Miracle Eats opened a couple of months ago with six outlets and one on the way. It was originally announced as a “food collective” and was assumed to be a food hall, but as you can see in the above image, it turned out as a run-of-the-mill food court.
That said, it’s obviously brand new, large and with lots of places to sit, and tastefully done with a fair amount of artificial foliage and well-designed lighting. There are also some nice touches, such as neon signs.
You first come to Chipotle, the only one of the seven eateries with inside seating; all the others are counters and seating in the court. Irv’s Burgers, the second in Las Vegas after the first, in the Eat Your Heart Out food hall at Durango, is opening soon.
Lobster Me (with an unfortunate support beam right in front of the sign) moved from its original location in the mall with a new look and updated menu.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has two other locations in the valley, one way out on West Sahara in Summerlin and the other two doors up from the Miracle Mile Shops in the Grand Bazaar at the Horseshoe.
Even more curious is Fat Tuesday, which has a second location in Miracle Mile, plus one each in the Grand Bazaar, MGM Grand, Harmon Corner, Mandalay Bay, Casino Royale, and on and on.
This is Tacotarian’s fifth location in Las Vegas; we reviewed it in the November issue of LVA.
The one that most concerns us is Carnegie Pizza, straight from Times Square in Manhattan, at which we have a great Member Rewards Online coupon. We used it last month and you can read our review here.
Miracle Eats was originally announced to have 10 food outlets, including Fat Sal’s sandwich shop, with one other location at Neonopolis, but other than the space for Irv’s Burgers, we didn’t see where three more eateries might go. If they’re still planned, we’ll let you know.
Our latest Member Rewards Online coupon is a BOGO at Carnegie Pizza in Miracle Eats at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. The coupon has two tiers: Diamond members ($3 a month) get 2-for-1 slices; full Platinum members can get the two slices or two whole pies for the price of one.
As you can see from the menu, slices start at $7 (cheese) and top out at $9 (spciy pepperoni, chicken), so with the coupon, you’re looking at $3.50-$4.50 per, which is good and cheap for good and center Strip. Big eight-slice pies are $40-$50; additional toppings are $1.25-$1.50 per slice and $5-$6 per pie.
To test the coupon and try the pizza, we brought two whole pies, a Margherita and a red pepper, mushroom, and sausage, back to the office. Classic New York pizza, the two pies lasted a couple of days and reheated perfectly in the air fryer (five minutes do the trick and even the crust got crispy again).
You pay for the more expensive pie, which for us was $52 (two extra toppings). With tax and a tip, the total bill came to just under $65. A little pricey, perhaps, but we were still out the door at $32.70 per 18-inch pie. Heck, a Domino’s 14-inch pepperoni pizza is $20 and these are 22% larger. We weren’t disappointed with quantity, quality, or price. The BOGO slices are a steal and if you have a big party to feed or another reason to consume two pies, you can save most of or the whole price of a Platinum membership with this MRO.
The Naughty Angel is a new “French-inspired steakhouse” in a small strip mall on Sammy Davis Jr. Drive at the intersection of Resorts World Road. The owner-chef, Angel Lopez, has worked up and down the Strip, from Sadelle’s to Joel Robuchon, and opened Primal Steakhouse ini the Boulevard Mall on Maryland Parkway in late 2020; it’s a favorite of at least one Blackjack Hall of Famer of our acquaintance.
It’s a large restaurant and bar that encompasses three storefronts and dresses up the shopping center with its massage parlor, vape shop, tattoo parlor, psychic, and hookah lounge. It’s a tasteful and eclectic place, with soft French-style cabaret music, Central American-inspired original art (Lopez is Guatemalan), and a few Asian-decor touches. If you’re looking for a quiet, non-casino, fine-dining experience, The Naughty Angel will definitely fill the bill. It’s open until midnight Mon.-Thurs., 1 a.m. Fri. and Saturday.
