I've been living in Las Vegas for almost 9.5 yrs. During those 9.5 yrs, I became the human restaurant guide. There's been several times where my friends requested list of restaurants to go for business, pleasure or to forward to their friends. Oh, and I cannot forget about the people I've worked with...uh uh hum (you guys know who you are).
So with the latest request, I thought maybe I should write about it and post it. This will save me loads of work. Why create a list every time I receive a request. Why not write about it and tell them to go to the site. This is being smart and maybe at the same time, being lazy.
There are several components to my list and it's created to give options. After all, we are unique individuals and my pleasure might be someone's disgust.
- Ichiza = Located in Chinatown (Spring Mountain and Arville). This place reminds of being in Lil Tokyo. The restaurant is small and always packed. It's like Japanese tapas style. There are soooo many dishes to choose from (from the menu and the wall). If you want sushi, this is not the place for you. The sushi menu is very small but they are loads of other Japanese dishes.....more authentic. When I have friends coming to Sin City, they always want to make a stop here. Not just because it's delicious, it's because of it is cheap and they are open late. I love okra tempura, wasabi octopus, pork buta-kimchi and the black cod. Go there with 4 or more so you have the opportunity to order loads of food to create your own tasting!!
- Peppermill Inn = Located on Las Vegas Blvd (http://www.peppermilllasvegas.com/). This is my diner in Las Vegas. Open 24 hours; large portions at a reasonable price; loads of options; and have the true diner feel compared to most diners in Las Vegas. The other thing about the Peppermill....is the lounge. I will not describe it for you......you just have to go!! It's a must in Las Vegas. But back to the diner/restaurant. It's a great place for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night eating. I totally pig out when I'm there. I order an appy and an entree. But when my girls are in town we go all out with Nachos and Onion Rings for appy then we order our own entree. You just can't help it but to pig out because it smells sooooo good, and watching the servers walking by with the dishes in front of your face does not help. This diner never tastes like grease.....you actually taste food. You know when you go to a grease pit and you walk out feeling horrible because you feel like you just ate a big plate of grease.....not this place. You will get flavorful, satisfying and healthy (if you want that) dishes!!
- Happy Hour = I decided to do a category of it instead of listing each restaurant... because I have loads of them. You have Cafe Ba Ba Reeba – (http://www.cafebabareeba.com/) have to call for the times but I believe it's 430p-630p (on the weekend they have 430p to close) and they have 1/2price Sangria and $3 tapas; Maggiano – (http://www.maggianos.com/) 4p to 6p and they have $5 Martinis, $2 Beer, $3 Wine and $3 apps; Pink Taco at the Hard Rock – (http://www.pinktaco.com/) 5p to 7p then again at 10p to close where you can get BOGO Margaritas and Beer, 1/2 price apps and $2 tacos (during reverse happy hour only); Yard House – (http://www.yardhouse.com/happy_hour_nevada.asp) 3p to 6p the beer, wine and martinis have special prices but I believe that the apps are 1/2 the price...and a very large selection of them. There are others like The Grape, Paradise Cantina, Cheesecake Factory, Brio, Cadillac Ranch but these are places near or on the strip. If you want off the strip....oy vey is all I have to say because there are endless choices!!
- Grand Lux = (http://www.grandluxcafe.com/) This is a good restaurant when you have picky eaters or if you cannot decide. The menu provided various dishes (Asian to American to Italian to Breakfast, etc). This is a sister restaurant of Cheesecake Factory, but I think the food is better. Large portions and the price are reasonable for the amount of food you get. I love the Edaname, Double Stuffed Potato Spring Rolls, Buffalo Chicken Rolls and the Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls for apps; the BLT for sandwich; Manhattan, Sonoma and the Polynesian for salads; and the list goes on. I've had many dishes from here. You can find the restaurant at the Venetian or the Palazzo.
- Pris Fixe Menu = Here's another category. Due to the economy, there are several restaurants in Las Vegas with a Pris Fixe Menu. Here are some places I recommend, but I encourage you to write down the names of the restaurants with Pris Fixe Menu when you do your sightseeing. Craft Steak at MGM – a Tom Coliccho restaurant (you will know who he is if you are foodie) that offers 4 courses served family style for $60 per person…trust me, it’s worth it because you get about 3 apps, 1 main course of choice, 3 sides with the main course and a dessert; Pearl at MGM – offers 3 courses for $50 per person which includes an appy or soup, entrée (General Tso’s Chicken or their Surf n Turf of stir fry sirloin and lobster) and a dessert; DJT at Trump – offers 3 courses for $29 per person which included a soup or salad, entrée (which can be Roasted Chicken, Filet, Pasta with Shrimp and more) and a dessert…fine dining for $29 at Trump, can’t beat it!! There are many more like PF Chang’s $40 for 2 people, $79 at Joel Robuchon L’Atelier at MGM, Verandah at Four Seasons, etc. But to give you more of a discount, try this website for some Pris Fixe Menu listings as well as coupons (Pris Fixe Menus = (http://www.lasvegasrestaurants.com/theme.cfm/theme/22/order/1/StartRow/1 Coupons = http://www.lasvegasrestaurants.com/coupons.cfm)
There are lot more that are missing from this list (i.e Buffets, Italian, Korean, Thai, Mexican, Off the Strip, etc). I usually customize a list based upon the following - is it for business or pleasure; how many people will there; do you want fun, casual or fine dining; portion size; price range; etc. But I think this list will hit most of those areas.
If you are in need of more, hit me up by sending a comment and I will do my best to get you exactly what you are looking for. I hope you will try at least one of these recommendations and enjoy them as much as I do. Happy eating!!
