walking through the new.

It may be amazing to consider Vegas is still opening billion dollar hotel casino resorts in the midst of this recession, but we are. And there may be no one in them, but they are really, really nice.

On the Strip, Steve Wynn opened Encore days ago. Like the Palazzo is the connected, sister property to Venetian, so is Encore to Wynn Las Vegas. The two towers are identical, and although Vegas architecture haters don't have many positives to expel about the exteriors ("A UPS truck turned on its side"), I kinda like the shiny bronze curves. They're simple and they stand out.

Inside, compared to Wynn, Encore is a little more alive and alert. Reds and golds dominate, but somehow things are more relaxed. Energizing instead of energized. Perhaps this is because a large portion of the casino is made to look, sound and feel like a secluded tropical garden, with the actual gaming areas and restaurants hiding under big white gazebos. I particularly like the crimson, spidery fixtures of the casino. The place might be overdone, but that's what Steve Wynn does best. And no one's walking in here and thinking, "Eh, it's just like Bellagio." Or any other Strip joint. It's fresh.

The hotel's restaurants look exciting. Grabbing the first headlines probably are Sinatra, helmed by L.A. chef Theo Schoenegger and featuring a swanky Italian menu the chairman would likely be proud of; and Switch, from chef Marc Poidevin, which plates lots of seafood and steak and has a dining room that allegedly changes its own atmosphere every 20 minutes. Not sure how that works. I'm more excited by Wazuzu, an Asian restaurant from chef Jet Tila, whose family owns L.A.'s Bangkok Market. His flavors come from all over, and he even stated that Thai food has been misrepresented and so he wants to bust that out. I noticed a few interesting dishes on the menu, Thai and otherwise, and this is probably the first Encore restaurant I'll try.

But you know what? This is Steve Wynn, and this is the Strip, so of course the place is amazing. Maybe more surprising is the niceness of Aliante Station, the newest Station Casino sprinkled around the valley's suburbs. And this one's way out, way way out in North Las Vegas. The Fertittas could have cut back and gone old-school neighborhood grind joint out here, and maybe they wish they had considering their company's current flirtations with bankruptcy. But they didn't. They set a new standard in off-Strip resorts with Red Rock in Summerlin, and Aliante is merely a smaller, slightly rectangular version of the big, round Red Rock. The modern desert decor serves the place well. The subdued pool area is lovely. Even the lobby is cool, although it lacks a bar like the dramatic one at Red Rock. The rooms are peerless, for miles, although also a bit smaller.

In addition to what is surely another great steakhouse concept from Station in MRKT, two outside operators bring Pip's, Italian, and Camacho's, Mexican, to the dining options. (For my first preview of Aliante's restaurants, look at this.) And the family friendly TGI Friday's and Original Pancake House should do well by the neighbors out here.

So how do we keep building big, beautiful casinos when no one's playing? Easy. These two joints were financed before things went poopy. (It should be noted that Wynn is doing much better than Station.) I need things in Vegas to pick up again, too, but I'm looking at the bright side. I'm happy to pillage Aliante and Encore while other locals and tourists stay away.

settebello = best pie.

You could make a case, without even tasting it, that Settebello makes the best pizza in Las Vegas. It is, after all, the only restaurant in Nevada to be officially certified by the Vera Pizza Napoletana, a real organization with the sole purpose of protecting the integrity and origins of pizza-making as it began in Naples a long, long time ago. Certified eateries have to use specific ingredients to make the dough, which also must be worked only with the hands and cooked directly on the surface of a bell-shaped oven fueled only by wood. Only certain toppings are acceptable, too.

Sure, you can make that case, but all that stuff wouldn't mean much if the pizza wasn't absolutely delicious: A thin, crisp and chewy crust with a flavor profile of its own, topped in minimalist fashion with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parmigiano reggiano and extra virgin olive oil, served unsliced, and torn up and devoured by you, someone who simply cannot stop eating it once you get a taste.

And that's just the margherita, the original, traditional pizza. Add your own toppings to that template, including peppered salami, Italian bacon, olive, pine nuts, arugola or roasted bell peppers. Not too many though; you don't want to overwhelm perfection. Or go the spicy route with the Diavola (crushed tomatoes, salami, roasted red peppers and crushed red peppers, garlic, mozzarella). Or sample a little of everything with the Quattro Stagioni, a pie divided into four sections topped separately with wood oven roasted sausage, salami, roasted mushrooms and calamata olives.