A great way to try out the food is during happy hour, 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Appetizers start at $5 (pommes frites), with a bargain French onion soup ($7), ratatouille ($8), and up to $12 for cheese fondue. Bottled beers are $5, shot of the day $6, well drinks $7, and glasses of international wines $10. We arrived at 6:30 on a Thursday and got in on the happy-hour zucchini and Gruyere cakes, housemade herb sausage, and ratatouile; with one beer, we’d have been out of there for around $30. But everything was so good, especially the sausage in a piquant salsa, that we stuck around for dinner.
saucisse longaniza (herb sausage)
The menu is as advertised, French and steaks. The traditional dishes include such appetizers as crudites and tartine ($17), escargot and steak tartare ($19), and bacon-wrapped prawns ($22); lobster bisque, crab louie, and Caesar ($14-$18); coq au vin and chicken fricassee ($38), linguine and clams ($40), seared duck breast ($49), Dover sole ($58), and braised lamb shanks ($65); and of course the steaks ($40-$90). Sides include garlic mashed, twice-baked potato, stuffed peppers, lemon-butter/hollandaise asparagus, and herb risotta ($9-$12); and for dessert crème brûlée, chocolate fondue, baked Alaska, and hummingbird cake ($14-$22).
Our bill for three happy-hour apps, steak and lobster, crème brûlée, and bottled water came to $178.82 with tax. Eminently reasonable for a lot of high-quality food — and we got another meal out of the steak and noodles.
We tried the lobster-tail Mafaldine with pasta in a creamy lobster sauce ($55) and the eight-ounce filet in creamy horseradish ($50), plus the crème brûlée. In true French fashion, the secret to this food are the sauces: for example, demi-glaze, peppercorn, and Bearnaise for the steaks; lemon beurre blanc for the sole; red wine and herbs for the lamb; and a cream sauce for the fricassee. Chef Angel definitely learned his lessons in long years in Strip kitchens.
filet and horseradishlobster mafaldine
The Naughty Angel opened in April and is still getting on its legs, so service is exquisite; Angel himself served us our appetizers. We’re really rooting for the place to make it and with Resorts World directly across the street, with Circus Circus next to it and Fontainebleau on the other side, it has a good shot of becoming a local mainstay. We’ll definitely be back, especially for happy hours to come.
If you’re a fan of the British royals (or even just the Netflix series “The Crown”), you’ll probably want to check out the Princess Diana exhibit at The Shops at Crystals. Located on the third floor next to the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit, this is an worthwhile daytime activity (open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) if you’re looking to take a break from the crowds and noise of the casinos.
The exhibit occupies more than 10,000 square feet and boasts 700-plus artifacts related to Diana and the royal family. It’s organized into three main collections: “Wedding of the Century,” “Fashion Icon,” and “Royal Obsession.” It traces her life from her own family’s background of nobility through her school days, her whirlwind courtship with Charles, her life as princess, and her tragic death. The exhibit also follows her children, Prince William and Prince Harry, into adulthood; like most modern media accounts, the exhibit tends to subtly favor William.
Artifacts include her school papers, some memorabilia from her 1981 wedding (a piece of wedding cake, a seating chart from the wedding reception, an official pass to Clarence House where Diana prepared for her wedding day), historic royal textiles, and seven evening gowns, reportedly the largest collection on display anywhere. You can also get glimpses of her less serious side, such as store-bought birthday cards she sent to friends (including one to pop star George Michael).
My wife, a former archivist, had some technical criticisms. For example, many of the labels were either missing, difficult to read, or crooked and most of the gowns, tiaras, and Diana’s wedding dress on display are re-creations (which wasn’t clearly indicated).
We purchased the timed-entry tickets, which required a little advance planning, but it wasn’t at all crowded when we went (10 a.m. on a Friday morning), so I can’t imagine that walk-up tickets weren’t available. A VIP ticketing option is available, with all-day entry and an audio headset, but we found that wasn’t necessary. Some visitors might like the context of and untold stories behind the artifacts that the audio provides.
Tickets are $32.95 base and just a $2.50 booking fee, $35.45 total, with discounts for 55+, military, locals, and children (6-12). Photography and videography are allowed without flash and you can use the hashtag #vegaslovesdiana for a 10% discount in the gift shop.
All in all, we enjoyed the exhibit and were glad that we went. It’s definitely worth an hour of your time if you’re at all interested in Diana, British royalty, or a distinctly non-Vegas experience.
The pool complex at the Flamingo, which opened in the mid-’90s after the original four-story Oregon Building was demolished, has reopened following a $20 million overhaul. Given the status of the work in May, we made the over/under June 20 for completion, but credit to CET for getting it done well before that date. The following report comes from Conrad Stanley.
