Question of the Day - 06 March 2022

Sad to say, the answer is no. We have no plans for a new dining guide to Las Vegas. Here's why.

Restaurant critics who are independent (they don't work for publications dependent on ad revenue), non-comped (they always pay for their meals to maintain editorial integrity), and good writers (we can personally attest that restaurant reviews are challenging to keep fresh and lively) are very few and far between. John Curtas was the rare dining critic who combined all those attributes and more.

Also, the dining scene changes so fast hereabouts that, a belief that "a good guide to Las Vegas restaurants will always sell" (famous last words in the book publishing biz) notwithstanding, it fails to consider how many units of the previous edition are collecting dust in the warehouse when the new edition is printed. 

All in all, we were very lucky to bring out as many editions (eight) of Eating Las Vegas as we did and it's all due to John Curtas' skills, talents, bankroll, and long commitment to the Las Vegas dining scene. We miss collaborating with him and publishing his work.

But thanks for asking.

As for any new guides, there is one that we can recommend. It's called Neon Feast and it’s the brainchild of Al Mancini, one of ELV’s three original authors and the one who came up with the idea of combining multiple views in a single book. Mancini has just released this app that employs a version of the combined-knowledge approach to identify Las Vegas’ best dining options in several categories.

To do this, he sent out a massive questionnaire to 75 or so luminaries in the field — chefs, restaurant owners, reviewers including Anthony Curtis — and compiled their recommendations. It’s an excellent idea that has the potential to make Neon Feast the premier source for Las Vegas dining information. And did we mention that the app is free? Go to the website for more information and links to download.