Well in my case, what happens in Vegas is something I am posting for the whole world to read about. Vegas has become a city not just of absurdly decadent buffets and outsized eating experiences often attached to celebrity chefs, but a true food destination with stellar eating experiences on and off the strip. Those off the strip eateries were what I set out to discover, for their lesser-known status, lower prices, and of course fantastic food. Most people go to Vegas for the gambling, shows, and nightlife… I was going on a foodie discovery adventure.

Cutting Board

My Filipino friend Anthony recommended this place. I love that Filipino food seems to be a growing trend in the food world. Cutting Board is off the strip, in a strip mall like pretty much everything in Vegas that’s off the strip.

The lumpia and adobo were solid representations of these common Filipino dishes. They had something called Crispy Pata on the menu, which was described as crispy brined pork hock – that just sounds awesome, so we had to get it. Disappointingly, it was actually my least favorite item – a bit dry and not particularly flavorful. The Sisig was fantastic, the garlic rice was a nice accompaniment to everything, and the surprise favorite were the garlic baguettes which were so crisp, light, and yummy that I could have easily eaten several more baskets for “dessert”.

Sugar Factory

We hadn’t intended to do much eating on the strip, but discovered the awesome sweet wonderland that is the Sugar Factory through some lucky happenstance. In the mood for a sweet treat between lunch and dinner, I did a quick internet search to see if there were any such offerings well-reviewed at the Paris hotel where we happened to be staying. I was drawn in by the many mentions of the Sugar Factory, only to discover that it had moved to a flagship location further north on the strip. But it was too late by then – I had my heart set on the place, so we made the trek.

It was entirely worth the journey, as the Sugar Factory Fashion Show really is a sparkly sweet wonder of the kind only Vegas can produce. It has a candy shop out of a kid’s dream, an upper level Chocolate Lounge, and a carousel-reminiscent bar that serves 36-ounce alcohol-infused smoking candy goblets. I had to sit at the bar to enjoy the absurd splendor. The Mai Tai goblet was way too strong for me, but I enjoyed munching on the extra side of cherry gummies they provided, and we got some passable wings to help absorb the alcohol. If you can’t finish your drink, they will pour the remainder into a to-go cup for you, which most everyone seemed to be doing.

The real winner was the Bacon Cheeseburger Milkshake, which I had reluctantly agreed to when the bartender told me it was the best thing in the “Insane Milkshakes” section of the menu. He was right, and for the rest of the trip we kept thinking that perhaps we should go back for another milkshake.

Rose. Rabbit. Lie.

We’d decided to allow for one “nice” meal amongst our search for Vegas treasures off the beaten path. My friend Katy, who also happens to be a professional chef, recommended Rose. Rabbit. Lie. She said the food is excellent, and the experience is something between restaurant, bar, and entertainment. It sounded like an appropriately Vegas experience for our one fancy meal. Of course it’s on the strip, at The Cosmopolitan.

And it is an experience, not just a meal. We were seated at a table next to a half wall and semi-sheer screen through which you could just make out the bar area on the other side, including a piano and drum set which we surmised would be for the live entertainment. The fun surprise was that when the performances began, the screen actually rose so I was sitting right next to the pianist. This was just one of the ways they made you feel as though you were part of the experience rather than just watching a show – singers walked among the tables, singing into diner’s eyes, or pulling them out of their seats for a bit of dancing, or singing from a perch set onto a platform between two of the dining booths. There was tap-dancing on top of the piano at one point, and this awesome break-dancer spun and leapt all over the restaurant.

To go with the swanky feel and entertainment, was high-end American fare. The Oyster Rockefeller and Shrimp Scampi were quite good versions of those dishes. But I what I really enjoyed was the foie gras – it had a great sear on the outside with a rich and creamy middle, and was complemented perfectly by the dollops of almond and cherry sauce and the meringue droplets. Rose. Rabbit. Lie. is known for its caviar tacos (and caviar offerings in general). So naturally I had to try one of those as well. I loved the caviar, though it comes in a crisp potato shell which I actually could have done without, preferring just to enjoy the caviar. Overall the meal was great and the experience was fantastic – I was happy this was where we had our nice night out.