The adults-only Go Pool added two new pools to bring the total to five, with a “wet deck” (shallow pool where sunbathers can lounge on chaises in the water), a cenote-like cave area with a small infinity pool and skylight, plenty of mature palm trees, a wraparound bar, a swim-up bar, and a DJ spinning tunes nonstop. The Family (all ages) Pool remains pretty much the same.
Food is available from the poolside restaurant: granola and yogurt bowl $15, breakfast croissant or burrito $20, chicken Caesar $20, loaded fries or nachos $23, burger $24, and family platters (nachos, tenders, or sliders) $90.
Beers $12.99 each or a bucket of six for $76.99. Most are 16-ounce cans or aluminum bottles, though Corona, Modelo, Pacifica, and a handful of craft beers and seltzers don’t produce 16 ouncers, so the 12 ouncers go for the same price. The best play is Heineken 16-ounce aluminum bottles. Cocktails are $23.99 for a small and $39.99 for a large.
You can reserve daybeds (basically, double chaise lounges under umbrellas) and cabanas at both the Go and Family pools, starting at $65 for a weekday-morning daybed (9-11:30 a.m., four guests) at the Family Pool and going up to $750 for a weekend full-day super cabana (11 a.m.-6 p.m., 10 guests) at VIP pools #2 and #3.
GO Pool joins the Palms pool as the two at major resorts that are free and open to the public; you don’t have to be a Flamingo guest to get in. But definitely show up as early as you can (it opens at 9 a.m.) to secure a free lounge chair, but don’t expect a relaxing afternoon. It’s more of a pool party than a quiet swim. And don’t forget that unless you walk in (or take public or private transportation), you’ll have to pay for parking.
We suspect that these pools will be busier than ever this summer, hitting the maximum according to the fire code very early, then hotel guests at the Flamingo and other Caesars properties will have priority. We’ll keep you posted on those details when or if they develop.
The 2025 MRB offers some enticing hotel discounts. These also lead to even better casino offers.
I recently stayed at the Downtown Grand for eight nights, followed by four nights at the Rio, for a total hotel cost of $400.
It’s not hard to get comped at DG. I get two free nights a month as well.
Of course, each has different values, depending on your tastes, goals, and preferences.
Downtown Grand’s MRB coupon is good for waiving the resort fees. This is very valuable, saving $40+ a night, especially for your first stay. You also get daily in-room coffee and water.
I prefer the Gallery Tower right over the casino. The room rate is a little higher, but access is key, at least to me. Everything is close: the free Parking, casino, restaurants, new food court at the Fremont across the street, and Fremont Street is one block away.
Be sure to use your check-in coupon for up to $50 matchplay and your MRB matchplay. And with just $50 coin-in at video poker, you get 50% off on a great selection of entrees including breakfast, a great burger, and prime rib.
Once you’ve stayed and played, call casino reservations. They might give you up to 50% off your resort fee and the max room discount.
I cashed in on the Rio, with its no resort fee as well. The resort fee here is $56 a day, so this saved me $250. I stayed Monday-Friday for $107 total. No kidding.
Since I’m old school, I like the Masquerade Tower with a bathtub. It’s also less expensive than the new tower and self- parking is very close. No in-room coffee, but a fridge is comped. They also have room service, which tickled me. Great views, food hall, and pool too.
Check out the 9/6 JoB by the Sports bar. Hop over to Gold Coast for good VP, low-limit table games, and Ping Pang Pong. Then use your 50% or 2-for-1 at the Palms Buffet, including the Wednesday and Thursday lobster nights (a $79.99 saving). And I hear the Wow show is spectacular.
Finally, the Plaza. The MRB coupon is good, but the real deal at the Plaza is bingo.
Every month they have two-day $160,000 bingo that’s $160 to enter and is good for two lunches four nights Sunday through Thursday for $40 a night! And that includes the resort fee. The North Tower rooms are nicer, but noisier, facing the Fremont Street Experience. The South Tower’s are old-school with a tub, but quiet and very close to the free parking for guests.
