Poll : 12 August - 25 August 2015

Analysis

Forgive our use of CAPITAL LETTERS in the question, but we went that route after a gazillion people wrote in lamenting the passing of Binion's coffee shop, which is indeed sorely missed, but this poll wasn't about that! This time around, we were asking about traditions or concepts or particular styles of eatery that are lost or on the way out. Here's feedback from the readers who "got" where we were coming from; we'll run a future poll on specific eateries, once we've finished compiling the list... We also deliberately omitted pejorative potential answers or anything specific about money since we didn't want this to disintegrate into a whining session about declining comps etc.

• "My vote was for dressing for dinner. I'm not asking for a tux, or even a suit. I don't want to pack extra clothes for Las Vegas. But how about putting on pants and a nice shirt, instead of a tank top, shorts and flip flops when eating at even a moderately priced restaurant. Even in summer time, you can dress a little nicer and then change back into more comfortable clothes. Guess I'm just getting older."
  
  
• "Playing live Keno (human runners) gave us as much enjoyment as did good food at cafes/coffee shops. The runners were always, well, literally running to keep up with the action, paying winners and collecting tickets for the next game. We were surprised and disappointed when first the hours were cut (no keno after 8 pm, then after 6 pm) and then it was gone forever. We don't play machine keno, just enjoyed the interaction, anticipation, and the occasional small victory."
  
  
• "Las Vegas is supposed to be a 24-hour town. When I visit on vacation, I rarely go to bed before 4 am and often would like to grab something to eat around 1 am. With the coffee shops disappearing, all that is left is fast food outlets. Not many healthy eating options either. I now stay at the Orleans on my vacations and part of that is due to the excellent 24-hour coffee shop. 1/2 a sandwich, cup of soup and soda for $7 is a good way to get me through the rest of the night. P.S. I miss the Barbary Coast coffee shop. It was great." [Ed: If you're prepared to venture away from the Strip a few blocks, you may well be surprised by the number of great late-night dining options still available, especially in Chinatown.]
  
  
• "Coffee shops used to have lobster specials, with or without steak. What happened to the lobster?" [Ed: Someone ate it?!]
  
  
• "Whatever happened to finger bowls? I just find the idea of having little bowls of warm water at the dinner table so that you can keep your fingers clean so elegant." [Ed: Good call! What indeed? They were part of our childhood growing up in Europe. We know Soyo Korean restaurant here got rid of theirs as people kept mistaking them for drinks... :-)]
  
  
• " I wouldn't mind re-instating the whole list of choices!"
  
  
• "I spent 30 years in the restaurant business, and it saddens me every time a see an old classic diner or drive-in leveled to be replaced by the newest 'flavor of the day' or celebrity chef's ego-massager. We have virtually no respect for tradition and old fashioned good food, only what's the newest trend. How many of these places will we wax nostalgic about in ten years, much less 50?"
  
  
• "I always told my husband that I didn't care where we ate as long as it didn't have a napkin dispenser." [Ed: Ha! We all must draw the line somewhere :-) ]
  
  
• "Just when we've reached the point in life when we can afford an upscale restaurant AND upscale clothes, we're now some of the only people in the restaurant dressed appropriately! And Las Vegas seems to be the worst! If I'm spending $100 a person for dinner, I don't want to be seated next to some slob in sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt. Can we get a dress code up in here!"