In keeping with harvest time abundance, I've driven around Las Vegas looking for interesting food-style happenings. Here's the horn of plenty ...
Great Pumpkin War of Green Valley Parkway
Nowhere in Vegas is the natural/organic/health/gourmet battle among niche grocery stores more evident than along Green Valley Parkway.
There you'll find within five miles 1.) the newest Whole Foods at I-215 (a third is set to open in Town Square along the southern Strip) and 2.) Trader Joe's on Sunset 
(a new Trader Joe's is set to open on Eastern Ave. not far away). And out on Stephanie Road is a Wild Oats, currently in merger and acquisition land via Whole Foods and its stock-buying paycheck ...
It's a corporate battle out there to keep your dollars away from Smith's, Von's and other more prosaic chains (and bulk discounters like Costo, Sam's Club and lower end Food4Less-types).
One thing Whole Foods and Trader Joe's both do well is presentation. And the Green Valley Parkway places are presenting and representing large with giant pumpkins – and corn stalky and smaller squash filigrees. They both have even scored the hefty gourd centerpieces that grace their entrances with corporate logos.
Outside of a county fair – which in Vegas is in the spring – these might be among the largest melons in town.
At Trader Joe's you can place an entry on the weight of their giant pumpkin. I guessed 217 pounds. I'll report back on my success. (I checked some webpages on giant pumpkins after my uneducated entry – I think I underestimated the Great Pumpkin's heft.)
Stopping for a great veggie burger
There's this little independent place on the corner of Tropicana and Eastern – Burger Stop.
It's a mom and pop place in a strip mall out building.
It has the most audacious neon sign. It's deep, cursive and red and green. It's full of boast:
Absolutely
Positively
The Best
Burger
In The
World
I love this neon moxie.
I've only had the veggie burger a few times. A colleague recommended it – her name is Jeannie and her endorsement is even on the menu board. I like the veggie burger much.
The burgers are hand-crafted. The onions knife-chopped. The greens are mesclun. The fries are rustic and crispy.
There are National Geographic magazines and other periodicals on the counter to take and peruse at your table. That's good, as Burger Stop is not fast food for all its menu offerings of burgers, onion rings and chili cheese fries. It's close to a one-man operation, so it takes awhile to get your burger.
Here's a hint: Go after the lunch rush. Here's an entreaty: Go to Burger Stop.
One of the greatest signatures, ever
Not far heading east on Tropicana you'll find the Swiss Cafe. On the left hand wall you'll find a the founder's framed chef hat with Muhhamad Ali's autograph on brim.
Now that's universiality: the greatest boxer, Swiss-German cuisine and Vegas. Totally cuckoo, baby.
Perfect musical mix at Hash House a go go
On a recent lunch at Hash House a go go, my ginormous chicken and brie sandwich with side salad (their very nice cucumber dressing as accent) was given a fantastic New Wave-ish musical treatment.
Here are the songs (long list = big food eating, and that sandwich is one of the smaller offerings at this funky place):
“Panic” The Smiths
“Gone Daddy Gone” Gnarls Barkley
“Stray Cat Strut” The Stray Cats
“Too Nice to Talk Too” The English Beat
“Sunday Papers” Joe Jackson
“Devil Doll” X
“The Doors of Your Heart” The English Beat
“Wild Sex (In the Working Class)” Oingo Boingo
“Look Sharp!” Joe Jackson
“Rock This Town” The Stray Cats
Tasty sounds, Hash House a go go ...
This blog was harvested listening to the old school “Dennis Bono Show” broadcast on KUNV.