Author: LVA

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Plaza Trip Report


We had occasion to spend the weekend before Formula 1 downtown at the Plaza. It was a relief to be able to walk everywhere, rather than sitting and sitting and sitting in traffic on and around the Strip; the race might as well have been on a different planet for the lack of impact it had downtown.

As for the Plaza itself, we got a chance to examine it in detail for the first time in a while and we were suitably impressed with the place.

Parking is free for hotel guests, another advantage over the Strip. The garage is easy in and out and it’s a short walk to the elevators that deliver you right to the south end of the casino. If you get a room in the south tower, those elevators are nearby. For the north tower, you have to walk through the casino.

The casino is spacious and well kept, with a William Hill sports book, a whole room full of Wheel of Fortune machines, and the smokeless Brian Christopher-themed slot wing.

The Plaza dining situation is recommendable. Oscar’s Steakhouse, of course, is one of a handful of fine-dining establishments downtown; it’s in the second-story dome overlooking Fremont Street. Hash House A Go Go makes for a decent coffee shop, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and serving big food at good prices with a counter play that beats the line every time. We had breakfast there Monday morning just before checking out: two eggs, bacon, home fries, and toast for just under $14. We couldn’t finish the excellent potatoes and were still good to go till dinner.

The food court has Fresh Mex, Just Rice, Popup Pizza, and a coffee-pastry counter. Pinkbox Donuts right off the main entrance was insanely busy the entire weekend. We never saw the line with any less than a dozen people waiting and at times, it stretched into the hotel lobby. We couldn’t believe how popular a donut place could be.

Sand Dollar Lounge has live music almost every night and a video poker bar and we took in Miss Behave’s Mavericks in the great old Plaza showroom. We can’t remember the last time we saw a show at a casino where, when it was over, all we had to was return to our room — after a late-night snack at the food court. We loved Mavericks and you can read our review here.

We also got to check out the Main Street Station Garden Buffet several times over the weekend, since it’s a six-minute trip from room to room. Ever since we walked right in on a Friday night at 6 p.m., we’ve wanted to check out the line situation, which we did for both brunch and weekend dinner, and we’ll report on that soon.

We found some equipment to work out on in the small gym, though the pool was closed.

And the hotel room? Very cozy, clean, and conducive to doing a little work. The desk area is well set-up, with a surprisingly comfortable chair, lots of room to spread out, and a couple of electrical outlets on the lamp. There’s a mini-fridge (no freezer) in the cabinet under the TV, which kept the leftovers fresh. The couch is a nice touch, we appreciated the never-ending hot water in the shower, and the heater warms up the room in three minutes flat.

In addition, early check-in is complimentary. When we showed up around 1 p.m. on Saturday, the only available rooms were in the front of the north tower, facing Fremont Street Experience. The front-desk agent warned us that it was noisy, but being the Advisor, we wanted to see for ourselves. Turns out, she wasn’t just whistling Dixie.

the view from the seventh-floor east-facing hotel room

The first giveaway was the package of earplugs in the drawer of one of the end tables. The second was the relentlessly throbbing bass from the big speakers on the stage right across the street at Main and Fremont; it was like sitting at a red light next to one of those cars with the souped-up sound system — for 18 hours straight. It started around 10 a.m. and didn’t quiet down until 3 a.m. on Saturday and 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Even then, it was worth it to us to check in early and no matter when you arrive, if you snag a west-facing room (away from Fremont Street) in either tower, you’ll be more insulated from the FSE madness.

The price was certainly right. For the two nights over the weekend before F1, using the MRB coupon, we paid a total of $218.09, including resort fees and taxes.

All in all, we’d stay at the Plaza again anytime.

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Anthony’s Prime Steak & Seafood Sunday Brunch (M Resort)

Remember the Bally’s Sterling Brunch? M Resort’s Sunday-only brunch in Anthony’s Prime Steak & Seafood (APS&S) is reminiscent in price ($99) and high-end buffet-style offerings. So reminiscent, in fact, that there was a two-month waiting list when it debuted. The mania has worn off, however, as we were able to book a reservation on two days’ notice. Was there a reason for that?