White Castle

It’s Vegas, so you tend to be up late, and in my book that means you need a late-night snack. Being a California girl, I’ve not to this point had the chance to partake of the mid-west phenomenon known as White Castle, though I’ve heard a lot about it and of course seen the movie. Well, Vegas has everything, including a White Castle, so I thought it was as good a chance as any to give it a try.

My friend informed me that they’re known for their small square sliders, and chicken rings (which are like onion rings had a baby with chicken nuggets). I have to admit… I don’t understand what all the hype is about. The burger patties are the thinnest I’ve ever seen – we ordered double meat and it was still barely noticeable. The bread is super mushy. Aside from the onion bits, which they use as a bed on which to cook the meat, it all seemed somewhat lacking in flavor. I was surprised that even the chicken rings were a disappointment, as I will admit that in the middle of the night I like a chicken nugget with honey mustard dipping sauce as much as the next person. Sorry to all my mid-west friends, but I just don’t get it.

The Egg and I

If you want to know where the locals go for breakfast, apparently this is it. The Egg and I has an extensive offering of hashes, scrambles, benedicts, skillets, omelettes, crepes, waffles, French toasts, and other typical egg breakfasts, plus a Dine Hawaiian Style section. Why waste your money and stomach space on an over-priced casino buffet when you can get breakfast at this off-the-strip spot? No surprise – it’s in a strip mall.

I grew up loving eggs, rice, and some kind of protein for breakfast, so of course the Hawaiian style breakfast was my pick. You can ask them for some shoyu sauce – put it on the rice with some hot sauce and smash the egg yolk into it – you can’t go wrong. They did a solid waffle and steak and eggs, plus their Habla Diablo seasoned potatoes were delicious, which is saying something because I am not generally a fan of potatoes and usually shove them to the side without a second thought. Almost all of their dishes come with a choice of toast or homemade banana nut muffin – get the muffin… we snarfled ours down so fast I didn’t even get a chance to take a picture.

Fat Choy

In Vegas if it’s not in a strip mall, then it’s in a casino. Such is the case with Fat Choy, located inside the Eureka Casino, which lest you be confused is not one of the fancy casinos on the strip. Fat Choy was recommended to me by my friend Nelson, who used to live in the area. It’s the kind of place locals go, because there’s not any reason why a tourist would be in the Eureka Casino to happen upon it.

Nelson said the things to get are the bao and The Fat Choy Burger. Apparently Guy Fieri agrees, because when we ordered, the waitress informed us that they had been on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives featuring those items. The burger comes with a 1/4-lb angus beef patty, topped with a layer of shortrib, bacon, and a fried egg. Yeah, it’s good. We also tried the pork belly bao and the Peking duck bao. They have a tofu and mushroom bao as well, but why bother with that when I can have pork belly and duck? Yum.

Lotus of Siam

In the month leading up to the trip, I had been asking every foodie I know for restaurant recommendations. Inevitably their first response was some variation of, “Well, you’ve been to Lotus of Siam, right?”, and then assuming that I obviously already had been there as any self-respecting foodie would have, they’d go on to tell me about other spots I might like. At that point, I’d have to interrupt to tell them I had not in fact been to Lotus of Siam, and would they tell me more? It turns out it’s commonly agreed to be the best Thai restaurant in Vegas, and the place where many Vegas chefs dine when they get off their shifts.

So I figured I better go, and I better order the garlic prawns, which apparently are widely accepted as the signature dish of this stellar eatery. The menu describes the garlic prawns as “almost like potato chips” – the shell is fried crisp enough that you can eat it, and they are delicious. We also got the Chilean sea bass with ginger gravy. Normally this dish is steamed, but my friend wanted it fried. The waitress said they could accommodate, but expressed her reservations that this would be too oily. It turned out just fine, though I think this was mostly because the ginger gravy would have been excellent on anything and she might have been right that the sea bass have been better steamed. All in all, the meal was great, but pricier than I expected for a Thai place off the strip (in a strip mall of course).