Settebello is the best because it's so different from Vegas pizza. It's truly in a class of its own.
Heed this warning from the menu: "A note about take-out: Pizza in the U.S. has become synonymous with take out and delivery. In Italy pizza is enjoyed directly out of the oven in a pizzeria, not from a box. We strongly recommend (especially if you have never experienced our pizza) that our pizza be eaten in our pizzeria immediately after coming out of the oven." And since they're plating your pizza straight from that fancy oven, we suggest you take their word for it.

charcoal room.

EatingLV recently blogged about the impending closing of A.J.'s Steakhouse at the Hard Rock, even managing to get a little emotional in his farewell to one of the few remaining venues in the city to capture that cool, Old Vegas, Rat Pack vibe. Regrettably, I've never eaten at A.J.'s but always wanted to. I've hit the bar a few times for a martini and it's true about the vibe there.

But I've had to say goodbye to my own comfy steakhouse experience recently. Few people take my recommendation seriously when I tell them I really like the Charcoal Room at the Santa Fe Station, and I admit that a big part of why I like it is because it's a few miles from home. But the proximity and the urge to stray from the Station Casinos neighborhood entertainment center template don't change the facts: the menu is classic steakhouse, the food is outstanding, the room is cool, the bar is red (pictured) and has nice TVs, and the service has been great every time. I don't know how many perfect meals I've had at the bar here, how many icy martinis. Giant shrimp cocktails. Filet mignon-stuffed mushrooms. Caesar salads, or spinach salad with balsamic and a cake of goat cheese, or chopped salad with everything good in it. Ribeye burgers. Three peppercorn filets cooked perfectly. Lobster mac and cheese. Potatoes au gratin. I am fucking starving right now.

But the Charcoal Room is not closing, oh no. You can go there and have the same great experience. My Charcoal Room experience is over because our bartender, Christy, has relocated to the Texas Station and I don't think I could ever rebuild that kind of relationship. She knew to make the Sapphire martinis unless otherwise instructed. She knew to bring a bit of spicy mustard for the bread basket's soft, warm pretzel bread. She'd even change the TV to a shitty NBA game. We can't go back now. It's not the same.

treasure island.

Another big sign of shit times in Vegas: MGM Mirage is selling Treasure Island to the dude who used to own the Frontier. Here's the RJ story. Here's the Movable Buffet's take. This is not a huge disaster, it's just another odd thing to see for those who thought Vegas indestructible.

I have always had mixed feelings about Treasure Island. Steve Wynn opened the pirate-themed joint in 1993 and MGM Mirage has owned it since 2000. In 2003 things were changed quite a bit when they took down the skull and crossbones marquee, tried to hip it up by calling it TI and sexifying the pirate battle show, and painted the hotel a weird brownish red color. Bad moves, all.

I remember the place being one of the few hotel casinos on the Strip I wandered around as a high school kid. The tacky and useless Kahunaville restaurant used to be an arcade with carnival games that served as a funny little nerd date destination. Today, outside of the Mexican restaurant Isla and the once-hipster Social House, there is no good reason to eat here and really never has been. I've already expressed my disappointment with Canter's Deli. What was once a semi-interesting club, Tangerine, has been replaced with the pinnacle of Vegas douchebaggery, Christian Audigier The Nightclub. (Just typing the name of this place inspires throw-up-in-the-mouth.) And the only notable lounge at Treasure Island is the utterly unremarkable Mist. The hotel rooms, also, are nothing special.

No food, no cool boozing spots, no reason to be here. But, because the Strip and Spring Mountain intersection is where most of my Vegas action happens lately (Treasure Island, Fashion Show mall, Wynn Las Vegas, Palazzo, Venetian), I have spent too much time at this hotel. I don't know if a change in ownership will translate into any changes at the property; certainly not soon.

yellowtail. border grill. payard.

Just because there is a ton of food in the house doesn't mean we shouldn't go out. Actually, it does, so the blame for going out on Thanksgiving weekend falls to those friends who come to town. There is a slightly odd feeling when "entertaining" friends who grew up in Vegas with you and return to see their families for holidays. You try to pick a place to go out together, but you can't really impress them because they know everything already, and they're over it. There's pressure and no pressure at the same time. It's strange.

The friends, S+M, grew up Vegas and have since been all over the world. They currently reside in Sacramento for no good reason. They greatly appreciate epicurean adventures and we always say we're going to do grand dining tours of Vegas' top restaurants, but we seldom have the time or disposable income to realize the dinners of our collective dreams. On our last adventure, I foolishly took them to the then-newly opened Company in Luxor and although the food was tasty, it managed to become a disaster.

