Poll : 19 December - 25 December 2007

Analysis

Thanks, as always, to all who participated in our non-casino breakfast eatery poll. While some people have complained that recent polls about best Bloody Marys, pizzas, or breakfast joints are for locals only, we strenuously beg to differ. From the correspondence we receive, we know that our "Locals Corner" section in LVA is a highly popular feature with lots of out-of-towners who want tips from us locals on how best to venture "off-piste," so to speak, and explore what Las Vegas has to offer beyond the casinos and hotels, just as we like to do when we go on vacation somewhere.

With almost 1.8 million residents in the entire Las Vegas metropolitan area, there’s really a lot more to this city than Fremont Street and the Strip, especially when it comes to eateries. Breakfast is potentially such an excellent meal and we’re blessed with myriad options – so many, in fact, that we haven’t even tried all the ones in the poll, let alone some of the others you suggested.

As far as your favorites go, we also love the Peppermill for its whole kitsch ‘70s vibe and authentic diner feel. We also love Hash House A Go Go, (the wife of one of our mailroom wizards works there, in fact), although we have to be seriously starving to tackle their enormous portions. The Omelet House was a staff pick, too, as was the Hash House (not to be confused with A Go Go, although they’re now on the same street), which, we’ve been told, is also a favorite with Teller (the other half of Penn).

All the bagel joints are worth a visit, with Bagelmania being our personal favorite, both for food and atmosphere. We’ve heard great things about Egg Works (same owner as Egg & I), but when we tried to visit on a recent Sunday morning, the line was right around the block, so we went to Ma Barker’s instead, which was surprisingly good on the food front (just slightly bizarre in terms of décor and staff...)

As far as the bests of the rest are concerned, Deke picked Samuel’s (which is actually now called Weiss Deli – oops), David picked Ichabod’s, and Tanya chose Lou’s Diner.

Here are some of your "other" picks :

• "Bagel Café on Buffalo and Summerlin Pkwy."
• "The Maple Tree on Spring Mtn. at Jones. Fantastic food, great prices, A+ staff." [Ed: More than one of you picked this one.]
• "Don’t laugh. I vote for Denny’s on the Strip. It’s convenient and the food and service is superior to the Denny’s in our area." [Ed: Oh, seeing as you put it like that, we’ll let you get away with it.]
• "The Original Pancake House. Their mile-high baked omelets are the very first thing we eat after arriving in Vegas."
• "You cannot beat IHOP.
[Ed: Yes, we can -- see above!]
• "Panera Bread is the place to go for breakfast. Bagles, bottomless coffee, and free Wi-Fi. The one across from Sunset Station is the best because you can do all that before playing in the 10 a.m. poker tourney."
[Ed: Click here for a full list of all Vegas locations.]
• "I voted for Blueberry Hill. It was a toss-up between that and the gluttony of Hash House A Go Go."
• "It’s not exactly a healthy meal, but when we’re in Vegas, our favorite breakfast consists of a couple of fresh Krispy Kreme donuts."
[Ed: The reader who wrote in recently wanting to know where he could find these in Vegas should click here.]
• "McDonald’s at the MGM Grand. It’s cheap, fast, and all you need for a quick breakfast." [Ed: Sorry, but NOOOOOO!!!]