Food and Loathing Restaurant Guide -- Ep. 12: Travel Writers & Tourist Talk

During the first segment of this episode, Rich and I are joined by a guest co-host, DW Bistro’s Bryce Krausman. As usual, we speak about where we’ve been recently.

After sharing some home cooking stories, Bryce tells us about his visit to a friends and family “play day” at the new Downtown Summerlin restaurant La Neta Cocina Y Lounge, which comes from the same people who operate Mas Por Favor in Chinatown.

I tell you about a new dish I sampled at 8 East (wagyu you cook on a hot rock), which you might see sometime soon either at that Circa restaurant, or at its Fremont East sister spot Le Thai.


I also offer a quick report on my first full meal at Brezza, in Resorts World.




Speaking of Resorts World, Bryce offers his impressions on that restaurant and some other Resorts World eateries, including Sun’s Out Buns Out, Viva! By Ray Garcia, Wally’s and Famous Foods.

We went on to speak a bit about our strategies on vacation dining – referencing my recent trip to Cabo San Lucas. Interestingly, Bryce and I had both been advised to visit Flora Farms on our recent trips south of the border, but neither of us made it in. I did, however, proudly announce my affinity for Cabo Wabo Cantina (which is based in my longtime professional relationship with Sammy Hagar, but also because the food has always been solid).

I then went on to point out that some vacation part-spot chains actually have very good chefs associated with their local incarnations, including Senor Frogs and Cabo Wabo.

Our centerpiece segment for this episode features me and Jason interviewing national food writers Andy Wang and Matt Villano.

Early in the interview, Matt discusses the national interest in Area 15.

When I ask about what people are excited about right now, Andy mentions Delilah in Wynn, as well as Resorts World and Area 15.  Matt mentions mobile betting, Circa’s gambling and its pool, and the future of Downtown Las Vegas.

Jason then asks them about Virgin. While we discussed some problems it may be having, we also mentioned some good food and beverage experiences, particularly Kassi Beach House and the boozy tea service in TheShag Room.

When I asked for some tourist tips on getting to Las Vegas, both of the writers recommended using Jet Suite X to fly into town, if it’s available from your city.

When I asked them about room service menus that are worth trying, Matt agreed with my mention of the Nobu Hotel in Caesars Palace, and also mentioned the roomservice menu at Wynn Las Vegas. He also said he’s looking forward to trying the Crockford and Conrad room service at Resorts World.

Andy mentioned his favorite dish to order from room service at Bellagio (Spaghetti Bolognese), and also mentioned the quality of the Wynn room service menu.

When Jason asked about their current favorite places, Matt mentioned Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street, while Andy mentioned the restaurants in the Spring Mountain Road strip mall near Decatur where Raku, Big Wong, Sweets Raku and Kabuto Edomae Sushi are all located. (I took the time to point out that the former Kabuto chef is now at Yui Edomae Sushi.)

When the conversation turned to The Arts District, Andy spoke about how Esther’s Kitchen and Jammyland changed the scene, and mentioned that he really wants to get into Soul Belly BBQ. Matt called Makers and Finders “probably still my favorite coffee shop to go get some work done.”

When pressed for other off-Strip neighborhoods they enjoy, Matt singled out Summerlin. He mentioned his love of the Red Rock sports book, and his desire to get more visitors out to areas like Tivoli Village.

We began our final segment with news about the VegasUnstripped lineup.


We then heard from a few of the Vegas Unstripped participants: Gary LaMorte (Honest Hospitality), Marc Marrone (Graffiti Bao, Beer Zombies, SkinnyFats), Bruce Kalman (Soul Belly BBQ), John Church (Johnny C’s Diner), Floriana Pastore (Signora Pizza) and Steve Young (Al Solito Posto).

Bryce and I got into a discussion of how much we love Soul Belly BBQ (link above), during which I also mentioned another favorite Arts District hangout, Garagiste Wine Bar. Bryce also mentioned some of the other chefs he admired who are on the Unstripped lineup, teasing some rumors about EDO Tapas.

I played an interview with Kristen Corral of Tacotarian about the new delivery service LoCo.

Rich shared some news on the September 8 reopening of Main Street Station -- including its Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery and the GardenCourt Buffet.

Rich also told us about the reopening of the Rampart Casino’s Market Place Buffet.

Finally, we did our edibles review – this week it was an Evergreen Organix Magic Bar I purchased at Essence.



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