Jazzed

Thursday, March 06, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Eat: Recommended Restaurants

By James P. Reza

This week's theme:

Late-Night Nosh

It's a natural that in a 24-hour city there would be places to scarf at almost any hour. Typically, those places have been casino coffee shops. But in recent years a number of alternatives, both on and off-Strip, have opened that serve past 9 p.m. Our list covers both ends of the spectrum, so you'll never be stuck hungry with no place to eat.

Bay City Diner

1 Fremont St.; 385-1906

$; Casual

Casino coffee shops were once a refuge where bleary-eyed losers found solace at 3 a.m., slowly swallowing a prime rib special or a shrimp cocktail while wearing a thousand-yard stare and fondly recalling a time when they had money. Few iconic coffee shops remain, so it's appropriate that this one, in Las Vegas' first hotel (the Golden Gate, opened 1906), stands like something from a noir Western where politicians and power brokers still lunch 24 hours a day.

Bootlegger Bistro

7700 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 736-4939

$$; Casual/Smart Casual

This 24-hour Vegas institution serves some of the best Southern Italian in town. Typically, this bistro bustles with cooing couples and smartly dressed families, but on the weekends, when '50s-era Strip entertainers sing and dance, it's a Who's Who of Old Vegas. On any swing shift, you'll find the city's best servers, and strippers in the lounge, sampling the slightly abbreviated but satisfying menu.

Capozzolli's

3333 S. Maryland Parkway; 731-5311

$-$$; Casual

Though serving a full menu of standard southern Italian food, the pizza (as well as the late-night entertainment, which sometimes includes post-show Strip entertainers) is the main reason to visit Capozzoli's. Everyone has their favorite pizza, and many consider this to be the place that serves it.

Fatburger

3763 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 736-4733

(and nine other locations)

$; Casual

Many late nights we have found ourselves seeking that post-gin nourishment, and too often found it in a burrito cheaper than a gumball. No more, we say. Instead, roll into the 24-hour drive-through of one of these ubiquitous fried burger joints and enjoy thick-as-cement real ice cream shakes, fried egg-on-toast sandwiches or the fattest burger your mama ever made. Hangover, away!

Mediterranean Café/Hookah Lounge

4147 S. Maryland Parkway; 731-6030

$-$$; Casual/Smart Casual

Before the local palate appreciated ethnic dining, Paymon Raouf was serving tasty tabouleh and fab falafel to the college crowd. As the city sophisticated, so went the Cafe, adding a Hookah Lounge and expanding the hours and menu. Dinner crowds pleasantly hip and articulate, and even when the dining room is closed, an abbreviated menu is available in the lounge, which is open late every night except Sunday.

Noodles

3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 693-8131

$$; Smart Casual

A relatively unknown modernist masterpiece tucked away in the Bellagio, Noodles serves delicious Pan-Asian comfort food until 3 a.m. daily. The room, designed by the internationally renowned Tony Chi, is a perfect backdrop for the parade of jet-setting hipsters who frequent the joint. Sit at the counter and slurp your noodles for a more authentic urban experience.

Mr. Lucky's 24/7

4455 Paradise Road

$; Casual/Smart Casual/Trendy

A modern reinterpretation of the classic casino coffee shop, Mr. Lucky's might feel contrived if it weren't done so well. Unlike the Hard Rock Cafe across the lot, Mr. Lucky's is by definition a hipper, less pedestrian place, but still very much a casino coffee shop serving breakfast--and everything else--24 hours a day to a constant parade of stars and star gazers.

Jazzed Cafe & Vinoteca

8615 W. Sahara Ave.; 233-2859

$$; Smart Casual/Trendy

A bustling bistro overflowing with local soul, Jazzed serves top-notch northern Italian cuisine to an urbane clientele who enjoy being bathed in live jazz and local art. Chef/owner Kirk Offerle has nearly perfected the hand-stirred-to-order risotto, excellent wine choices are available and fresh banana crepes and Illy espresso finish any meal in style. Open until midnight during the week, 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Food Express

2003 S. Decatur Blvd.; 870-1595

$; Casual/Smart Casual

The authenticity of an Asian restaurant is said to be measured by the gringo ratio; here it runs about 1-to-10, where busloads of jonesing Asian tourists often descend on this unassuming joint. The daily menu boards are handwritten in Chinese characters, though a printed menu concedes to English. Get past the sometimes surly attitude to get at the good food, served until 2 a.m. every night.

Venetian Italian Restaurant

3713 W. Sahara Ave.; 876-4190

$$; Smart Casual

It's been in town since the 1950s, and was once one of the city's few (very few) must-dine restaurants. Though it's gone through an ownership change, a remodel and menu update (all of which had become necessary), the place is still the dark, quiet and reminiscent of another Vegas era. With a 24-hour menu, a central location away from the Strip, and that in-the-know kind of feel, the Venetian is still worth the dime.

Know a great, recently opened new restaurant? Send its name to jpreza@lvcm.com and tell him why you love it.