Affordable Rec's on Vegas Strip?

Three of us girls will be staying at the Paris for the weekend (Fri night - Mon afternoon) in two weeks. I've done a lot of research, and am still researching, but nothing really stands out except for LOS. We will be having 3 breakfast/lunches and 2 dinners during our stay. LOS takes care of one dinner (is cab fare from the strip to LOS reasonable?), and the Bellagio buffet has been requested for another meal. Would you recommend going to the Bellagio buffet for breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Can anyone please help me round out the list for our remaining meals? We are open to eating all different kinds of food, and I would prefer to keep our dining expenses reasonably priced (up to $15/meal without the cost of drinks). Or should I expect to be spending more than $15/meal? Thanks in advance!

For one of your breakfasts, don't miss The Peppermill. It's a throwback to old Vegas and is located on the strip across from the Stardust. Old style coffee shop with waitresses in mini skirts. Cocktails served even at breakfast and one of the best damn breakfasts in Vegas. Prices are reasonable.

The Peppermill Inn
2985 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
702-735-4177

$15 is a tough nut these days in any of the strip hotels unless you're willing to settle for generic coffee shop stuff or the horror of the Cheesecake Factory masquerading as the Grand Luxe Cafe. However, the Asian noodle joint in the Venetian is actually pretty decent with reasonable prices.

The Bellagio breakfast buffet was a bit too new to my stomach. It was a bit eccentric for me and my hubby. But while your there try the Aladdin buffet!

My friends and I had dinner at the Bellagio buffet on our last night in Vegas last month. Maybe it was good when it first opened, but definitely not worth going to now. I hate to be (negatively) critical, but to be honest, I found the fish to be dried out from being under the heat lamp and lacked the flavor described by their seemingly delicious & flavorful names. I didn't really think there were any offerings that were especially out of the ordinary. I know some people like their red meat on the rarer side, but I could hear the echo of my Kobe Steak's moo on my plate. My friends and I vowed to never eat at another buffet to save our lives.

My relatives who are locals swear by the Rio buffet, if buffet you must, but my gut reaction-- not that I've spent a LOT of time there-- is that the low end of the spectrum is pretty terrible in most of the hotels, at least on a value-for-money basis. Frankly, my idea of a low end meal near the strip is In-N-Out, there's one not far from the airport that I usually stop at first thing when I get there, but otherwise for good cheap proletarian food you need to get away from the giant hotels and find little joints (which is not hard once off the strip).

Mike G wrote:Frankly, my idea of a low end meal near the strip is In-N-Out, there's one not far from the airport that I usually stop at first thing when I get there

I haven't been to Las Vegas for 25-years, but I agree with Mike, In-N-Out is a damn good burger.





Enjoy,
Gary

After one of my friends woke up with a hangover one morning, we ended up at Fatburger by the MGM. I've had In-n-Out a couple of times in Cali, but I think I prefer Fatburger. I tried it with the fried egg as recommended by some loyalists, but I couldn't really appreciate it since the egg was cooked through and through (whereas I prefer a little run to my eggs). I also liked that their paper cups for ketchup were wide and shallow to allow more surface area coverage than the traditional skinny cups at most places. After seeing your drool worth pictures, I think I might need to start taking pictures of my food too.

I just got back from a weekend in Las Vegas and enjoyed two breakfasts at the Peppermill Lounge, a lunch at In-n-Out burger and two dinners at Lotus of Siam. They were all fantastic although maybe the cocktails at the Peppermill helped out there. Like Gary, I haven't been to Las Vegas in over 20 years and if wasn't for these places I'd see no reason to go back.

From Lotus of Siam:
Sour sausage and crispy rice appetizer along with a spicy chicken wing.



Northern Thai Pork Stew, although it looks simple it's one of the best Thai dishes I've ever eaten.

Hey DBigg, great pics but could you do us a favor and resize the photos to a maximum of 600 pixels wide? For some folks pictures bigger than that mess with the line lengths and all that. Thanks.

I have spent the past ten days scoping out the western half of Nevada. We started in Primm, hit Las Vegas, Tonopah, Hawthorne, Reno, Carson City and Gerlach.