Getting In

We’d been wanting to try this brunch since we first heard about it in May 2023, but hadn’t because of the wait. It’s served Sundays only in a short window from 11 am to 1:30 pm, so there’s not a lot of availability. On a whim, hoping that things might have calmed down after a year and a half, we called on a Friday night and got a seating for two at 1 pm. (we had a woman who’s bubbly on the phone make the call, so that might have helped). Actually, we’ve heard that walk-ups are now being accepted if there’s an opening, but it’s certainly better to reserve, and the farther ahead the better your chances.

The Selection

Similar to the Sterling Brunch, the APS&S line-up is impressive. A big raw-seafood section includes crab legs and claws, peeled shrimp, lox, and sushi. There’s also a good charcuterie selection, deviled eggs, and different kinds of salads for starters. An egg station cooks omelets to order, and carving stations serve up prime rib, rack of lamb, and beef Wellington. The star of the show? Lobster tails (“roasted”)—all you can eat. Surprisingly few sides (couple kinds of potatoes and asparagus), some pasta, clam chowder and lobster bisque, fresh fruit, and a big dessert selection.

The Sampling

The legs are snow crab, but they’re big snow (blizzard crab?) that aren’t that far off king. The sushi isn’t primo, but it’s not grocery-store level, either. The lobster was a bit overcooked, which is gonna happen the way it’s put out in warm pans after being roasted. We took a tail to the eggs guy who made an excellent omelet out of it (he called it a “Dragon omelet”).

Charcuterie good. Desserts good. Meats mostly too done. Unimpressive eggs Benedict. Best was the raw seafood and the lobster omelet

Versus Sterling

It’s not as good as Bally’s Sterling, which had everything mentioned here and more: caviar, poached lobster, king crab legs, smoked fish, goblets of blueberries and raspberries, and flowing champagne (see “Flaw”). By the way, the Sterling Brunch debuted for $29.99 in the early ‘90s and gradually climbed in price until it topped out at $125 before closing in 2020.

Ambiance/Service

M Resort is beautiful and so is the APS&S room, with big picture windows overlooking the pool and providing a view of Las Vegas (M is elevated). Seating is out in the open, but it’s still a good date atmosphere. Service was excellent. We asked for rare lamb and the server requested it from the kitchen and brought a rack out to the table.

The Fatal Flaw

The big miss? No drinks component. How you put together this kind of offering for $99 and don’t even provide some cheap sparkling wine is beyond us (Sterling served unlimited Laurent-Perrier Brut). They at least have a drinks add-on—unlimited Mimosa’s, maybe—for an additional charge, right? Nope. All drinks come off the regular menu. We had a Heineken ($9) and a Mimosa ($15.85). No drinks at an elaborate Sunday brunch is a major buzz kill.

The Verdict

In Batman Forever, the Riddler (Jim Carrey) says to Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), “Your entrance was good, his was better.” That pretty much sums it up for APS&S vs. Sterling. Any way you cut it, this isn’t the Sterling reincarnated. But since there is no more Sterling, APS&S is it for the big brunch splurge, and all in all, we’re OK with the $99 per for what you get. The extra for just two drinks took the bill for two to $222.85, so after tax and tip, it’s $300 for a couple. A bit steep. Still worth it. Note to M: Add a drink component.

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Rooms for NYE

This year’s rate check was conducted on Dec. 2 and turned up 86 casinos that have rooms available for New Year’s Eve, compared to 91 last year. The number of nights is the minimum required stay; the dollar amount is the total cost; resort fees aren’t included. 