Plaza has $15 single-zero roulette, excellent VP, and lots of food options where you can also use MRB coupons, from pizza to steaks. Pink Box donuts and Hash House A Go Go are also on the premises. Plus, fire up the positive expectation video poker at the Sand Dollar lounge with great comedy on Wednesday. A.C. and others love the new Mavericks show.
In the past year and a half, I’ve undergone hip replacement surgery on my right side and rotator cuff (shoulder) surgery on my left side. I’m hoping to schedule a third orthopedic procedure in mid-April. After no such procedures ever, my body seems to be falling apart all over, all at once. One of the disadvantages of not dying young, I suppose.
Because of arthritis, I’m scheduled for a ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition on my right thumb. The surgery consists of removing the trapezium bone on the affected side and replacing it with a “unused” tendon from my wrist. This has a very high rate of success and is usually good for 10 to 15 years. Since I’m 78 years old now, there’s a good chance that 10 to 15 years will be “enough.” Don’t know for sure.
I’ve put this operation off for a while. I’ve tried medication and steroidal injections. To no avail. It’s now very painful to even sign my name, and many things I used to do (snapping my fingers, opening jars that aren’t really simple, unlocking some doors with a key) are now beyond my abilities. There is one key I need to use to gain access to a private mailbox company after hours. I need to take along pliers to turn the key because I can’t generate enough torque without the extra leverage. I hope I’m not observed by a policeman who concludes that gaining access to a building with pliers after dark is a suspicious activity. I can probably explain things satisfactorily, but you never know. If he thinks that my pliers look like a gun — anything could happen.
The problem with the surgery is that it includes a fairly long recovery period. I will need to wear three different types of cast/brace/splint for two weeks each after the surgery. I’ll have some physical therapy somewhere along the way. Since this is my dominant hand, this will interfere with such things as eating, dressing, showering, and other bathroom activities. I haven’t tried brushing my teeth left-handed before. We’ll see. Fortunately, I don’t live alone, and Bonnie is willing to help me if I need it. She was a nurse for 40 years and the things I’ll need shouldn’t be all that strange to her. The doctor doesn’t want me driving — but I’m probably not going to obey that suggestion. I have practiced driving left-handed and believe I can do so safely. I will probably text less than I do now.
How this affects my gambling activities remains to be seen. Fortunately, I’m in a position to shut things down gambling-wise for a few months if I need to. I’m going to try to have a backlog of these weekly blogs already prepared before I undergo the procedure, but I may need to shut this blog down while I recover. Even though I use my thumb when I use a keyboard, I think I can temporarily revert to a fingers-only technique should I need to. It’ll take longer, but I should still be able to do it.
I’ll miss at least one of my monthly improvisational showcases. Not that I’ll necessarily need to — I can still perform most of the skits wearing a brace — but the leader of my group restricts cast members with “devices” (walkers, slings, splints, crutches, etc.) from performing. I’m scheduling my surgery for April 23 because there’s a monthly showcase on April 19 and that should allow me to only miss the May showcase and be back for June. (www.lvimprov.com)
Bonnie thinks this arthritis is a sort of carpal tunnel problem due to so many years of gambling activities. Although carpal tunnel is a wrist ailment and my thumb is a nearby-yet-different part of the body, I’m skeptical that this disease is due to repetitive use of my thumb. I don’t use my thumb much when I play, and I have a family history of arthritis. But wherever it came from, it hurts a lot and I’m going to get it taken care of — I hope.
For the entrance to Diner Ross, read our review of DiscoShow.
You walk up the stairs to the lounge-bar area and in the corner is a faux hot dog cart under an umbrella. That’s the hostess stand.
Inside is a large space full of naugehyde booths and red chairs, stainless-steel legs on the tables, and the walls covered in bygone decorations; a lot of money was spent on posters, photos, and original art. The soundtrack, as well, is from the era: “Mr. Big Stuff,” “Everyday People,” “You’re So Vain,” “Young Americans,” “Take a Walk on the Wild Side,” and the like. Other than Diner Ross being LOUD LOUD LOUD, the music, furnishings, and décor are the best things about this restaurant (and the name).
Then there’s the food.
