Vegas Recommendations

Recently, Vegas has been in the news due to a downturn in visitors. Folks are bemoaning the prices and fees. But if you do Vegas right, it’s not all that expensive. Most important: Avoid the Strip. Over the years of Vegas visits, we’ve accumulated a number of favorite places — off the strip — that we come back to. So, if you go to Vegas, you might want to try them:

• Sheffield Tea and Spice. These folks are over on Eastern, down near St. Rose. One of our favorite tea and spice shops. If you recall our recent tea post (October 2024), you’ll see that we ordered a lot of tea from Sheffield (and we just picked up a lot more). They also mail order. They have one of the best selections of tea and spices around.
• Havana Grill. This is a bit up Eastern from Sheffield, on the other side of 215. Excellent Cuban restaurant with great prices.
• Echo and Rig. While we’re over in the Henderson area, this is one of our favorite steakhouses. I discovered them first with their location up in Tivoli Village. Excellent quality steaks, at about half the price you would pay over the strip. They also apparently have a location in Sacramento.
• John Mull Meats and Roadkill Grill. Now, lets go over to the North side of Vegas, near Decatur and the 215 at the edge of North Las Vegas. Near the edge of the NLV airport, on this tiny little side street, is the Triple-D discovery. We got a two-item combo here. Great food, and we’ve been eating off the leftovers for 3 days. About $35 for 3 days of dinner? You can’t beat that.
• Sensa Gluten Free Bakery. If you continue along the 215 to the … south, at this point? … to Tropicana, get off, and head west, you’ll find Senza. One of the best GF bakeries around.
• Lazy Joe’s Fish and Chips. Continue S and E on the 215, and exit at Rainbow, and then continue south to Lazy Joes. Gluten Free Fried Food. Good, but a bit greasy. Still, my wife could get GF fish and chips, chicken, scallops, shrimp, and onion rings, … and be confident in her safety.
• Pho Tranh Huong. This is our go-to place when we are staying near the strip. They are in the shopping center with the Vons at Maryland Parkway and Tropicana. Great not-that-expensive Vietnamese food.
• Firefly Tapas Bar. My wife wanted something safely gluten free. We went over here for lunch, the location near Howard Hughes Center. Although it could get pricey, if you just get one or two things, its not that bad. My wife had the octopus, and I had the chicken skewers, and we shared some potatoes. Just the right amount, and not two expensive.
• Desert Birkenstock. One of our favorite Birkenstock stores. Evidently, Birkies are in again, and people are going for the knockoffs. Don’t bother. This place has the real thing, as well as other shoes, such as Vibram 5-Fingers, Allegria, and Neot. This is where I got my suede Birkenstock sneakers. This time, I got a new pair of ruggedized MIlanos (as mine needed repair) and a new pair of the Birkenstock sneakers. They are up Rainbow, near I-11, between Lake Mead and Smoke Ranch.
• Assisting Lives Thrift Shop. One of our favorite thrift stores in Vegas, formerly the Assistance League. Charleston, near the I-11/613 split. There are others, but we’ve had the best luck here.

This visit, we tried Siegel’s Bagelmania. They say they are the Best Jewish Deli in Vegas, but as someone that lives near Brents Deli, they aren’t. I wish I had been able to visit Vegas when Foxy’s Deli was still here.  We’ve heard good things about Fisher’s Deli (former Weiss Deli), and we’ll have to try them next time. They are down in Green Valley, not that far from Echo and Rig.

If you are looking for things to do in Vegas — off-strip — I recommend (1) The Pinball Hall of Fame; (2) the Atomic Testing Museum, (3) the Neon Museum, especially Brilliant!; and (4) the Meow Wolf Omega Mart at Area 15.

As for the Strip: Well, I’m only interested in the history of the LV Strip. The vector polygon map of Vegas ownership is fascinating, as is the Clark County ownership map.

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