1 night: Buffalo Bill’s $148, Westin Lake Las Vegas $152, Sam’s Town $157, Railroad Pass $159, Longhorn $168, Hotel Jefe $170, Skyline $180, Hilton Lake Las Vegas $189, Circus Circus $197, Lexi $199, Boulder Station $199, Sunset Station $199, Silver Sevens $209, Santa Fe Station $219, Suncoast $224, South Point $225, Main Street Station $231, Cannery $239, Palace Station $243, Oasis @ Gold Spike $269, Aliante $276, Downtown Grand $276, Four Queens $289, Hotel Apache $289, Az. Charlie’s Boulder $298, El Cortez $299, Golden Gate $299, Tuscany $329, Strat $349, Westin Las Vegas $351, Az. Charlie’s Decatur $365, Westgate $390, California $399, English $399, Green Valley Ranch $399, Ellis Island $424, Sahara $424, Silverton $429, Gold Coast $475, Orleans $476, Red Rock $499, Rio $499, M Resort $509, OYO $605, MGM $649, Cromwell $721, Trump $730, Circa $799, Fontainebleau $944, Four Seasons $975, Caesars Palace $1,186, Nobu $1,311

2 nights: Golden Nugget $488, Plaza $510, Excalibur $520, Luxor $524, The D $568, TI $633, Fremont $693, Mandalay Bay $710, Flamingo $735, Virgin $740, Harrah’s $748, Delano $791, Palms $792, Palms Place $802, Resorts World $898, Durango $919, JW Marriott $933, Horseshoe $946, NYNY $1,018, Park MGM $1,018, Linq $1,046, Elara $1,152, MGM Signature $1,152, Paris $1,260, Vdara $1,354, Aria $1,359, Waldorf Astoria $1,490, Planet Hollywood $1,496, Cosmopolitan $1,680, Bellagio $1,708, Venetian $2,085, Palazzo $2,138

3 nights: Encore $2,297, Wynn $2,297

Sold Out or N/A: Casino Royal, Eastside Cannery, NoMad, Platinum, Primm, Serene, Whiskey Pete’s

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Miss Behave’s Mavericks

Plaza

Wed – Sun 7 p.m.
Sat 7 & 9 p.m.

$35-$99

“Miss Behave” is the stage name of Amy Saunders, a British-born performer, comedian, and producer best known for her sword-swallowing prowess. Self-taught in the skill (it’s not an illusion; sword swallowers actually take the sword up to the hilt — down the esophagus and into the stomach), she started swallowing swords in London in 1996 and has set several records for the feat. She’s also a producer who’s been running her own variety revues since 2008, including Miss Behave’s Game Show, which appeared at Bally’s (now the Horseshoe) between 2018 and 2020.

Miss Behave’s Mavericks launched in March 2022 at Cheapshot, a Fremont East bar and small theater, and lasted nearly a year. In August 2023, it was announced the Mavericks was moving to the Plaza Showroom, where it opened late last month. We’d heard intriguing things about Miss Behave and her shows over the years and we like the showroom — small but spacious and comfortable, excellent sound system and acoustics — so we attended a Saturday early show shortly after it opened.

Saunders was described by the BBC as “a live cartoon with a late-night attitude” and she lives up to the characterization, emceeing Mavericks in her lilting British accent, cracking jokes, ad libbing, stepping off the stage and prowling the audience so you almost feel part of the show, and generally keeping things moving along at a rapid clip — in her words, “lubricating the situation.”

This is a variety show with a number of sharp edges. Acts we’ve never seen before include a woman twerking to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a prima ballerina and a lady in a gorilla suit doing stripteases, the hula-hoop artist performing in a duck mask to the Vietnam song “Bird Is the Word,” and another stripper riding an oversized bucking spinning balloon dog.

Two acrobats, one aerial, the other on a four-handed platform, demonstrate what Miss Behave described as “the ultimate in what’s possible to do with the human body.” Speaking of which, she swallowed a sword and one of the legs of a stool while balancing a champagne bottle on the seat.

Our favorite segment was the singer who did an absolutely fierce rendition of David Bowie’s “Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide” off Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (in our top-five albums of all time); to us, she stole the show.

Also different was the intermission about 60 minutes in. It was great to get up, stretch, go for a walk to the restroom just across the casino, and brace ourselves for the last 30 minutes.

