Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

WEST LAS VEGAS 161
In Spring Valley, 5300 W. Spring Mountain Rd. & 702/876-3838. Reservations recommended. Main courses
$6.75–$19. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Daily 10:30am–10pm.
Thai Spice Value THAI Just off the Strip and across from the Rio hotel, this
modern-looking, nonglitzy Thai restaurant offers decent food at reasonable
prices. The subdued ambience (okay, it’s a little boring, but not everything can
be flashy, even in Vegas), quick service, and good food make it a local favorite.
The menu is extensive and offers an array of Thai dishes and even some Chinese
fare. For appetizers, the tom kah kai soup and pork or chicken satay (served on
skewers with a spicy peanut sauce) are excellent. Skip the terrible moo goo gai
pan in favor of terrific pad Thai and tasty lemon chicken. Lunch specials are
$5.95 and include spring rolls, salad, soup, and steamed rice. Make sure you tell
the waitress how spicy you want your food.
4433 W. Flamingo Rd. (at I-15).& 702/362-5308. Main courses $5.95 at lunch, $8–$15 at dinner. AE, DISC,
MC, V. Mon–Thurs 11am–10pm; Fri–Sat 11am–11pm.
Viva Mercados MEXICAN Ask any local about Mexican food in Vegas
and almost certainly they will point to Viva Mercados as the best in town. That
recommendation, plus the restaurant’s health-conscious attitude, makes this
worth the roughly 10-minute drive from the Strip.
Given all those warnings lately about Mexican food and its heart-attackinducing
properties, the approach at Viva Mercados is nothing to be sniffed at.
No dish is prepared with or cooked in any kind of animal fat. Nope, the lard so
dear to Mexican cooking is not found here. The oil used is an artery-friendly
canola. This makes the place particularly appealing to vegetarians, who will also
be pleased by the regular veggie specials. Everything is quite fresh, and they do
particularly amazing things with seafood. Try the Maresco Vallarta, which is
orange roughy, shrimp, and scallops cooked in a coconut tomato sauce, with
capers and olives. They have all sorts of noteworthy shrimp dishes, and 11 different
salsas, ranked 1 to 10 for degree of spice. (Ask for advice first.) The staff
is friendly (try to chat with owner Bobby Mercado) and the portions hearty.
6182 W. Flamingo Rd. (at Jones Blvd.).& 702/871-8826. Reservations accepted only for large parties. Main
courses $8–$17. AE, DISC, MC, V. Sun–Thurs 11am–9:30pm; Fri–Sat 11am–10:30pm.
INEXPENSIVE
Dragon Sushi SUSHI Those used to really extraordinary sushi need to
remember that you are in the middle of the desert, and so there is no way the
fish you are going to eat here were swimming the ocean all that recently. This
also results in less than generously sized pieces. That said, they do pretty good
sushi here, with rolls that pack a wallop, such as the Tuna Tuna Roll (spicy tuna
with fresh tuna wrapped around it, and, unless we miss our guess, some kind of
chili oil for good measure). Don’t say we didn’t warn you about the Hell Roll. If
the incongruously named sushi chef Bruce is working, let this morose and talented
man do his work for you. Better still, let him make all your choices.
4115 Spring Mountain Rd. (at Valley View Blvd.). & 702/368-4336. Sushi $3.50–$5.50 per portion, main
courses all under $20. AE, MC, V. Sun–Thurs 11:30am–10:30pm; Fri–Sat 11:30am–midnight.
Goulash Pot Finds HUNGARIAN Here’s a sign that Vegas might really be
developing a culture of its own, as contradictory as that sounds. When the local
immigrant culture is moving beyond the basic Asian and South-of-the-Border
entries and starts showing representatives from, say, the Balkans and Eastern
Europe, the local personality is all the better. This (naturally) strip mall–located
spot serves absolutely authentic Hungarian food—we’ve eaten paprikash and