This time around, because of Thanksgiving and family commitments, we didn't do dinner but we did get some drinks and snacks at the newest restaurant in the Bellagio, Yellowtail. Sitting at a small, comfy table in front of the bar, adjacent to the casino, perfect for people watching as douchebags, girls with super short dresses and George Maloof wandered about, we had dirty martinis and too-sweet bourbon drinks and a pleasant variety of delicious vegetarian small plates. The seaweed salad was a simple and pure revelation, putting anything else I've ever had to shame. It was a colorful red, white and green plate, and all the varieties were tender and clean-tasting, except for one leafy green selection that appeared to be lightly fried. I never thought I'd think seaweed amazing. We also had sea salted and chili-sauced edamame and grilled eggplant skewers, bathed in a sweet miso. Yellowtail, headed by Korean chef and former pro snowboarder Akira Back, has been very well reviewed and apparently deserves the accolades. I'm looking forward to a proper meal there, perhaps with S+M.

Saturday marked a return to what I am now convinced is the definitive Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas, Border Grill at Mandalay Bay. I accept that I am partial to Mexican food and so it is hard to be critical, especially when so many restaurants are so similar in quality and cuisine. I generally prefer the more creative spots on the Strip (Diego at MGM, Isla at Treasure Island) to the more traditional, home-style eateries around Vegas. But this was my third time at Border Grill and it keeps getting better. Well, at least the food does. The restaurant was renovated over the summer and it looks a little boring. Formerly colorful, open and lively, it's now trying to be a sleek, dark steakhouse. (At least the upstairs is. I didn't go down there, but I'm assuming the lower level is still a little more bright and casual to match the poolside patio.) The new decor threw me off a little, but the food was beyond impressive so I guess we'll let it slide. Along with perfectly adequate chips and salsa, we started with plantain empanadas, a perfect salty-and-sweet bite. A favorite we've sampled before, the smoked brisket taquitos, were great again. But the star was Cochinita Pibil, tender marinated pork roasted in a banana leaf with cinnamon, orange and other tasty things and served with caramelized plantains, pickled onions and two handmade corn tortillas. I didn't even touch the tortillas. The flavor of the moist pork was so warm and satisfying, I couldn't bring myself to consume a forkful of anything else. Well, except for the sweet plantains. They were a perfect match, like having dinner and dessert all at once.

Later that night we met again with S+M at Payard patisserie, the Caesars Palace playground of probably the best pastry chef around, Francois Payard. I was still too full, although we did buy a flourless chocolate chip cookie that I'm eyeballing as I type this. But S+M polished off a banana nutella crepe, which sounds pretty fucking good. As we were reflecting on the pastries, chocolates and coffees to be had, S revealed that these French goodies are, in fact, not really better in France. He says they're the same. They just taste better because you know you're in Paris. And you can get them from a street cart instead of parking at some goliath casino resort and walking forever to find and purchase something that costs three times as much. Yes, this is our problem in Vegas; we've got the goods, all of them, but we know it. And shit, how awesome would it be if the Strip was lined with litte streetfood vendors?

what do i have in common with obama? we both love plate lunch.

Although my grandma was Hawaiian, I've never been to the islands and I don't have any sort of understanding of the culture or the food. Because there is a massive Hawaiian population in Vegas, there are some "Hawaiian" restaurants around town, most of which focus on the traditional plate lunch.

The plate lunch is the perfect explanation for why so many islanders are giant people. It includes large portions of meat (fried chicken, fish or shrimp, teriyaki-style beef or beef shortribs, or slow-cooked pork, among others), rice, and macaroni salad. It is a super protein and carb load, and it hurts later on. But it's delicious and worth the punishment, like any good comfort food.

My introduction to this type of food -- other than a vague memory of grandma making lau lau and learning from my mother to cook simple stewed chicken and spinach with coconut milk -- came at Aloha Kitchen. This place was opened 10 years ago by a UNLV graduate and now has three locations, and it's perhaps the best known Vegas Hawaiian restaurant. The menu is a little bigger than other Hawaiian joints. Aloha Kitchen's "Local Plate" has teriyaki chicken and beef and adds two Spam musubi.

Although I don't eat here as often as I'd like, I love Aloha Kitchen because they do a combo plate with my two favorites, chicken katsu (chickens fried in crispy panko breadcrumbs) and kalua pig (moist pork butt, shredded and wondrous). At other places, I have to work around their combinations to make this baby up. Aloha Kitchen also does a mean Loco Moco, homemade hamburger patties over rice with fried eggs and gravy on top. I think "mean" is actually the best way to describe this dish. It seems angry. And delicious.