All in all, Miss Behave’s Mavericks is a rousing good time in a great room downtown at an affordable price and you’ll definitely feel in with the in crowd when — not if, we recommend — you see it.

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Norms Restaurant


The first Norms Restaurant debuted in 1949 near the famed Hollywood corner of Sunset and Vine and has since expanded to 23 locations in southern California — and one in Las Vegas.

The Vegas outpost, on the south side of W. Charleston just east of S. Decatur, opened on October 30. This is as classic a diner as you’ll ever see, with a huge 11-page menu of big food, including steak and eggs, Benedicts, omelets, pancakes, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and melts, pasta, chicken and steak dinners, meat loaf, seafood, desserts, and milk shakes. Everything is priced between $11.79 (for the breakfast burrito) and $23.99 (six-ounce sirloin, fried shrimp, and chicken tenders). You can see the entire menu at Norms’ website, complete with prices (rare these days), which they’re obviously proud of and for good reason.

In addition, Norms is open 24 hours, so it’s a great anytime-of-the-day-or-night play. It’s not only a classic, it’s a throwback to when all restaurant meals consisted of what’s now called “comfort food” and these diners were “everything restaurants,” exactly the way it was in the ’50s and ’60s when Norms was making its early mark.

We were curious about the quality and service, so we checked out Norms 10 days after it opened. We were greeted immediately, everyone was authentically friendly, the service was fast, and the food comes out surprisingly quickly. We tried one of the healthiest dinners, blackened salmon. All dinners come with soup and salad, which showed up almost before we were done choosing navy bean or gumbo and the salad dressing. The gumbo was nicely spiced and full of veggies, rice, and sausage. The salmon was decent, the creamed corn was edible, and the baked potato (fries or mashed are the other options) came with butter and sour cream/chives.

Our overall impression was that this is a fine place to fuel up. Rather than a foodies excursion, Norms is more for waitresses, bussers, and dishwashers, with its workman-like atmosphere and working-class crowd. The size of the meals doesn’t compete with, say, the Peppermill, but the prices certainly reflect that; our salmon dinner was $18.99; with tax it came to all of $20.58.

For a new restaurant to open in Las Vegas, this one’s outside the norm (pardon the pun) of what happens around here, a stark contrast to the newest, trendiest, high-priced celebrity-chef haunts. But in another way, it’s also a good example of what happens around here, because everything is happening around here in the food and beverage business and Norms proves the rule.

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Angie’s (Bargain) Lobster

Angie’s Lobster, with seven restaurants in Phoenix, has come to Las Vegas.

Angie’s is well known in the Valley of the Sun for its $9.99-$10.99 lobster rolls, made possible by Angie’s owning a wharf in Maine, buying lobster and seafood right off the boats, and processing it all in its own plant nearby. Then, Angie’s ships the product to Arizona, and now southern Nevada, in its own reefer trucks. The owners opened their first shop in Phoenix in 2021 after selling Salad & Go, which has 150 locations throughout the Southwest.

We wonder if this is the future of “fast food.” It’s definitely fast and amazingly inexpensive, but it’s several cuts above Carl’s Jr. and KFC; it is lobster after all.

Also, it’s completely cashless. You walk in and go right to one of three ordering screens, which are pretty easy to navigate. The first screen shows you the meals that come with fries and a drink for $12.99. If you want a la carte, you change the screen with a tab on the top nav. Other tabs take you to the drinks and add-ons. If you want a receipt, it’s digital, so you have to input your phone number or email address.

Angie’s menu also features shrimp, snow crab, and cod rolls from $6.49 to $10.99, along with two breakfast rolls (eggs and bacon, eggs and lobster) and French toast ($3.19-$7.99).

We went twice, once when it first opened just to see, the second time to try everything by feeding the office. We were unimpressed with the snow crab roll. We also got four lobster rolls, two chilled, two warm (for $1 extra). Even if you’re eating at Angie’s at one of six tables inside or six outside on the patio, 32 seats altogether, there’s no real reason to get the warmed-up lobster (by the time we got the food back to the office, both were room temperature). We also tried the scallop roll, clam roll, and a side of fried cod ($2.99).

