Features

49 things we’re thankful for

Our annual onslaught of appreciation

Image
It’s Weekly‘s annual issue of appreciation! Calling out slices of Vegas life we’re thankful for, from the promise of Ikea to desert rain and so, so much more.
Photo: Photo by Mikayla Whitmore, illustration by Travis Jackson

Thankfulness has a profound range. In a moment, it might be about taking a bite of a really great sandwich. Or it might be about having food at all, or being alive in the wake of a tragedy the world won’t ever stop mourning.

Because we have so much to be thankful for, we’re able to celebrate the everyday good—calling out slices of Las Vegas life that inspire and delight and affirm, and remind us to let the little things count.

*****

Oysters at Other Mama

Oysters. Specifically oysters from all over the place that only cost a few bucks any given night at Other Mama.

That summer is over, and that fall feels more like spring, and that really there’s no winter unless you’re at the Bellagio Conservatory.

The art inside Circus Circus’ acrobat area.

The Writer’s Block, for making Vegas feel like a “real” literary city.

The Writer's Block

The Writer's Block

BG Bistro, a surprising Bulgarian date-night spot.

The die-hard local music scene, which routinely gets up off the ground, dusts itself off and soldiers on when favorite venues shutter.

IKEA’s promise. We won’t see the inside till summer, but the outside is already a blue beacon perfectly framed by Las Vegas’ red hills, giving motorists on the 215 something solid to hold onto every single day.

$32 massages at the Nevada School of Massage Therapy’s public clinic.

*****

Plant World

Plant World. It should be called Plant Portal, for its transportive quality. For the parrots and koi ponds and the labyrinth of trees. For the blooming vines twisting throughout this secret garden. Crossing over Plant World’s threshold is like stepping out of the wardrobe into Narnia—quiet, mysterious and decidedly elsewhere. Outside along Charleston the city bustles per usual, oblivious to the magic that awaits beyond these gates. But in here, in this true desert oasis, reality dissolves; adults shed their worries and wander like children. Was that a squirrel that slipped between the planters? Possibly, or perhaps it was a satyr. —Kristy Totten

*****

The Weekly’s drivers, who deliver us to you every single Thursday.

Sushi burritos, fused daily (and deliciously) at chef John Chien Lee’s red-hot Jaburritos.

SLS. Spend a little time on property and it’ll win you over with stylish fun and stellar food and drink.

Rain.

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Arts’ Picasso exhibit—a rare opportunity to study the master’s printmaking skills, through January 10.

The blissful solitude of being on top of Red Rock Canyon after climbing one of its walls. With gummy bears.

Waze, because this construction sucks. The community-based traffic and navigation app uses information gathered from other users on the road to save everyone on the network valuable time—and gas money.

PublicUs' almond latte

The almond latte at PublicUs.

The slow but steady stream of optimism upon which Southern Nevada sportsdom floats. Maybe Coach Sanchez can turn UNLV football around. Maybe we will get a hockey team. Maybe the 51s will get a new stadium. Maybe this is the year the Runnin’ Rebs realize their potential. Maybe.

The Get Back, still the best part of First Friday.

*****

Lectures at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. It opens its doors to the greater community with its Centerpiece arts and culture series, and this year’s educational presentations—including panel discussions on AIDS awareness, transgender cultural competency and local trans history—were informative and entertaining. And turnouts have been inspiring, too. So many Las Vegans, gay and straight, trans and cis, want to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community, and the Center provides a casual and comfortable atmosphere. Save us a seat at the next installment. —Mark Adams

*****

Western sunsets.

The Strip’s party machine, from crews that reset the dancefloors and pools to servers as cool as they are gorgeous, DJs who know to play “Vivrant Thing” to promoters making sure the lines stretch through the casinos. A good night in Vegas is on another planet, and we get to live on it.

South Point's Bloody Mary

South Point’s Bloody Marys, because they’re a dollar, every day before noon.

Barrick Museum, building a stellar collection of works by Vegas artists while rotating in emerging and established artists from elsewhere.