I found one thing very strange. Las Vegas prices, especially on the Strip are astronomical (although we had a lot of free chili at the International Chili Festival at the Mandalay) even for food. In Reno, the prices are dropping and offer some of the better values in Nevada.

Some ideas:

1) I would head off the Strip to Chinatown (perhaps 2-3 miles). There are a number of inexpensive Asain restaurants of all persuations.

2) Florida Cafe on the Strip has a reputation for some pretty good Cuban food.

3) Inn and Out is good but it is off the Strip. Some people swear by another LA chain - Fatburger - which are larger and pricier.

4) I have done the Bellagio Buffet and it has slipped a bit the last time. However, it is pretty pricey unless you like the more exotic selections. I was at the Alladin for Sunday brunch and I thouight the quality and the selection were excellent and the prices under $20pp.

5) There are a good number of ethnic restaurants located on Paradise Rd. between Flamingo and Desert inn - Merrakesh, Z'Tejas, etc - that are very acceptable.

DBigg wrote: Like Gary, I haven't been to Las Vegas in over 20 years and if wasn't for these places I'd see no reason to go back.

Lotus of Siam

Dave,

I keep hearing great things about Lotus of Siam and now your pictures. Looks like a trip to 'Vegas' is in my future. I was at Renu Nakorn in Los Angeles in July where, ~I think~, the current Renu chef was prior to Renu, and thought it absolutely excellent. We also had Northern Pork Stew, similar to what you had, and Northern Sausage, though a different preparation than, among a number of dishes.

Unfortunately, my pictures did not turn out great, but here's a picture of Renu Nakorn's sausage.

Sia Oua at Renu Nakorn



Enjoy,
Gary

Renu Nakorn Restaurant
13041 Rosecrans Ave
Norwalk, CA 90650
562-921-2124

G Wiv wrote:

DBigg wrote: Like Gary, I haven't been to Las Vegas in over 20 years and if wasn't for these places I'd see no reason to go back.

Lotus of Siam

Dave,

I keep hearing great things about Lotus of Siam and now your pictures. Looks like a trip to 'Vegas' is in my future. I was at Renu Nakorn in Los Angeles in July where, ~I think~, the current Renu chef was prior to Renu, and thought it absolutely excellent. We also had Northern Pork Stew, similar to what you had, and Northern Sausage, though a different preparation than, among a number of dishes.

Enjoy,
Gary

Renu Nakorn Restaurant
13041 Rosecrans Ave
Norwalk, CA 90650
562-921-2124

It is my understanding that the family that owns LOS in Vegas used to own Renu Nakorn in LA. I have heard (via LA chowhounds) that in the past the chef at LOS has returned at times to train the chefs at Renu Nakorn, but there is otherwise no cross-ownership between the two places. That said, the menus are nearly identical, the ways that Geno Bahena's menus nearly mimic Bayless's. Both places offer dishes, Northern, Issan, grilled, not seen on typical Thai menus, and that is certainly part of their appeal.

I have been to LOS a few times and Renu Nakorn once. Based on that limited sample, I liked LOS MUCH better. The northern pork stew pictured above is probably the great dish at LOS, and it is as special as it looks. The same dish at Renu was not as good. I have had whole fish at both places. Renu offered an amazing salsa of raw jalepeno and raw garlic with their grilled catfish, but the fish was not cooked well (raw inside). The big problem I had with Renu was that dishes were way too muted. The ol' not Thai enough problem. I came away from my meal there thinking it could have been so much better. I came away from my meals at LOS in thrall.

I've had tons of great meals in Las Vegas from In n' Out to Fat Burger to Chinois (perhaps my favorite meal ever was at Chinois in Las Vegas) to AJ's Steak House in the Hard Rock (and about 10 other Vegas steak houses), to of course Lotus of Siam. I have stayed several times at Bally's, and one of my favorite eating activities is at the "French" bakery in the Paris Hotel. It's not quite Paris, but it IS very good. There is a certain regression to the mean on Vegas places, but I am not one that values stunning creativity over solid preperation. I apologize for missing this thread when it first appeared (I guess it takes some good pics to get me motivated sometimes.)