Lately I'm getting my plate lunch from L&L, which is reliably adequate. Kalua pig is good here, too. Ordering lau lau, pork chuck steamed in taro leaves, is tempting but remember that real lau lau, as far as grandma was concerned, contained pork and fish. Just fatty piggy here.

Another option for plate lunch is Maui Rose, which has two locations in Vegas and also serves a little sushi and some other Japanese and Korean eats. Eat in here and get your plate lunch with a little salad and a cup of miso soup, and then regret getting a plate lunch instead of some tasty looking noodle dishes. Not so great here.

The newest contender for best Vegas plate lunch is Aloha A Go Go, which has two Vegas locations opened by the guys behind China A Go Go, a successful local Chinese franchise. The portions here seem extra big, and the plate lunches come with some vegetables, too, which are nice because then you can totally pretend like you're not eating one of the least healthy meals in existence.

firefly. bradley ogden.

It's a tough job, when you're me, to settle on a location for an afternoon of eating and drinking somewhere in Vegas. I want to try new stuff. I want to get not-so-new stuff that I haven't been able to get yet. I also have a hard time not going for something reliably awesome. So we combined two of those factors on Saturday, going for a late lunch of tapas and cocktails at Firefly and then wandering around the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace before getting another drink and snack at Bradley Ogden.

Firefly has got to be one of the most beloved restaurants in Vegas. Tourists love it and eat there when they're hungover. Locals will tell you it's the best spot for tapas. It's kind of a hipster joint, which can lead to some douchey surroundings at times, but the food and drink are worth putting up with such a minor annoyance. Mojitos and sangria are mandatory, as are one of the tastiest bites I've ever had: the stuffed dates. It's a smoked almond crammed inside a date, wrapped with bacon and served with a red wine reduction and crumbles of bleu cheese. It's as good as it sounds. On this visit, we also sampled perfect portions of gazpacho, boquerones (white anchovies on baby toasts), a veggie empanada with a great tang from herb cream cheese, stuffed red peppers and ham and manchego cheese croquetas. As usual, everything was great, complemented by a table on the patio and perfect weather. It got me to thinking: is this the best Spanish restaurant in Vegas? And are there Spanish restaurants in Vegas that aren't all about the tapas? (Firefly does serve paella, although I've never tried it.) When Julian Serrano opens his at CityCenter next year, I'm sure that will answer questions like those.

Meanwhile, at Caesars, everybody is wandering around the Forum and not buying anything, and we are no different. After planning to grab a drink at either Joe's Stone Crab or Boa Steakhouse, I instead opted for Bradley Ogden's bar. This place is in my top 5 when it comes to Not New Restaurants I Still Haven't Eaten At. If I wasn't still partially full from lunch, I would have tried what many have hailed as the best burger in Vegas, the ground steak burger served at this bar. But instead, we munched a tasty plate of hummus and grilled flatbread and sipped two slightly disappointing cocktails: a Dirty Laundry, an extremely olivey vodka martini, and a Drunken Tortuga, basically a glass of gin with cilantro floating in it. I'm all for ordering expensive "signature" cocktails at expensive restaurant bars, but more often than not I regret it and wish I'd gone for some whiskey or a plain old gin and tonic. These drinks were not so great, but the hummus was. Still, it was nice to finally step foot in this restaurant and I look forward to returning for that burger.

change in the north.

When the $660 million Aliante Station resort and casino opens in North Las Vegas next Tuesday, it will redefine the idea of dining out in the northwest part of Vegas. Actually, it doesn't need to redefine, because I'm probably the only person who maintains there is worthwhile dining in the area.

Well, there is. The big Centennial Center shopping area boasts the formidable Sushi Loca and is about to get decent Mexican and Indian eateries. Vega's Cafe is a reliable family Mexican restaurant. The best experience in the area is the Charcoal Room, the steakhouse at the Santa Fe Station.

But Aliante Station, the newest from the Station Casinos company that also includes the posh Red Rock Resort in Summerlin, is officially in North Las Vegas, specifically in the master planned community of Aliante. It's sort of a mini-Red Rock in a mini-Summerlin. NLV folks are pretty excited about it, but the restaurants will be the biggest highlight. The lineup includes:

MRKT, a steak and seafood spot from Station. As they've done at Charcoal Room and Red Rock's T-Bones Chophouse, the Station guys will no doubt prove they know how to operate a steakhouse.

TGI Friday's. They can't all be winners.

Camacho's Cantina, a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar from a family of restaurateurs based in Southern California. The most popular location is at Universal Studios.

