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Thursday, July 31, 2003 Eat: Recommended RestaurantsTourists? Yes. Traps? Nah
By James P. Reza
Thirty-seven million of them ravage our infrastructure annually, and when you think of the massive boxes we build to keep them happy, fed and away from our neighborhoods, you recognize how marvelously lucky we are. While there are numerous downfalls to living in a tourist-driven economy, we also benefit from it, for very few metropolises of 1.5 million residents can boast of a single Wolfgang Puck eatery, never mind a half-dozen. There are hundreds of places tourists go, but for a variety of reasons these places are simply crawling with 'em.
Ah Sin 3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South ; 967-7999 $$-$$$; Smart Casual/Trendy Following the lead of the famed Buddha Bar in Paris (the city), this eatery in Paris (the resort) combines an energetic restaurant and sexy lounge (Risqué) into a nightlife draw that attracts the young and restless. Ah Sin features multiple rooms showcasing delicious Pacific Rim/Asian cuisine (sushi, dim sum, Korean barbecue), and an expansive dining patio with great views of the Bellagio fountains. Sadly, the locals have yet to discover it.
Battista's Hole in the Wall 4041 Audrie St.; 732-1424 $-$$; Casual/Smart Casual A locally owned eatery from back in the day (the 1960s), Battista's may have attracted locals in the beginning, but thanks to its location and tourist-aimed marketing, that's about all you'll find here now, enjoying family-style Italian dining. A few old-school locals still enjoy it for its authentic Vegas flavor.
Bertolini's Authentic Trattoria 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 735-4663 9500 W. Sahara Ave.; 869-1540 $$; Smart Casual This smallish upscale chain exemplifies what a good chain restaurant should be by offering a consistent, high-value dining experience. Light, northern Italian pastas are complemented by tasty salads, wood-fired pizza and signature desserts. The Forum Shops location is the place to go for people-watching, and for scoring with that British hottie on holiday.
Cheesecake Factory 750 S. Rampart Blvd; 951-3800 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 792-6888 $-$$; Casual/Smart Casual As far as gimmicky chains go, this ubiquitous, upscale eatery is among the best for lunch and brunch. The speedy service and chi-chi feel belies the well-made comfort food on the massive menu. A dozen tasty salads (meals in themselves) are offered to accompany everything from burgers and breakfast to quesadillas and Cuervo. At the Forum Shops, tourists delight at the hourly fountain show right in the face of "patio" diners, but it's loud and distracting.
Cozymel's Coastal Mexican Grill 355 Hughes Center Drive; 732-4833 $$; Smart Casual/Trendy With 15 locations, nine of them in the Southern and Midwestern U.S., you might think Cozymel's specializes in bland approximations of Mexican food. But since this is a coastal Mexican grill, and everyone loves seafood, if you focus on the specialties (Yucatan Especial, Chilean Sea Bass), you'll be happy. Even the fajitas are pretty good, and the Restaurant Row location makes the bar scene a sexy one where visiting hotties rub elbows with happy hour locals.
House of Blues 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 632-7607 $$; Casual/Trendy If hipness can be successfully packaged and exported across the gloriously unbuckled beef-eating belt of the U.S. of A., then the House of Blues chain is the only one that has managed to do it reasonably well. On the premise of Louisiana food served in a voodoo-driven atmosphere, HOB combines a restaurant, bar and concert hall into a vortex of cool. The expected burgers and pasta are complemented by genuinely tasty specialties (blackened chicken sandwich, Louisiana Crawfish and Shrimp Etouffée).
Marrakech 3900 Paradise Road; 737-5611 $$$; Smart Casual/Trendy Considered by some to be too touristy to be taken seriously, the Moroccan Marrakech nevertheless takes itself very seriously--something reflected in the (over)price of your meal. All diners are fed the same six-course meal (soup, salad plate, lamb and fowl; vegetarians should mention so at the time of reservation) while seated cross-legged on floor pillows and eyeing the talented belly dancers shaking to groovy Moroccan electronica.
Mon Ami Gabi 3655 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 946-4433 $$-$$$; Smart Casual/Trendy Occupying an outdoor spot near the Strip's busiest corner, tourists naturally flock to this place. Surpassingly, so do locals. There are few Vegas places that were as quickly adopted by the power lunch and society gal set as this French sidewalk cafe. Dining al fresco is clearly under-served in Vegas, for even the platinum prices don't keep people from using the tables here as dealmakers--just as on the real Champs Elysées. A steak fritte, a glass of wine...you are Bardot in waiting.
Olives 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 693-7223 $$; Smart Casual/Trendy Todd English's Bellagio eatery is not the place you go to "have a pizza," but we'll be damned if the pizz...--err, flatbreads--here aren't delicious and light and delightfully flavorful. A wafer-thin, crispy crust holds portobello, fig and proscuitto, mozzarella basil, or chicken sausage and ricotta. High maintenance but delish--just like the touristy crowd that overflows from the Bellagio.
Top of the World 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 380-7711 Trendy/Black Tie; $$$-$$$$ Revolving restaurants seem a gimmicky throwback to the heady, optimistic days of the World's Fairs, and the pricey continental cuisine only adds to the perception. But we cannot argue that the gimmick works when the view is as grand as this--a one-hour tour of the valley had without abandoning your steak and lobster. Book at twilight, as the change to neon light is amazing. |
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