Rob

I almost forgot. Here are links to a couple of CH posts I made last April. One is about LOS. THe other is about everything else. I had forgotten about how good Chow's is for Chinese until I reread my own post. If you're going to Vegas, I wouldn't miss LOS or Chow's (Great Dim Sum on carts for lunch, secret menu for dinner).

Lotus of Siam

Everything Else

Vital Information wrote:I have been to LOS a few times and Renu Nakorn once. Based on that limited sample, I liked LOS MUCH better. The northern pork stew pictured above is probably the great dish at LOS, and it is as special as it looks. The same dish at Renu was not as good. I have had whole fish at both places. Renu offered an amazing salsa of raw jalepeno and raw garlic with their grilled catfish, but the fish was not cooked well (raw inside). The big problem I had with Renu was that dishes were way too muted. The ol' not Thai enough problem. I came away from my meal there thinking it could have been so much better. I came away from my meals at LOS in thrall.

Rob,

As I mentioned, I have not been to Lotus of Siam, but my meal at Renu was excellent, based not on comparison to Lotus, but my overall experience eating Thai food. In other words, there was plenty of Thai in the Thai.

What may have helped was I walked in carrying a copy of Jonathan Gold's Counter Intelligence, which the waitress recognized, a print out of menu suggestion notes from various sources and a digital camera.

Our very nice and interactive waitress, Tippy, felt the three of us out, briefly, as to Thai food experience and away we went. Renu was, as I said, a damn good meal, I only wish I was able to get back for a second go around. Next trip.

Enjoy,
Gary

There's an article from one reporter's quest to hit all the major strip buffets in just 4 days. I feel sorry for her!

LA Times Review

As I posted on the other board, that review of the Las Vegas buffets seemed to be a real example of uninspired writing.

Eight buffets over a weekend makes it impossible to really analyze the various places.

For a quick meal, there's Canters at Treasure Island. I didn't think it was as good as Canters in LA, but I only ever ate at Canters in LA when it was really late, I'd just come from a concert, and was in a generallly good mood, so that might have colored my experience. Anyway, the one in Las Vegas has top-notch deli sandwiches, the big, piled high with meat and little tiny slices of bread kind.

I can't say enough good things about Lotus. I see that the original poster is already going there, so it's not like my reccomendation will sway anybody, but they deserve all the praise they get and then a little more. So good, so friendly, so incredibly willing to take you on a culinary adventure if that's what you want, and to do their best to make even the boring stuff good.

Another casino choice is Noodle Asia, inside the Venetian. Surprisingly good quality pan-Asian noodle shop. It's pretty odd to find cheap, good food like this in Vegas.

For a list of restaurants, sorted by quality, under $15 and on the Strip (only in Casinos), my Vegas web site. I don't get any money or anything if you click here. These are just some of the places I (and my friend who does the site with me) find good.

What a bummer, I posted this message two weeks before departing for Vegas, and it isn't until a month after my trip that all these posts begin to appear! I guess I will be adding these notes for future use. I appreciate all the feedback and info nonetheless, and hopefully these messages will be helpful to others as well.

Unfortunately, when my friends & I went to LOS, I left all my notes in the hotel! boohoo. We ordered a yummy red curry w/duck, very spicy drunken chicken chow fun (can't remember the exact name), and coconut sticky rice for dessert. (Please forgive my ignorance, but is it common to have frozen corn and beans in the ice cream?) For an appetizer we had prawns wrapped in wonton skin - I tried suggesting the sour sausage, but no luck w/my friends.

Stinky - thank you for putting together cheapovegas.com - I did come across your website during my research.

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.

o MAN. so sorry I missed this thread.

the ONLY thing I enjoyed about my often trips to Vegas was the food.

the Original Makino's during lunch is still the best value for me:
http://www.travel2vegas.com/makinosushi.html

all you can eat sushi and sashimi. the locals (including the Hawaiians) love it. always a line before it opens during lunch. < $15. can't beat it.