Sweet Poke

One of the latest trends in food is the poke bowl and sushi burrito. These places are popping up like crazy. I’ve had fantastic poke in Hawaii, which is traditionally a raw fish salad seasoned with basics like soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions. But the poke bowl craze is sort of an extreme take on traditional poke, with a lot more stuff thrown in. And the sushi burrito, well that’s pretty much what it sounds like… the kinds of things you might find in a sushi roll, only wrapped up like a burrito. It’s like a giant sushi roll, which seems fitting for Vegas, where everything is big. Sweet Poke is the place we decided to try.

The basic procedure for ordering your bowl or burrito is to choose your base (rice, salad, tofu), then protein, then toppings, and finally sauce. If it’s a burrito, you specify whether you want soy paper or seaweed wrap, and then they wrap it all up into a big burrito. If this process seems too overwhelming, they also have pre-defined bowls and burritos you can choose from. We got the Dragon Sushi Burrito, but I added tempura shrimp to it. We also got their Citrus Salmon Bowl. And they had a banner of specials, so we felt like we should also try the Spicy Chicken Bowl special. This food is a far departure from the simplicity and focus of traditional Japanese food – it’s a messy mashing together of a lot of elements, but it is a fun experience. I preferred the burrito over the bowl.

Sergio’s Italian Gardens

Sergio’s is a family-owned restaurant making Italian food fresh to order. It’s a large space – big enough in fact for a piano alongside the many tables, where a pianist plays live romantic music while you eat.

My aunt recently moved to the Vegas area and suggested this place. The breading on the calamari appetizer wasn’t as crisply fried as I like.  There was one pasta dish that they seemed to have forgotten the finishing salt on, but overall their pastas were nicely al dente and the sauce quite flavorful. The real draw to this place, however, is the whipped pesto butter. It was so good with the soft crusty bread, that I was perfectly happy to fill up on it before the actual meal even arrived.

Viet Noodle Bar

Did you know that Vegas has a Chinatown? Why is it that most major cities do? In Vegas’s case, it might be more of an Asiantown, as it seemed to have as many Vietnamese spots as Chinese. But we were in the mood for Vietnamese, so we decided to try one. My cousin had recommended a place, but when I looked it up it was only moderately well rated, whereas The Viet Noodle Bar was highly rated. So we went against the judgement of someone whose tastes I know and respect, to go with the evaluation of a bunch of strangers on the Internet.

In hindsight, I believe this was a mistake. Up to this point, we’d had a series of fabulous culinary outings, based heavily on recommendations from trusted foodie friends. The Viet Noodle Bar turned out to be a middling food experience, not near the best Vietnamese I’ve ever had and not a place I would go back to or tell others to try. The spring rolls and chicken wings were nothing to write home about. The vermicelli with lemon grass beef was not bad, though I wanted more of the lemon grass flavor. The shrimp sugar cane sounded interesting, but turned out to be pieces of a ground shrimp mixture where I think simply using the whole shrimp would have been better. The thing that had drawn me to Viet Noodle Bar was all the reviews raving about the Vietnamese crepe, which I’d never had before. If it was a particularly good execution of the dish, then perhaps I’m just not a fan of Vietnamese crepe. I found the crepe itself to be quite bland, deriving all of its flavor from being wrapped in lettuce, sprinkled with Thai basil, and dipped in sauce.

Despite the last meal being a bit of a flop, I deemed our Vegas foodie adventure a success. We had many and varied meals, on and off the strip, with a bit of over-the-top styling and entertainment to make it a uniquely Vegas experience. In between all the eating, we squeezed in Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, and a Cirque du Soleil ‘O’ show. Definitely a trip worth doing.