry sauce and served with rice. Be warned: the highest spice level WILL challenge even the most ardent capsaicin fan.
  
• Harbor Palace Seafood Restaurant. Brave the frequent tour buses full of tourists to try out maybe the biggest Chinese seafood menu in town. The selection is huge, including rarities like geoduck, abalone, and, lamentably, shark fin. I've barely started exploring this menu, but the sauteed oyster with ginger and scallion, frog legs, and fish with XO sauce were all great.
  
• Sparrow + Wolf. A trendy and pretty drat good New American in the heart of Chinatown. They have the best beef tartare in town, along with a seasonal array of small plates and larger selections. Of the current list I'd recommend the Hot Potato, hamachi carpacchio, and the Chinatown clams casino (with uni hollandaise!). The cocktail list changes with the seasons too, and the bar staff has a knack for finding weird liquors and using them well.
  
• Lamaii. Perhaps the most exciting opening in Chinatown in years. This is the fourth restaurant by Bank Atcharawan, former sommelier for Lotus of Siam and one of the hospitality industry's best. Small, beautifully-appointed dining room serving quite possibly the best Thai food in town. Eat the whole menu. But if you didn't bring a few friends, at least get Hed Sarm Yang (deeply umami stir fried mushrooms), Loui Suan (Platonic ideal of a rice-paper-wrapped spring roll), Geng Rawaeng (ancient turmeric beef curry), and life-changing crab fat fried rice.
  
• District One Kitchen & Bar. Probably most famous for offering Whole Maine Lobster Pho, this place is more than a one-trick pony. They also have bone marrow pho! Their chicken wings with serrano peppers are salty, spicy, and perfectly cooked. The green papaya salad is light but very filling, and a steal at happy hour pricing.
  
• Mordeo Boutique Wine Bar. Khai Vu, chef at District One, also owns this place just down the street. It's a quite spendy (especially for Chinatown) wine bar with a wide array of small bites and charcuterie (including high-end Spanish serrano ham). Wine selection is very international, with a decent number of per-glass options. I recommend trying them during "Social Hour," 5-7pm Sun-Thurs, when they offer happy hour pricing on wine and an expanded small-plates menu. Get the roasted Chinese broccoli, it's sensational.
  
• China Mama. A Chinatown favorite best known for excellent soup dumplings. Also recommended: the scallion pancake, and the freshly-baked egg tart. Caveat: they recently changed owners, and I haven't been there since to see if there have been any changes.
  
• SURA BBQ Buffet. This is my go-to Korean BBQ place. Buffet style service for a dozen meats, five or more soups, and many varieties of kimchi and other banchan. Good for a liesurely visit as you grill your dinner at the table.
  

• Big Dog's Brewing Company. Originally the Holy Cow Brewery on the Strip, in 2002 they moved the brewing operation to this draft house and changed the name. This makes Big Dog's Vegas's first brewery. They're best known for IPAs, including the yearly release of Peace, Love and Hoppy-ness. Their Black Lab Stout is plenty serviceable too.

• Echo and Rig Butcher & Steakhouse. Located in the trendy Tivoli Village shopping center, and one of the only restaurants to last there more than a year, Echo and Rig offers steakhouse classics and house-dry-aged beef. They have an excellent brunch menu including bottomless mimosas and bloody marys. They're also a butcher shop, so you can take that perfectly dry-aged meat home and cook it yourself if you like.
  
• Aces & Ales Tenaya. Second of its name (the first is over on Nellis), one of the best beer bars in town. A spacious bar and dining area, huge selection of beers, and regular brewery-led events make this a great stop for beer fans of all kinds. And the food's pretty good too.
  
• Honey Salt. Hipster-inflected New American with an emphasis on farm-to-table dining. Cocktail program leans toward the fruity/sweet, but the bartenders are perfectly capable of making anything. The avocado toast is mortgage-cancellation worthy (add an over easy egg!), and the burger is exactly what you'd expect from any upscale place with a burger on the menu. Vegetable pozole was more like marinara sauce, I'd avoid it.

• CraftHaus Brewery. Let's start out this list with the Henderson Booze District, home of three breweries, a winery, and a distillery. CraftHaus is my favorite local brewery, both due to atmosphere and selection. Twelve taps (and sometimes 1-2 bonus taps) of house-made beer with styles ranging from Pilsner to Russian imperial stout. They have some light snacks too, including pretzels made using spent grain from the brewery.
  
• Bad Beat Brewing. The first brewery to open in the Booze District, these guys are best known for their succession of hazy IPAs and fruited goses. Both are fine, though I tend to prefer the head brewer's darker beers. Specialty beer The Heater, a stout with serrano chiles, is one of the better chili beers I've had; regular old Morning Payoff stout is also very enjoyable.
  
• Astronomy Aleworks. Just opened last August, these guys have made a splash with an excellent red ale (named Mars, of course) and frequent tweaks to their core IPAs, Pluto IS a Planet and Pluto is NOT a Planet. Nova Stout hits a sweet spot between light-bodied export stout and heavy Imperial, and their experimental kettle sour program has produced some real winners.
  
