Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

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CHAPTER 6 . WHERE TO DINE
which are given away at hotel reception desks (sometimes these sources also yield
money-saving coupons).
ABOUT PRICE CATEGORIES The restaurants in this chapter are arranged
first by location, then by the following price categories (based on the average
cost of a dinner entree): Very Expensive, more than $20; Expensive, $15 to
$20; Moderate, $10 to $15; Inexpensive, under $10 (sometimes well under).
In expensive and very expensive restaurants, expect to spend no less than twice
the price of the average entree for your entire meal with a tip; you can usually
get by on a bit less in moderate and inexpensive restaurants. Buffets and Sunday
brunches are gathered in a separate section at the end of this chapter.
A FINAL WORD As welcome as the influx of designer chefs is—and good
lord, is it welcome—you can’t help but notice that the majority are simply recreating
their best work from elsewhere, rather than producing something new.
So the Vegas food scene remains, like its architecture, a copy of something from
somewhere else. And as happy as we are to encourage you to throw money at
these guys, please don’t forget the mom and pop places, which struggle not to
disappear into the maw of the big hotel machines, and who produce what comes
the closest to true local quality. If you can, get in your car and check out some
of the options listed below that are a bit off the beaten track. Show Vegas you
aren’t content—you want a meal you can brag about and afford, now!
1 Restaurants by Cuisine
AMERICAN
Buccaneer Bay Club (Mid-Strip,
$$$$, p. 136)
Carson Street Café (Downtown,
$, p. 165)
Hard Rock Cafe (East of the
Strip, $$, p. 131)
Harley Davidson Cafe (South
Strip, $$, p. 131)
Rainforest Cafe (South Strip,
$$, p. 131)
Spago (Mid-Strip,
$$$$, p. 141)
Top of the World (North Strip,
$$$$, p. 141)
ASIAN
Dragon Noodle Co. (South
Strip, $$, p. 132)
Grand Wok and Sushi Bar
(South Strip, $$, p. 132)
Spago (Mid-Strip,
$$$$, p. 141)
BAGELS
Einstein Bros. Bagels
the Strip, $, p. 156)
(East of
BARBECUE
Memphis Championship Barbecue
(East of the Strip, $$, p. 154)
BISTRO
Mon Ami Gabi
$$, p. 145)
Pinot Brasserie
$$$, p. 143)
(Mid-Strip,
(Mid-Strip,
BUFFETS/BRUNCHES
Bally’s Big Kitchen Buffet
(Mid-Strip, $$, p. 169)
Bally’s Sterling Sunday Brunch
(Mid-Strip, $$$$, p. 167)
Bellagio Buffet (Mid-Strip,
$$$, p. 168)
The Buffet at the Las Vegas Hilton
(East of the Strip, $$, p. 171)
Circus Circus Buffet (North Strip,
$, p. 170)
Excalibur’s Round Table Buffet
(South Strip, $, p. 167)
Flamingo Paradise Garden Buffet
(Mid-Strip, $, p. 169)
Fremont Paradise Buffet
(Downtown, $, p. 171)
Key to Abbreviations: $$$$ = Very Expensive $$$ = Expensive $$ = Moderate $ = Inexpensive