1/12/2021

Really digging the Chinatown area of Las Vegas, the 3-mile stretch of shopping plazas just west of The Strip. Not only for its vast array of Pan Asian restaurants, but for hipster spots like the Golden Tiki bar and cool non-Asian restaurants too that we’ve yet to try like Taquito Street, Taco Stand, Mas Por Favor, and Sparrow + Wolf.  Lots to recommend like the imaginatively prepared Thai food + those seductive chandeliers at Lamaii; the eclectic LaMoon (coffee + desserts +  Thai specialties); and the Asian pastries at Diamond Bakery + Crown Bakery. Next on the list to try: Take It Easy, the coffee-anchored spot with cheese-filled Colombian breads, plus the cavernous Gabi Coffee and Bakery.

12/13/20

Bounced around downtown Vegas yesterday, hitting the Fremont East District…that’s the restaurants/bars area which the late visionary Tony Hsieh “helped turn into a destination neighborhood” (Eater)…also dropped into the Hsieh/Downtown Project-conceived Downtown Container Park, where all the retail stores + restaurants are housed in metal cubes + shipping containers (took home excellent food from the Pinches Tacos there). Marvelled, too, at the nearby hotel signs for the iconic El Cortez Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas and the new Circa Resort & Casino.

12/7/20

Good time yesterday in the Arts District: memorable pepperoni pizza at Good Pie…fun displays at Main Street Peddlers Antique Mall…a “welcome” sign outside Hudl BrewingCo…and an anti-shrine to plastic water bottles at the Recycled Propaganda art gallery/retail store (look closely).

11/30/20

With the indoor capacity of Las Vegas restaurants + bars reduced to 25% right now, my wife Rana + I went out last night to support two local businesses. We started with excellent dim sum at Orchids Garden (they serve it all day) + then moved on to the best bar in the land: the  tropical-themed The Golden Tiki in Chinatown, with a very smart DJ, Rex Dart, spinning smokin’ rarities from different eras that extended the buzz of our drinks (the tequila-driven “Tiki-LA Sunrise” + the cachaca-fueled “Strawberry Batida”). Both the restaurant + bar closely adhered to social distancing + masking-when-necessary rules, for which we applaud them.

11/24/20

Proud to be a member of the The Neon Museum Boneyard—for me, the happiest place on earth.  A recent addition to museum—which preserves classic Las Vegas neon— is the towering Hard Rock Café guitar sign. Back in 1990,  I was at the Hard Rock Cafe’s opening with then-client Aerosmith when they went up in a cherry picker to christen the sign and then performed in a tent outside. The Hard Rock Hotel subsequently opened in 1995 and closed this past February to make way for an eventual Virgin Hotel. “Baby, things change…” to quote Dwight Yoakam.

10/16/20

 Missing all the Indian restaurants in the San Fernando Valley since leaving there this past March, Rana and I were seriously jonesing for Indian food in our adopted home of Las Vegas. Last night we got an excellent fix at Mint Indian Bistro—chicken tikka (pictured), aloo gobi, bhindi bhaji, potato samosas, aloo paratha—and it tasted like the Indian eateries in Tarzana and Woodland Hills.  Major thumbs up for the service and ambience, too.

10/11/20

You’re looking at heaven on a plate—enchiladas with breakfast potatoes and vegetables—courtesy of chef Jose Aleman at his restaurant Sin Fronteras. Last night Rana had these next-level enchiladas, and I did the soul-satisfying huarache with chicken. Thanks to Las Vegas Weekly for the heads up.

9/25/20

Really great things are happening and predicted for the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas. Now let’s support + frequent all the Covid-affected businesses so they can hold on through the “storm.” Outstanding “Downtown Rising” editorial + photos by Las Vegas Weekly!

https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2020/sep/24/downtown-rising-the-revitalization-of-city-core/