Even with the big order and a busy room at lunchtime, we were in and out of the place in 13 minutes flat. Very efficient and, as we say, fast. The only time you see anyone is when they call your name to pick up your order at the window.

The lobster was a bit mushy, but tasty. The cod was big, firm, and moist, though mostly tasteless, like most whitefish. The clams, however, stole the show. Big, juicy, and tasty, they melt in your mouth — again, surprising for fast food. The scallops are small, but definitely scallopy. Melted butter and tartar sauce come in small sealed plastic bags. The only thing missing are lemon wedges. But the house-made lemonade is an adequate substitute.

For the six rolls a la carte, side of cod, and lemonade, the bill came to just over $63 including tax.

Angie’s is located on the south side of Blue Diamond a half-block east of Decatur.

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Humo Barbecue

In our extensive survey of Las Vegas barbecue restaurants a couple of years ago, one of the 10 we reviewed was Braeswood, which billed itself as Tex-Mex BBQ. We loved the smoked carnitas and Creole rice. Unfortunately, Braeswood was locked in a Coke-Pepsi competition, being directly across South Main Street from the uber-popular Soulbelly Barbecue, and didn’t survive. We were sorry when it closed last April.

So when we learned that another south-of-the-border ‘cue joint had opened in Henderson around a year ago, we had high hopes for it and finally got around to trying it.

Humo Barbecue (pronounced “umo”; the “h” is almost always silent in Spanish) is on Sunset Road about a mile east of the airport runway viewing area near the corner of Sandhill. Appropriately meaning “Smoke” in Spanish, Humo is situated in perhaps the most nondescript strip mall you’ve ever seen. The good news is there’s free parking as far as the eye can see.

Humo occupies two storefronts in the center and was crowded with large tables of las familias Latinas on a late Sunday afternoon.

It’s typically colorful, with a wall mural and a couple of interesting signs, two touting the “Mexicue.”

The menu features ribs, brisket, pulled chicken and pork, burnt ends, and barbacoa (one meat/two sides $19, two meat/two sides $26), along with baked potatoes stuffed with brisket, pork, or barbacoa ($16) and tacos ($3), salads and sandwiches ($14-$15), sides such as Hatch-chile mac ‘n’ cheese, chorizo refried beans, potato salad, and street corn, and for dessert flan and churro-banana and bread pudding ($6).

We tried the burnt ends and barbacoa. We don’t often see burnt ends in Vegas, but they’re indicative of the kind of smoking process a barbecue uses; from the fatty end of the brisket, they’re generally cooked longer than the lean meat in order to render the fat, so they’re infused with the smokiness that barbecue aficionados live for. These weren’t that. They weren’t bad, just not up to what we consider the standard. The barbacoa was beef (it can also be lamb and goat) and again, it was okay, just not enough cumin, garlic, and oregano for our taste, so it was bland, plus a bit greasy. For the sides, we got the chorizo refried beans, which were excellent — creamy, mildly spicy, and light — as was the mac ‘n’ cheese, in which the Hatch chiles were plentiful and definitely jazzed up the dish.

For a barbecue place called Smoke, the smoke is mild at best and lacking at worst. We can say that there was plenty of food, enough for two full meals. Still, the bill came to $34 including tax and tip, not a bargain by any means. All in all, we give Humo an A for effort, a B for quality, and a C for value. We wouldn’t go out of our way to return.

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Buffet Update – November 2024

south point

Cosmopolitan – Wicked Spoon: Daily Brunch is now 8 a.m.-3 p.m. instead of 8 a.m.-2 p.m. for $47 on weekdays and $54 on weekends.

Excalibur – The Buffet at Excalibur: Weekend Brunch is Friday only instead of Friday – Sunday. Same time 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $37.99. Now Saturday & Sunday is Mimosa Brunch 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $43.99.

