Eat: Recommended Restaurants

Latin love

By James P. Reza

It all started when reader Vince Smith wrote to say that a "gourmet Mexican" restaurant had opened in one of the nondescript strip malls defining our sprawling landscape, this one on West Flamingo Road. Calling himself a "Mexican food snob," Smith raved about the authentic, from-scratch cooking found at Quinta Belina (227-9191), food that includes a roasted poblano pepper salad, Jalisco shrimp and squash blossom enchiladas--hardly the stuff of combination plates. Then a friend gushed about Treasure Island's Isla Mexican Kitchen (894-7111), a sexy, modern meeting place with a lively tequila bar, all designed by Jeffrey Beers (Tabú). Then someone bragged about discovering Mayolo's (474-1101), a newish hole in the wall on East Sahara, just west of the Strip, owned by a New Mexican family and specializing in that region's glorious hybrid of Mexican, Spanish and Native American cooking. Suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded with top-shelf Latin-influenced cooking and three new places to try. In the meantime, there's always these.

Diego

3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 891-1111

$$-$$$; Smart Casual

Party to the MGM's revamping of its restaurant row, Diego launched in July, replacing local middlebrow fave Ricardo's (which has reopened at Flamingo and Decatur). Designed by the award-winning Vincente Wolfe, Diego is expansive, modern and colorful, the kind of eatery you might find in Mexico City's vibrant Zona Rosa. Sporting waterfalls, video walls displaying moving images of flowers and dining booths separated by glowing walls of bubbling water, the design imparts the kind of kinetic energy that informs the food, which is adapted from the street-stall recipes of urban Mexico. Following current trends, the ever-changing menu features a satisfying selection of small plates designed for sharing (crap empañadas, tamales), as well as a few entrees (chile rellenos, grilled fish). Showcasing ingredients such as squash blossoms, cactus and roasted goat, Diego is not a place for those seeking combination plates, but even the less adventurous will find something to enjoy.

Border Grill

3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 632-7402

$$; Smart Casual

"Too Hot Tamales" chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger are famous for taking the street foods of southern Mexico and reworking them to define progressive Southwestern cuisine. Don't expect a plate covered with beans and rice; instead, menu choices include a variety of ceviche (cold-cooked fish), plantain empañadas, tamales, tacos and more.

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba

3200 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 298-1211

$-$$$; Smart Causal/Trendy

This stylish Spanish tapas bar boasts a kinetic patio overlooking the Fashion Show's semi-public Strip-side piazza, plus a somewhat secluded one on the north side. Indoors, a bustling bar serves the entire menu, a specialty drink selection, plus several delicious varieties of refreshing sangria. Skip the entrees and share from dozens of hot (jalapeño shrimp, olive crusted halibut, fried green peppers) and cold (tortilla española, lobster cocktail) tapas.

Casa Don Juan

1202 S. Main St.; 384-8070

$; Casual

Downtown's rebirth isn't coming only in the manner of $5 million bars and chi-chi outlet malls (though we love those, too). Visiting the completely reborn (after a fire years ago) Casa Don Juan is like stepping out of Las Vegas and into Downtown, Anyplace. Freshly handmade tortillas wrap the expected tacos and burritos, but digging deeper on the menu reveals the Baja-inspired parrillada (seafood grill), steak ranchero and chilaquiles.

Florida Cafe

1401 Las Vegas Blvd. South; 385-3013

$-$$; Casual

Shoehorned into the front of the Howard Johnson Hotel, this Cuban cafe does a good job of offering something for everyone. Breakfast is fairly standard; make certain you sample the Cuban bread and eggs with sweet plantains. At lunch and dinner, there are more Cuban specialties--chuletas empanizadas (breaded pork chops) and picadillo aceitunado (Cuban beef hash) among them.

La Barca

953 E. Sahara Ave.; 657-9700

$$; Casual

Southwestern, nouvelle, fusion, blah blah blah...La Barca puts on no airs about being anything other than a traditional Baja Californian eatery, where ceviche is the stuff of which meals are made, and ice-cold beer makes it all go down. Here's it is all--all--about the seafood.

Lindo Michoacan

2655 E. Desert Inn Road; 735-6828

3715 S. Decatur Blvd.; 257-6810

$; Casual

Considered by some to be the city's best Mexican restaurant, Lindo Michoacan is like stepping into a restaurant in Mexico. Yes, you'll find the familiar concession of combination plates featuring tacos and enchiladas and the like, but there are also traditional specialties (seafood, roasted goat) that take this firmly into the realm of authenticity.

Tacos Mexico

3820 W. Sahara Ave.; 385-7673

$; Casual

Like something straight out of East L.A., this unassuming Mexican diner is located in a repurposed googie-style fast food building. Open late and always busy, Tacos Mexico specializes in the real thing: tacos that taste so different you may think you have died and gone to Mexico.

Native Las Vegan James P. Reza is the dining editor of the 2004 Zagat Survey: Las Vegas. Haven't seen your fave nosh joint listed? Tip him off at jpreza@cox.net.