• Vegas Valley Winery. Run in conjunction with the far more creatively-named Grape Expectations (a wine school where customers can make their own wine on the barrel scale), the winery uses a combination of imported (from Napa, Chile, and South Africa) and locally-grown fruit to make some fairly passable wines. The staff - especially the winemaker and his assistants - are real characters, and a flight in the tasting room is a fun use of time.
  
• Las Vegas Distillery. One day in Hungary, a man named George decided he was going to open a distillery in Las Vegas. He didn't speak a word of English and knew nothing about distilling. But the lunatic actually pulled it off, becoming a pillar of the Booze District community at the same time. Tragically, George passed on unexpectedly late last year. The Distillery still operates, staffed by his family and friends and producing some quite decent booze of all descriptions. Their hours are a little inconsistent, but if you're in the area try to stop in for a free tour and a freshly-mixed cocktail. The copper still, designed by George, is a work of art worth seeing for its own sake.
  
• Lovelady Brewing Company. Not technically part of the Booze District, but it's a short drive away. The owner and head brewer, Rich Lovelady, brewed for Gordon Biersch for twenty years before going into business himself. They have decent IPAs and some interestingly weird adjunct stouts/sours, and the taproom is spacious and friendly. Avoid the Sin City brews on tap; Lovelady contract brews for them to pay the bills, but Rich's recipes are far better.
  
• Manna Mediterranean. Vegas has a dearth of good Middle Eastern, Greek, etc. restaurants. Manna is one of the few bright spots. Run by a nice Lebanese couple with zero employees, it's a true mom-and-pop operation. Their shish kabab is excellent, the garlic chicken is juicy and tender, and their falafel is good enough for dedicated omnivores to order instead of a meat dish.
  
• Mi Peru. This is, unsurprisingly for the name, a Peruvian restaurant. It's gone through multiple changes of management and maybe a few of ownership, but they stay open and keep producing some outstanding food. I recommend the tiradito (whole-filet ceviche, slightly spicy), the tallarin saltado (green pasta with a garlic/cumin/onion sauce, served with beef tenderloin), and the Jalea Mi Peru (an enormous plate of deep-fried mixed seafood). The soups here are amazing, too, and they have rotisserie chicken on weekends. Sadly, no cuy.
  
• Fatboy Restaurant. This is actually a locally-owned chain, but the Henderson location is the only one I've visited. It's a broad-spectrum fast food joint, serving burgers, pizza, burritos, cheesesteaks, and about anything else you can cook quickly in a frier or on a plancha. Great for a quick bite when nobody can agree on what they want.
  
• Valley Cheese & Wine. One of the few non-restaurant places I'm going to mention here, this is the best wine and cheese shop in town. Despite two recent changes in ownership, the quality of selections is unaltered. Stop in here for an excellent selection of boutique wines (more French-leaning than before, but still a great variety) and the best cheese and charcuterie available anywhere.
  
• Khoury's Fine Wine & Spirits. The other best liquor store in Vegas. Good selection of wines concentrating on budget-friendly Old World stuff, plus an extraordinary collection of good microbrew beer (including local stuff!) and some surprisingly good liquor deals. Due to some creative zoning laws, they also have a bar with beer and wine on tap so you can drink while you shop.
  
• New York Chinese Restaurant. Does exactly what it says on the label. Standard, dependable chop suey, lo mein, sweet and sour, kung pao, and everything else you'd expect at a decent price.
  
• Lindo Michoacan. A multi-location local Mexican spot with a surprisingly diverse menu. All the usual fancied-up Mexican options (tableside guacamole, Cadillac margaritas, etc.) are available, along with less common stuff like whole fried snapper and very good moles - the lengua en pipián is especially great. Bonus: this location is a date night favorite thanks to big windows with a Strip view.
  
• Las Cazuelas. Did I say Lindo Michoacan has good mole? Well, it does, but these guys blow everyone else out of the water. Enchiladas de mole poblano served on a silver tray. Equally good mole verde. Little half-scale tortas ahogadas they call chanclas. The best elotes prepared inside a building in all of Vegas. This is Jalisco- and Pueblo-style food almost unaltered, and it's all outstanding.
  
• Taco y Taco. Take all the best things about a Mexican taco stand: the wide selection of meats and parts, the quick service, and how little it costs. Now pretty it up for suburban white people, make it expensive so they think it's "safe," and add on a small bar serving some great mezcal and tequila cocktails. Congrats, you've just invented this place! The food is almost as good as Tacos el Gordo (that is to say, very), but the prices are Green Valley-esque. Still the best dedicated taco place in the Henderson area.
  
• Crepe Expectations. A locals' brunch favorite serving French-style crepes filled with a wide variety of sweet and savory options. Mimosa flights and solid coffee along with the crepes makes this a perfect spot for a leisurely weekend bite. Just be ready to wait, especially on Sunday when the farmers market in the parking lot brings diners in droves. If they have the hot smoked salmon special, get it - it's some of the best smoked salmon I've had anywhere.
  