South Point – Garden Buffet: All buffet prices went up by $1-$3. Breakfast is now $19.95, Lunch is now $24.95, Prime Rib & Champagne Brunch is now $33.95, Prime Rib Dinner is now $33.95, and Seafood Dinner is now $52.95.

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“Lite-Brite” at Illuminarium


Lite-Brite is a “magic-screen” toy created by Hasbro in 1967, consisting of colored plastic pegs that fit into a panel on a light box. Recommended for ages 4-15, Lite-Brite users create art with the pegs; when the images are complete, the box is turned on to light them up.

Hasbro teamed up with the Illuminarium, the immersive digital “museum” at Area15, to present “Lite-Brite: Worlds of Wonder,” which opened on June 5. The show features a room-size magic screen divided into three “worlds”: enchanted ocean, forest with dinosaurs, and outer-space city. Having seen the “Space” digital show at the Illuminarium (reviewed in LVA 9/22), we went back for “Lite-Brite: Worlds of Wonder” to see what the new show has to offer.

Like “Space,” you’re ushered into an anteroom for an orientation to the Lite-Brite gestalt from a talking box on a stool.

And like “Van Gogh,” “Leonardo,” “Arte Museum,” and the other immersives we’ve reviewed, “Lite-Brite” is a 60-minute experience (it reruns after an hour) in the huge Illuminarium room, with the giant animations covering the walls and floors all around you. Of all the digital shows, this one is by far the best for kids, who chase the images of giant birds and mammals, sea creatures, dinosaurs, spaceships, and the like and interact with the pixels that follow them on the floor.

Kids of all ages participate in two different games, Save the Dinos and Creature Creator, the only immersive that’s this interactive.

For us adults, it gets a bit monotonous, especially if you’ve seen one of these shows before. The games go on for five-six minutes at a time twice within the hour, far too long; the second time one of them comes on, it helps clear the room for the next set of visitors who show up every 15 minutes.

The soundtrack is intense — spacy orchestral music, from the highs of synthesized piccolos during the future-city segments to the basso profundo of basses and cellos for the deep underwater portions. The room is nice and cold on a very hot summer afternoon, but we were never so happy to walk out into 115-degree sun (bring a sweater if you don’t want to freeze).

Tickets start at $35 for adults and $30 for children and seniors, with family and group packages available.

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$5 Burger & Beer (18Bin)

A smashburger and a beer for $5? It’s not quite a Top Tenner, but it’s a good one in the Arts District.

A burger and a beer for $5? That has to be a bargain, right? Maybe not if the burger is a slider and the beer is Red, White, & Blue (wait, we like RWB), but that’s not the case here. You get a smashburger (the latest burger rage) that’s slightly larger than a regular McDonald’s burger, with cheese, pickles, and chipotle mayo. You might want another, so go ahead and order it; there’s no limit. It comes with a choice of a 16-ounce Michelob Ultra or 18Bin Blonde Ale. The deal runs Mondays-Thursdays from 11 am to 3 pm.

A Cool Place in the Arts District

Located in the Arts District at 107 E. Charleston, 18Bin is one of multiple bars/restaurants clustered in the area, including Berlin, Artifice, Taverna Costera, and Pepper Club in the English Hotel. While many of these bars are artsy types that don’t have TVs, 18Bin does and they’re tuned to sports when the games are on. The bar and tables are inside, with a big courtyard with seating outside. 

Bar
Dining
Patio

This is a busy hang on weekend nights, but mostly quiet during the day when the special runs. The full menu includes bar snacks, soups, salads, and sandwiches, with several vegetarian options; we had a decent ceviche for $13. 

The Verdict

This is an excellent lunch play and a reason to check out the Arts District, but it’s also a drinking play. The 18Bin Blonde is $9 by itself, so ordering the special gets you a $5 beer and however many hamburgers get lined up in the process. If you linger after the special, there’s “Yappy Hour” (bring your pooch) Mon.-Thurs. from 4 to 6 pm, with 50%-off beer, wine, and select appetizers. On Tuesdays starting at 7 pm, it’s all-you-can-drink margaritas and $3 tacos.