January 2008  - Bon Appetite Magazine “readers survey” calls Las Vegas as the number best city to enjoy epicurean delights in the world.  Number one was Barcelona.

 

Ask any native Las Vegan about his favorite restaurant, and you can be sure to strike up a prolonged and passionate conversation.  We are completely spoiled here. It’s difficult to isolate just one restaurant – since there are so many to choose from. Most of these are off the Strip, and from what we’ve been able to ascertain, many are located in the older part of town – the East Side. Bed and Office is located right in the mist of these great foodie-finds.

 

Italian

 

La Scalla Italian Ristorante,

1020 E Desert Inn Rd. 702-699-9980

 

For an elegant dining experience, and some of the finest quality Italian food we’ve experienced, there’s La Scalla. Located in the Mark IV building, rumor has it that the building is known to house local mob-widows. The chief was previously employed at prestigious Rex in Los Angeles, and the quality of his cooking experience comes through.

Need I say more? Be prepared for a dining experience – you won’t want to rush through this one. $50.00 – $75.00 per person. Serving from 5pm to 10pm daily. Open for Lunch. Easy parking.

 

From Vegas Valley, make a left on Eastern, and a right at Desert Inn. Distance is approximately 1 1/2 miles from the house. Reservations are not always necessary, but during big trade shows, this restaurant does get booked up.

 

 

Old Vegas style-dining

 

Coachman’s Inn, 

3240 S Eastern Ave. 702-731-4202

 

Open 24 hours a day, this local eatery offers Lobster for two, and a bottle wine (that won’t kill you the next day) for $50.00. Steaks are nicely prepared. The Lobster Bisque is delicious. This quirky spot celebrates Christmas all year long, offers gambling at the bar. If you’re in the mood for Surf and Turf look no further. No reservations are needed.

 

From Vegas Valley, turn left on Eastern, and make another quick left into the parking lot before you reach Desert Inn Rd. where there’s a divider in the road. Distance is approximately ½ mile from the house.

 

Mexican

 

Lindo Michoacan

2655 E Desert Inn Rd  (702) 735-6828

 

This restaurant continues to be voted the best Mexican food in Vegas for 10 years in a row… no let me restate that – the best Mexican food I’ve ever had ever. It has an extensive menu, but I always come back to the Crispy Tacos, and Ensalada Marinera Salad (enough for two). Tortillas are handmade, and go especially well with the Chorizo Con Queso, (aka the heart attach special). It’s open from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm – later on the weekends. Take out orders are prepared quickly, but if you decide to dine in, you may want to make reservations. This place is always busy. Moderate pricing.

 

From Vegas Valley turn left on Eastern, and left on Desert Inn. The restaurant is located about one block down on your right hand side. Distance is approximately ¾ of a mile.

 

Indian

 

India Oven 

2218 Paradise Rd,  (702) 366-0222

 

Coming from England, my standards on Indian fare are pretty high. Truth be known, I really have never been able to find the same quality as that available in the UK… until now. So it was no surprise to find out that the owner of this establishment is from England. This restaurant also supplies all the Indian Fare to the Four Seasons on the Strip. The Lamb Chop Marsalla dish is actually a half crown of lamb!  But my personal favorite remains the Lamb Saag. Don’t forget to order the Naan – it’s spectacular!  We usually order these dishes on the on the hot side. Pricing is under $75.00 for two.

 

Open 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm, plus lunch. No reservations needed.

 

From Vegas Valley, make a left on Eastern to Sahara. India Oven is located at the corner of Paradise and Sahara, behind the McDonnalds. Distance is just under 3 miles.

 

Japanese

 

Musashi Japanese Steakhouse 

3900 Paradise Rd Ste W  702-731-4202

 

This restaurant has two parts – one a steakhouse, and the other, a more traditional sushi bar. We usually eat at the sushi bar. Be sure to inquire about the best belly fish of the day. You won’t be disappointed. The soft shell crab is a tasty treat, as are the many of the new assortment of rolls. We recently had Toro there, and frankly it rivaled our favorite L.A. spot.  Quality is excellent – Chef Tsutomu Molde, was the former Executive Chef of Hamada of Japan.

 

Happy hour starts at 11:00 pm (yes you read that right) with One-dollar Sake, and a half price menu.  Open from 11:00 –3:00 during the day, and from 5:00 pm till 4:00 am daily. No reservations needed. Moderate pricing – four of us dined there at happy hour one evening for under $60.00.

From Vegas Valley, make a left on Eastern, a right on Desert Inn, left on Paradise, pass Twain, and make the first left at the next traffic light into the parking lot. Approximately 2 ½ miles.

 

Mediterranean

 

Paymons Mediterraeian Café and Lounge

4147 S Maryland Pkwy
(702) 731-6030

 

For 19 years in a row this restaurant has been voted the best Mediterranean food in Vegas. We find ourselves ordering the same thing every time we return. The atmosphere is casual, and service is always great. This is a quick place to eat, and under $50.00 for two. The Flaming Saganaki is a must have, as are the Beef Dolmas, and salads are very fresh. Open for lunch, and 5:00 to 1:00 am daily – although we’ve seen this restaurant close earlier. The menu after 9:00 pm changes, so we recommend you arrive before then.