You finally get to see a menu with prices on it (none of the online menus or even the one posted outside the DiscoShow front door bothers with that mundane detail). And once you see the numbers, you’ll know why. Appetizers and salads are in the $20s. Mushroom risotto is $28, trout $32, meatloaf $35, and chicken $39. The burger is $36! Steaks start at $48 (with fries), rise to $69 for the filet mignon (no number of ounces), and top out at $180 for the 42-ounce Tomahawk. If you want steak sauces, add $5. And this is supposed to be an old-fashioned New York-style diner.
We got the shrimp cocktail, five medium and slightly mushy shrimp with a couple of sauces ($24), and the signature Disco fries, a big plate of potatoes with gravy; even though the service was lickety-split and we had our food in 90 seconds flat, the fries were soggy and cold in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile, are you sitting down? With tax and tip, the shrimp cocktail and fries came to $60. And those were, essentially, the cheapest items on the menu.
DiscoShow is worth the $118 ticket. As for Diner Ross, take a stroll through to see the art. But skip eating there.
We reviewed dinner at the Main Street Station Garden Buffet in the September 2023 issue of the Advisor after trying it on a Friday night in August. The title of the post was “Where Is Everyone?” Here’s how it began: “We arrived right at 6 p.m., thinking we might have to wait in line for 20 to 30 minutes to get into the only downtown buffet, which serves dinner Fri. and Sat. nights only. Au contraire! We didn’t have to wait even 20 seconds. We walked right up to the cashier, paid, and had plate in hand within a minute.” The room remained mostly empty for the next 90 minutes while we were there and we wondered if the buffet might be this empty regularly.
When we stayed at the Plazathe weekend before F1 in November, we were a five-minute walk from Main Street Station, so we determined to check out the line situation at various times.
We started walking over at 1 p.m. on Saturday. No one was in line and not much was happening with an hour to go for brunch, which closes at 2 p.m.
We went back at 4 p.m. for the opening of dinner. This time, the line filled up all three rows of fixed barriers, then stretched to the door; the 70 people or so were handled by two cashiers, one for the VIP line. By 4:15, even with another 25 or so stragglers showing up just after opening, the line was pretty well handled. By six, however, there were two lines, one backed up most of the way to the entrance with people waiting to pay, the other 10 deep after paying and waiting to be seated. The room was pretty full, so tables needed to be cleared before the second line moved. The same pattern repeated on a couple of checks on Sunday evening as well.
Sunday morning we went back and got there right at 8 a.m. to review brunch. Frankly, we weren’t expecting a line that early, so we were a bit surprised that 25 people were ahead of us, almost all hungry Hawaiians (mostly Japanese-Americans). There was only one cashier, but she was very efficient, handling both the VIP and HP (hoi polloi) lines in staggered fashion. By about 8:30, most of the early activity had been handled, but around 9, the later crowd started showing up and the line stayed long until we left at 9:30. Plus, the tables had filled up, so the second line had formed.
Our conclusion? The reason we walked right in to review dinner was that it was a particularly slow weekend night in August. But over a busy weekend in November, the Garden Buffet fills up and the lines get long. For both brunch and dinner, it’s best to arrive as early as you can; for brunch, late is also the better play.
As for the brunch buffet itself, the selection was as extensive as dinner and the quality was about equal, which is to say good enough for downtown’s only buffet.
Being brunch, the salad bar had romaine, spinach, and toppings right next to bagels, lox, sliced tomato, kimchee, namasu (sliced cucumbers and carrots in a light vinegar sauce), and a toaster. Next to cold cereal and milk were six different kinds of pizza and garlic toast, crepes, corned beef hash, pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Steam-table eggs were scrambled plain or with chorizo, along with bacon, sausage, and home fries. The carving station offered ham, chicken, and three kinds of sausage (kielbasa, Italian, and Portuguese). Our cooked-to-order cheese omelet came out in less than a minute.
The lunch food included pulled pork and cabbage, Hawaiian beef stew, fried and shoyu chicken, fish of the day, roasted yams, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, and mac and cheese.
The desserts occupy an entire serving island: self-serve soft chocolate and vanilla with toppings, pies, pastries, puddings, cakes, cookies, muffins, and sugar-free selections.
We went back for seconds and thirds of namasu, a second bagel and lox, pulled pork and mashed, and desserts.
The total price came to $29.95, which in this day and age is quite reasonable for the only Las Vegas buffet within several miles and a decent one at that.
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.