Original Pancake House, which serves great breakfast all over Vegas, including one at Green Valley Ranch, another Station Casino.

Pip's Cucina, an Italian restaurant and wine bar notable because it's the first restaurant endeavor from Rino Armeni, the former head of Southern Nevada Wine & Spirits and an ex-Caesars Palace food and bev honcho.

A food court with Capriotti's, Villa pizza, Rubio's, Panda Express, and Johnny Rockets burgers.

Trying out these restaurants -- particularly the non-Station ones -- and imbibing at the hopefully cool bars littered around the new casino will keep me busy for a while, and I'm not the only one. But even if Aliante Station doesn't find the success of a place like Red Rock (and it won't, not in this economy), it will definitely set a new standard for eating out in North Las Vegas. It already has, and it's not open yet.

canter's deli vs. capriotti's.

The best deli in Vegas probably doesn't exist yet. There are plenty of sandwich shops, and there are deli-style restaurants. There are a few that would probably fit into most people's definition of a true deli, places like the Bagel Cafe near Summerlin and Weiss Deli in Henderson. But I think that one day soon, someone will open a real neighborhood deli somewhere in the Vegas suburbs and it will be the shit. I might not wait for someone else to do it.


When it opened in 2003 in the Treasure Island, Canter's Deli should have filled the void. Even though it was in a Strip casino, it has the reputation of the beloved Canter's name, and it had the terrible example set by Carnegie Deli in the Mirage to avoid. But now, after five years and a renovation or two, the little space next to the TI sportsbook is only slightly more palatable than the wasteful, offensive, tourist trap hellhole of Carnegie. The dining area has no sign of the charm of the famed Fairfax eatery in L.A. There are still not enough great lunch spots on the Strip, which is why I've returned to Canter's several times. But my last visit resulted in a good turkey sandwich, a large but forgettable order of fries, wilted pickles and the feeling that I've been had. And for that, I shelled out almost $20. I understand I'm on the Strip, but come on ... it's a turkey sandwich. It's not The Turkey Sandwich. The corned beef is good here. The pastrami is good. The food at Canter's is just good, and that's not enough. I'm done with this place.


So instead, I've been getting my sandwich fix from the shop most Vegas people swear by: Capriotti's. I'd like to agree with most of these locals and claim this is our city's homegrown sandwich spot, but despite the fact there are about 22 of these joints sprinkled around the valley, these guys actually started out in Delaware. And I'd like to name my favorite item on the menu, the Capastrami (pictured: pastrami, melted swiss, cole slow with a lot of Russian dressing on a soft hoagie roll), as Vegas' own sandwich. But Capriotti's started out making sandwiches with their own roasted turkeys, so they kind of specialize in that instead. The Bobbie, basically Thanksgiving on a roll, is probably the most popular item. All extraneous information aside, Capriotti's serves great food and the service is friendly.


But it's not a deli.

i know roberto's taco shop and you, sir, are no roberto's taco shop.

As a respectable human, I am obligated to try every taco shop I see, especially those located within a short distance of my northwest Las Vegas home. Super Taco opened just days ago in a big, bland Wal-Mart shopping center nearby, so I gave it a shot. I don't recommend it. The tacos, stuffed with shredded beef, lettuce and cheese, were fine and standard, but the chips were greasy, freshly fried and draped in an extremely suspect light green substance described as guacamole but closer to the consistency of, as Chi put it, baby poo.

It doesn't matter. Ninety percent of the taco shops in Las Vegas are Roberto's or some lesser clone of Roberto's. And even though the menu is mostly basic, the food is more American-Mexican than authentic Mexican, and the chances of food poisoning are pretty high, Roberto's is reliable and delicious. Though it may not be true, I have no problem calling this the best taco in Vegas. This place is really a regional institution, having been born in San Diego's Mission Beach and expanding all over. At last count, there were 753,054 Roberto's taco shops in Las Vegas.

And the places that rip off Roberto's, they don't even try to hide it. The menu is exactly the same. A number four is two beef tacos, rice and beans, no matter what the sign out front says. It's ridiculous.

Here are the top five things I'm likely to order at Roberto's at 2 in the morning, which is usually the time I'll eat at Roberto's:
1. Two beef tacos, one order of taquitos with guacamole.
2. The aforementioned number four.
3. Two beef tacos, two chicken tacos.
4. Chicken burrito with rice, beans, and whatever weird vegetables they feel like wrapping into this bitch.
5. Carnitas plate (Only if I feel bad about myself).