a whole new world.

All of a sudden, Vegas is flush with new Mexican restaurants. On the Strip, it's a market driven solution: A quaint taco shop called El Segundo sits strong on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fashion Show Drive, where the tapas joint Cafe Babareeba was doing brisk business just weeks ago. In high traffic areas like this one, and the Mandalay Place walkway between resorts Luxor and Mandalay Bay where the infamous Hussong's Cantina opened a few months back, a familiar concept focused on tacos and burritos, chips and salsa and margaritas is bound to do better. Tourist tastes are still middle-of-the-road, and the less exotic the better.

But off the Strip, it's a different story. Downtown, hiding in the World Market Center furniture superspace, right across from the massive, just underway Symphony Park development, here is Mundo. It comes to us from the same folks that operated La Madonna, a southwest valley "avant garde" Mexican restaurant that had a following but ultimately didn't last long. As evidenced from the creativity displayed here (up top we've got a great appetizer, smoked chile-crusted swordfish skewers with a jicama salad, and underneath is carnitas in black bean broth, which left me satisfied for almost an entire day), it couldn't have been the food that spelled La Madonna's demise. Mundo's chef is working very similarly to what is being done at our most upscale and innovative Mexican restaurants on the Strip, places like Border Grill in Mandalay Bay. Another stunning opener is the poblano chile corn soup, creamy smooth and full of bright cumin. There is quite a bit of seafood and quite a bit of beef on the menu of entrees, including avocado leaf crusted sea scallops with cheesy risotto, a shrimp tamale, a skirt steak with chimichurri, and a peppercorn and red chile crusted filet mignon floating on some killer sauces: smoked chile and asada tomatillo.

Like every other buzzed-about downtown Vegas destination, Mundo boasts a cocky hipness that can sometimes be a restaurant's undoing. But they back up any attitude with superior cuisine, putting their own unique twists on the concept of unique twists on traditional flavors. If you make the rounds downtown, you've already eaten here. If you're out in the 'burbs, this is worth the trip. If you're coming into town and looking for a cool joint with delicious, contemporary food beyond your hotel, check out Mundo.

sammy's l.a. pastrami & burgers (and dogs).

Hip, sleek, innovative food trucks are all the rage in L.A. these days, slinging everything from dim sum to Korean tacos to decadent desserts at their faithful following. It sounds like a gourmet roach coach concept, and that sounds like fun to me. Sadly, the trend just doesn't exist (yet) in Vegas. We would love to see an army of shiny, feisty hot dog carts along the Strip, but that's probably not going to happen. That doesn't mean there's no street food in Vegas, it just means our version doesn't come from wheeled carts or other mobile deliciousness.

Sammy's is probably the closest thing we've got. It started out a few years ago as a drive-through hot dog stand near the corner of Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard, serving dirty water-style Sabretts topped with pretty much anything you could think of. They're still doing just that, but the menu has morphed to include massive burger and sandwich creations like: the pastrami burger, a quarter pound of beef plus a half-pound of decent pastrami, provolone, mustard and pickles; and the very popular chipotle burger, with a fried egg, bacon, fries on the sandwich, cheese and spicy ketchup. There are still lots of dogs at the original location but a second, slightly larger shop on East Tropicana Avenue specializes in these burgers, gyros, Philly cheesesteaks and other artery-clogging fare. A lot of people stop by just for the fries, garlicky shoestring suckers, and there is a selection of frightening "fry plates" to choose from. If you dare, go for the Three Squares - a pound of fries with a half-pound each of pastrami and grilled ribeye steak, chili, cheddar cheese, grilled onions, bacon, onions and jalapenos, topped with three fried eggs. Or you could just walk into the traffic on Tropicana because that'd be a quicker, less painful way to die.

Unhealthy as it may be, we like this place, and not just because they have a quote from MenuVegas hanging on the wall. The dogs and burgers are solid and the creative toppings usually work out, the whole menu is reasonably priced and the custard shakes are pretty good. It seems like everyone is into foodie nostalgia, which explains the popularity of Sammy's and the TV show crews that have paid the place a visit or are about to.