There’s never been a better time to eat Las Vegas. As the Strip and the city around it have evolved, so has the Valley’s sprawling dining scene. From eat-your-way-through neighborhoods to groundbreaking restaurants, these 10 reasons are a right-now snapshot of why today truly is the Golden Age of Las Vegas dining.
8. This costs $7
The grand, often expensive cuisine of elite restaurants on the Strip grabs more than its share of the local dining spotlight, but fantastic cheap eats will always be a big part of the Las Vegas food scene. Sheridan Su might just be the poster boy for our city’s delicious deals. After leaving big casino restaurants to strike out on his own, Su started his independent career serving addictive bao from a hair salon, and now his affordable dining emporium Fat Choy happily dishes up can’t-miss gyoza ($6), bao stuffed with pork belly or Peking duck ($7), and bowls of sesame noodles ($8) sure to please.
Of course, his aren’t the only cost-effective eats around. Spring Mountain Road is a literal boulevard of discount dining, ranging from China Mama’s crispy stir-fried beef ($12.95) and xiao long bao soup-filled dumpings ($8.95) to mee goreng fried noodles ($8) from Island Malaysian. Other outstanding ethnic options that won’t break the bank include Prince’s Serbian cevapi sausages ($8-$10); La Hacienda’s outstanding parrillada de carne, a $35 tray of grilled meats that serves at least eight; and anything from Tijuana’s Tacos El Gordo or Downtown’s Venezuelan Viva Las Arepas.
The major casinos offer relatively cheap eats, too, if you’re ready to find them, like Estiatorio Milos’ loss-leading three-course lunch ($22.13) and the $7.77 not-so-secret Gambler’s Special of steak and grilled shrimp at Mr. Lucky’s. Of course, Downtown Vegas standbys like the Golden Gate shrimp cocktail ($2.99) and the El Cortez prime rib special ($8.75) and Jackie burger ($5 with a beer!) are still going strong.
