You're not wrong about that heat -- as we write, the weather widget on our home page says it's 104 degrees out there, and that's a conservative estimate. Lucky for you, Las Vegas does offer some interesting and unique options for cooling off.
Luv-It Frozen Custard is a family business that has been operating out of the same premises, a half-block east of Las Vegas Blvd. and a half-block north of the Stratosphere, on Oakey, since 1973. It's a little shack with a walk-up window that serves the creamiest, silkiest, sweetest frozen concoction this side of Margaritaville. Similar to ice cream, the custard has an egg base, so it contains less sugar and milk fat and no ice crystals. Less air is whipped in, so it’s richer and melts more slowly.
The custard, which comes in 20 different flavors, is prepared fresh daily from secret family recipes that date back more than 30 years. It's a bit pricey, perhaps 20%-30% more expensive than regular ice cream, but it's well worth it. Luv-It also serves 20 different sundaes, plus malts, shakes, and floats. The custard is also served in cones, cups, and hard-packed pints, quarts, and half-gallons; the signature menu items include Luv Sticks (frozen custard bars on a stick, available in all flavors) and chocolate-covered frozen bananas. The hours are 1-10 p.m. daily (11 p.m. on the weekend) and note that only cash is accepted.
If your travels take you to Caesars Palace, you'll have several options to choose from. Trevi, in the Forum Shops, features a gelato bar, situated at the opposite side of the patio from the main entrance, which serves an array of ten flavors every day including Italian favorites like tiramisu and strawberry sorbeto, with two different featured flavors daily. And the restaurant is celebrating National Ice Cream Month in July by giving away scoops of homemade gelato or sorbetto every day. For chances to win, you can "like" the Facebook page, post a comment on their wall at www.facebook.com/TREVILV, or post a Tweet including @TREVILV. Two winners will be selected each day to receive a redeemable certificate in the mail.
If you're in the mood for something fruity, for $5 Michel Richard's Central at Caesars is serving a summer fruit pop. Served with whipped cream, the summer pop is made of whole pieces of fresh fruit, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and kiwi, set in a reduced white-cranberry juice and has no added sugar.
If calories are not a concern, check out the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity 3. Technically a drink, rather than a dessert, it's been a fixture on the menu since the early days of the original New York venue, which opened in 1954, and currently costs $8.50.
That's the regular version, which is made using Serendipity's frozen hot chocolate mix, which contains 14 of the world's rarest and most expensive cocoas from Africa and South America, plus milk, ice cubes, whipped cream, and shavings from the world's most expensive truffle, the La Madeline au Truffle ($2,500 a pound). You can purchase the mix at their venues or online at amazon.com.
If you feel like pushing the boat out, opt for the Frrrozen Haute Chocolate, which retails for $25,000. This monster was unveiled in 2004 when Serendipity celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a sundae that's listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive dessert ever created. Served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet, with an 18-carat gold and white diamond bracelet attached to the neck, it's laced with 23-carat edible gold, then topped with five more grams of 24-carat edible gold. The dessert is served with a $14,000 jewel-encrusted spoon which, along with the bracelet, is yours to keep. We recommend placing your order well in advance.
IcePan at Harrah's makes their ice cream from scratch in front of your eyes, with no artificial colorings or preservatives, and half the calories of regular ice cream.
If you're looking for a grown-up treat, SnoBar has numerous locations in casino properties around town, serving "cocktails on a stick" and booze-infused ice creams. Their website is pretty much useless when it comes to finding out any information, but we understand most, if not all of the SnoBar venues are poolside, so keep your eyes peeled.
If you're looking to enjoy something in a cold venue, Red Square at Mandalay Bay features a bartop with a 30-foot-long portion that's made entirely of ice, and the Vodka Locker, an exclusive vodka tasting room that's kept at around 10 below zero degrees Fahrenheit and stores upwards of 200 different varieties of the alcohol. You can don mink coats and fur hats for vodka tastings in the freezer ($250 min. bottle service rules apply).
Our final suggestion, in what is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully gives you a good flavor of some of the more unique cool treats Las Vegas has to offer, would be the Minus 5 Ice Lounge, which has locations in Mandalay Place and the Monte Carlo, and comprises a bar made entirely from carved ice -- the walls, the glasses, the sculptures, the bar itself. As with the Vodka Locker, appropriate attire is provided before entering and you can only stay for fifteen minutes or so before moving on to thaw out in the Minus 5 Lodge, which goes for a log-cabin ski-lodge effect with ironwood beams, river stones, leather seats, and an open-hearth.
