Hello little dumplings, hey huge rice!
Over/down/up/left/right on Eastern Ave. there is Little Dumpling. It's a Peruvian slash Chinese joint called Little Dumpling.
I stopped in for lunch, on one of the recent cold and rain-spotted days.
I knew that Peru has a significant Asian influence, via emigration and trade, historically in the modern age. Other than ceviche, I had only once enjoyed real Peruvian cuisine. In downtown Salt Lake City of all places. While buddies downed Guinness and Jamesons and threw darts in a bar, one cohort went across the street for Peruvian takeout. He brought back a styrofoam bundle of eggs, potatoes and onion all in savory sauce.
I hit Little Dumpling maybe looking for something similar. But my Spanish eroded on in a busy workday stop, and I just asked my server "what do Peruvians order the most?"
"And some dumplings, too," I added. "Steamed."
I received the dumplings -- totally American Chinese-style -- and then a whopping pile of fried rice. I mean the largest pile of fried rice I have ever been served. It was laced with shrimp, pork and cuts of chicken cutlet.
What made it more Peruvian was a ketchup-style squeeze bottle full of a creamy ají pepper sauce. 
Now chili flavors and volatile oils probably do have a universal character, but I thought the South American puree took the fried rice south toward the Tropic of Capricorn.
The ají pepper sauce seemed to have a more of a sinus-opening horseradish tone than a tongue-burning piquance. Ah, the chemistry of capsaicin and the changeable fruit that conveys the molecule.
Next time, I'm going more anciently local. There will be potatoes. But I will still have an Inka Cola.
Little Dumpling
9400 S Eastern Avenue
I'll have a Rueben, with paintings on the side, please
Do you like a good, hearty, non-fussy, well-stacked and nicely wrapped or plainly plated sandwich?
Do you mind eating amidst lawyers and judges? Do you enjoy the daytime downtown vibe?
Do you like your Reuben, pickle and potato salad side served on a simple Formica counter while paintings of downtown law and businesses adorn a wall to your back?
Well, head to the Strip Sandwich Shop. This is no trompe-l'œil decorated bistro. This is business crowd fare, high in quality but low on edible gewgaws.
Man, anytime I am downtown and it's close to lunchtime, I will try to grab a grinder from Strip Sandwich Shop. Yes, I also love me a panino, all Italianate, or a fancy pocket of artisan bread and boutique fixings. But a simple meat torpedo like the Strip Sandwich Shop serves is hard to find (it's a good 12 miles from my work camp).
You’ll know from approaching that the shop is popular – a hive of delivery mopeds will probably be out front. And if you need to visit a bank, a courthouse, a lawyer, a wedding chapel or a pawn shop, the Strip Sandwich Shop is situated handily. If you’re calling collect to one of the nearby bail bond stores, however, the Strip Sandwich Shop probably won’t be able to deliver to you.
Strip Sandwich Shop
603 Las Vegas Blvd S.
"Smoking" cactus for health reasons
Recently I was at Zia Record Exchange buying an honest to goodness CD. At the counter I noticed these hi-larious candy smokes – Machismo brand.
The retro art, all Zane Gray cowboy, and the exhortative descriptions – CACTUS FLAVOR!, FOR MANLY MEN! – are classic.
And the mock warning is priceless and cannot be argued with, grammar aside:
SURGEON GENERALS AGREE:
Bubble gum cigarettes are healthier and
more tasty than real cigarettes.
Zia Record Exchange
4225 S. Eastern Ave.