INTERVIEW: Oscar Goodman

MenuVegas' very first interview is with the Happiest Mayor in the Universe, Oscar Goodman.

You've been in Las Vegas for a long time. How have you seen the dining landscape change over the years?

Oscar Goodman: I've been here forever. I came here in 1964, and back in the old days the only place to get a steak was Bob Taylor's Ranch House. And you had to psyche yourself up for the 20-minute drive to get out there. It was the only game in town.

And now you can get anything, anywhere, anytime.

Absolutely. When you look at statistics from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, it shows empirically that as for why people come to Las Vegas, number one, they come to shop, and the second reason is for food.

You grew up in Philadelphia. Ever get cravings for a great cheesesteak?

You know what I miss most is my Philadelphia pizza. I miss it every day.

What's Philly pizza like?

I can't figure it out. It just tastes better. I do miss my cheesesteaks from Pat's and other places I used to go to.

You can't find any pizza in Vegas like back home?

Well one thing I can do is call my friends over at Metro Pizza, and if I tell them about a place in Philadelphia, they'll call that place and ask how they make their pizza, and then they'll try to do it that way.

If instead of being mayor of Las Vegas today you were still a defense lawyer representing certain clients...

Reputedly.

Right, those guys. Where would those guys eat and hang out today?

That's a good question. That wasn't that long ago. But where they would go to have their business meetings, so to speak, would be the back room at Piero's, which is still around today.

Where's the downtown Vegas power lunch spot?

The Triple George Grill is very strong. Another place that's picking up is Hennessey's, on the corner of Fremont Street at the old Race Rock. Those are the two spots. But then you also have Chicago Joe's, still going strong. They have such a presence downtown. You want to know a real sleeper, one of my favorites? The Philly cheesesteak place on Fremont Street. It's an old greasy spoon, frequented only by myself and the homeless.

Do you eat out often? Do you like to try new restaurants?

I'm a man of habits. I have my places I go to. I love my wife's cooking the best. She's the best short order cook I've ever seen. She can come home dead tired and whip up a meal in a half-hour better than any place on the Strip. But we usually eat at ethnic places. We'll go to Fellini's for Italian, Hedary's for Mediterranean, Diamond China for Chinese and Lotus of Siam for Thai food. I recently had to give a speech at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay and I walked through the shopping area there (Mandalay Place), and they had some restaurants in there that looked phenomenal.

I don't want to ask you this but I have to: who mixes the best martini in town?

I do.