• Ping Kao Thai Restaurant. While it's no Lotus of Siam, Ping Kao has long been a locals' favorite for those uninterested in the drive to central Vegas. Unusual and delicious pumpkin curry, a nice array of seafood, along with a few Chinese dishes to satisfy less adventurous diners.
  
• Lemongrass Café. Easily the best Vietnamese restaurant in the southeast. Generously sized, rich pho with a variety of meat options. Tons of noodle dishes, including some with excellent homemade sausage. I tend to get the hard-to-find bun bo Hue, spicy beef stew with pig's foot and all sorts of off cuts swimming in its rich, dark broth.
  
• Todd's Unique Dining. An old-school supper club with fine dining sensibilities. The menu rotates seasonally with a few classics available year-round. A well-curated wine list (shown off with regular wine pairing dinners) that won't break the budget and surprisingly progressive cocktail program don't hurt.
  
• Bad Owl Coffee. If you want your fancy espresso drink to have a Harry Potter themed name, this is the spot for you! Often crowded, but they use decently roasted beans and the menu is eclectic enough to be worth visiting more than once.
  
• Mothership Coffee Roasters. My preferred coffee stop in Henderson. The menu doesn't stray too far from espresso bar classics, with one exception: kegged coffee on nitrogen, sometimes infused with hops for interesting vegetal/fruity aromas. It sounds gimmicky, but differentiates them from the competition by being better than you'd expect.
  
• Fratelli's Pizza Kitchen. Owned by the same family as UNLV-adjacent favorite Cugino's, they've got the same New York style pizza, hot and cold subs, and a few other specialties on offer. Unlike Cugino's, they don't have a deli counter or much in the way of specialty grocery items. But the white clam pizza is the best in town, and the Donnie's Special sub - a fantastic combo of fresh house-made mozz, roasted red pepper, fried chicken cutlet, and balsamic vinaigrette - remains one of my favorite lunches ever.

• Tacos el Gordo de Tijuana. There are multiple locations, but I always go to the first in the valley: Charleston just west of Eastern. This place is a classic Tijuana taco joint with no alterations. They've got the meaty bits (adobada, carne asada), the offal bits (tripas, buche, lengua), the sausagey bits (chorizo), and you can have it on tacos or French fries. Just plain the best version of a Mexican taqueria this side of the border.
  
• Los Antojos. SE corner of Sahara and Eastern. A hole-in-the-wall Mexican place serving unfussy, satisfying Mexican food at great prices. Better quality than the standard fast-food options, with a few extra things like seafood, queso fundido, and huevos rancheros.
  
• Starboard Tack. Back in the old days of Vegas, Starboard Tack was a dive bar famous for its food. Newly re-opened a couple of years ago, it's re-established this reputation thanks to a stellar 24-hour kitchen staff. Add in the original, tiki-inspired cocktails and friendly staff and you've got a truly special dive bar. Go for the loco moco, or the absolutely massive pork belly fried rice. For drinks, the Suqumviit Sour is tart, refreshing, and uses aquafaba instead of egg whites so it's incidentally vegan.
  
• Frankie's Tiki Room. Frankie's is the last great, original, unironic tiki bar on the mainland. The low ceilings ensure the proper amount of cigarette smoke (ALL OF IT) soaks into your clothing while the bar staff serves you the absolute best tiki cocktails anywhere. The decor, once your eyes adjust to the cavernous darkness, is authentic and covers every available surface. This place is a treasure, and one of the last glimpses of classic Old Vegas still open and unaltered.
  
• Lotus of Siam. A man far smarter than me called it "the best Thai food in North America," and I have no reason to doubt him. It's a Vegas institution, well worth making a reservation 2+ weeks in advance. Best known for the rare items on their Northern Thai menu.
  
• Herbs and Rye. One of the bars that started the Vegas cocktail scene. Their menu ranges from early historic drinks through Prohibition and into the worst abuses of the late 80s. No cocktail is too obscure or too high-effort for this bar staff. Decent restaurant offerings make this a great date night stop, but be aware parking in terrible.
  
• Cugino's Italian Deli. An authentic, family-owned New York Italian deli right next to UNLV. Fresh mozzarella hand-made daily, four styles of Italian sausage, and some of the best garlic knots, pizza, and subs anywhere in town. Cugino's Special (prosciutto, fresh mozz, and balsamic) is my favorite, but they make an incredible eggplant parmesan as well.
  
• Pizzeria Monzú. Pizza made with a unique, wild-cultured crust and unusual toppings, along with a selection of cichetti that would make any Venetian nonna proud. Their all-Italian wine list is well curated and easy on the budget, and the cocktail list has something for everyone. Save room for a digestivo of house-infused grappa. This is my pick for best pizza place in town.
  
• Red Dwarf. Owned and operated by Nevada's first cicerone, this is an incredibly good dive bar with an inexpensive beer list full of winners, some of the best (and most affordable!) tiki cocktails anywhere, and absolutely the best Detroit style pizza in town. And their wings are pretty drat good too. Just a class act all around. But be warned - it's in a weird spot just north of the center-of-town hospital corridor, not close to anything. Not really a place to walk to. But it's very much worth a trip.
  

bartolimu fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Apr 29, 2022

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bartolimu fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Jun 20, 2019