There was a special connection between the Golden Gate and Du-par’s before the vintage Vegas casino brought the iconic LA coffee shop into the fold four years ago. California restaurateur Tiny Naylor was a partner in the group that bought the state’s oldest casino and transformed it into the Golden Gate in 1955. After the Naylor family bought the 70-year-old Du-par’s, bringing the classic greasy spoon to Vegas was a no-brainer.
Most importantly, this delicious union brought together two absolutely essential bites, a marriage of two iconic foods that would otherwise have never met. Plate-sized, fluffy, buttery pancakes, waiting to rapidly absorb buckets of maple syrup. A lovely sundae glass filled with plump, chilled ocean shrimp, doused in horseradish-laced cocktail sauce and decorated with a lemon wedge.
It’s questionable which is more famous. The Golden Gate shrimp cocktail has been served since 1959 and, while the price has risen to $3.99, is still a stalwart symbol of yesterday’s Vegas. Du-par’s pancakes have been singled out in Esquire and Saveur and are nothing less than an American breakfast institution. Together, they are the Voltron of hangover meals, too shiny and powerful to be ignored.
Du-par’s Golden Gate, 702-366-9378. 24/7.