Hip-hop at Drai’s. It wasn’t long ago that Strip music venues and clubs avoided booking the genre, and now we’ve got Drai’s, which might have the strongest lineup of resident hip-hop acts … anywhere?

Traffic that’s not LA bad, even when it’s kinda sucky.

The Lucky Dragon. We don’t know much about it, but it’s a new hotel and casino and it’s deep into construction, and that’s good enough.

Designation of the Basin and Range National Monument, protecting more than 700,000 acres of Nevada wilderness and the prehistory it holds.

The north side of UNLV’s campus, all shady and green and great to stroll.

Brooklyn Bowl

Brooklyn Bowl

Brooklyn Bowl, which continues to put performance quality first when filling its music calendar. Here’s hoping the crowds get more consistent.

Fanny’s Bistro. Come for the chicken Waldorf, stay for the love.

*****

Slots A Fun. Snugged in next to Circus Circus, this is the place to go for footlong hot dogs, personal freedom, karaoke, cheap booze and a good ol’ unpolished north-end Strip atmosphere, with a staff of locals who will tell you their dreams if you play your cards right. It’s older and dated, a no-frills Vegas slice, where character comes to drink. —Kristen Peterson

*****

Quail in our parking lot—families living in rich desert landscaping, scurrying about in perfect formation.

Nevada Way in Boulder City. Main Street U.S.A., 30 minutes away. Diner delectables at the Coffee Cup, wine time at Milo’s Cellar, homemade ice cream at Grandma Daisy’s and unique antique finds at Back in Thyme—go ahead, make a day of it.

Our ever-giving Chinatown, where no matter how many times we go, there’s another amazing spot we still need to try.

Thoughtful dissenting voices on social media who aren’t afraid to go against the grain, who persevere despite the preponderance of butthurtedness and bomb throwing, who disprove the notion that all Las Vegans are ambivalent or apathetic.

Local/independent concert promoters who take chances on acts Vegas wouldn’t otherwise get.

Green lanes, bike shares, the 3-foot passing rule and anything else making it a better world for cyclists. Especially drivers who remember what it was to be a kid riding the streets and trusting that cars would do no harm.

That Carlito’s Burritos is bringing its badass New Mexican cuisine to a larger space (and closer to our office).

That Las Vegas has quietly become a great gelato town, from Gelatology to Gelato Messina to the underrated Jean Philippe Patisserie.

The roads and towns of rural Nevada.

Harry Reid, for eight years of keeping our state almost bulletproof—suck it, Yucca Mountain!—as the majority leader. Here’s to a richly deserved retirement.

*****

Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken

Downtown Summerlin. Shake Shack and Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken are a few feet from each other, realizing all our finest fast-food dreams. The crowd-pleasing qualities of these two tasty, quick-casual eateries are emblematic of Downtown Summerlin, a massive but breezy development that has continued to blossom with new stores, restaurants and family friendly programming like movie nights and weekend farmers’ markets. It really is becoming the center of everything for those living nearby, and a worthy ’round-the-Beltway destination for everybody else. Those who would make fun of its suburbanosity might find themselves assimilating quickly with a single day’s stroll and a few bites of an ice-cream cookie sandwich. —Brock Radke

*****

Movies & Candy, on behalf of local cinephiles and noncommittal Netflix DVD subscribers.

Black Mountain Institute’s public talks and lectures, bringing in serious, Pulitzer-winning writers and scholars. A gloriously cerebral mindf*ck.

The way the Adventuredome glows when the sun directly hits, like it was put on this Earth to reflect secret messages into space.

The Fremont Cannon

That the Fremont Cannon is red.

Entertainers, who defy death and belief and sing and play and dance and joke their hearts out and catch more marshmallows than it is possible to catch in their mouths so everyone who experiences Las Vegas will be amazed and tell their friends and always remember.

And, of course, all of our readers. Have a safe and scrumptious Thanksgiving!

Tags: Featured
Share
Photo of Las Vegas Weekly Staff

Las Vegas Weekly Staff

Las Vegas Weekly Staff

Get more Las Vegas Weekly Staff
Top of Story