 

From Vegas Valley, make a left on Eastern, right on Flamingo, and left on Maryland Parkway. Turn into the first strip mall on your right. It’s approximately 3 miles.

 

 

British Food

 

Crown and Anchor

1350 E Tropicana Ave
 (702) 739-8676

 

It’s difficult to believe (even being a native Brit) that any British food would be included The Crown and Anchor is known as the place to go to watch soccer matches live, 24 hours a day, but if you’re not a soccer fan, that’s okay – you’ll just have to settle for a darn good hamburger. It’s charbroiled with Stilton. If you‘re in the mood for Fish and Chips, go for it. The gentleman (also a Brit) sitting next to me commented that the Fish was the best he’d ever had. This popular “hang” has an outdoor patio, which in the summer months is always packed. It’s inexpensive, and the service is great.

 

From Vegas Valley, make a left onto Eastern, right on Tropicana. Opposite the Smart and Final – that’s easier to locate. Plenty of parking in the back. It’s about 3 miles away.

 

 

 

Thai Food

 

Lotus of Siam

953 E Sahara Ave

Las Vegas, NV 89104

 

It hard to believe that it’s taken us a year to get here. After all the over-the-top reviews we’ve read, we made a determined effort to dine there. On a Saturday night there was no availability. That’s a strong clue about the quality, given that we rarely have to make reservations in this town. On a Sunday night we still had a 20-minute wait. Unfortunately the ambience is nothing special, but the food that comes out belongs in a 5-star restaurant. We ordered 5 dishes and of those 3 were absolutely magical.

 

The Tom Kah Kah soup was layered with flavors and very spicy. Clearly made with fresh ingredients, this was the best we’ve ever had. We followed that with the Softshell Crab Salad; again very spicy. This dish is a wonderful balance with the light crispiness of the crab, and the mix of salad with dressing. It’s going to be hard for me to order Softshell Crab anywhere else now. For a main course we went with the Crispy Duck topped with Thai style red cream curry sauce with cognac. One would expect find this dish at an exquisite French restaurant – the preparation of the duck carefully completed so that all the bones are removed. The sauce with cream and cognac is a perfect accompaniment to the duck.

 

I would recommend that you take care when ordering, as the spicy food can dull your pallet for some of the other foods with more delicate flavors. Lotus of Siam has a extensive wine list of reasonably priced wines to suit any pallet. We did a Riesling tasting, which was a great way of handling both the spicy and subtle dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

Places WAAAY West of the Strip

 

Hamburgers

 

Fathers Office

1018 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403

 

If you want to see and be seen, the place to go is Father’s Office in Santa Monica – well in a matter of words that is. We made the mistake of turning up around 8:00pm one weekday night, hungry. Everyone in the place was eating these fantastically stylized hamburgers supplemented by a mini-shopping cart full of shoe-string French fries. It soon became apparent that getting a seat would be a matter nothing short of gorilla warfare. You need a least two people to carry this off – one to keep the new entrants from taking your possible seating spots, and one to watch the back area for any available seats. While you’re waiting, discrete eye-contact with patrons is recommended to remind the diners that you too would like a seat in the not to distant future. Flirting with members at tables filled with the opposite sex is highly recommended. (I did say this was guerrilla warfare didn’t I?). Remember it’s each to their own in this place as there’s no management handling the seating.

 

The trick is to spot the tables where the food is being consumed rapidly. I noted the table being cleared off, and wiped down long before the patrons were apparently ready to depart.  By now I was regretting not packing a machete to defend my position. After the existing patrons finally made a slow retreat from the table, I scurried into position.

 

This is where you really need a tag team to help out. The next challenge is to actually go up to the bar, and order. So while one member of the team starts working the crowd to get through to the bar – the other member must now defend sitting at an empty table. I did mention that this was the place to be seen didn’t I?  Well I think the verb “leer” more aptly defines the situation.

 

When the hamburgers finally arrive, I have to admit it was worth the extra effort it took to dine here, although I think in the future, I’ll avoid the 8:00 pm rush hour. Hey – traffic in L.A. is already stressful enough. The Hamburgers are quite good – sort of a Spinach Salad/ Hamburger variety. Shoe String French Fries made with potatoes or yams, served with garlic mayonnaise are exceptional.

 

Other items like fresh oysters are available, and are probably very good.  Great selection of imported beer.

From Vegas Valley, take the I15 S to the I10 W – drive about 300 miles, off at Lincoln, turn right, and right on Montana. Drive time is about 4-5 hours.

 

Places WAAAY East of the Strip

 

If you’re headed to Niagara Falls, you quickly learn a few things. Hotels on the Canadian  side of the falls are much much nicer than those on the New York side. In either place  good food can be hard to find. I would go so far as to say that the national chains like Applebys are probably your best bet. Regardless of the price or the location, you’re bound to end up with mediocre food.

 

But if you’re willing to drive a few miles down the QE2 to Port Dahausie, there’s a  Pub called the Kilt and Clover that we highly recommend. It’s not a fancy place, but the food is always good. One pound of mussels (enough for two) in a wine sauce that belongs in heaven. This is the dish we keep coming back for. P.S. – I begged the waitress for the recipe on this one. On Thurday they do ribs – again very good, and one order serves two. 

Very moderately priced, and definitely worth the short drive to get there.